What is success? Each of the new American Craft Council Fellows defines it differently – yet, in their answers, there is a common thread. It’s not medals or prizes. It’s not premier fellowships or financial rewards, though no one disputes their impact. It’s getting to spend whole days, uninterrupted, in the studio. It’s seeing a piece suddenly come together in your hands.

This shared sense of what matters most is part of what makes the American Craft Council Awards so different.

“This distinction is recognition not by critics, scholars, or collectors, but by one’s peers,” says Perry Price, ACC’s director of education. Active members of the College nominate and elect the new members. Since 1975, nearly 300 individuals have been welcomed into the fellowship; to be eligible, they must have demonstrated excellence in their discipline over at least 25 years. The Gold Medal, the College’s supreme honor, is awarded to a single previously inducted Fellow.

“This was the first time I had the opportunity to observe the election process,” says Stuart Kestenbaum, director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and the ACC trustee who headed the awards committee.

“While all of these artists have received many awards, it was clear that they were deeply moved by this particular award, because it came from others who know the field and who understand what it means to make a lifelong commitment to this creative endeavor.”

When inducting new Fellows, the Council confers two additional awards, honoring those who have bolstered the field. The Award of Distinction is reserved for individuals and organizations that have made significant, sustained contributions to craft. The Aileen Osborn Webb Award, named for the Council’s visionary founder, honors exceptional philanthropic support.

The Council will celebrate all of these people this fall with an exhibition at SOFA Chicago, November 1 – 4, and a reception at the nearby InterContinental Chicago hotel. In the meantime, we’re delighted to present them to you here: the 2012 ACC Award winners, masters in their fields.

Click on each award winner below to read their profile, watch a video of our studio/home visits, and see images of their work:

Stephen De Staebler
Anne Currier
Lewis Knauss
Sharon Church
Bruce Pepich
Dante Marioni
Andrea Gill
Tom Loeser
Sherri Smith
Sidney D. Rosoff
Nancy M. McNeil

Join us in Chicago for the awards ceremony by buying your ticket online today.