Book Signing & Celebration

Please join us to celebrate the launch of our newest publication, Handwork: Handcrafted Objects that Made America; a visually stunning, deeply inspiring celebration of America’s spirit through ordinary, surprising, and overlooked handcrafted objects spanning more than 250 years.

Handwork includes illuminating texts from nearly 30 experts nationwide that accompany each object, emphasizing overlooked narratives and the underrepresented artists who helped define American life through their craft. Contemporary makers featured throughout show how craft traditions live on, a testament to the human ingenuity that continues to shape American culture. An introduction by Zaiden also speaks to her editorial approach, “placing on equal footing the everyday and ordinary, the overlooked and disregarded, and the exceptional and acclaimed.”

Contributing writers and artists will be present to sign books and discuss their involvement and research.

Please email rsvp@craftinamerica.org to let us know if you’d like to attend.

Opening Receptions—Cowboy Craft: Traditional Art of the West and Marques Hanalei Marzan: Entwine

Please join us to celebrate the openings of two exhibitions related to the Craft in America WEST episode.

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Cowboy Craft, features artwork made by bonafide members of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association. Founding member, saddle maker, and NEA Fellow Cary Schwarz helped to organize the exhibition.

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Marques Hanalei Marzan: Entwine is a premiere solo exhibition of Marzan’s work on the mainland. The exhibition offers a rare chance to see his intricate work in person. Marzan will give an Artist Talk before the reception.

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Top images: Left: Beau Compton, Cowboy Stein. Right: Marques Hanalei Marzan, from the Pu’lei series.

Opening Reception—Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard

Celebrate with us as we open this playful and boundary-pushing exhibition about the development of the skateboard’s very structure. From its inception with cobbled-together lumber and rollerskate parts, to contemporary high-tech renditions, and cutting edge, eclectic, expressive variations—it’s all here!

Remarks by Abe Dubin (aka Orange Man), skateboarder and multimedia artist. Dubin will address the “why” that fuels skateboard innovation and how the melding of imagination with physical objects (and the altering thereof) is the essence of skateboarding. 

Tools of the Trades Opening Reception

Please join us to celebrate the opening of Tools of the Trades: American Handmade Implements & Devices, which is the first exhibition of the Handwork 2026 initiative.Tools of the Trades celebrates the ingenuity born of necessity and the special narratives in the hand-crafted. The specialized, laboriously handcrafted devices featured are used for a wide variety of craft applications: ceramics, textiles, hot glass, wood working, and metal, including the niche fields within them, such as ironwork or spinning.

Artists include: Anna Koplik, Arlen Heginbotham, Bosworth Spindles, Brent Bailey, Brien Beidler, Dennis Dusek, Dossain Valencia, Douglas Pryor, Dyakcraft, Eleanor Rose, Elia Bizzari, Fabiano Sarra, Heather McLarty, Indian Lake Artisans, Janet Fox of Handywomanshop, Jay Burnham Kidwell, Jeff Amundson, Jim Austin of Alchemy Metalworks, Jim Moore, John Williams of Guildwerks, Watanabe & Co., Kalia Kilban, Kelly Harris, Liza Nechamkin, Max Grossman, Med Chandler, Michael Sherrill / Mudtools, Andrea and Chuck Kennington of NC Black Co., Rachel Kedinger, Reid Schwartz, Saign Charlestein, Seth Gould, Shanna Leino, Spencer Hamann, Tom Latané, Will Larranaga, William R. Robertson and more.

Image credit: Prototype set of Mud Tools’ Petal Knives set. Photo by Michael Sherrill.

Opening Reception for Chris Maynard: Soar and Feathered Adornments: Boris Huang

Please join in to celebrate the opening of these exhibitions featuring finely crafted works made of feathers. Both artists will be present.

Pacific Northwest artist Chris Maynard cuts individual feathers into intricate shapes and then arranges them in shadow boxes and installations.

Hawaiian artist Boris Huang uses feathers employing the ancient Hawaiian tradition of feather art, imposing his own contemporary and cross cultural designs inspired by his native Taiwan. Boris will be demonstrating his technique during the reception.

Opening Reception for Erik and Martin Demaine: Puzzling with Paper and Lorraine Bubar: Papercut Perspectives

Please join in to celebrate the opening of this exhibition featuring different applications of paper as craft. Erik and Martin Demaine create folded paper sculptures as dictated by mathematical theorems, as well as formulas for folding paper into text-based pieces. Los Angeles artist Lorraine Bubar creates lush imagery reflecting the hierarchy and patterns of nature through the cutting and layering of fine Asian colored papers.

Building Blocks: Process & Wood Opening Reception

Please join the artists to celebrate the opening of this exhibition featuring new interpretations of wood in traditional methods. This exhibition presents objects that express contemporary perspectives while having been constructed through a variety of techniques that have been the essential building blocks for shaping furnishings over time.

Participating Artists: Reuben Foat, Martin Alexander, Ryan Taber, Lauren Verdugo, Larry White and Max Wilson

Between the Lines: John Luebtow and Stephen Edwards Opening Reception

Please join the artists to celebrate the opening of this exhibition featuring innovative work in glass and ceramics.

Spirit of Play: Craft and Imagination Opening Reception

Please join us to celebrate the opening of this exhibition featuring works from artists recently filmed for the newest Craft in America episodes, PLAY and MINIATURES. They include meticulously-constructed miniatures and piñatas as well as whimsical sculptures of recycled plastic and enchanting assemblages using found materials. Some of the works on display were created during the filming. Come celebrate the opening of the exhibition and let your mind roam in the worlds created by the artists!

Influences/Influencers: California Fibers Opening Reception

Please join us to celebrate the opening of this exhibition featuring innovative works by members of California Fibers. The organization is one of the longest running artist groups in the country and has been at the forefront of contemporary fiber art since the 1970s. We are pleased to present this exhibition that showcases the breadth of their influential and innovative work. Come view the show and meet the artists!