BOSTON — The Society of Arts + Crafts awarded a woodworking artist and leather artist with grants in its second round of the Craft Innovation Jumpstarter Grant program. 

Grant recipients included Laura Petrovich-Cheney from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and Sarah Madeleine T. Guerin from Wakefield, Massachusetts. Petrovich-Cheney's work with salvaged wood encourages playfulness in craft, and Guerin’s practice reimagines the art of leather bootmaking. The awards were announced July 19.

Petrovich-Cheney's art process includes collecting wood after natural disasters and using it to create wall sculptures. Her pieces are inspired by traditional women’s textiles, crafts, and American patchwork scrap quilts. 

Petrovich-Cheney is running a program that highlights connections between play and creativity. In June, she gathered working sculptors, fiber artists and an engineer-artist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab to discuss play through the lens of materials experimentation. Her Craft Innovation Jumpstarter Grant funds this two-part project, which will bring artists together around the topic and support the exhibition development. 

Additionally, Petrovich-Cheney is a part-time elementary school art teacher and the artist-in-residence at the Boston Children’s Museum. The museum is hosting her latest exhibition, “Weather Shapes, Wooden Quilts,” and will display it through September 4. 

“Craft and play are essential in promoting creativity, problem-solving and self-expression, as well as providing a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment,” Petrovich-Cheney said. “The core of play for me is experimentation, imagination, and freedom, which allow me to step outside my comfort zone and explore new possibilities without fear of failure or judgment. Adopting a playful mindset allows me to work with new motifs, such as houses and stars, and create innovative work full of energy and vitality.” 

“The applications showed many artists need support to move their work forward,” said Lois Russell, a former trustee of The Society of Arts + Crafts. “The proposals also painted a picture of how artists are looking to be supported. Through financial means of course, but also in the need to rejoin communities after the pandemic, and find ongoing training and mentorship.” 

For more information on The Society of Arts + Crafts, visit societyofcrafts.org