Bisa Butler’s childhood

Bisa Butler‘s childhood and education at the Rainbow School encouraged her to become an artist. Bonus video from the EAST episode.

Images courtesy of Courier News-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, Robert L. Bender Papers and Courier News Photograph Archive, Plainfield Public Library, Plainfield, New Jersey, Bisa Butler, and Estate of Jeff Donaldson and Kravets Wehby Gallery.

Helena Hernmarck’s documentation

Tapestry artist Helena Hernmarck shows us her weaving records documenting each piece she’s created since 1976. Bonus video from the EAST episode.

Milliner on working with M&S Schmalberg

Milliner Gigi Burris O’Hara on working with M&S Schmalberg flowers for her hats. Bonus video from the EAST episode.

Images courtesy of Gigi Burris O’Hara.

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.

Creative Perspectives with Ferne Jacobs

This small group workshop will be for anyone who has taken beginning fiber techniques previously. Those who have learned weaving and off-loom fiber techniques from other teachers are welcome. The intention is for students to be working on a piece of their choice or starting one from scratch. The group will discuss creative approaches for pushing the piece forward and each person will receive individual attention.

Ferne will work with students for the day, advancing the skills from various techniques the students have already learned. Basic technique will not be taught. Discussion and exploration of the creative process and development of forms will be the focus, expanding the technical knowledge already gained.

Students will provide their own materials.

The workshop fee is $125.00. Limit of 9 students.

Parking: Since most of the parking in the area has a two hour limit, the most convenient option is to pay to park at the Beverly Connection less than a block west on W. Third Street. Handicapped parking is available behind Freehand.

Creative Perspectives with Ferne Jacobs

This small group workshop will be for anyone who has taken beginning fiber techniques previously. Those who have learned weaving and off-loom fiber techniques from other teachers are welcome. The intention is for students to be working on a piece of their choice or starting one from scratch. The group will discuss creative approaches for pushing the piece forward and each person will receive individual attention. This session will focus on color use.

Ferne will work with students for the day, advancing the skills from various techniques the students have already learned. Basic technique will not be taught. Discussion and exploration of the creative process and development of forms will be the focus, expanding the technical knowledge already gained.

Students will provide their own materials.

The workshop fee is $125.00. Limit of 9 students.

Parking: Since most of the parking in the area has a two hour limit, the most convenient option is to pay to park at the Beverly Connection less than a block west on W. Third Street. Handicapped parking is available behind Freehand.

Jeff Minor

Based in Salmon, Idaho, Jeff Minor is a rawhide braider, leather craftsman, and teacher. Minor is known for his unique and intricately braided rawhide, including headstalls, reins, and other cowboy gear. He often processes and uses his own rawhide, obtained from custom butchers. He apprenticed under a saddlemaker and has been crafting items since the early 1980s. Minor is recognized for his dedication to preserving and passing on Western heritage, as well as producing both functional and artistic pieces. Minor received the Rawhide Braider of the Year award from the Academy of Western Artists. His work has been highlighted in a range of exhibitions, including a traveling exhibition by the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Trappings of the American West Show.

www.arts.idaho.gov/arts/jeff-minor

Cary Schwarz

Cary Schwarz began his journey in leatherwork in 1972, growing up on a family farm in a German Lutheran community in Idaho. After working in a holster shop in the late 1970s, he further honed his craft by attending a saddlemaking trade school in the early 1980s. Schwarz diligently studied saddlemaking, crediting influences such as Ray Holes Saddle Company, Dale Harwood, and Chuck Stormes for shaping his approach, which prioritizes both function and art in his custom saddles. Schwarz is a founding member of the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (TCAA), a non-profit dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional cowboy crafts. He has received recognition for his work, including the Governor’s Award for the Arts by the Idaho Commission on the Arts in 2010 and being named Saddlemaker of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists in 2009. Schwarz lives with his family in Salmon, Idaho. He conducts clinics and workshops on leatherwork and saddlemaking.

www.caryschwarz.com

Kawika Lum-Nelmida

Kawika Lum-Nelmida is an award-winning hulu (feather) artist from Pūpūkea, Oʻahu, renowned for his contemporary and traditional Hawaiian featherwork, including lei, kāhili, ahuʻula, and mahiʻole. He began learning lei hulu in 1997 from master teacher Paulette Kahalepuna at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he studied Natural Environment and Fiber Arts within the Hawaiian Studies program. Since 2012, Lum-Nelmida has been an active participant in MAMo: Maoli Arts Movement. In 2013, he received a Master’s Apprenticeship with Kahalepuna through the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Poakalani Quilters

Cissy Serrao & Rae Correia are prominent figures in the Hawaiian quilting community, continuing the legacy of their parents, master quilters and designers Poakalani and John Serrao. The Poakalani Quilters, operating as Poakalani & Co., are a Hawaiian quilt guild and school established in 1988 by their parents, dedicated to preserving and teaching the traditional art of Hawaiian quilting. Cissy and Rae now carry on the family tradition, offering classes, sharing patterns, and showcasing their exquisite, hand-stitched quilts, many of which feature John Serrao’s original designs, at various venues in Hawaii and internationally. Their work not only results in beautiful textile art but also serves to perpetuate Hawaiian culture and history, embedding stories and meaning into each quilt.

www.poakalani.net