Interview with Danielle Krcmar, “Crafting the Mind” Curator and Somerville Arts Council’s Artist of the Month!

Danielle Krcmar, January 2026 Artist of the Month

Interview of Danielle Krcmar as told to Charan Devereaux

Danielle Krcmar is an artist, curator and educator. Currently, she is Curator of the RSM Gallery at Bentley College and previously was artist-in-residence at Babson College. Danielle has completed architectural sculpture commissions in Ridgeway Illinois and Knoxville TN, and created outdoor installations for the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, Forest Hills Cemetery, and the Fort Point Channel area of Boston. She earned her BFA in Sculpture from SUNY Binghamton and an MFA in sculpture from UMASS Amherst. She has received grants from the St Botolph Club Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Blanche Colman Foundation, and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. Danielle’s work has been featured in Ocean State Review and Quilting with a Modern Slant and reviewed in Sculpture Magazine, The Boston Globe, WBUR, The Boston Herald, The Boston Phoenix, and Arts Media. She is an artist at Vernon Street Studios and participates in Somerville Open Studios.

What kind of art projects did you make as a child?

I loved drawing with markers or pastels and made all sorts of animals with plasticene, and I loved working with clay. In 5th or 6th grade I won the chance to make a Spring mural on our Art bulletin board- I painted a hippo coming out of an Easter Egg- we were supposed to choose an unlikely animal to come out of the egg!

Did you like to find objects and materials?

Absolutely! I loved to work with recycled materials- I remember making miniatures for my dollhouse using toothpaste caps for lampshades and painting toothpicks to make them look like pencils. I remember making a tiny paper and cardboard amusement park, using parts of toothbrush boxes to make small train cars.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?

I have a drawing from my childhood of future me in my studio, but I was able to commit to making art/ being an artist when I was in college. I began as a Psychology major with an art minor. I took intro drawing after figure drawing because I initially thought I didn’t need intro drawing, but that class with Professor Linda Sokolowski was where I felt like someone was both showing me how to see and how to speak about what we were making and seeing. It was the turning point where I felt inspired, connected and invested in my education which led to me becoming an art major and applying for the BFA program. Applying for the BFA program and then graduating and applying for galleries, grants and shows and then grad school, each step along the way affirmed my commitment to developing myself as an artist.

Who were your early influences?

Magdalena Abackanowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Lenore Tawney, Joseph Cornell, Kiki Smith, Anthony Gormley.

How did you make your way to Somerville?

In 2003 I moved in with my boyfriend Derek in Somerville, I’ve lived here ever since. I began renting a studio at Vernon Street in 2020 after I was laid off and lost the studio that came with my former job.

You are an artist at Vernon Street Studios. What have you been working on in the studio lately? How would you describe your practice?

I love being at Vernon Street Studios, after being in a solitary studio for over 10 years – it is amazing to be back in an active artist community and see what my studio neighbors are working on. Lately I have been working on these soft stones and sewn landscapes made from reclaimed textiles- found sweaters, pants, shawls, scarves, socks, upholstery samples, remnants and donated yarns, in nature’s palette of greys, browns, greens, and occasional oranges.

You and writer Rachel May co-curated the exhibition “Crafting the Mind,” which is opening January 15th at the Somerville Museum and runs through March 29th. Can you tell us about the show and how you developed the idea?

Rachel May and I have co-curated two quilt shows together. As an artist, writer and researcher, She was interested in the connections between contemporary fiber artists work and the early history of crafts as a therapeutic practice McLean Hospital (which was founded in Somerville’s Barrel Mansion in 1818) The Somerville Museum is the perfect site for the show because it houses the Barrel Mansion Staircase and we’ve been delighted to see how the artworks in the show resonate with the historic architecture of the museum.

What inspires you in your curatorial and teaching work at places like Bentley College and Babson College.

People don’t necessarily expect art at a business school- I love being able to bring art and artists to Bentley and expose students to artist’s creative thought processes, their risk taking, their commitment to self-expression and their willingness to risk failure. I look for beautiful powerful art that connects to our academic curriculum, campus programming, and/or our students’ interests. I’ve been fortunate at both Babson and Bentley, there are so many faculty and staff committed to connecting students to artists, art and creativity.

Your installation “Teasing Gravity” was exhibited in the fall by Montserrat College of Art at 301 Frame Gallery. Can you tell us about your process for developing these imaginary clouds?

The cloud sculptures developed in response to another Somerville Artist – Resa Blatman- initially the installation was to be a collaboration, I liked the idea of interpreting her stylized clouds in a sculptural form to expand an imaginary landscape. The clouds are made from steamed and bent coffee stirrers which are then glued to make these 3-dimensional cloud drawing forms. The first group of coffee stirrers that made up the clouds came from Brenda Star’s studio. I like that the piece is informed by two fellow Vernon Street Artists and their practices, and that the cloud pieces evolved using simple Sculpture I construction techniques to make whimsical 3-dimensional “drawings” that feel like knots or tangles as well as clouds!

Your outdoor sculpture “Fragment House” incorporates poetry and found objects and has been displayed at Highfield Hall & Gardens in Falmouth and Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust. What did you enjoy most about creating that project?

That piece was done in collaboration with poet Mary Pinard, she’s a colleague I greatly admire, and it was great to walk the Dartmouth Natural Resources site and talk about what elements of the landscape stood out to us, we had so many ideas but I love the light and openness of the finished piece. I gathered the 30 lbs of beach glass from Carson Beach with my son and his best friend- so many artists have gathered materials from that beach, it’s a low tide treasure trove.

Do you have some favorite places in Somerville?

– Make and Mend- such a brilliant idea for a business and such a fun place to get art supplies, The community path- during Covid My son and I biked on it almost every weekend, Ricky’s!!!…and of course Vernon Street and my neighborhood- Lincoln Park.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Please come see Crafting The Mind at the Somerville Museum opening on January 15th and join us for one of our workshops or Artist/ Curator Walk throughs!

Social media links:
Instagram: @Daniellekrcmar