American Craft

Forge. I once visited Arcosanti, an experimental town in Arizona designed by architect Paolo Soleri. The highlight of my visit was attending an iron pour. A group of artists tipped molten bronze into forms to create the one-of-a-kind windbells for which Arcosanti is famous. The one I brought home now hangs in my porch. When the wind blows, it plays music that rings with strength. That sound, and the sturdy body of the bell that was once glowing-hot molten metal, are reminders to me of the transformative process of craft. When putting together this issue on the theme Forge, we knew we had to include blacksmithing and jewelry, stories of artists who have forged new paths, and stories of people with the vision to create change. But this issue holds other surprises.…

Greetings, American Craft readers! It is a great honor to join the American Craft Council as executive director. I’m grateful for the opportunity to step into a role that will capitalize so fully on my diverse experiences as a visual artist, attorney, nonprofit executive, and arts advocate. I come from a family of people who make beautiful, predominantly practical things using materials and methods passed down through many generations—things like fine wooden boxes, stained glass windows, quilts, and knitwear. Looking back on it now, I can see that the culture of making that surrounded me from childhood on was important in shaping not only my identity as an artist, but also my sense of agency and belonging. Some of my fondest memories are set in my grandmother’s kitchen. A daughter of German and…

Currently based in Barcelona, designer, potter, and artist Angel Yoon Kyung Cho spent part of her childhood in South Korea. There, her family made food offerings in bronze ware called yugi to honor their ancestors in jesa ceremonies. “The soft golden bowls shaped by fire and skilled hands carried a sense of mysticism and grace,” writes Cho in her essay about how yugi is forged and what it teaches her. page 66 Jeweler Rebekah Frank writes in this issue about how blacksmiths Elizabeth Brim, Rachel David, and Ellen Durkan are forging new paths. “These three artists have a lot in common—material, tooling, tradition—yet their work is incredibly different,” says Frank. “It’s a delight to see the personal come through the material. It’s what makes art and craft infinitely enjoyable.” page 26 While…

Inspired by Gee’s Bend Quilters and Greg Lauren That cover (Spring 2022) is everything. Craft, art, history, appreciation, and a Black woman! As a big fan of Gee’s Bend quilters, Jonathan Michael Square’s article made my heart sing. His coverage of MOSAIC: Gee’s Bend & Greg Lauren is a dream come true for members of your audience who are being creative synthe-sizing important personal values with new business models. —Catherine McLetchie, Pemaquid, Maine Thank you so much for this fashion issue. And for the Zoom session with Greg Lauren and Gee’s Bend quilters (American Craft Forum, Spring 2022, craftcouncil.org/Forums). Fabulous. As a designer/maker in the space of upcycling discards, I often wonder wherein I fit. Over two decades working with reclaimed garments and explaining why what I do is beyond functional fashion, I…

With works ranging from Margarita Cabrera’s hand-sewn vinyl sculptures representing labor politics to Lakota artists Kevin Pourier and Valerie Pourier’s carved bison horns and Bisa Butler’s monumental portrait quilts of Black identity, This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases marginalized histories. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, the branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum devoted to American craft. “We’ve known for years that there are so many histories of craft that have gone overlooked by collecting museums, including the Renwick,” says curator Mary Savig. “This exhibition centers artists of color, women, and LGBTQ artists, and it looks very different from the rest of the permanent collection.” This Present Moment comprises over 170 objects, 135 of which are new and were acquired in the past two years…

Whether to get an appraisal is a question many craft collectors ask themselves at different stages—maybe they’re thinking about selling an object, or maybe they’ve inherited an object and are curious about its value. Perhaps they’re estate planning, or they want to get a piece insured. Debrah Dunner of Aesthetica Art Services in Potomac, Maryland, specializes in appraising contemporary American craft. Here, she weighs in on different scenarios that may warrant an appraisal. Scenario #1: You want to sell an object at an auction. There’s no need for an appraisal. “Every appraisal has an intended use and an intended user,” says Dunner, and the final appraisal is written to reflect those uses—for example, to determine fair distribution of assets or get proper valuations for insurance. If you’re just looking to sell a piece,…