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Craft Marketing Program
Marie Emlen Hochstrasser Named Rude Osolnik Award Recipient for 2005
Frankfort--Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, a division of the Kentucky Arts Council, and the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft will honor Marie Emlen Hochstrasser of Lexington, Kentucky with the 10th annual Rude Osolnik Award for 2005. The award honors its namesake, Rude Osolnik, the nationally acclaimed wood turner from Berea, Kentucky, who devoted his life to the development of his craft and teaching. This prestigious award recognizes artists for their contributions to the craft community, preservation of craft traditions through teaching and sharing, and exemplary workmanship. Previous recipients are Alma Lesch, Emily Wolfson, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Homer Ledford, Joseph Molinaro, Stephen Rolfe Powell, Bryon Temple (posthumously) Tim Glotzbach, and Lysbeth Wallace.
Marie attended Smith College and California College of Arts And Crafts prior to receiving her B.A. in Applied Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles and acquiring her Masters Degree in Art Education/ Textile Research from the University of Oregon.
From 1960 to 1964 Marie taught Art Education at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky followed by a year as visiting instructor in the Department of Art at Asbury College, She taught for the next nine years at the University of Kentucky’s (UK) Department of Art. During this time she also conducted regional workshops in regional fiber techniques.
Marie began her private business career as co-owner of Yarn & Fiber Art, which she helped start in 1978. She also co-owned and operated Yarn & Fiber Studio from 1981-1991 and in 1991 individually opened the Kentucky Looms & Wheels Outlet, which is still in operation.
For the past 40 years, she has continued her work as a master fiber artist and served as an officer in many organizations on a state and national level. She was awarded a lifetime membership for her 39 years of service in the Lexington Art League and served as their president for two years. She has been a member of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen since 1961 and that organization’s president for three years. Marie has also been a member of the Lexington Arts and Cultural Council for many years and has served in an official capacity for more than 18 years with two of those years as president. As president for the Lexington Council for the Arts, she played a key role in the purchase and development of a cultural arts center known as Arts Place in Lexington. She was one of the founders of Kentucky’s Fiber Guild and served three terms as president, helping them secure several important grants from the Kentucky Arts Council. She participated in the founding of the Bluegrass Printmakers Co-op in January 2005, which now gives graduates from printmaking at UK, teachers, students, and the public at large, an opportunity to build a program to create their own work.
Marie received the Medallion of the Arts Award from Lexington Council for the Arts in recognition for 20 years of service to community arts. She has been awarded numerous grants to develop and teach a variety of projects in school systems in Kentucky including Lexington, Jessamine County, and Berea. The Kentucky Arts Council awarded her their TIP Grant, which allowed her to present,
“Tapestries in the School Art Room Setting” to 4th and 5th grade students in Jessamine County Public Schools. A Lexington Arts & Cultural Council made it possible for her to teach “Contemporary Tapestries in the School Room Setting” in Fayette County Public Schools, resulting in the “Warp Six Exhibition”, at the Lexington Children’s Museum for Youth Art Month in the year of American Craft 1993. These are two of many examples of the work she has contributed over the years.
“ My goal has always been to encourage young and old to explore the arts, just as it invigorates my life. We want to pursue excellence in the medium an we need to get all ages started down this path,” said Marie.
On a national level she has played an active roll in the American Craft Council Southeast regional assembly (ACCSE), and since 1977 has served as the official representative from Kentucky. She has been secretary since 1982. Marie has also been a member of the Handweavers Guild of America since 1972. She currently serves as the Kentucky representative for the Handweaver’s Guild of America.
Presently, she is involved in the planning for the 2006 American Craft Council/Southeast Regional conference being held in Louisville, Kentucky, March 24 & 25, 2006 and is an active board member for the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, Kentucky. In March 2005, she received lifetime juried status with the Craft Marketing Program as a “Kentucky Crafted Emeritus” honoree.
As a writer she has had numerous articles published in newspapers and magazines such as Handwoven, Arts Across Kentucky, The Crafts Report, and School Arts Magazine, to name a few.
“Often times, when someone contributes so much to an effort over a long period of time and often in a low profile, we forget how much that individual has done. We have no idea what the arts in Kentucky would be like if Marie hadn’t been offering her time and energy all these years,” said Nancy Bronner, Editor of Arts Across Kentucky.
Marie Hochstrasser will be honored at a dinner Friday evening, August 12, 6:30 p.m. in conjunction with ” Craft Business Today: Assess Your Goals and Plan For Success,” an artisans workshop weekend at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, July 25-26, 2003. This annual event is sponsored by the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program and the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft with assistance from The Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen, Berea College, and the Artisan Center at Berea. The workshop will present a series of sessions to provide artisans a step-by-step approach to planning, assessment and, in turn, help identify resources so that they can “be the artists”.
The Kentucky Craft Marketing Program is a division of the Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency in the Commerce Cabinet, Commonwealth of Kentucky.
For more information, visit the KCMP website, www.kycraft.ky.gov, call toll free 888-592-7238, local calls 502-564-8110 ext. 471, or e-mail kycraft@ky.gov.
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Since 1981, the Craft Marketing Program's mission is to develop the state's craft industry, support and empower Kentucky artisans and craftspeople, create an economically viable environment for craft entrepreneurs, preserve the state's craft traditions, stimulate and support product development, and generate public awareness, public support and public/private partnerships.
The Program provides assistance to Kentucky residents, individuals, or groups wanting to develop as craft professionals through economic opportunities and training, to other outside entities (e.g., craft retailers, craft and art organizations, community and government agencies), and the general public. The craft industry in Kentucky contributes 252 million dollars in annual sales and Kentucky is recognized as a model state for its craft programs and its role in the $14 billion national craft industry.
The Kentucky Museum of Arts and Craft is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 as the Kentucky Art and Craft Foundation. Its mission is to promote excellence in the art and craft heritage of Kentucky and to support artists and educate the public through programming and exhibits. The Museum is supported in part by the Fund for the Arts and the Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency of the Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet. It is located at 715 W. Main St. in downtown Louisville. Regular Museum hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, and Saturday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, or by appointment. Admission is free. For more information, please log on to www.KentuckyArts.org or call (502) 589-0102.
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