Forging human connection
- Erica handcrafts delicate, architectural tableware
- Her breakthrough came while making a simple spoon
- She seeks to power human connection through her pieces and her practice
Erica Moody is a metalworker and educator who creates tableware in brass, copper and stainless steel, as well as designs custom cabinet hardware. Her creative practice began with much larger scale work, in the architectural engineering realm. After studying photography at Hampshire College, and through an apprenticeship to sculptor Pierre Tresfort, Erica learned to brainstorm inventive engineering solutions. She developed and ran her own large-scale architectural metalwork shop for 20 years before changing tack to create spoons and utensils. “When I started creating smaller items in my own voice, including a collection of unique tableware, back in 2016, I was amazed by people’s reactions,” she says. Working from her midcoast Maine barn studio, she now balances her creative practice with leading private workshops and teaching at institutions like Haystack, Penland, RISD, MassArt and Harvard.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
One day, looking for a way to deal with stress, I crafted a spoon. I found the process remarkably fulfilling. I posted a picture on Instagram and that opened a door to a whole area of metalworking that I had not considered.
In our digital world, people hunger for personal connection. Creating these utensils is meaningful for me. I think people sense the energy, the intimacy even, that goes into handcrafting these unique tools for daily life.
I love making metalworking accessible and sharing with other creatives what I have learned along the way. But I also get so much inspiration from the community that is created through learning. Adding colour to my pieces, for example, came from that experience.
Cultivating creative community is increasingly important to me. From my local artistic community, to developing a Maine Creative Residency, to collaborations with other Homo Faber artisans around the world, I am excited about mixing mediums and designing new things.
