About the Founders /

Rick and Laura Brown share a passion for making. Co-founders of Handshouse Studio, they have worked together on a wide variety of sculpture, architecture, and educational collaborations since they met in 1970.

Both sculptors, Laura and Rick have developed an extensive body of sculptural installations exhibited nationally and internationally, and have played a part in the development of the Land Art Movement. Visit Rick and Laura Brown/Sculpture to learn more.

Rick and Laura founded and managed Morgan Payne Concepts (1982-1992), a design/build firm that brought together their expression of form and space with their skills as makers to reimagine the functional manifestations of house and home. Laura, the licensed contractor, and Rick, the trained architect, worked hands-on to complete over 15 full-house renovations.

Laura and Rick are both lifetime teachers. Rick taught at University of Texas (1975-1977), and The Ohio State University (1977-1981). Rick and Laura have both taught at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (Rick since 1987, and Laura since 1995). They both share a particular interest in teaching through a learn-by-doing approach, in creating opportunities for community interaction, and demonstrating the adventure of discovery by leading as fellow researchers/learners alongside their students.

It is from this shared love of learning, drive and energy for making, discipline for extensive research, and passion for creating community that Handshouse Studio was born. 

Read The Art of Anthropology by Neal Simpson—At their in-the-woods Norwell studio, a husband and wife resurrect objects largely forgotten by history…

Read The Shape Of History by Marie Allen—“How often do you get a chance to reach deep into history and bring something back…”- Rick Brown

The Board of Directors /

Founding Board Members

Rick Brown is Co-Founder and Board President of Handshouse Studio, Inc. He is a Professor of Sculpture at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He received a Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, a Master of Fine Arts from Washington University School of Fine Arts, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia. 
     Rick is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a Fulbright Scholars Research Grant to Poland, University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art: Wilson Center Visiting Scholar Program Grant, Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Award of Distinction, Sam Fox School of Washington University, Lillian Heller’s Curator’s Award, Massachusetts College of Art Center for Arts and Community Partnership Grant, ­Davis Foundation Grant through the Colleges of the Fenway, Massachusetts Artists Foundation Finalists Grant for Sculpture, Massachusetts Artists Foundation Finalists Grant for Environmental Design, National Endowment for the Arts Funding for Sculpture Installation (Decordova Museum Lincoln, MA), a Ford Foundation Grant, the Goldsmith Award, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, TN, and recently the 2015 Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from the College Art Association (CAA). You can find a full listing of activities and awards on Rick Brown’s CV.

Laura Brown is Co-founder and Board Treasurer of Handshouse Studio, and faculty of sculpture at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She earned a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a MFA from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.     
     Laura has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Lillian Heller’s Curator’s Award, Massachusetts College of Art Center for Arts and Community Partnership Grant, Visible Republic Planning Grant, Helen Blair Crosby Sculpture Award, Dondis A. Dondis Travel Fellowship and Ford Foundation Grant. 

Laura Brown’s passion for history, research, making, and teaching, and expansive set of skills in creative problem solving have been the understated backbone of Handshouse Studio from its beginnings. Laura’s indefatigable capacity has been the central driver of Handshouse Studio at every level of the organizations functions, and the reason for it’s continued rigor, execution and success. You can find a listing of many of her countless activities and awards on Laura Brown’s CV

Board of Directors Members

Rob Duarte is Associate Professor in the Department of Art at The Florida State University, where he teaches sculpture, digital fabrication, interactive art, and physical computing. He also serves as Co-Director of the FSU Facility for Arts Research. Rob earned an MFA in Visual Arts from the University of California San Diego, a BFA in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and BS in Business Information Systems with a minor in Computer & Information Science from the University of Massachusetts. At UCSD, Rob was an Ujima Scholar and a San Diego Fellow.

Rob Duart was invited to join the Board of Directors in 2020, though he has been a loyal and active Handshouse participant since the first day of his MassArt orientation in 2001. He has taken part in many Handshouse projects, including the Bushnell Turtle, the crane projects in the US and the Czech republic, the Zabludow Synagogue Model and Door project , several Wooden Synagogue project field research trips to Poland and as faculty leader for two Gwozdziec Synagogue/ Making/History travel programs to Poland: a timber frame workshop in Sanok, and a painting workshop in Kazimierz Dolny. Rob Duarte, raised in New England, currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida with his wife and two children and has an active sculpture practice exhibiting his works regionally, nationally and internationally.

Adriana Katzew is Professor in the Art Education Department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Adriana obtained her doctorate and master’s degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and her AB in American History and Literature from Harvard University. Her teaching and research focus on community engagement and social justice, and on the intersection between visual arts and ChicanaX and LatinaX activism. Adriana’s research also encompasses students of color in art colleges, as well as arts-based interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Adriana's artistic practice is photography-based, with a deep connection to documentary photography, history, and marginalized and silenced voices. 

Adriana was invited to join the Board of Directors in 2020, recognizing that Handshouse Studio is a unique, innovative, interdisciplinary, arts-based educational organization whose pedagogy deserves in-depth study, documentation, and research in order to serve as a model to be replicated, as well as located within the landscape of transformative education in the US. As a researcher in the field of education, specifically arts education with an interest in interdisciplinary and object-based teaching and learning, Adriana Katzew is leading the research for the Handshouse Studio Pedagogy project, an investigation into what defines the core philosophies driving the learning experience of a Handshouse project. Adriana’s husband and son are already avid admirers of Handshouse for its learning-by-doing philosophy. 

Eric Lemont is Counsel at Rockhill Management, LLC, an affiliate of Rockpoint (a private equity real estate firm), where he oversees legal activities in Rockhill’s Boston and northern Virginia markets. Prior to Rockhill, he worked as a real estate lawyer at National Development, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, and Goodwin Procter LLP. While in private practice, Eric represented a wide range of clients in complex commercial real estate transactions, including developers, real estate funds, REITs, banks, and insurance companies. In a prior life, he worked with American Indian tribes across the United States, first at the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development and later as outside counsel for various Indian tribes. Eric received a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, his law degree from the New York University School of Law, and a BA in History from the University of Michigan. In his free time, he enjoys reading (especially WWII history and historical fiction) and playing basketball.

Eric was invited to join the Handshouse Board of Directors in 2023, after having offered an advisory role in the management of the 2022 Notre Dame Project exhibitions. He has brought his passion for history and professional experience to help lead Handshouse Studio into a strategic planning process to help it see its mission and vision into a robust and sustainable future.

Marc Holland is a Professor and Chair of the Studio Foundation Department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Marc obtained an MFA in Sculpture from Bard College, an MFA in Visual Art from Rutgers University, a BFA in Photography and Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and a Professional Certificate in Photojournalism from New England School of Photography. 

As a Professor in his 21st year at MassArt, Marc teaches Form Study, Projects in Wood, and Boston to Beijing: China Through the Five Senses, a 16-day travel course to Beijing and Dunhuang, China. He is also the Coordinator and a Professor of the Studio PreSemester Program. Each October, Marc travels to Beijing, China, to teach at the Beijing Royal School, to work with high school students interested in attending Art Colleges in the United States. In addition to teaching, Marc has served in several roles at MassArt. He is a former Vice President and Secretary of the MassArt Chapter of Massachusetts State College Association Faculty and Librarians Union (MSCA), and has served on several committees, most notably as Co-Vice Chair of the MassArt Strategic Plan, and Co-Chair of the Search Committee for the MassArt Provost. He has presented at several National Conferences, including the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design Conference (AICAD) and the National Academic Advising Conference (NACADA). Before returning to college in his 30’s, Marc worked as a news photographer for 12 years. His Professional Organizations include Kezurou-kai USA, The National Academic Advising Association and the College Art Association.

Marc was invited to join the Handshouse Studio Board of Directors in 2023, and strongly supports the mission of the organization to connect and educate communities through the making of historic objects. He believes deeply in Public Education and the opportunities it provides for all. He embraces Japanese and Chinese philosophy of slowing down and making things by hand. Marc lives in Bedford, MA, with his wife Jane, his son Kai and daughter Jia. In his free time, he coaches youth soccer, and volunteers with his son at the Bedford Council on Aging.

Yari Wolinsky is Producer, Director, and Editor at Trillium Studios Film. After graduating from Bard College in 2004, Yari Wolinsky worked for John Rubin Productions, Inc. on three one-hour, PBS documentary films: Raptor Force, The Living Weapon, and Ape Genius. 

He has worked as director and editor on narrative and documentary films for educational, editorial, nonprofit, and commercial clients that include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, National Geographic, PBS, AARP, Issey Miyake, Helping Hands Monkey Helpers, Life is Good, and Marriott Hotels. 

Wolinsky began documenting the Browns' efforts to rebuild a Polish wooden synagogue in 2007. Yari Wolinsky has been has been a supporter of Handshouse since 2006 when he and Cary Wolinsky filmed and made the film about the making of the Gwoździec Bimah which was essential in attracting the interest of the POLIN Museum leading to the Gwoździec Synagogue project for the POLIN Museum in 2011-2013. Yari also created the Polish Bell Tower film and Handshouse in 5 film for Handshouse.

Bob Chabot is Chief Operating Officer for Zoo New England, which oversees the operations of Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo. Bob oversees the day-to-day operation of both facilities. Prior to coming to Zoo New England, Bob was Director of Horticulture, Facilities, and Exhibits at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens from 2005- 2017.

In Jacksonville, Bob oversaw the development and implementation of the botanical garden master plan, facilities planning, maintenance and development, and exhibit design and construction. Bob also served as Curator of Horticulture for Zoo New England from 1991-2001.

Justin Brazier is a designer based in Boston, Massachusetts working on projects ranging from large scale affordable housing to small neighborhood gardens. His main interests are in sustainable architecture and public spaces for underrepresented and underserved urban communities. 

He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architectural Design from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design in 2018.

Justin participated in the Notre Dame Truss Project and Notre Dame Model Project in Washington, DC in 2021. He has also worked with Handshouse on the Gourd Banjo Project.

CV: https://architecture-dev.mit.edu/sites/default/files/cv-uploads/JustinBrazier_CV.pdf 

Brenda Baker is the former Director, Board President, Conference Coordinator, and Board Member of the Timber Framers Guild, where she also participated in the Community Building Committee. She generates understanding of how shared building efforts enrich community through craft by developing and executing building projects in communities throughout North America and beyond. She is also the founder of Riverbend Timber Framing and Insulspan Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS).

Krista Lima was first connected with Handshouse when she took a “Technologies in Wood” class with Rick Brown her Sophomore year at MassArt in 2006. After working on recreating a small portion of the Gwozdziec Bimah for this class, Krista became involved with Lost Historic Painting classes where she worked to replicate the interior muraled ceilings of the Gwozdziec Synagogue, leading her to travel to Poland in 2007 to conduct research and document wooden structures similar to the Gwozdziec Bimah.

After graduating MassArt in 2008 with a BFA in Sculpture, she continued to participate in painting classes and other workshops when she was invited by the Browns to work as a Core Painting Leader for the reconstruction of the Gwozdziec Synagogue ceiling for the History of Polish Jews Museum in Poland. I spent the next three summers from 2011-2013 working as a Core Painting and Education leader for the project and helping with the ceiling installation in January of 2014.

Krista has been involved with Handshouse since 2005. Now, as a teacher at the Apponequet Regional High School, Krista has brought the Handshouse Studio Toys for Elephant / Monkeys project into her classroom through a Mass Cultural Council STARS Grant.

Kurt Steinberg is the Chief Operating Officer at the Peabody Essex Museum. As the museum’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Steinberg takes a purpose driven approach to achieve meaningful results through support of staff and active engagement in the community. He has been an authority in operations and arts administration for over 20 years.

Most recently, he was the 8th President of Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA, on Boston’s North Shore. This followed 12 years as Executive Vice President and Acting President at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. 

Dr. Steinberg’s focus has been to promote the ideas of a creative life; a mutual commitment made between the college, its students and its alumni to a lifelong relationship of helping artists, designers and artist educators achieve their creative goals. He strongly believes in fostering the diversity of creating traditions as a way to challenge both students and faculty to expand their social and global awareness. 

Dr. Steinberg holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Syracuse University and a Masters of public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He earned his doctorate in organizational leadership from Northeastern University.

Rashin Fahandej is an Iranian-American futurist, immersive storyteller, and cultural activist. Fahandej’s artistic initiatives are multi-year experimental laboratories for collective radical reimaginations of social systems, using counter-narratives of care and community co-creation to design equitable futures. Her projects center on marginalized voices and the role of media, technology, and public collaboration in generating emotional connections to drive social change.

She defines her projects as “Poetic Cyber Movement for Social Justice,” where art mobilizes a plethora of voices by creating connections between public places and virtual spaces. One of her notable projects, “A Father’s Lullaby,” is highlights the role of men in raising children and their absence due to racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Her work on this project won the 2021 Prix Ars Electronica Festival Award of Distinction in Digital Musics & Sound Ars and the Institute of Contemporary Arts’ James and Audrey Foster Prize (2019), Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowship (2019), and was further supported by residencies and fellowships with ThoughtWorks Arts and Scatter VR Volumetric Filmmaking (2019), Framingham Cultural Council (2019), and Boston Center for the Arts Public Art Residency (2018).

Rashin was the painting leader for the Gwozdziec Synagogue Ceiling Painting Project in Poland in 2011 and 2012 and was essential to the project process from 2006 to 2011. 

About the Principals

Marie Brown, Executive Director of Handshouse Studio

marie@handshouse.org

Marie is a director and maker who received received her MFA in Directing from the University of Texas at Austin, and her BA in Music and Theatre from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, and developed a broad range of skills through a devoted practice of life-long learning. She is drawn to collaborations that invite innovative, multi-disciplinary, and educational approaches to challenging questions, is passionate about building connections, cultivate curiosity, and empowering the voice, body, heart, and hand. 

Marie joined the Handshouse Studio as Director in 2018. She has also participated as Project Manager and Workshop Leader for the Gourd Banjo Project Workshops/Exhibitions (2018-2020), Faculty for the Toys For Elephants: Thailand travel programs (2019-2020), Project Leader for the Trojan Horse Project (2017-2020), Program Coordinator for the Gwozdziec Synagogue Project: Poland travel programs (2011-2012), Associate Director of Handshouse Studio (2003-2004), and Management Assistant for the Bushnell Turtle Project (2002).

Marie is eager to continue the organization’s legacy of making learning adventurous through exceptional hands-on projects, while also working with the founders to develop new ways to share the internationally recognized Handshouse experience with more diverse audiences. 

Marie lives with her two daughters in Northampton, MA. You can see more of her work on Marie Brown’s CV.

Eva Carter, Assistant Director of Handshouse Studio

eva@handshouse.org

Eva Carter (they/them) is an Assistant Director at Handshouse for the fall. They are a recent graduate of Davidson College where they earned their BA in Anthropology. Hailing from Brevard, NC, Eva has worked for the past five years on staff at Rockbrook Camp. This summer at Rockbrook, while Eva worked as a head counselor, leading peers and campers in social-emotional growth, Marie Brown organized woodworking projects for beginner craftspeople ages 6-16. It was amongst these numerous activities that Eva and Marie first began a conversation about expanding Handshouse’s employee base to include an Assistant Director.

Eva is joining Marie in Northampton this fall to support her with administrative and compositional work. So far, Eva is forging ahead on creating clear and abridged resources for the Board of Directors, applying for grants, and generally being some extra hands around Handshouse. Eva is passionate about facilitating community and engaged collaboration and was inspired to join Handshouse’s team after learning of the projects’ natural composition of creative team problem-solving. Eva’s study of Anthropology has given them a passionate orientation towards storytelling, historical exploration, and reckoning with positionality. From these values, they were especially excited to learn about The Gourd Banjo Project, and hope that they can help reinstate those workshops.

The Board of Advisors/

The Board of Advisors is group of committed Handshouse Studio volunteers that endeavor to offer their wisdom, insight, and advice to help the organization work toward its mission and vision.