American Craft Winter 2022

Wonder. “We need wonder in order to keep moving and growing—to stay alive in the world,” writes designer and illustrator Marian Bantjes in her book I Wonder. “It gives us meaning and, in fact, makes us human.” At American Craft we’ve been pondering the word wonder and its many meanings—from experiencing awe and delight to having curiosity and asking questions. The stories in this issue highlight how wonder plays a role in the way humans design, create, and experience craft. Among profiles of many artists, you’ll find the mind bending and mesmerizing work of Yuri Kobayashi and Melissa Meier. You’ll discover the magical connection between makers—such as Tracey Beale and Kristy Kún (whose work is on the cover)—and their materials. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look into the studio of stone carver Sebastian…

We’re delighted to bring you the sharp insights of Glenn Adamson, distinguished craft historian, curator, and author of several books on craft, including Craft: An American History; Fewer, Better Things; and The Invention of Craft. In this issue he writes about craft and the precariat. page 48 Anitra Budd, who has written several stories for American Craft, is the new executive director and publisher of Coffee House Press. Congratulations, Anitra! She writes here about Adebunmi Gbadebo, who uses historical and culturally imbued materials to create paper, prints, and sculpture. page 42 We were moved by Jovencio de la Paz’ discussion of scholar’s stones in this issue’s “Encounter.” While they are new to this magazine, you may remember this artist, weaver, and educator from the Summer 2021 American Craft Forum. If you missed…

Well-Wishers for Kinship The only word I have for your latest issue is this: breathtaking. Breath taking in scope, beauty, diversity, and in quality and inspiration. The vision and expertise displayed by the artists pictured spans far more than craft, and it includes evolution. Please ignore the discomfited nay sayers and continue to take the magazine—and your organization—in the rainbow direction you are headed. If nothing else, you are creating a blue print for the future where everyone is seen and heard. —June Gerron, Tulsa, Oklahoma The articles addressing relationships in the Fall 2021 issue resonated strongly with me. Although, as an artist, I create my work in solitude in my studio, the reality of any piece is the result of relationships: who/what inspired me to make it; the creatures (my family and always…

Tufting Magic From Instagram to #RugTikTok—the rug-making corner of the platform, naturally—rug tufting has gone viral. And no surprise: watching acid-green and Pepto-pink yarns punched at high speeds into shaggy carpets and trippy textiles is the kind of oddly satisfying content the internet loves. Instead of the old latch hooks and punch needles of the past, today’s tufters reach for their trusty and (relatively) affordable tufting guns. After a design is prepped on tufting cloth, users punch dense loops of yarn into it, rapid-fire, finishing a rug in just hours or days. For three young textile artists who started ahead of the trend, tufting is fiber art infused with playful design and their artful aesthetic, resulting in something uniquely theirs.—Emily Freidenrich Savannah, Georgia–based Trish Andersen takes a painterly approach to her tufted works and…

Assembling California: Imprinted. The American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA) in downtown Pomona, California, has a special relationship with the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, located about five miles away on the campus of Scripps College. For 77 years the gallery has been running the Scripps College Ceramic Annual, and since 2016, AMOCA has given the curator of the Annual a one-person show during the run of the multi-artist showcase. Curating the latest Annual, which COVID delayed for a year till this coming January, is the Bay Area–based ceramic artist Ashwini Bhat, who will show around a dozen small ceramic objects under the rubric Imprinted—literally imprints in clay of tree branches and other natural elements—plus photographs of her at work in the wild, and a video. The artist was born in a village in…

Paper engineer and artist Matthew Shlian turns the two-dimensional world of paper art inside-out with his stunning and precise work dealing with “the unfolding of space in one form or another.” This first monograph is chock-full of crisp work images that detail every subtle fold, as well as contributions by writer Lawrence Weschler and an interview with poet and essayist Stuart Kestenbaum. UNFOLDING: THE PAPER ART AND SCIENCE OF MATTHEW SHLIAN By Matthew Shlian Thames & Hudson, 2021 $60 AMERICAN FURNITURE ANATOMY: A GUIDE TO FORMS AND FEATURES By Kerry Pierce Schiffer Publishing, October 2021 $39.99 Pierce brings his 50-plus years of experience to bear in this comprehensive reference for furniture makers and appreciators. Through detailed line drawings and photographs of museum pieces, readers will learn about historical and contemporary furniture design, identifying design terms, types, and styles. DIEDRICK BRACKENS:…