Blog Posts
2022 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern Sophia Li
Hi, this is Sophia Li, Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern. This is my last week of my internship and I want to thank Craft in America for allowing me to be part of this organization and participate in all the ongoing projects. I am also extremely grateful to the Getty Marrow Internship program for their passion to promote the next generation of art enthusiasts and art historians. I had a wonderful time at this internship, and I am looking forward to keeping up with Craft in America and the community of craft! I’ll be continuing at Otis College as a senior studying product design and contemporary clay. Thank you for following my time at Craft in America.
Photo: Madison Metro | Beautiful artwork: Tibbie Dunbar
2022 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern Sophia Li
It is already 7 weeks into my internship at Craft in America, time sure goes by fast. Although my internship is mostly remote and consists of digital projects, I am really glad to have experienced in-person tasks as well.
My work includes some on-going projects like captioning our artist talks, which if you haven’t checked them out yet, you definitely should. My favorite video so far is Arline Fisch’s artist talk. Although I’ve watched the videos 10 times or even more, it’s still fascinating and her explanation of her work is so engaging. Arline Fisch works in metal but uses fiber techniques not traditional to metal. You really have to see the video for yourself. Other than working on the videos, I have also been assigned many graphic design projects like creating flyers for our current Craft in America Center exhibitions, Tibbie Dunbar: Assemble and Location Services: Jewelry Perspectives On Time & Place, and also formatting advertisements for our new upcoming PBS episodes.
During the installation of Ferne Jacob’s show and installation of Tibbie Dunbar’s show, I was able to assist in-person at the Center. I learned about packing art pieces to help protect the artwork during transportation, wrapping the artwork multiple times, double boxing, and making sure every inch of the artwork is covered and secure. This is a skill not taught in art school to artists, although it really should be, because artists need to know how to protect and ship their work to ensure the longevity of the artworks. To install the show, we had to prepare the gallery which involved painting and cleaning the walls and all the pedestals. I helped Tibbie set up her show and got to see the exhibition assembled, and come to life which is something I’ve never experienced. I have to say it feels really good to be part of completing a show, helping out behind the scenes and knowing that I painted all the pedestals used in the show.
Overall it has been great getting to work on and dabble in all the projects at Craft in America. We have a lot of projects going on so please continue to follow along!
Craft in Schools Summer 2022
School is out, but Craft in Schools is active all summer long! Last week we had the pleasure of hosting Ms. Suzanna Hidalgo’s art history class from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, CA. During the field trip the students experienced the current Craft in America Center exhibitions Tibbie Dunbar: Assemble and Location Services: Jewelry Perspectives on Time and Place. Assemble artist Tibbie Dunbar spoke about her artworks, process, and career. The students posed thoughtful questions, which led to a rich discussion about the meaning of her art and the use of non-traditional materials such as plastic debris and car parts to make sculptures. Reflecting on the discussion, Ms. Hidalgo said that “being able to hear from an artist was the most meaningful part of the field trip experience.”
After the talk, the students explored Location Services. Through a facilitated art discussion using Visual Thinking Strategies, the students learned about the way the artists Motoko Furuhashi, Kerianne Quick, and Demitra Thomloudis investigate place through the lens of contemporary jewelry. The students were enthralled by the individual narratives associated with Kerianne’s artworks and felt compelled to share their own personal stories and connections with the objects on display.
After the tour, the students made their own collages inspired by Tibbie Dunbar’s work and process. After the field trip, many of the students shared that the collage workshop was their favorite part of the day.
If you are interested in visiting the Craft in America Center during the summer with your class or summer camp, please email joan@craftinamerica.org to learn more!
Filming with Kazuki Takizawa for the Craft Video Dictionary
Kazuki Takizawa(left) and Deshon Tyau(right) demonstrating glass blowing techniques. 
Deshon Tyau demonstrating glass blowing techniques. 
Kazuki Takizawa demonstrating glass blowing techniques.
Hello, it’s Sophia here, the 2022 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern at Craft in America. Craft in America is working on creating a Craft Video Dictionary that will be released in 2023. Craft has had a long history, and therefore there are many techniques and terms used in each medium. The Craft Video Dictionary aims to build a centralized source for artists and art enthusiasts to learn about each craft technique, through video, in order to create a dictionary of informational content.
I had a behind the scenes experience watching glass artist Kazuki Takizawa and his assistant Deshon Tyau’s creative process during the filming of this project… I must say, I now have the highest respect for glass artists seeing how labor intensive and technical the whole process is, and especially all while having to work in a really warm environment.
The Craft Video Dictionary is supported by the Decorative Arts Trust’ Prize for Excellence and Innovation. To learn more about the Trust or to become a member, visit The Decorative Arts Trust. Nominations are due 6/30/22.
Filming with Joan Takayama-Ogawa for the Craft Video Dictionary
Joan Takayama-Ogawa demonstrating ceramic techniques. 
Joan Takayama-Ogawa demonstrating ceramic techniques. 
Joan Takayama-Ogawa demonstrating ceramic techniques.
Hello, it’s Sophia here, the 2022 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern at Craft in America. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be on-set for the Craft Video Dictionary filming with ceramic artist Joan Takayama-Ogawa, who just so happens to be my ceramics professor at Otis College. Joan demonstrated some of the ceramic handbuilding and decorating techniques she uses in her beautiful work, and it was amazing seeing an in-depth demonstration of her process. It was my first time visiting Joan’s home and studio in Pasadena, so it was especially awesome to see her at work in her creative space.
The Craft Video Dictionary is supported by the Decorative Arts Trust’ Prize for Excellence and Innovation. To learn more about the Trust or to become a member, visit The Decorative Arts Trust. Nominations are due 6/30/22.