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Nakashima, Krena, and Swentzell’s intense skills illuminate the personalities of each piece of wood, metal, stone and bit of clay, letting forms arise intuitively in their adept hands. This honoring of material and tradition moves their pieces beyond the functional limits of furniture, jewelry, and figural sculpture.

Roxanne Swentzell

Swentzell’s clay sculptures communicate the full spectrum of the human spirit. Born in 1962 into a family of renowned Santa Clara Pueblo potters, Swentzell was destined to express herself with clay. Using ancient techniques, layering coil upon coil, she allows the clay to lead her to the human experiences each sculpture reveals. Widely recognized as one of the top sculptors working today, Swentzell has won countless honors and her work is featured in prominent collections, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian where she was commissioned to create a permanent installation.

Carol Krena

Krena crafts jewelry that inspires awe at the extraordinary beauty the earth has to offer. Born in 1954 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Krena had artistic leanings even in her childhood. With talent, determination, and an intuitive sense of how to best showcase natural materials, she taught herself to make jewelry. Krena’s mastery of complex, sophisticated lapidary and metalsmithing techniques has led to an enthusiastic following and landed her works in museums and prestigious private collections worldwide.

Mira Nakashima

Mira Nakashima is the only daughter of Japanese American woodworker George Nakashima, widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s most important furniture designers. Born in 1942, Nakashima spent much of her youth in her father’s workshop in New Hope, Pennsylvania. After studying architecture at Harvard and then at Waseda University in Tokyo, Nakashima became an integral addition to her father’s studio. After his death in 1990, Nakashima continued his legacy of exceptional craftsmanship and design focused on emphasizing the woodworker’s responsibility to the sacrificed tree.