Alumni News

CCS crafts alumna Annica Cuppetelli, ’05, is one of 13 artists to be selected for the Searchlight Artist Program at the 33rd annual American Craft Council Show February 27- March 1 at the Baltimore Convention Center. The American Craft Council show is the largest indoor, juried craft show in the nation and as such, only those artists considered to be the best-of-the-best are invited to participate following a rigorous jury process.

Participants in the Searchlight Artists program were nominated by industry experts and selected because they exemplify crafts cutting edge directions. They will join more than 700 of the nation’s top craft artists in presenting handmade working including jewelry, clothing, furniture and home décor items.

Cuppetelli lives and works in Detroit. She graduated from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI with a Master of Fine Arts in Fiber. The use of synthetic fibers is instrumental to her process of accumulating materials to express the absence or presence of the body. Cuppetelli transforms the fabric from a flat plane to generate volume by layering the material and creating a three dimensional form. The color palate and minimalist style is essential to her work. Cuppetelli works from a palette of monochromatic colors to create the illusion of a silhouette and shadow; these colors are used to accentuate the depth of the layered material. Her methodology - paired with choice of medium, layering, color, and display - creates a dramatic future for the otherwise disregarded material.