SAC selects winner of Mineck Fellowship

Beatriz Mayorca of Oklahoma City, Okla. is the recipient of the 2019 John D. Mineck Fellowship, which includes a $25,000 award, from the Society of Arts+Crafts.

The foundation was formed in 2007 to award charitable and educational gifts reflecting Mineck’s interests and values. Mineck was a past president of SAC’s board of trustees.

“Beatriz represents all of the core qualities of the fellowship: a young-in-career furniture maker who is producing exciting and innovative work. In her application she detailed how the fellowship would advance her career as a furniture maker by allowing her access to classes in new techniques and materials, as well as helping her to upgrade her studio. With this fellowship Beatriz will be able to advance her career and we cannot wait to see what she makes next,” says juror Sam Aldrich.

Mayorca plans to use the award to attend a workshop taught by 2013 Mineck Fellow Vivian Beer in Pembroke, N.H. that explores the relationship between digital design and production.

“Vivian has been developing an outstanding career, making artistic furniture mainly using metal. In her workshop, I am going to learn, side by side, new 3-D software technology, and the hand skill and manipulation of the metal,” says Mayorca. “Also, the financial support of this fellowship is going to help me to buy the software and hardware needed for this class; and some tools required to improve my studio space.”

A native of Venezuela, Mayorca came to the United States in 2005 and holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of Central Oklahoma. Focusing on sculptural and functional artistic pieces, she incorporates mosaic, woodwork, and poured concrete into her work which can be found at contemporary galleries throughout Oklahoma. She has also been commissioned to design bike racks for the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. and a park in Oklahoma City.

For more, visit www.societyofcrafts.org. 

This article originally appeared in the November 2019 issue.