Jan Peters, co-founder and director of del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles, died on December 5 at age 64 after a 12-year battle with cancer.

Peters founded del Mano with her business partner Ray Leier in 1973, during the craft movement's hippie heyday. She was an early supporter of seminal artists like Sam Maloof, Dale Chihuly, Kay Sekimachi, and Bob Stocksdale, among many others, exhibiting their work long before the rest of the world took note. Her nurturing relationship with artists, collectors, and curators helped grow the field of studio craft, encouraging artists to grow and experiment, and collectors to expand their collections and seek out new work. She was instrumental in placing fine craft pieces into the permanent collections of museums around the world.

Beyond her work with the gallery, she was a lecturer and coauthor of books on contemporary craft, and was active with the Collectors of Wood Art, the Los Angeles Glass Alliance, the National Basketry Organization, and the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+). She was an in-demand speaker and juror, jurying the Smithsonian Craft Show and the Philadelphia Art Museum Show among other craft shows.

Peters is survived by David Peters, her husband of thirty years, and her sister Dale Carolyn Gluckman of Los Angeles, as well as two nieces, a nephew, and many cousins.

Peters was a true champion of craft. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Jan's memory to CERF+, P.O. Box 838, Montpelier, VT 05601; phone: (802) 229-2306 or www.craftemergency.org. When reviewing your donation on-line, please note it is in memory of Jan Peters.