Ellie Richards (American), Sculptural Box with Drawer

Blue and white painted box with green painted fitted drawer, applied strap handle, drilled plank to side with striped paper decoration, signed to side. Proceeds to benefit the general Penland Scholarship.

15 x 6 x 6 3/8 in.

Being sold to benefit Penland School of Craft, Penland, North Carolina

Penland’s scholarship program exists to make their workshops accessible to those who are not able to participate without financial assistance and to create educational opportunities for people who have been underrepresented at Penland and in the craft world. Proceeds from this auction will help fund existing scholarships, with some proceeds designated towards specific scholarships as noted in the listings.

As a furniture designer and sculptor, Ellie Richards is interested in the role the furniture and domestic objects play in creating opportunities for a deeper connection between people and their sense of place. Ellie looks to the tradition of both woodworking and the readymade to create eclectic assemblage, installation, and objects exploring intersections of labor, leisure, community, and culture. Her work, both furniture, and sculpture, has been included in exhibitions at the Mint Museum; Center for Craft; SOFA Chicago, and the Society of Contemporary Craft. Richards was awarded Windgate residencies at the Center for Art in Wood, the wood/furniture design programs at San Diego State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Richards maintains an active teaching schedule including Yestermorrow Design/Build School, Appalachian Center for Craft, and Haystack Mountain School of Craft. In 2021/22 Ellie Richards and Annie Evelyn were co-fellows for the Furniture Society: Craft for a Greater Good Initiative partnering with UNCA Steam Studio and BeLoved. Most recently, she was the Penland School of Craft Resident Artist from 2020-2023 and an instructor in 2024.

Good condition