HDA holding “Craft in America: Service” PBS documentary screening this Thursday (6/25)
Z107.7
6/23/26
Hi-Desert Artists Gallery will host a free screening of the acclaimed PBS documentary Craft in America: Service.
The documentary traces the evolution of military arts programs from the Army Arts and Crafts Program and the G.I. Bill to the experiences of contemporary soldiers and veterans who have found purpose and recovery through artistic practice.
Featured artists include ceramicist Ehren Tool, a Marine veteran of the Gulf War who has hand-crafted and given away more than 14,000 clay cups to spark conversations about war and its consequences. The film also highlights Army veteran Judas Recendez, who lost both legs in Iraq and developed his ceramic practice during rehabilitation; renowned ceramic artist Peter Voulkos, whose art education was made possible through the G.I. Bill; author and artist Pam DeLuco, creator of Paper Dolls: Stories From Women Who Served; and Eugene Burks Jr., a member of the Army’s historic “Old Guard” regiment who crafts leather horse tack for military funeral caissons at Arlington National Cemetery.
The screening is happening on Thursday, June 25, at 6:00 p.m. The event will take place at Hi-Desert Artists Gallery, 55635 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley.
Admission is free and open to the public.
Award-Winning Documentary Connects Creativity With History
The Enterprise
6/22/26
To celebrate the role of crafts and how the “handmade” is woven into our nation’s history, the Falmouth Cultural Council is partnering with Highfield Hall & Gardens to present “DEMOCRACY,” an award-winning documentary produced by the nonprofit organization Craft in America.
The free screening will take place on Wednesday, July 1, at 7 PM at Highfield Hall & Gardens. Advance online registration is recommended through the venue’s website.
The event is part of Craft in America’s “Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026,” a nationwide initiative to celebrate the diversity of crafts that define America and bring underrepresented art and artists into the spotlight.
The artists highlighted in the film include ceramic artist and Gulf War Marine Veteran Ehren Tool whose uses his work, “to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the world,” calligrapher Sammy Little, who demonstrates how cursive writing—whether in the country’s founding documents or in her great-great-grandfather’s Civil War letters—creates personal connections that bring history to life and the educators and students of historic Berea College, who sell their handmade wares to support the school’s commitment to tuition-free learning and to “lifting up democracy and the promises of America.”
Following the 56-minute film, the audience will participate in a discussion about the ideas raised by the film. Although the film premiered in December 2020, the issues it raises—the importance of federal support for the arts and national institutions, such as the Smithsonian Museum—remain current.
Alice Kociemba, chairperson of the Cultural Council, describes the film as both inspirational and provocative. “The council thought that co-sponsoring this event with Highfield Hall & Gardens would be a way for the whole community to engage in how the arts reflect the promises of democracy. As Robert Lynch, the former executive director of Americans for the Arts, comments, ‘I’d love to see everyone in our country as a maker…to engage with something beautiful and to understand the world in a different way because of that.’“
Highfield Hall is located at 56 Highfield Drive in Falmouth.
‘Handwork 2026’: Year-long initiative explores handmade American artforms
LA Downtown News
By Jessica Koslow
6/8/2026
Earlier this year, while speaking with teachers at the National Art Education Association conference, Ann Ruhr Pifer learned that today’s students seem hungry for craft activities in a new, different and more intense way.
“One teacher said she had a bunch of art activities in her room, and all the students go for the sewing activity, especially the ninth-grade boys,” shared Pifer. “She didn’t see that coming. We talked about how we feel it’s a reaction against—or perhaps a counterbalance to—the pervasiveness of digital experience in their lives.”
As of January 2026, Pifer, along with Robyn Hollingshead, is the co-executive director of Craft in America, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit arts organization that promotes original handcrafted work through programs in all media. The group is responsible for 35 episodes of the Peabody Award-winning, Emmy-nominated documentary series, “Craft in America,” on PBS, a YouTube channel and multi-disciplinary educator guides. The Craft in America Center in Los Angeles hosts exhibitions, talks by artists and scholars, workshops and K-12 school tours.
Coinciding with America’s 250th birthday and running all year long, “Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026” is Craft in America’s most ambitious initiative yet, featuring four new episodes of “Craft in America” titled East, West, North and South; a publication, Handwork: Handcrafted Objects that Made America; and events taking place across the country in partnership with nearly 300 organizations.
The seeds for “Handwork 2026” were planted by Craft in America founder Carol Sauvion about three years ago in a planning committee.
“The idea was to raise public awareness of craft in connection with the semiquincentennial of the country,” said Pifer. “Craft is woven through our history: Paul Revere, who was a silversmith, was renowned not only for his role in the Revolutionary War but also his remarkable silverwork. The semiquincentennial seemed like a good time to create a collaborative effort to celebrate craft.”
One of the main goals of “Handwork 2026” is to draw in the participation of museums and craft and art schools and galleries across the United States. The Craft in America team lightly curated the partnering organizations and their 2026 events, which are all featured on the Handwork2026 website. There is no cost to participate.
“It’s just all of us coming together making a big noise about craft,” Pifer said. “We had one person call a couple of weeks ago who said they were going to visit Pittsburgh for the first time on a craft tour, and they wanted to know about all the craft organizations and places to visit in that area, and I said, ‘Great, here’s the map.’”
Pifer, who started her career in commercial banking for 15 years, has always loved and appreciated craft — from America and around the globe. She joined the Craft in America board around 2010, and when Sauvion, the former executive director, was preparing to retire, she asked Pifer and Hollingshead to consider taking over as co-executive directors.
Pifer was based in Minnesota and Hollingshead in LA. The likeminded craft gallery owners connected in 2004 and had since then been thinking about how to foster an appreciation of craft, promote craft and support craft artists and galleries.
“It’s been wonderful to see all the partnering organizations come together and join this handwork effort,” said Pifer.
In May, Quilting for Community, which offers free and low-cost classes in Chatsworth, hosted the Gee’s Bend quilting experience. Mary Ann Pettway and China Pettway shared personal history, family stories and the context behind the quilts and traditions of Gee’s Bend on the Alabama River.
The Craft in America Center is presenting two upcoming exhibitions, “Cowboy Craft: Traditional Art of the West,” featuring nine artists including Cary Schwarz, the saddle maker spotlighted in its WEST episode that aired in December, and “Marques Hanalei Marzan: Entwine,” a Hawaiian artist who also appeared in the WEST episode. The opening reception for both exhibitions will take place on June 13 from 4 to 6 p.m., and Marzan will give an artist talk at 3 p.m.
Craft Contemporary’s (formerly the Craft and Folk Art Museum) newest exhibition, “tierra,” expands its focus beyond ceramic and clay as a singular medium to encompass broader practices grounded in land and earth.
“Craft and the arts more broadly are an important part of life for everybody in our society,” Pifer said. “They make life richer. Craft is frequently deeply connected to the cultural roots of people in a place. It’s a part of what makes us human, our historical family, cultural roots. In the present moment, artistic expression and craft, both the objects and the artists who make them, all of us who like making things with our hands, is more important in an age where so much is digital, in an age of AI, where we’re all questioning, what’s real? I think there’s a hunger among people broadly because of that for things that are tangible and beautiful and meaningful. I see a real groundswell of interest in both appreciation for craft and in getting one’s hands into craft and doing it.”
Original article here.
ICT NEWSCAST: Shop Native for the holiday, spotlight on crafts and more
By ICT Staff
December 13, 2025
The ICT Newscast for Friday, December 12, 2025, covers a Norwegian Indigenous TV series, the Institute of American Indian Arts and a poetic tribute to the Tongva. Check out the ICT Newscast on YouTube for this episode and more.
- Shop Native: ICT’s holiday shopping guide: Ready to level up your holiday shopping? ICT’s gift guide is packed with Native brands you’ll want to add to your cart immediately.
- Sami TV series gets an Emmy nomination: A series from Norway for youth, just broke new ground at the International Emmys. It’s the first ever nomination in the Sami language.
- Craft in America: Since 1962, the Institute of American Indian Arts has been a global center for contemporary Indigenous art. Our partners at Craft in America take us inside the campus to see the next generation of Native creators.
- Tongva Land: Land acknowledgments remind us of the original inhabitants on Turtle Island. The Tongva people call the Los Angeles area home. Pamela Peters, a Navajo artist, pays tribute.
View previous ICT broadcasts here every week for the latest news from around Indian Country.
Bisa Butler ’04 Featured on Craft in America’s EAST
December 4, 2025
Montclair State University Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) alumna Bisa Butler is featured in Craft in America’s EAST episode, which is part of the Peabody Award-winning documentary series on PBS. The episode is now streaming and premieres on December 19 on PBS.
Bisa Butler is a New Jersey-born and based artist renowned for her vibrant quiltwork. Butler crafts portraits that illuminate the significant contributions and unique viewpoint of the Black community. Butler views her quilts as celebrations of Blackness and vital historical correctives, offering powerful opportunities to tell stories from a long-underrepresented perspective. Her subjects are often ordinary individuals, whose names and stories have been historically overlooked, sometimes captured in faded family portraits or by itinerant photographers. Butler’s artistic journey began with painting studies at Howard University, later evolving to incorporate fabric into her practice during her MFA at Montclair University. They include West African wax prints, kente cloth, and Dutch wax prints, each carrying rich and complex ties to African history. Her innovative approach has earned her widespread acclaim, leading to exhibitions across the United States since the early 2000s.
Original article here.
Craft in America on PBS Highlights IAIA’s Role in Shaping Contemporary Indigenous Art
| Craft in America on PBS Highlights IAIA’s Role in Shaping Contemporary Indigenous Art For Immediate Release November 24, Santa Fe, New Mexico For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Jason S. Ordaz, Chief Communications Officer, Office of Institutional Communications, at jason.ordaz@iaia.edu. This December, Craft in America begins a journey around the United States with the hour-long episodes East and West, premiering on PBS on Friday, December 19, 2025, at 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm (MST) (check local listings), and streaming starting November 24, 2025, on the PBS app, www.pbs.org/craftinamerica, and www.craftinamerica.org. East and West are part of a four-episode series (North and South will premiere in winter 2026), which is part of Handwork 2026, an expansive, year-long collaboration among art and culture organizations, educators, and makers that reflects the diversity of craft over the past 250 years. The West episode features the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)—highlighting our campus, students, alum, faculty, and leadership, as well as distinguished voices such as former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna and Jemez Pueblo), internationally recognized artist, IAIA alum, and Trustee Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) ’07, ’18, President Emeritus Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation), and many others. The film honors IAIA’s more than 60 years of creative roots and our position as the birthplace of contemporary Indigenous art. Dr. Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo), IAIA President, said, “IAIA’s creative roots go back over 60 years, and many important Indigenous artists have found their start at our university. Seeing this legacy reflected in Craft in America’s thoughtfully presented West episode, I am deeply grateful for PBS’ and Craft in America’s commitment to telling this story.” Craft in America is the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary series that explores the beauty, significance, and relevance of handmade objects and the artists who create them. “It was very important for our series to include the Institute of American Indian Arts in our retrospective on the West for the Handwork 2026 project—we believe IAIA is one of the most important institutions in the country. The creativity we witnessed there is inspiring and hugely influential, and it was a great honor for us to film at IAIA during Dr. Robert Martin’s final year as president. We spent nearly two years being guided on our journey by Jason Ordaz, IAIA Chief Communications Officer, and IAIA staff, who opened doors and worked in depth with Craft in America Executive Director Carol Sauvion, and me on this important episode on the West,” said Patricia Bischetti, Executive Producer and Director. “The Craft in America crew of six was here on campus for three days filming in various classrooms, during commencement, and through interviews with trustees, our president’s cabinet, alum, staff, faculty, and students,” said Jason S. Ordaz, IAIA Chief Communications Officer. “It was a pleasure and privilege to help shepherd this important film into being.” Viewers who want to learn more about IAIA and its mission can go to www.iaia.edu for a wealth of information about its programs. Visitors can arrange a trip to the IAIA campus and explore contemporary Native art at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), located in the city’s historic downtown. The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)—the University for Indigenous Creative Excellence—is widely regarded as the preeminent higher education institution dedicated to the study of contemporary Native American and Alaska Native arts. IAIA offers undergraduate degrees in Cinematic Arts and Technology, Computer Science, Creative Writing, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, Native American Art History, Performing Arts, and Studio Arts; graduate degrees in Creative Writing, Studio Arts, and Cultural Administration; and certificates in Broadcast Journalism, Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History. Recent partnerships, such as those with AMC, The Walt Disney Company, Nike, Ralph Lauren, the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and NBCUniversal Media, help students leave lasting footprints in the creative community. Among its many illustrious alums and former staff are two U.S. Poet Laureates: Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation) ’68, US Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022, and Faculty Emeritus Arthur Sze, the current and 2025 US Poet Laureate. IAIA serves approximately 500 full-time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native students, representing nearly 100 federally recognized Tribes. IAIA is among the leading art universities in the nation and is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). |
Catch ‘Baumannia’ During Free Community Event At New Mexico Museum Of Art And History Sept. 28
By Carol A. Clark
September 22, 2025
The New Mexico Museum of Art and New Mexico History Museum co-present “Baumannia,” a series of programs and special events in honor of the life and legacy of artist Gustave Baumann on 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 28 at their Santa Fe Plaza campuses.
Baumannia Community Day, hosted at both museums, will include hands-on activities, a marionette presentation, a variety of mini lectures and presentations, a Craft in America television episode screening, block printing activities, tours of Gustave Baumann’s re-created studio at the History Museum’s Palace Press, and other family-friendly activities. Visit nmculture.org/gustave-baumann for a full schedule of events.
Baumannia, is inspired by the Museum of Art’s retrospective exhibition, “Gustave Baumann: The Artist’s Environment,” and hosted in collaboration with the History Museum. The History Museum holds a robust digitized collection of photos, documents, and audio from the Ann Baumann Trust tied to the life and work of Gustave Baumann. The event shares this important art and history collection that is part of the Department of Cultural Affairs.
2024 NEA National Heritage Fellows
Congratulations to the 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellows, especially Navajo/Dine quilter Susan Hudson, featured in the QUILTS episode.
arts.gov/honors/heritage/list?title=&field_year_value=2024
MINIATURES Screening at the Museum of International Folk Art on December 9th
December 9th 2pm to 4pm
706 Camino Lejo, on Museum Hill
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
Join the screening of MINIATURES and a discussion with individuals interviewed in the episode: Laura Addison, Museum of International Folk Art; Stuart Ashman, Artes de Cuba Gallery; Nadia Hamid, International Folk Art Market; Thomas Leech, retired, New Mexico History Museum; and Maureen Russell, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Patricia Bischetti, Craft in America’s Executive Producer and Director, will facilitate the panel discussion.
New Mexico artists and organizations figure prominently in MINIATURES, which includes segments on Alexander Girard’s spectacular invented world housed in the Museum of International Folk Art’s Girard Wing; beloved New Mexico artist Gustave Baumann’s marionettes from the collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art; and International Folk Art Market artists who work at a diminutive scale, including Cuban artist Leandro Gómez Quintero, who creates small-scale, painstakingly detailed re-creations of vehicles using found materials.
More information here.
Watch the MINIATURES preview here.
Craft in America Premieres New Season with episodes: Play & Miniatures
[Los Angeles] – PLAY and MINIATURES premiere on PBS December 29 at 9pm and 10pm, respectively (check local listings).
Streaming starts December 1st on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org.
The episodes comprise the newest season of Craft in America. The Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary series has produced 15 seasons since 2007, discovering the beauty, significance and relevance of handmade objects and the artists who make them.
“Craft in America…[has a] knack for telling big stories… about the formation of culture, the purpose of creativity, the idea that the pursuits of beauty and utility are foundational to humanity.” – New York Times
PLAY
PLAY explores the intersection of play and artistry. From puppets to piñatas to unicorns, this hour reveals how artists use the tools of childhood to inspire imagination, celebration and wonder. The featured artists and institutions are Lorena Robletto, Roberto Benevidez, Calder Kamin, Schroeder Cherry, Skirball Cultural Center Noah’s Ark & Puppet Festival and Cotsen Children’s Library.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Lorena Robletto and Roberto Benavidez (Los Angeles, CA)
PLAY opens in Los Angeles with two artists’ distinct takes on the art of the piñata. Lorena Robletto creates festive and creative piñatas with fair labor practices at her business, Amazing Pinatas, while Roberto Benavidez takes a sculptural approach to the piñata, making work inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and medieval illuminated manuscripts.
Calder Kamin (Breckenridge, CO)
From Los Angeles, we travel to Colorado to Calder Kamin’s art installation at the Breckenridge International Arts Festival. She is committed to reusing and recycling in her art and sculpts from discarded plastic, creating a unicorn with old Mardi Gras beads and engaging the community to learn sustainable art methods.
Schroeder Cherry (Baltimore, MD)
In Baltimore, artist and museum educator Schroeder Cherry introduces us to his cast of handmade puppets. Cherry puts on puppet shows to share African American history with children and adults alongside his practice as a painter and collage artist.
Skirball Center Noah’s Ark and Puppet Festival (Los Angeles, CA)
Crossing back to the West Coast takes us to the Skirball Cultural Center, a Jewish educational institution that is hosting their annual puppet festival. This year, artist Chris Green joins to revisit one of the centerpieces of their children’s programming, Noah’s Ark, a vast installation featuring hundreds of animals crafted from found objects.
Cotsen Children’s Library (Princeton, NJ)
We track the legacy of one of the founding Board members of the Skirball, Lloyd E. Cotsen, to the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton University. Cotsen was a collector and philanthropist and the Cotsen Children’s Library now houses his vast collection of children’s books. We learn how children’s books enrich the lives and minds of the community and all of us through play and imagination.
MINIATURES
MINIATURES explores the world of tiny objects and the artists that make them. From folk art to marionettes to tiny furniture, the artists of MINIATURES reveal what motivates them to work at a scale that demands a masterful attention to detail. The featured artists and institutions are Mark Murphy, Alexander Girard, the International Folk Art Market, Leandro Gómez Quintero and Gustave Baumann.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Mark Murphy (Astoria, OR)
We meet Mark Murphy, a miniaturist living and working in Astoria, Oregon. Mark shares his process for creating intricately detailed miniature furniture. We travel with him to the Chicago International Miniatures Show and connect with his community of other remarkable miniature artists.
Alexander Girard (Santa Fe, NM)
We visit Santa Fe, New Mexico, to reveal the iconic 20th-century designer Alexander Girard’s passion for folk art through the “Multiple Visions” exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art. In the 1980s, Girard transformed his collection of over 100,000 pieces of miniature folk art from all over the world into one expansive exhibition that has been displayed exactly as he designed it for over 40 years.
International Folk Art Market (Santa Fe, NM)
We travel the globe at the annual International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where artists and makers from around the world including Mexico, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Eswatini, and more share their practices and culture through miniature folk art and other craft traditions.
Leandro Gómez Quintero (Baracoa, Cuba)
From IFAM, we cross the continent and ocean and follow the model vehicles of artist Leandro Gómez Quintero to his home in Baracoa, Cuba. Leandro crafts his faithful recreations of vehicles like the iconic Willys Jeep with intricate detail and accuracy, using found materials to tell the story of Cuba and her people through his art.
Gustave Baumann (Santa Fe, NM)
Finally, we celebrate the prolific multidisciplinary artist, Gustave Baumann, who created paintings, woodblock prints and marionettes in the first half of the 20th century. Baumann was deeply inspired by the landscape and people of Santa Fe, and the city keeps his legacy alive today with their yearly Christmas marionette show.
ARTIST & INSTITUTION BIOS: PLAY
Lorena Robletto
Lorena Robletto is a Los Angeles based piñata artist. After serving as a social worker for immigrant families and consulting for immigrant-owned businesses, Robletto turned her focus towards the artistry of piñatas and set up a shop, Amazing Pinatas, in the Los Angeles Piñata District. Her studio and storefront is now located in Mid City, where her team creates custom piñatas of any scale along with ready-made piñatas and various signature designs. She frequently makes props and commissions for the entertainment industry and other branded events.
Roberto Benavidez
Roberto Benavidez is a figurative sculptor originally from South Texas, specializing in the piñata form. After moving to Los Angeles, he rediscovered his passion for the visual arts and studied figure sculpting and bronze casting at Pasadena City College. Benavidez later switched to paper, a more accessible material than bronze, deciding to focus on the piñata technique, a familiar form from childhood. Benavidez plays with underlying themes of race, ephemerality, beauty and sin, layered with his identity as a mixed-race queer artist, with a focus on impeccable craftsmanship. Some of his otherworldly creatures could have stepped out of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights. Currently, one of Benavidez’s ‘Painting Piñatas’ is on display in all LA Metro buses under the Through the Eyes of Artists poster series, and another landscape is on view at LAX Terminal 1.5 in Craft in America’s LA Scenes exhibition.
Calder Kamin
Artist, educator and advocate, Calder Kamin transforms trash into beautifully crafted creatures and opportunities to inspire others to be creative and courageous about the future. Nature’s endless ability to reuse and adapt motivates her to eliminate waste and reimagine it as art. Kamin’s creative reuse art projects and public workshops have traveled to museums across the states including The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The American Museum of Natural History, The Contemporary Austin, The i.d.e.a. Museum, and The Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Plastic Planet, her 2016 solo exhibition at Women & Their Work, was supported by a Mid-America Arts Alliance Artistic Innovations Grant and the subject of an episode for the PBS series Arts In Context. She was the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art’s Art Truck Artist, the first AIR at the Beach Museum of Art, and Artist-in-Residence at BreckCreate, Landmark Apartments, the DoSeum and San Antonio’s Children’s Museum. Kamin is a board member of Austin Creative Reuse, a non-profit that diverts community waste to artists, crafters and educators as resources.
Schroeder Cherry
Dr. Schroeder Cherry, a native of Washington, DC, is now a Baltimore-based artist working with puppets, paintings and mixed media assemblages. Dr. Cherry captures everyday scenes of African American life, often set in barbershops and utilizing repurposed materials. He has worked in museums across the US, including The Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum, Studio Museum of Harlem, J.Paul Getty Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Art and Maryland Historical Society. He has held senior grant maker positions at Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. He is the Museum Curator at the James E. Lewis Museum of Art and currently teaches museum studies at Morgan State University. His works “are open-ended narratives inspired by travel, music, literature, folklore, and everyday events.”
Skirball Cultural Center
The Skirball Cultural Center is a place of meeting guided by the Jewish tradition of welcoming the stranger and inspired by the American democratic ideals of freedom and equality. They welcome people of all communities and generations to participate in cultural experiences that celebrate discovery and hope, foster human connections, and call upon us to help build a more just society. Open to the public since 1996, the Skirball is one of the world’s most dynamic Jewish cultural institutions and among the leading cultural venues in Los Angeles.
Chris Green
Chris Green is a Brooklyn-based designer, director and performer. His theatrical and installation works have been presented nationally and internationally in venues including the Skirball Cultural Center, Lincoln Center, New York City Center, St. Anne’s Warehouse, Geothe Institute (Delhi), National Geographic Museum, La Jolla Playhouse, Teatro del Lago (Chile) and BAM Harvey. Since 2005, his design studio, Chris Green Kinetics, has received awards of excellence from the American Association of Museums, TEA, and a Regional Design Award from AIA. Recent projects include Firebird, with ten puppeteers and a full orchestra, Hagoromo, a puppetry and dance collaboration with David Michalek, David Neumann and Wendy Whelan, and This Is Hunger, a multi-media installation about hunger in America traveling across the country in an expanding tractor-trailer.
Cotsen Children’s Library
The Cotsen Children’s Library, a unit within Princeton University Library’s Department of Special Collections, is the benefaction of Lloyd E. Cotsen, ’50, and Charter Trustee, Emeritus. The curatorial division administers the research collection of illustrated children’s books, manuscripts, original artwork, prints and educational toys, hosts academic conferences on children’s books and publishes their proceedings, and sponsors fellowships for research. The outreach division of Cotsen serves children of all ages, families, librarians and educators. Campus visitors can explore Bookscape, a whimsical reading environment with its two-story bonsai tree, Wall of Books, exhibition space, and attend free weekly story hours and special events.
ARTIST & INSTITUTION BIOS: MINIATURES
Mark Murphy
Mark Murphy is a miniaturist who specializes in Arts & Crafts furniture including Greene & Greene and Japanese furniture. He studied at Ohio State University, with an emphasis on sculpture. He finished his studies at the Philadelphia College of Art with a BFA in woodworking and furniture design. Shortly after that, he moved to San Francisco where he started making scale furniture models. It was at that time he met the miniature house builder Pam Throop and started making pieces for her period American and English houses. Mark also does collaborative work with several other miniature artists including Mary O’Brien, Patricia Hartman, Patricia Richards, Lee-Ann Wessel and Annelle Ferguson. A Fellow of the International Guild of Miniature Artisans, Mark has been teaching miniature furniture construction since 2000. He shows his work at miniature shows (The Guild Show in Hartford, CT, The Good Sam Showcase of Miniatures in San Jose, CA and the Chicago International Miniatures Show). His work is in private miniature collections and miniature museum collections including the Gateway Center in Maysville, KY and the Toy and Miniature Museum in Kansas City, MO.
Alexander Girard
Alexander Girard (1907–1993) was a highly influential and prolific interior and textile designer in the 20th century. He designed interiors for restaurants, homes, offices, and aircraft. He created textiles, typography, and tableware. His work extended to exhibitions, toys, and an entire city street in Columbus, Indiana. Folk and pop art were inspirations for his bold, colorful and whimsical artwork. Girard was a defining figure in the history of the Museum of International Folk Art. He donated more than 100,000 objects from his and his wife Susan’s folk art collection. In 1981, this became the museum’s permanent exhibition, “Multiple Visions: A Common Bond.”
International Folk Art Market
The mission of the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, NM, is to create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide who celebrate and preserve folk art traditions. IFAM envisions a world that values the dignity and humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions, and supports the work of artisans serving as entrepreneurs and catalysts for positive social change. Recognized globally as the largest market of its kind, IFAM provides an event for some of the finest folk artists to gather in one location, exhibit their artwork that is rooted in tradition and culture, and partake in cross-cultural artistic exchange. The earnings generated from the Market return to the home communities of the artists, creating long-term economic opportunity.
Leandro Gómez Quintero
Leandro Gómez Quintero uses paper, cardboard and found objects to create models of American cars and Jeeps, all of which are used as methods of transportation in his hometown of Baracoa, Cuba. They are individually hand painted and detailed to mimic the original vehicle. His sculpture represents Willys Jeeps from 1942–1955, as well as Dodge Power Wagons, GMCs, and Fords from the era. These sculptures are representations of what his community sees on a daily basis, and Leandro hopes to preserve and offer knowledge through his art, as well as reflect the history of transportation and everyday life in Cuba. Quintero says, “They bring humor and call attention to the fact that we are an isolated community within a country that has been isolated for many years. By showing the people a part of their everyday lives in a lighthearted way, they come to appreciate and can smile at some of the difficulties that we encounter in just trying to live our lives and getting from one place to another.” (Courtesy of International Folk Art Alliance, 2017)
Gustave Baumann
(1881–1971) was an American printmaker and painter, and one of the leading figures of the color woodcut revival in America. While still a young boy, Baumann emigrated with his family from Magdeburg, Germany, to Chicago. He returned to Germany to study at Kunstgewerbeschule in Munich, and later attended the Art Institute of Chicago. After moving to Santa Fe in 1918, he became a leading member of the art community. Baumann was appointed area coordinator of the Public Works of Art Project of the Works Progress Administration beginning in the early 1930s. During this time, he also carved and decorated a large number of marionettes, with which he, his wife and other artists toured the state, acting out Hispanic and Native American folk stories.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
ABOUT CRAFT IN AMERICA
Craft in America is the Peabody Award-winning series on PBS exploring America’s creative spirit through the language and traditions of the handmade. The series takes viewers on a journey to the artists, origins and techniques of American craft. Each episode contains stories from diverse regions and cultures, blending history with living practice and exploring issues of identity, ritual, philosophy and creative expression. Craft in America’s organizational efforts include educator guides that adhere to national standards and the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles.
OUR MISSION
To promote and advance original handcrafted work through programs in all media
OUR GOALS
To document the importance of handmade objects and the artists who make them
To provide a gateway to discover, explore and experience craft
To celebrate our nation’s cultures through craft
CRAFT IN AMERICA, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
CONTACT
Lauren Over or Terry de Castro
press@craftinamerica.org