CWA had a wonderful informal gathering at SOFA Chicago from October 5 to 7. It was with great trepidation that we planned the program due to the fact that SOFA came merely five weeks after the tragic September 11 events and one week before the formal CWA Forum in Minneapolis.

In fact, both SOFA and CWA were pleasantly surprised by the near normal turnout of artists, collectors and galleries. More than 27,000 people attended SOFA, and CWA had 100 members in attendance. The galleries selling wood art included Blue Spiral 1, del Mano Gallery, Finer Things Gallery, Gallery Materia, R. Duane Reed Gallery, Heller Gallery, Leo Kaplan Modern and William Zimmer Gallery. Sales were surprisingly good.

Alan Nachman, in charge of the event, arranged for CWA to sponsor or co-sponsor three very successful and well-attended lectures:

CWA sponsored a panel on creativity and how the artist, collector, gallery and museum collaborate to promote heightened awareness of creativity in society. The panelists included David McFadden, Chief Curator of the American Craft Museum, moderator; Doug Heller of Heller Gallery; Bruce Pepich, Director of the Wustum Museum, Racine, Wisconsin; David Groth, artist; and Ron Wornick, collector. The discussion was active, heated and illuminating. The major theme was the need for real artistic criticism and how to produce it without hard feelings.

As an appetizer for the upcoming formal CWA Forum being held in conjunction with the opening of “Wood Turning in North America Since 1930” at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, David Ellsworth, artist, and Glen Adamson, critic and curator, gave their view of the state of contemporary woodturning. In his talk, "Then and Now," David gave a comprehensive slide show of work he had admired over the years and discussed its growth and change. Glen previewed the Minneapolis show and book, “Wood Turning in North America Since 1930.”

A dear friend of the wood movement, Sam Maloof, spoke eloquently about his life's work, which was timely in view of the very successful retrospective of his work at the Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC. Showing slides, Sam talked about his influences and inspirations in more than 50 years of making furniture. We also had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Beverly, whom he married last summer.

CWA had an informal board meeting, but the membership meeting was delayed until the following week in Minneapolis. We are pleased with our decision to always have a presence at SOFA.