Bruce Dehnert - head of Ceramics at Peters Valley School of Craft - was recently elected as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. The Academy, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an official partner of UNESCO. Dehnert will be installed during the organization’s Congress  in Barcelona, Spain this month.
 
As the leading organization of ceramics in the world, the IAC coordinates with UNESCO to bring expertise in the medium of ceramics to its cultural, scientific, and diplomatic objectives. Membership in the Academy is composed of artists, writers, museum experts, designers, and a number of prestigious institutions from all five continents.

Mr. Dehnert, along with three other American ceramicists, will be inducted into the IAC during their conference in Barcelona, Spain in 2016. The selection recognizes Dehnert’s contributions as an artist as well as his teaching, writing, and presence in the international arena of ceramic art.

A studio potter and sculptor for 35 years, Dehnert is originally from Wyoming and moved to New York City in 1986 to teach at Hunter College. In 1991, Dehnert received his MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University. Since that time, Dehnert has taught in New Zealand, on the Island of Borneo and many educational/Art centers in the United States.
 
For further information;
http://brucedehnert.blogspot.com/
http://www.aic-iac.org/en/

Furniture designer Vivian Beer, who began her career as a teenager, talks openly with host Stuart Kestenbaum about her love of making and building. She talks about her time at both Haystack Mountain as a teenager and Penland as a resident artist and the Desert Design Lab, where she took her creative process out to the Western desert with other visiting artists. 

“Having conversations with leading and emerging craft artists gives me the opportunity to dig deeply behind the scenes,” says Kestenbaum. “Every episode gives us a special look at the person behind the work, their ideas and the inspiration that helps them achieve excellence in this field.”
 
The podcast is a project of CraftSchools.us and is part of “The Craft School Experience” initiative that promotes the value of immersive, residential craft schools across the country. All podcasts can be found at http://www.craftschools.us/podcast.html