“Over its 32-year history, the Bruce Museum Outdoor Crafts Festival has been renowned for the quality of the artists showing. Throughout the year, we actively scout talent nationwide to bring the very best to our museum,” says Sue Brown Gordon, Festival organizer. “As a result, we are honored to have many of the top award-winning national craft artists with us. We feel that the opportunity of meeting the actual maker enhances the experience of collecting art. “
Special this year will be guest ceramic artists from The Clay Arts Center under the curation of Leigh Taylor Mickelson, ceramic artist and executive director at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY. Another highlight of the Festival will be ongoing textile painting and marbleizing demonstrations by artists Rich Borden and Patricia Disantis of East Haddam, CT.
Exhibiting artists are eligible for cash prizes, which will be awarded by this year’s judges: Jane Rainwater, artist and curator of the Dehn Gallery at MCC in Manchester, CT, and Mindy Green of Rowayton, CT, a nationally acclaimed artist and teacher.
The Bruce Museum’s Outdoor Crafts Festival includes international cuisine onsite. Hands-on craft activities for all ages are available at no additional charge in the Museum’s Education Workshop, and the Museum’s galleries will be open. The weekend features the final two days of the popular exhibition Alfred Sisley (1839 – 1899): Impressionist Master, which closes immediately following the Festival. Other current exhibitions include Canvas and Cast: Highlights of the Bruce Museum Collection, Last Days of Pangea: In the Footsteps of Dinosaurs, and Street Smart: Photographs of New York City, 1945 – 1980.
The Festival is held on Museum grounds at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. All works are available for purchase. Admission to the Outdoor Crafts Festival is $10, free to members and children less than five. Admission includes all Festival activities plus entry to the Bruce Museum, which is open to the public during Festival hours. At the Festival entrance, visitors will be able to join the Bruce Museum to receive free admission and many instant discounts both at the Festival and in the Museum Store.
Visitors are asked to park on Museum Drive and Steamboat Road or in the Island Beach Parking lot near exit 3 off I-95. The Museum is a short walk from MetroNorth’s Greenwich railroad station. For information, visit www.brucemuseum.org, or call (203) 869-0376.