Jackie’s Books

Many artists turn to books to feed their creativity. The books found in studios are the ones they hold dear. Jackie Abrams was no different.  NCSW is honored that Jackie signed and donated her books to support the new Jackie Abrams Legacy Scholarship, which has been established to honor her and her life as an artist and teacher, and founder of NCSW.

 Jackie, a masterful basketmaker and popular teacher, was very engaged with the creation of this scholarship and aligning it with the longstanding mission of NCSW - Inspiring the creativity and challenging the skill of accomplished craftspeople and artists.  We worked in partnership with Jackie, before she passed away on November 6, 2021, to ensure that the scholarship would be for a studio artist who has chosen to make their living through art/craft and/or teaching and who needs financial assistance in order to attend NCSW. Jackie was passionate about giving working artists the opportunity to expand their skills and ideas. 

 Jackie was also very committed to securing funds for this scholarship. She generously helped us promote the initial scholarship announcement last fall. It speaks volumes to her effort and her regard in the craft community that we have already raised over $11,000 and will be able to host our first Jackie Abrams Legacy Scholarship recipient at our next conference in January 2023.

 In addition, Jackie donated to NCSW part of her library of craft books for the purpose of raising further funds for the scholarship. She hand selected the books specifically for the NCSW community of craftspeople, artists, and supporters and personally signed each one. Kathy Hanson, NCSW PC member and friend of Jackie’s, worked closely on this project and shares:

 “This collection of books was a part of Jackie’s art studio. Each book in this personal library reflects her artistic journey.They were important to her as visual references to techniques and creative ideas and were thoughtfully chosen and donated to NCSW to raise money for her scholarship fund and to know they would find a good home in another artist’s studio. Working with this collection felt like I was having a conversation with Jackie about aesthetics that mattered to her.”

 We are now opening up the sale of Jackie’s books to the NCSW Community. Each book is being sold for $25 excluding shipping.  You can see a full catalog of books through this link.  To request a book, please email bookkeeper@ncsw.org with your name, email, and the title of the book(s) you would like to purchase. We will respond to requests on a first come, first served basis. Once we confirm if a book is still available, we will then send payment and shipping information.

 Additionally, we are still accepting general donations for the Jackie Abrams Legacy Scholarship. Our goal is to raise $25,000 through donations, book sales, and other fundraisers in order to secure the scholarship for many years to come. Donations can be made here.

 I’ll close with a huge thank you to the whole NCSW community for your generosity, support, and creativity. You are all such an important part of Jackie’s legacy and NCSW’s future. 

By Victoria Su, NCSW Executive Director