Rochester Institute of Technology - Techmila / Ramikin Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

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Ernest Brace Tage Frid Liv Gjelsvik Behind the new green and red door of the S.A.C. works a mighty little group. It’s a little corps of fifty people who con- sider themselves one big family whose might lies in its creative cortexes and educated hands. In this family’s house there are many rooms from basement to the attic that are filled with the tools for their creative work. This family has five members. First, “the Brains,” so to speak, the creative artist teacher who is well known in company where the Bauhaus and the New Bauhaus are dis- cussed with knowing nods. These “brains” are the inspiring leaders who direct the flow of the family’s work and help solve their problems. A puff of sawdust blown off the woodshop member of the S.A.C family reveals a brow of concentration and a smile of pleasure as his tough, agile fingers skate across a newly-finished wood surface. The smell of pine, cedar, and cherry mingles with sweat and varnishes. Mary E. Baker Experimentation with basic art mediums Applying glaze in the pottery shop Thirteen

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AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN

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Fred Meyer Joan Meyer Charles Reese Olin Russum Frans Wildenhain John Prip “Basketweaver,” the next member is called, but he is a textile student, not an Indian cross legged on an adobe floor. In his domain an occasional sob may be heard when a thread breaks or when a maze of multiples becomes confused in the middle of price calculations for three yards of material that bears his distinctive patterns. Beautiful fabrics for uphol- stery, draperies, or tablewear arc taken off the looms with pride and relief. The mudslinger” in his pot-shop uses his tempered ner- ves to wedge clay, mix glazes, and throw” pots (at times, literally). But this third member of the family often enough grins through his smudgy face when the kiln brings perma- nence to the slinger's hand-wrought clayey vision. The last member of the family is the metal worker or “tin bender,” who may be found in his noisy shop, where he lustily whacks his medium into shiny, balanced new shapes. Then he holds in his skilled hands a glistening, highly- polished, three-dimensional design. Once a year with bags, boxes and long train tickets the journeymen of this family head toward New York. There they see other craftsmen and their products of design w hieh the journeymen compare with their own contempo- rary craftsmanship. From eight to five each day this mighty little S.A.C. family, R.l.T.’s newest, shapes its future with enthusiastic skill. We acknowledge their contributions to modern design. Winding on the ways Fitting in woodworking Fourteen Throwing a piece on the wheel Attaching handles to ceramics