Announcing the Featured Artist and an inaugural distinction for the 60th Annual Craft + Design

The kids are back in school, temperatures are dropping, and pumpkins are lined up outside grocery stores. It can only mean one thing: Craft + Design is coming. 

Craft + Design, VisArts’ annual contemporary craft show, is coming back to Main Street Station for its 60th anniversary at the end of November. Each year, VisArts recognizes a Featured Artist to showcase the exceptional, museum-quality work that is on display and for purchase at our show. And this year, we are proud to recognize an incredible glass studio as our Featured Artist at Craft + Design: Hokanson Dix Glass.  

Artists Bengt Hokanson and Trefny Dix, the duo behind Hokanson Dix Glass, are known for their distinctive blown glass vessels and their mixed media sculptures. Making their fourth appearance at Craft + Design this year, Hokanson Dix Glass is exhibiting among the 160 artists from across the country, making it our largest show to date. 

Hokanson and Dix have lived throughout the United States in various cities, the Blue Ridge Mountains, deserts of the Southwest, and presently, along the shores of Long Island in East Hampton, NY. Referencing the landscapes of these diverse regions of the country, the artists blend classical Italian, Scandinavian, and other glass working techniques to make glass sculptures, creating color stories and palettes unique to each place. 

“Their painterly and colorful patterns really made their work stand out to us,” shared VisArts executive director, Jordan Brown. “Since they first exhibited at Craft + Design in 2021, Hokanson Dix Glass has been a favorite among VisArts staff and past attendees alike. We’re really proud to shine a spotlight on them during this milestone year for the show.”  

As we reflect on 60 years of Craft + Design, we’ve had a front row seat to witnessing the great impact this show can have on the businesses of exhibiting artists. In the spirit of supporting and celebrating fellow makers at all stages in their careers, VisArts is introducing a new distinction to honor an Emerging Artist at the 60th Annual Craft + Design. 

Our jury has selected Rashana Miller of Free Maiden as our Inaugural Emerging Artist for Craft + Design. Ten years ago this November, Miller kickstarted her artistic practice at VisArts. “Taking that first metalsmithing class at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond awakened something inside of me,” shared Miller. “Thirty minutes into that first jewelry making class, I knew I was home.”  

Today, Miller is the creator behind Free Maiden, a bold and sculptural jewelry brand offering handmade adornment. Fabricated with various metals, Miller draws inspiration from nature, indigenous art, and primitive form. She explores manipulating metal into bold, sculptural art that feels both precious and powerful, with a mission to create adornment that is soulful and intimate. 

From glass vessels to metal wearable art and beyond, we can’t wait to usher in our 60th anniversary celebrations with the incredible makers that bring life and spark creativity at Craft + Design. Save the date for this year’s show, taking place November 22 – 24, 2024 at Main Street Station. Tickets go on sale October 7—stay tuned for more information to come!