Artists add another dimension

Sheri Farbstein would see high-end crafts here and there in the Lowcountry. But not all together, and not all at once. Major art shows consisted mostly of painters. Not that there's anything wrong with a nice painting, but a place for sculpture, pottery, fine jewelry or similar art was lacking -- a discrimination against the third dimension, so to say.

So she joined with other crafters to form the Fine Art Crafts Guild. Its first show runs through Dec. 30 at the Walter Greer Gallery in the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina on Hilton Head Island.

The guild, under the auspices of the Art League of Hilton Head, plans to hold one major show a year with nothing but the 3-D art.

"I've been dreaming about this for a long time," said Farbstein. "It's people who are at the top of their game."

The group took eight months to formulate, but about 15 crafters signed up.

The shows are juried, the members looking for quality work from professional artists, not hobbyists. The guild's members include well-known local artists such as Donna Ireton, Carroll Williams and Cindy Levy, who studied under famed glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. Farbstein herself has been sculpting professionally for 50 years, formerly teaching high school art in Pittsburgh and designing jewelry for major retailers.

The next step is to get more name recognition, so art fans know when they hear the guild's name what they're getting. They plan to make tags members can place on their art, so when it's displayed elsewhere, visitors will know it was given the stamp of approval from the guild.

"We want (the guild) to be come synonymous with high-end crafters," she said.

This story was originally published December 9, 2011 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Artists add another dimension."