POSTS

Mira Nakashima signing the Ireicho

A few weeks ago, Carol Sauvion, Executive Director of Craft in America, attended a historic event where Mira Nakashima signed the Ireicho, the book that contains all the names of the Japanese Americans whowere sent to the internment camps during WWII. The Ireicho is currently at the Japanese America National Museum in Los Angeles. It is possible to make
an appointment to mark the book in honor of the internees. The book will soon travel to the next host museum.

Mira Nakashima was featured in the LANDSCAPE episode.

Mira Nakashima signs the Ireicho, marking her mother’s name
Mira Nakashima signs the Ireicho, marking her mother’s name
Mira Nakashima in front of the Minidoka scroll. She was six weeks old when she and
her parents were incarcerated at Minidoka

Q&A: Syd Carpenter on Forgotten History of Black-Owned Farms

THE DAILY YONDER

by Anya Slepyan

March 17, 2023

Syd Carpenter is a Philadelphia-based mixed media artist who focuses on clay. She has received numerous awards including a United States Artist Fellowship, an Anonymous Was a Woman Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and many others.

Read full article here.

Watch: Portland Potter Ayumi Horie Explains Her “Quirky Line of Work” on PBS

By Adrienne Perron

March 2023 issue

Portland-based potter Ayumi Horie, who won the Maine Craft Association’s 2022 Maine Craft Artist Award, is getting national attention now too. The PBS documentary series Craft in America recently devoted a segment to the 53-year-old ceramicist, who discussed her mission to “broaden the audience for handmade pots” and demonstrated her signature “dry throwing” technique. She also pressed a few of the playful ramen bowls now on display at the Craft in America Center, in Los Angeles, for an exhibit in conjunction with the episode. “They felt like appropriate forms for LA, given what a foodie city it is,” Horie told us. The exhibit closes March 11, but you can stream Horie’s episode below.

See the full post here.

Summer 2023 Internship

Craft in America is pleased to offer a Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship this summer.

The Craft in America Digital Communications intern will provide support and assist in various aspects of organizational digital media content and management. Projects include 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, and creating promotional materials.

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 under the supervision of the Producer. 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 is a plus.

This internship is on-site at the Craft in America Center two days a week and remote for three days a week for a total of 40 hours a week.

To apply:
Submit résumé, two letters of recommendation or contact information (phone/email) for two references (teacher, professor, former employer, etc.), and a description of how you meet the requirements for the position. Email all submissions to apply@craftinamerica.org with the subject heading “Internship” by April 14, 2023.

Eligibility

Students 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 degree program). Students must have completed at least one semester or two quarters of college by June 2023. Students who graduated after April 1, 2023 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 United States on a permanent basis.) Students with DACA status through the internship period are also eligible.
  • Be available to work for ten consecutive weeks between:
    June 5 to August 11, 2023 or
    June 12 to August 18, 2023 or
    June 20 to August 25, 2023;
  • Attend mandatory events (Arts Summit and two Learning Community Events)

Art Smith: Jewelry, Jazz, and Jeté at MAD

MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN

Thursday, February 16 at 7 p.m.

Join MAD for an evening of jewelry, jazz, and dance, as they celebrate the modernist jeweler Art Smith, whose work is currently on view in Jewelry Stories. Smith confronted barriers of race, sexual orientation, and class to become a successful purveyor of wearable sculpture. Among his clients were haute giltterati, such as Duke Ellington, Pearl Primus, and Lena Horne.

In honor of Smith, jazz singer Lezlie Harrison will perform a special selection of songs that embody the spirit of Smith’s work. The evening will also feature a modern dance performance by Kevin Boseman set to recordings of Art Smith’s recollections of his life and work, a screening of the Art Smith segment from our JEWELRY episode, and a conversation on Smith’s artistic inspirations and legacy.

The event is hosted and guest curated by Souleo.

Find out more about the event here.

Find tickets here.

Image: Installation of Art Smith’s 1948 brass neckpiece in Jewelry Stories

2023 United States Artists Fellows

Congratulations to the 2023 United States Artists Fellows, especially ceramic artist Syd Carpenter who was featured in the HOME episode and Navajo weaver Barbara Teller Ornelas featured in the TEACHERS episode.

The Legacy of Lloyd E. Herman

We at Craft in America are saddened by the passing of Lloyd E. Herman. Lloyd was a pivotal force in the founding of our organization. He became a board member and an Advisory Council member and his insight and input was invaluable. 

He was a true craft advocate, a font of knowledge and insight, and a friend who will be missed deeply.

During his twenty-year employment at the Smithsonian Institution, Lloyd Herman was the founding Director of the national craft museum of the United States–the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum–from 1971 until 1986. A specialist in art made from clay, glass, wood, fibers and metals, he was cited by the University of Washington Press as “one of the foremost authorities on America’s contemporary craft movement.”

After retiring from the Smithsonian Institution, he curated exhibitions on craft and design topics for such clients as the United States Information Agency, the Smithsonian Institution and various museums and traveling exhibition services. He lectured on American crafts throughout the United States, and in Australia, Canada, England, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Japan, and juried numerous art competitions in the United States and abroad. He led craft tours to Bhutan, India, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, and Vietnam, and lectured on contemporary glass art for Elderhostel/Road Scholar programs in Seattle.

He was an honorary member of the American Society of Interior Designers, an Honorary Lifetime Member of Northwest Designer Craftsmen, an honorary Fellow of the American Craft Council, and trustee/secretary of the Highline Historical Society. Herman was decorated by the monarchs of Denmark and Belgium for exhibitions that he organized on the crafts of their countries. Herman published several books including; Art That Works: The Decorative Arts of the Eighties, Crafted in America, Trashformations; Clearly Art: Pilchuck’s Glass Legacy; Tales and Traditions: Storytelling in Twentieth Century American Craft and American Glass: Masters of the Art.

jra.org/jracraftnews/legacy-of-lloyd-herman?mc_cid=3d2377793a&mc_eid=a93f662185

The Furniture Society’s 2023 Educational Grants

The Furni­ture Society is thrilled to offer schol­ar­ships through part­ner­ships with Ander­son Ranch, Arrow­mont, Haystack, John C. Camp­bell Folk School, and Peters Valley.

The goal of these part­ner­ships is to promote excel­lence in the furni­ture field through profes­sional devel­op­ment and support­ing projects of an educational nature.

The five part­ner­ships are supported through the Educa­tional Grants arm of The Furni­ture Society and provide unique educa­tional oppor­tu­ni­ties open exclu­sively to currently enrolled members of The Furni­ture Society. Each FS grant is designed to high­light an oppor­tu­nity partic­u­lar and unique to the partnering institution.

Deadline to apply is February 5, 2023. For more information, visit furnsoc.org/events/grants/educational-grants/2023-educational-grants

Grand Marais Businesses and residents featured in PBS’ Craft in America HOME episode

COOK COUNTY NEWS HERALD – AUDIO ARTICLES

by Joe Beres

December 16, 2022

Several Cook County residents and businesses will be featured in an episode of the Peabody Award winning
series Craft in America, premiering December 16 on PBS stations nationwide. The soon-to-be
released episode is titled HOME, and features Hedstrom Lumber, North House Folk School, and multiple
instructors and students.

Read and listen to full article here

Filming with Nobuhito Nishigawara for the Craft Video Dictionary

It was our pleasure to film with ceramic artist and educator Nobuhito Nishigawara for the Craft Video Dictionary. Nobu demonstrated many wheel throwing techniques as well as hand building techniques and glazing.

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.