Arts & Crafts Profiles: Juliarose Triebes and Keith Wiesinger

by Kate Nixon

On September 21^st, 2018, the Roycroft Campus opened their recent exhibit Messengers of Elysium, a two-person show featuring a collection of handmade works of furniture and textiles, highlighting the nature-based motifs as metaphors for an interdependence on nature. The two artists and makers behind the show, Juliarose Triebes and Keith Wiesinger who have collaborated before, use the visuals of bees, trees, and butterflies with Roycroft-inspired wooden furniture – with newly unveiled butterfly and honeycomb joints – to honor both nature and maker and to show visitors one of many expressions of craft. “Myths and stories help remind us of the folly in the destruction of our ecosystem partners,” says Triebes. “These works are designed to occupy our domestic spaces; where ritual happens, where we gather with our families for sustenance, where we consort with our friends. It is in these ritual spaces of gathering and sustenance where I want people to contemplate these themes.” Triebes, who holds a BA and MFA in Fine Arts with a concentration in Textiles, uses themes of mythology and natural elements to emphasize a celebration of both nature and the handmade – both cornerstones of the Arts and Crafts movement which historically started as a rejection of the Industrial era and a concentration on a connection with the natural world and local makers. “I find thinking about and working with myths about interdependence has helped me reach a greater understanding of this world and our place in it.”

 

After 4 plus years of lectures and exhibitions and workshops I thought, ‘This is it. This is what I love, and this is what I’m going to do.'” – Juliarose Triebes

 

 

 

It’s really interesting that being immersed in the math, design work, and craftsmanship of the shop often releases a “mental block” at the day job. – Keith Wiesinger

 

Wiesinger, a designer and builder of furniture for over 40 years, founded the Wilson Crafts Guild in 1999 when his antique restoration work led to requests for new pieces reflecting the Arts & Crafts movement. Today, his works are featured in private collections across the country. His exposure to the movement echoed from his youth in Western New York, which gives his show at the Roycroft Campus special meaning.  “I remember the Inn in disrepair, many campus properties sold off, and the Power House burning down. This place has so much history, it’s Arts and Crafts ‘Holy Ground’, says Wiesinger. “Having my works on exhibit in the rebuilt powerhouse is a genuine thrill, and an appreciated result of my 15-year relationship with the Roycroft Campus Corporation.” After being taught by his Grandfather for many years, Wiesinger rediscovered his love of woodworking after a career in the Auto Industry, triggering a need to work with his hands. “I started building and designing again, it was fun, relaxing, and provided (and still provides) balance for me. It’s really interesting that being immersed in the math, design work, and craftsmanship of the shop often releases a “mental block” at the day job.”

Triebes found her mentor in college studying textiles – Professor Carol Westfall, the head of the Textiles department – and developed that love through several trips led by Professor Westfall. “If she had been invited to a lecture by a famous maker, or to an art opening celebrating the works of a great textile craftsman, she would have us pile into her car and she would share the experience with us,” says Triebes. “I even remember her driving us all the way to Washington D.C for a private reception at the Textile Museum. We understood, deeply, the investment she was making in us.” A few years later, she knew. “After 4 plus years of lectures and exhibitions and workshops I thought, “This is it. This is what I love, and this is what I’m going to do.” Her love of making – and collecting – shines through in her show, along with the determination to keep the movement alive in future generations. “My collection for the most part emphasizes living artists and craftsmen because that’s how I can ensure Craft can continue after I stop collecting. For some reason hand-makers are unusually singled out as old-fashioned or, pun intended, out of touch. Maybe because most people don’t register that they have experiences with objects. We have too many objects, too many soulless, insignificant objects, and not enough beautiful, useful, handmade objects.”

In terms of inspiring the next generation of makers and artists, their message is clear: just keep making. “Don’t be afraid or get paralyzed,” says Wiesinger. “If you have a cool idea, figure out how to execute it. This is art, there is no wrong.”

 

Messengers of Elysium will be on display at the Roycroft Campus in the Chur Family Gallery through November 25^th, 2018. For more information about the exhibit, please visit the Chur Gallery page at the Roycroft Campus’ website at http://www.roycroftcampuscorporation.com/index.php/events/chur-gallery