The Furniture Society elects new trustees to board
The Furniture Society will welcome six new trustees to the board when it convenes its semi-annual meeting, August 13-14, in Durham, NC.

Joining the board--------

Dorothy Leigh Bell of Brooklyn, NY, is the Society's student representative. A 2004 graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a B.A. in art history, she later studied furniture design for four years at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco. She has established her furniture workshop in Brooklyn and also works for textile designer Elyse Allen in her New York studio.

Vivian Beer of Asheville, NC, earned a B.F.A. in sculpture from Maine College of Art, Portland, in 2000, and an M.F.A. with a major in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2004. She established Vivien Beer Studio Works in Asheville in 2005, the same year she began a three-year residency at Penland School of Crafts. Her work presently focuses on the use of steel in furniture and sculpture.

Forest Dickey of San Francisco, CA, is founder and owner of Varian Designs, specializing in one-of-a-kind furniture that combines traditional architectural forms with innovative design. He holds a B.A. degree in fine art and art history from the University of Chicago and an M.F.A. in furniture design from San Diego State University. Dickey previously served on the Society board in 2006-2007 as student representative.

Steffanie Dotson of San Diego, CA, studied cabinet and furniture technology at Palomar College of Woodworking, CA, and applied design at San Diego State University with an emphasis on furniture, receiving a B.A. cum laude. She has played an active role in two of the annual Society conferences, in Savannah, GA, in 2004, and in San Diego, in 2005. She operates a furniture studio in San Diego and also teaches part time.

Dennis Miller of New York, an architect, founded his firm Dennis Miller Associates in 1984 to manufacture and distribute fine contemporary furniture, lighting and carpets. Among the designers and craftsmen he has represented are Clodagh, Patrik Naggar and Wendell Castle. The company's 5,000 sq. ft. showroom is open to the trade at the New York Design Center. In 2008 Miller served as a juror for the Society's exhibition "Multiplicity: The Art of the Furniture Prototype" at the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, NY.

Andy Pitts of Heathersville, VA, is a graduate of the Naval War College, RI, and the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. He served 30 years in various commands in the U. S. Navy, retiring with captain's rank in 2002. Over the same period he nurtured a deep interest in furniture making and is self-taught. He established his workshop in Northumberland County, VA--- complete with a sawmill and solar drying kiln---where he uses mostly pre-fallen hardwoods, harvesting, milling and drying the woods himself.

Leaving the board this August following two three-year terms are Michael Puryear of Shokan, NY, who served as chair of the Nominations Committee, and Lynn Szymanski of Rollinswood, NH, who for a number of years edited Furniture Matters, the Society
newsletter. Andy Glantz, president of the Society for the last two years, is also completing two terms but as past president will remain on the board for an additional year.

Effective July 15, the Society officers, who form the Executive Committee, will be: Alf Sharp of Woodbury, TN, president; Sylvia Bennett of Oakland, CA, vice president; Lois Moran of New York City, treasurer; and Mark Bench of New York City, secretary.

The Furniture Society is a nonprofit, educational organization founded in 1996. Its mission is to advance the art of furniture making by inspiring creativity, promoting excellence and fostering understanding of this art and its place in our culture. In addition to holding an annual conference attracting wide attendance, the Society sponsors national and regional exhibitions, publishes exhibition catalogs and the newsletter Furniture Matters, and honors outstanding achievement in the field through its Award of Distinction program. The Furniture Society Educational Endowment was established in 2006 to support career advancement in the field. Membership in the Society is open to all.

SOURCE: The Furniture Society

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