National Magazine Honors Area Craftsperson

June 2007—FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Gary Carter of Auburn, West Virginia, ranks as one of the top traditional artisans in America, according to a panel of experts convened by Early American Life magazine. The experts—curators from such prestigious institutions as the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, American Folk Art Museum, Charleston Museum, Hancock Shaker Village, Heritage Center of Lancaster County, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Old Sturbridge Village, and Strawbery Banke Museum as well as antiques dealers, independent scholars, and professional instructors—selected the top craftspeople working with traditional tools and techniques for the magazine’s 22nd annual Directory of Traditional American Crafts. Carter’s handcrafted furniture showed mastery of the art form, heritage techniques, and workmanship, according to the judges.