2022 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern Sophia Li – Final Report

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!

Filming with Kazuki Takizawa for the Craft Video Dictionary

• 

• 

• 

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

• 

• 

• 

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.

2022 Getty Marrow Intern — Sophia Li

We are pleased to introduce our 2022 Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern, Sophia Li.

Sophia is a rising senior at Otis College of Art and Design, majoring in Product Design and minoring in Contemporary Clay. She spent the first half of her life in Beijing, China. Growing up, Sophia’s mom was obsessed with art, collecting antiques and taking her to museums. It is no wonder both she and her sister are interested in pursuing a career in the creative realm. Sophia had the privilege of taking art lessons from a young age, having her little canvas next to her mom’s full size canvas, oil painting in their home. Sophia’s current artwork incorporates her cultural influences along with nostalgic elements from her childhood and upbringing.

• 

• 

• 

Having experienced the isolation of online school during the pandemic, Sophia began to value the significance of human interaction and connection, the irreplaceable mode of in-person learning, and the impact of her work environment. She felt like she missed out on the “taken for granted”, the “just a Saturday night”, and the “spontaneous boba hangouts”— the seemingly mundane moments. As a result, Sophia picked up the hobby of film photography. Film allowed her to document these moments precious to her life, imitating the photos she found in her parent’s photo albums. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

As the Getty Marrow Undergraduate intern at Craft in America, Sophia hopes to learn all about the behind the scenes of the organization, to learn about what part Craft in America plays in the art community, and how to connect people to artists— how to inspire and introduce community members to crafts. Craft in America’s mission is to increase the knowledge and understanding of handcrafted work, and Sophia hopes to play a part in this process of using digital media to inspire an appreciation of craft.

Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship Summer 2022

Craft in America is pleased to offer a Getty Marrow Undergraduate Digital Communications paid, full-time internship this summer 2022 thanks to a grant from the Getty Foundation.

This internship will be a hybrid remote and in-person position at the Craft in America Center for a total of 40 hours a week. Intern must be available for 10 continuous weeks between June 6 to August 26, 2022.

The Craft in America Digital Communications intern will provide support and assist in various aspects of digital media. Intern will assist with cataloging and captioning our digital video library, research for the Craft Video Dictionary, cataloging our Craft in America Center library, researching and writing artist biographies for the website.

Over the summer, the intern will participate in outreach with artists, outside organizations, collectors, local businesses, student groups, and art schools. In addition, the intern will be involved in research, writing, and editing web and social media content to support the organization’s programming, website, and PBS documentary series. The intern will be trained to use our website and Constant Contact and will have structured time to familiarize with Craft in America’s resources, artist database, and style guide. Familiarity and knowledge of Adobe Suite, Google Suite, WordPress is a plus. Intern will demonstrate interest or curiosity in craft processes and artists as well as film production even if they do not have prior experience.

Eligibility

Candidates must:

• Be of a group underrepresented in museums and visual arts organizations, including, but not limited to, individuals of African American, Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander descent;
• Be currently enrolled as full-time undergraduates (bachelor’s degree program or associate’s degree program). Students must have completed at least one semester or two quarters of college by June 2022. Students graduating in April to June 2022 are also eligible. (Students who are enrolled in a second BA or BS program are not eligible.)
• Reside or attend college in Los Angeles County; and
• Be a United States citizen or permanent resident (non-citizen authorized to live and work in the US on a permanent basis; also known as a “green card” holder.) Students with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) status valid through the internship period are eligible.

Candidates are not eligible if:

• They have previously served as a Getty MUI summer intern at Craft in America.
• They are Craft in America staff members and relatives of staff or board members.
• They have received a prior BA, BS, or higher degree.
• They are currently enrolled in a graduate degree program.

To Apply:

Please submit the following to apply@craftinamerica.org with the subject heading “Internship 2022”:

• résumé
• description of how you meet the requirements for the position
• two letters of recommendation or contact information (phone/email) for two references (teacher, professor, former employer, etc.)

Deadline for applications: April 22, 2022.

For more information about the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program, visit www.getty.edu/foundation/initiatives/current/mui/mui_students.html