One of our own!

Whoa! The Craft Mafia's very own Rachel Bone is one of 26 semi-finalists for this year's prestigious Sondheim award. This is awesome!

from the Baltimore Sun:
...

Sondheim arts prize names 26 semifinalists

Exhibit coincides with Artscape

By Edward Gunts | ed.gunts@baltsun.com

5:46 PM EST, February 11, 2009

Twenty-six visual artists or groups from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia were named semifinalists today for the fourth annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize, one of the most prestigious arts awards in the Baltimore area.

Named for civic leaders who were strong supporters of the arts, the prize includes a $25,000 fellowship to a visual artist or "visual artist collaborative" working in the Baltimore region. About six finalists will be selected in the spring, and an exhibit of their work will be shown at the Baltimore Museum of Art during the summer. An exhibit of the semifinalists' work will be shown in the Decker and Meyerhoff galleries at the Maryland Institute College of Art in July, coinciding with the 2009 Artscape festival from July 17-18. The winner of the Sondheim prize will be announced at 7 p.m. July 11 at the BMA. This year's competition drew 334 entries.

The competition is sponsored by Mayor Sheila Dixon and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, and the juried exhibition is held in conjunction with the BMA and MICA. Judges for this year's prize are Ellen Harvey, a New York-based artist; Valerie Cassel Oliver, curator of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; and Elisabeth Sussman, a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

The semifinalists are:

• Seth Adelsberger, Baltimore

• "Alzaruba," also known as Al Zaruba, Baltimore

•The Baltimore Development Cooperative, Baltimore. The cooperative includes Scott Berzofsky, Dane Nester and Nicholas Wisniewski, who are working on a community farm/art project in East Baltimore. Berzofsky and Wisniewski are former founding members of the artist collective known as Camp Baltimore.

•Lisa Blas, Washington, D.C.

• Rachel Bone, Baltimore

• Jessica Braiterman, Beltsville

• Travis Childers, Fairfax, Va.

• Mary Coble, Washington, D.C.

• R.L. Croft, Manassas, Va.

• Alyssa Dennis, Baltimore

• Liz Ensz, Baltimore

• Leslie Furlong, Baltimore

• Ryan Hackett, Kensington

• Christian Herr, Lancaster, Pa.

• Jason Horowitz, Arlington, Va.

• Jessie Lehson, Baltimore

• Kim Manfredi, Baltimore

• Katherine Mann, Baltimore

• Baby Martinez, Washington, D.C.

• Sebastian Martorana, Baltimore

• Lisa Moren, Baltimore

• Ellen Nielsen, Baltimore

• Louie Palu, Washington, D.C.

• Molly Springfield, Washington, D.C.

• "TwoCan Collective," Baltimore. TwoCan Collective consists of two women, "Emily C-D" and Jessica Unterhalter, who often make work using recycled materials.

• Karen Yasinsky, Baltimore

...

Congratulations, Rachel! We'll be rooting for you all the way to Artscape!