Craft and new technology are often viewed in opposition to each other. Machine-made production is frequently framed as undermining the handmade qualities that craft celebrates and embodies. In the age of computer-aided design and virtual production, artists and craft practitioners are increasingly exploring how new technologies can extend rather than replace the hand.
This panel considers how twenty-first centurymakers are reconciling the handmade with the digitally made. How are new technologies becoming extensions of the artist’s hand, allowing for new forms, processes, and modes of making? How do digital tools support, challenge, or complicate traditional ideas of craft with considerations to material sensitivity, skill, labor, and creative problem-solving? Through the presentations and conversation, panelists will discuss this evolving relationship between craft traditions and technologies while exploring how contemporary artists are redefining what is included in one’s toolbox and what it means to make by hand.
Moderator: Scott Meador
Scott Meador is a professor of Art & Design at UCA and an interdisciplinary artist with a background in fine art, computer graphics, theatrical design, and filmmaking. He teaches courses in animation and interactive media, art and design foundations, digital fabrication, and woodworking. His artwork spans multiple media—including projection mapping, painting, drawing, stained glass, woodworking, and blacksmithing. Professionally, Scott specializes in live-event productions, including screen content for internationally known recording artists’ concert tours, as well as concert set design and visualization.
Panelist: Jason Huselton
Jason Huselton is an artist, designer, and maker whose work bridges the worlds of sculpture, technology, and craftsmanship. With a background in fine arts and over two decades of experience in technology and design, Jason transforms ideas into tangible creations through 3D modeling, digital fabrication, prototyping, and traditional sculptural techniques. As the coordinator of the University of Central Arkansas Makerspace, Jason has spent years helping others explore creativity through 3D printing, laser fabrication, and innovative making processes. His own work combines imagination and technical skill, creating everything from functional prototypes and custom designs to detailed sculptures and pop-culture-inspired pieces. Driven by curiosity and a passion for bringing concepts to life, Jason blends the artistry of hand-crafted objects with the possibilities of modern technology, proving that creativity has no boundaries between art, engineering, and storytelling.
Panelist: Eliza Au
Eliza Au is an artist working in clay using digital fabrication techniques. She earned her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and her BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Au has shown her work nationally and internationally, including at: the Appalachian Center for Craft; the Taiwan Ceramic Biennale, and the Korean International Ceramic Biennale. She has previously attended residencies at the European Ceramic Work Center, the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, and the Northern Clay Center. She recently had a solo exhibition at the Crow Museum of Asian Art in Dallas, TX as part of the Texas Ties series. Her work is in several permanent collections including the Everson Museum of Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Victorian and Albert Museum. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Au is currently based out of Texas where she is an Associate Professor of Studio Art, Ceramics at the University of North Texas.
Panelist: Jonathan Hils
Jonathan Hils is a Professor of Sculpture at the University of Oklahoma, where he's taught since 2002. He received his BFA from Georgia State University in 1996 and his MFA in sculpture from Tulane University in 1999. Hils has presented eleven solo exhibitions and participated in over forty group exhibitions nationwide in the past decade, including a solo exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Hils has also completed over 40 commissioned projects across the U.S. and internationally, for several private, corporate, and civic collections, including those in Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, China, and Australia. He is represented by Walker Fine Art in Denver, Colorado. Jonathan Hils resides in Norman, Oklahoma, with his wife Jackie, their daughter Ruby, and their three dogs.
