Craft in America explores threads of culture

7/9/26

An exhibition highlighting the work of Hawaiian artist and cultural practitioner Marques Hanalei Marzan recently opened at Craft in America with an artist talk and reception.

“Marques Hanalei Marzan: Entwine” examines the artist’s use of traditional Hawaiian fiber techniques alongside contemporary interpretations of body adornment and sculptural form. Inspired by childhood curiosity about the construction of his grandfather’s lauhala hat, Marzan pursued instruction in weaving and related fiber arts passed down through generations of Native Hawaiian practitioners.

The exhibition features works created with hand-cut pandanus leaves and incorporates techniques including weaving, knotting, twining, and looping. Marzan also works with materials such as coconut fiber, cotton and wire.

Born and raised in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi, Marzan is recognized as a Hawaiian cultural practitioner, educator and contemporary visual artist. He trained with master weavers Julia Minerva Kaʻawa and Esther Kakalia Westmoreland and has become known for promoting sustainable gathering practices, perpetuating Hawaiian fiber techniques and mentoring students within his community.

Marzan currently serves as cultural advisor and the Wayne Pitluck and Judith Pyle Curator for Cultural Resilience at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. In that role, he works to integrate Indigenous perspectives and practices within museum settings while supporting cultural practitioners and community engagement with traditional knowledge and artistic expression.

The exhibition is also part of “Handwork 2026,” a nationwide semiquincentennial collaboration focused on the significance of handmade artistic practices and the diversity of American craft traditions.

Craft in America is located at 8415 W. Third St.

For information, visit craftinamerica.org.

Finely Crafted Call for Entries

Sebastopol Center for the Arts Prospectus: Finely Crafted

Call for Entry: Opens May 7, 2026 on CaFÉ
Exhibition Dates: Saturday October 24 thru Sunday November 29, 2026
Call Opens: May 7, 2026
Call Closes: August 27, 2026 10:59PM PST
Jurying dates: August 28 – September 8, 2026
Notifications to artists: September 11, 5pm 2026
Deadline for shipped artwork to arrive at SebArts: Friday October 16, 2026
In Person Drop Off: Sunday, October 18, 2:00-4:00, Tuesday, October 20, 10:00-3:00 p.m.
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 24, 2-4 PM

Description

Join the Sebastopol Center for the Arts celebration of the Handwork 2026 American Year of Craft. Our exhibition, Finely Crafted, invites artists working in Ceramics, Glass, Wood or Metal to submit their best work. The focus of this show will be on objects exemplifying true craft: Works that are original, uniquely expressive, created with skilled hands, inspired by the material itself, all the while celebrating traditional origins.

Jurors

JoAnn Edwards

Co-Founder and Retired Executive Director of Museum Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA.

Scott A. Shields

Ted and Melza Barr Chief Curator and Associate Director of the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA.

Mediums accepted

SebArts proudly showcases other crafts like textiles, baskets, jewelry and other mixed media in other exhibitions (including the Pulp exhibition and the Biennial International Fiber exhibition). Therefore this exhibition will only include Ceramics, Wood, Glass and Metal. Due to practical considerations we will not be accepting jewelry pieces for this exhibition.

SebArts Mission statement

Sebastopol Center for the Arts is committed to cultivating creativity and inspiring appreciation for the transformative power of art. We produce, promote and present artists – local, national, international – through curated gallery exhibits, artists open studio events, arts lectures, poetry readings, concerts, adult and youth education, a state of the art ceramics studio and an acclaimed documentary film festival. We are dedicated to honoring diversity, encouraging creative excellence, and providing a welcoming gathering place for the community to: Experience Art, Make Art, Share Art and Celebrate Creative Thought.

Dimensions and weight

•  Work must be able to fit through a 7’ by 7’ gallery door and fit on our 10 foot high wall.
•  Our experienced installation team can install your piece by any method with your clearly written instructions.
•  Max capacity of free standing artwork is 300lbs and 50lbs of any wall hung works. Artwork outside these limitations will be assessed and reviewed case by case. Artists are responsible for getting artwork to the SebArts gallery and some assistance from the artists may be needed depending on weight capacity.

Wall mounted work must include fixtures for safe hanging and hanging instructions as needed.

Eligibility

•  Open to artists worldwide.
•  $35 for one application including 3 detailed images. Additional $10 for each additional application (including 3 detailed images). This call for entry allows up to 3 applications.
•  All work must not have been previously shown in the SebArts Gallery.
• Please Note: SebArts goal is to promote currently working artists, so we ask that you only submit work produced in the last 5 years. Entry-Fees in callforentry.com (CAFÉ)

$35 for one application (including 3 detailed images). Additional $10 for each additional application (including 3 detailed images). This call for entry allows up to 3 applications.

Entry Requirements

• Submissions must be entered online only
• Please ensure that all images are 5MB or less in size and are in JPEG format. Please submit a high-quality image that best represents your work. Work that differs from the submission image may not be included in the exhibition.
• 1st Place Prize: $1,500

2nd Place Prize: $750 Medium Specific Awards

• Ceramics Award, Robert Brent, Founder, Brent Wheels & Equipment, since 1969: $250
• Glass Award, Katherine Gray, Professor of Art and the Chair of the Department of Art and Design at California State University, San Bernardino: $250
• Wood Award, David J Marks, designer/craftsman. He is recognized internationally as a master craftsman of fine furniture, turner, sculptor, and host of the television show “WoodWorks”: $250
• Metal Award, Ned Kahn, artist and sculptor with over 160 major public artworks worldwide during the last 40 years: $250
• Four Coordinator Awards

Commission

Artists will receive 60% of the sales price of the work sold, SebArts will receive the remaining 40%. This greatly helps SebArts continue to put on exhibitions and display these wonderful works for our community. SebArts main focus is to uplift artists,

Shipping Specifications:

• All work must have the artist’s name/contact information attached to their piece
• Ship to ATTN: VISUAL ARTS TEAM SebArts, 282 S. High St, Sebastopol, CA 95472
• Shipped work must arrive by Friday, October 16, 2026
• Artists are responsible for all shipping and handling costs to and from the exhibit.
• Each shipped entry must be packaged in a reusable container for the return of work: Include installation and re-packing instructions as necessary.
• So that we may return your unsold art, each shipped entry MUST include a prepaid return label and form (UPS or FedEx).
• Unsold work, with valid return shipping forms will be shipped within 15 days of the last day of the show.
• PLEASE unpack and inspect your returned artwork immediately and communicate any concerns with SebArts within 14 days of receipt.
• SebArts is not responsible for damage to art after 15 days. Hand Delivered Art

• Must be dropped off: Sunday, October 18, 2:00-4:00 Tuesday, October 20, 10:00-3:00 p.m.
• Must have artist name and contact information on the back of the work.
• Selected work must be on view for the duration of the exhibit. Work may not be withdrawn prior to close of the exhibition.
• Work must be picked up: Monday – November 30, 2026 10-3PM Please Read the Fine Print

• Selected artists agree to allow their work to be photographed for media use, for educational and publicity purposes.
• Artists receive 60% of the sales price of work that is sold.
• Indicate clearly on form if not for sale NFS.

Shipped or hand delivered artwork left 30 days after the closing of the exhibition will be considered SebArts property

Notifications

Artists will be notified by email of acceptance by September 11, 2026
SebArts reserves the right to make minor amendments to the juried choices to balance the needs of the exhibitions in our gallery.

Questions? Email Damian Estrella at destrella@sebarts.org or 707-829-4797 x 1003

Elysian Valley skateboard brand lands in L.A. art exhibit

By Brenda Rees
May 1, 2026

Elysian Valley—When it first happened, Ryan Anderson wasn’t fazed. But when people kept grabbing his DIY skateboard at coffee shops and other spots, marveling at the dozens of circular holes on the deck and wanting to try it, Anderson realized he was on to something.

A decade later, Anderson and partner Russell Hill at Rad Furniture have a famous skateboarding brand on their resume—one that’s literally gallery worthy.

Anderson and Hill grew up in 1980s San Diego as part of the skateboarding and BMX scene, and they founded Rad in Austin, Texas. When they moved their furniture manufacturing business back to LA in 2015 and to Frogtown in 2017, they decided to reconnect with their California roots. So they fashioned a skateboard from a piece of scrap metal.

“It was just intended to be fun, but people really responded to it,” Anderson said. “The attention caught us by surprise.”

The challenge became turning that rough prototype into a product. To make the material more environmentally friendly, they moved from metal to repurposed nylon fishing line. It was injected into the grooves of an iconic skateboard shape, but with an airy, perforated, lightweight twist.

The boards, under the Rad spinoff Lander, are sold worldwide through skate shops and online. In addition to being purchased by fans for decks at $75 and complete sets at $145, they are included in a new exhibit at Craft in America in L.A.’s Beverly Grove neighborhood. The art gallery show “Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard” chronicles how skateboarding evolved from its Southern California DIY roots, which offer clever innovations and artistic interpretations. The show runs until the end of May.

Anderson calls the exhibit the “perfect venue” to tell the story of their skateboard. On display is that first board, welded in 2015, and later prototypes showing the growth of the line.

Anderson thinks even non-skaters will appreciate the exhibit.

“There’s a lot to respect about the craft and ability to skateboard,” he said. “You can be standing up one second and on your back the next. That coolness will never go away—and being on a skateboard is the easiest way to feel like a kid again.”

Original article here.

Today on AirTalk: SoCal History: Skateboarding

LAist/Airtalk with Larry Mantle
3/9/26

SoCal History: A look at the origins of skateboard design

Southern California is the birthplace of a plethora of American inventions and innovations, chief among them: the humble skateboard. Four wheels, a plank of wood, and some metal bits to tie it all together, and boom: you have a mode of transportation that’s relatively easy to learn but incredibly tough to master. Skateboarding and skateboard culture began in Southern California back in the 1950s, and took hold of the cultural zeitgeist later in the century. Now, a new exhibit at the Craft in America Center in Mid City is exploring the creative, innovative, and sometimes wonky designs that have blessed Southern California’s sidewalks for decades. Joining Larry this morning for more on this exhibit and the history of skateboard design are Todd Huber, skateboard historian and founder of the International Skateboarding Hall of Fame, and Emily Zaiden, Director and lead curator of the Craft in America Center, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit arts organization founded in 2004 focused on original handcrafted work.

The Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard exhibition is running from March 14 through May 30 at the Craft In America Center in Mid City. More information is available here.

Full article here.

Craft in America announces skateboard exhibition, Vehicles of Expression

Woodworking Network
By Dakota Smith
March 6, 2026

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Craft in America,  a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization founded in 2004 to promote original handcrafted work, is hosting Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of the Skateboard. The exhibit will be one of the first museum exhibitions in the U.S. to focus on the crafted innovations of skateboards, starting with their inception in Southern California and ranging to contemporary, irreverent expressions from artists across the nation. 

Beginning March 14 through May 30, Abe Dubin, skateboarder and multimedia artist, 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. 

Where other exhibitions have focused on deck art and visual culture of skateboarding, Vehicles of Expression focuses on the historical development of the skateboard as a constructed object; from rough-and-ready, homemade inventions with lumber, nails, and repurposed wheels, to contemporary high-tech, ecologically-conscious uses of materials, and ultimately, performative and conceptual works that perpetuate its mischievousness and spirit of continual exploration.

From its very inception the skateboard has been the product of MacGyvering things together, drawing from hockey, roller skating, surfing and go carts. This exhibition will be one of the very first to substantively present skateboards as material culture and as handcrafted objects of artistic expression. In terms of design, material, and construction, skateboards are some of the most common, widespread crafted objects in our world, yet they have generally been overlooked by museums. Skateboards can be artfully made and used for equally artful performative acts. Intended to show wear and tear as badges of pride, these carefully crafted objects exist in a state of potential ephemerality. This show will expand definitions of craft, art, and performance by looking at this beloved and familiar object. Arguably one of LA’s biggest cultural exports, the show will focus on the artistry and history of the handmade, handshaped skateboard.

Some skateboards are made to be cherished simply as gorgeous objects and others made for artful performance—stunts of deconstruction and midair transformation engineered into the boards—in each case, departing radically from the the sport’s competitive aspect.

With skating’s spirit of undaunted exploration and ingenuity, the exhibition celebrates its diversity of approaches—being both trickster and diplomat. Intended to show wear and tear as badges of pride, these carefully crafted objects exist in a state of potential ephemerality. This show will expand definitions of craft, art, and performance by presenting multiple vantage points on this well loved and ubiquitous object.

If you would like to attend, send an email to rsvp@craftinamerica.org

Original article here.