POSTS
End of Internship Blog Post – Jana Mae Rubio
Whew. What a summer to remember!
I am so happy and grateful that I was chosen for this internship position. It’s been so cool seeing how an organization manages their exhibitions and how the complimentary documentary is produced.
Where do I begin? It’s been so awesome learning all of the different programs that help an organization to communicate with their audience. WordPress, Pinterest, Youtube Studio, Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, Dropbox. There is a staggering amount of effort that supports Craft in America’s media. I am especially excited for the social media campaign I’ve drafted that will highlight the Craft Video Dictionary! It’s important to me that the Craft Video Dictionary gets more visibility, so I’m hoping that my endless hours on Youtube Shorts pays off.
I’ve met many wonderful people both at the Craft in America Center and within the Getty Marrow internship program. Being surrounded by passion and energy all the time has reinvigorated me. While my future plans are not concrete, I am inspired to continue my path down Southeast Asian heritage preservation. I’d like to work with non-profits or museums in the Philippines that share the same values as Craft in America: recognizing the talent of the artisan, and giving them a platform to share their process with the community.
What has left an imprint on me is the energy of all the artists whose creativity is boundless. Thank you, Craft in America, for giving me the space to explore mine. I am grateful for the lessons, the laughs, and the lattes (because caffeine got me through this).
Signing off with a happy heart!
Jana Mae
Made in America: Handwork 2026 invites Americans to discover, explore, and celebrate the country’s craft legacy
American Craft Council
Shivaun Watchorn
8/6/25
To celebrate American craft during the country’s 250th birthday, Los Angeles–based Craft in America has partnered with the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum to spearhead Handwork 2026, a yearlong initiative that includes new TV episodes, a book, craft tourism, a national exhibition, and much more.
Major partners, including the American Craft Council, Americans for the Arts, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, PBS, and Ornament magazine, will help to organize and promote the initiative. More than 200 smaller regional craft museums and organizations will also participate in programming throughout the year.
“Craft is not nostalgic. Craft is alive,” says Carol Sauvion, founder of Craft in America. “That’s something we can be very proud of in our country.”
The initiative recalls 1993’s Year of American Craft, when Michael Monroe, then the chief curator of the Renwick, gathered 75 craft objects for display in the White House and brought the likes of Sam Maloof and Dale Chihuly into the storied building.
Visual arts consultant Harriett Green, who is an American Craft Council trustee, suggested doing something similar for the country’s semiquincentennial in 2026. Why not a full year of celebration of the craft that made—and continues to shape— the United States? Here’s what you can look forward to.
TV and Video. Starting in December, a four-part television documentary produced by the team behind the PBS program Craft in America will air on PBS and online, aiming to capture the full range of craft in the US with episodes titled “East,” “West,” “North,” and “South.” Three separate video initiatives—Handmade America, Craft Across America, and Crafting History—will also stream on PBS, YouTube, and Craft in America’s website.
A Book. To be published in spring 2026 by Monacelli Press, a book will feature under-told stories about craft histories, artists, materials, and processes.
Residencies and Education. Handwork 2026 artist residencies at select universities are being funded by the Windgate Foundation. Dr. Marilyn Stewart, an arts educator and textbook author, will oversee the creation of a curriculum for K–12 students that will “take a wide look at the history, cultural traditions, and impact of craft in the United States, from Indigenous origins until today,” according to organizers.
An Exhibition. The capstone of the project will be an exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, opening in November 2026, which will draw on the Smithsonian’s permanent collection and include 10 objects acquired specifically for the show.
Regional Programming. Organizers also hope to connect Americans to the country’s craft history through programming with regional partners. In Houston and upstate New York, for example, neighboring organizations plan to offer “craft trails,” where people can visit a handful of craft sites over a weekend.
Ultimately, the goal is to deepen Americans’ appreciation of the craft artists, materials, and processes that have shaped the country in its past 250 years, divided as the country may now be.
“Craft is unifying and craft is gratifying, and there aren’t many things in this world that have those two traits,” says Sauvion.
Shivaun Watchorn is associate editor of American Craft.
PBS America @ 250 Marks Nation’s Semiquincentennial with Expansive Programming
PBS Publicity
5/20/25
PBS America @ 250 Marks Nation’s Semiquincentennial with Expansive Programming Beginning Spring 2025 and Through 2026
ARLINGTON, VA; May 20, 2025 – PBS America @ 250 is a multiyear celebration of U.S. history, culture, and children’s programming, from spring 2025 through America’s Semiquincentennial in 2026 and beyond. As part of the largest national and local engagement effort in its history, PBS member stations will pay homage to the country’s founding with events in more than 75 markets nationwide. In addition, next summer, from June 27 through July 4, 2026, PBS will showcase a collection of its programming during a special week commemorating this important milestone.
PBS America @ 250, which was first announced in 2024, is designed to engage the country and inspire conversation around history and civics. In addition to tentpole programming like THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION from Ken Burns and Florentine Films, PBS KIDS, PBS LearningMedia, PBS Digital Studios, and PBS member stations will explore these topics at a national and local level.
With support from The Kern Family Foundation, PBS has launched the largest education and outreach effort in its history with THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. As part of the initiative, stations are hosting screenings and discussions with the filmmakers and historians. Events have already taken place in Richmond, Williamsburg, Boston, Lexington and Concord, Charleston, Raleigh, and Atlanta, with upcoming events in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Charlottesville to name a few. A full list of events can be found at www.pbs.org/americanrevolution.
“PBS America @ 250 is an extraordinary undertaking, made possible by the dedication of our member stations, PBS LearningMedia, PBS Digital Studios, producers, and countless others,” said Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS. “I could not be prouder of the powerful content emerging from these collaborative efforts. Our nation’s history deserves to be honored, and through this work, we are doing just that. PBS was made for this type of national reflection.”
PBS America @ 250 programming will span across History, Music and Culture, plus programming from PBS KIDS. More titles will be announced on a rolling basis.
At the helm of the initiative is THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, a new six-part, 12-hour documentary series from Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, which explores the country’s founding struggle and its eight-year War for Independence, premiering Nov. 16. A MORE PERFECT UNION: INSPIRING CIVIC & CIVIL CONVERSATIONS ACROSS AMERICA, a special from WETA in collaboration with the National Constitution Center that follows THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, examines how we think about America’s founding and how the ideas and values articulated 250 years ago remain relevant to conversations about governance today. It will premiere on Nov. 24.
HANDWORK: A CRAFT IN AMERICA 250 SPECIAL, a four-part series, will celebrate 250 years of handmade artistry with the first two episodes, “East” and “West,” premiering Dec. 19. Each episode is told through the hands of makers and explores ancestral traditions and modern innovation. Celebrating the significance of handcrafted objects in shaping and reflecting America’s diverse cultural heritage, these episodes are one part of HANDWORK: CELEBRATING AMERICAN CRAFT 2026, a multi-faceted, national initiative organized by Craft in America. Exhibitions and community events will be held nationwide in collaboration with PBS member stations, and educational programs for K-12 will be available on PBS LearningMedia.
LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, a two-part miniseries from BBC Studios marking the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary, takes Lucy Worsley back on the detective trail as she uncovers why the British Empire, the most powerful in history, lost the War of Independence against a ragtag band of American rebels. This two-part special will premiere in spring 2026.
DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE, a documentary from VPM, Virginia’s home for Public Media, explores the American Revolution through the eyes of free and enslaved Black people in the 1700-1800s. It will premiere in summer 2026.
GREAT PERFORMANCES “SUFFS,” based on the Tony Award-winning musical created by Shaina Taub, tells the story of the passionate American women who fought for the right to vote and explores the triumphs and failures of a struggle for equality. It will premiere in spring 2026. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW’s “250 Years of Americana” special episode will feature items from 1775 through today, and a journey through time via material culture. The special will premiere in summer 2026.
PBS will bring back several AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: PRESIDENTIAL PROFILES, examining the history of the American presidency, in addition to several original films. CAPITOL CONCERTS 2026 will feature a variety of well-known musical artists to celebrate America.
PBS KIDS programming will feature MAP ZAPPERS, a new series from Arkansas PBS that follows three ordinary kids who stumble across a highly anticipated museum exhibit in Washington, D.C. that contains artifacts from every U.S. state and territory. When they accidentally activate a piece of technology that teleports, or “zaps,” all the artifacts back to their place of origin, the trio of friends travel across the country, recovering the lost artifacts and learning about what it means to be an American along the way.
Additional content from ongoing PBS KIDS series will be a part of the PBS America @ 250 initiative, including a special new episode from MOLLY OF DENALI, plus new civics-themed content from ROSIE’S RULES and ALMA’S WAY.
PBS America @ 250 will include an array of digital programs. ROGUE HISTORY, from PBS Digital Studios and PBS North Carolina, introduces audiences to the rebels and revolutionaries who lit the fuse 250 years ago during America’s fight for independence. Season 2 will premiere on May 28, on the PBS Origins Channel.
IN THE MARGINS, from PBS Digital Studios and WHYY, reveals lesser-known figures who made huge impacts on the shape of the country and tells stories that expand our understanding of American history. Season 2 will premiere on June 25, on PBS Origins Channel.
CIVICS MADE EASY is a digital series hosted by author Ben Sheehan that explains how the American government and the U.S. Constitution work. Produced by Second Peninsula, the team behind PBS’s BRIEF BUT SPECTACULAR, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the series premieres June 26, on the PBS YouTube Channel.
As part of PBS America @ 250, PBS LearningMedia will help connect teachers and students to educational resources and learning events that draw from the broad range of new programming. Through curated, media-rich collections aligned to curriculum, PBS LearningMedia will help educators and students engage with this milestone moment in our nation’s history, inviting reflection, learning, and deeper understanding of how our past continues to shape our present.
Many of the 330 public television stations are partnering with educators and a wide range of local organizations to spark meaningful conversations about the nation’s founding and its evolving story.
Call for Artists for the 2026 Smithsonian Craft Show
The Call for Artists for the 2026 Smithsonian Craft Show continues through September 16, 2025.
The 2026 show will celebrate the artistry of America’s finest artisans. It is a juried exhibition and sale of contemporary craft and design held annually in Washington DC. Three expert jurors, newly selected each year, will choose 120 artists from a large pool of applications.
DATES OF SHOW:
Preview Night Benefit: April 22, 2026
Show days: April 23 – 26, 2026
LOCATION:
National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Judiciary Square Metro Station (Red Line)
For eligibility, more information and to apply: juriedartservices.com/events/2206
Playing with Fire
7/18/25
“By hammer and hand all craft doth stand,” says blacksmith Heather McLarty, paraphrasing “The Blacksmith’s Song” written by Moses Kipling in 1828. We’re standing inside her tipi in the sprawling Highland Park creative complex she shares with her husband, Troy Evans, an inspired and multi-skilled artist who incidentally made the tipi.
The Sioux-style tripod tipi (Evans is from northwest Montana) is sewn from 100 percent cotton—McLarty says they tried a cotton-hemp blend earlier, without success—and larger-than-life-size otters painted by a friend gambol across a few of the exterior panels.
The tipi, she says, offers her tools some protection from the elements. Many of the tools were made from iron by McLarty herself, and wear a coat of deep orange rust, ferrous turmeric.
“No jeweler would touch these tools,” she says, “but rust is inevitable, and it doesn’t stop me from working.”
McLarty will serve as the guest curatorial consultant for the upcoming exhibition “Tools of the Trades,” coming to Craft in America in September. Participating artists include Seth Gould, Tom Latané, Michael Sherrill, Liza Nechamkin, Dennis Dusek, Brien Biedler, and Andrea Harvin Kenington of NC Black ( a boutique tool company).
The announcement for the exhibition states, “Prior to today’s mass production, makers and artists fabricated their own implements as needed. In doing so, they might decide to add a bit of beauty to the functional with some decoration. Tools of the Trades celebrates the ingenuity born of necessity and the special narratives in the hand-crafted. The objects pertain to a wide scope of crafts: ceramics, textiles, hot glass, woodworking and metal, including the niche fields within them, such as ironwork or spinning.”
McLarty explains that working inside a space without walls “took some getting used to,” but the tipi’s flexible design, especially smoke flaps which can be easily raised or lowered to accommodate large pieces of steel, is in fact ideal for her process. This is especially helpful since she loves sheet-work, saying, “You can make anything with a sheet of steel, using it to create visual mass without actual mass.” One technique she uses to accomplish this is repoussé, meaning to push up from the reverse side. She’ll use a form shaped from pitch, a pliable mixture of pine resin, plaster, clay dust and some type of oil or fat, as the sculpting model around which the heated metal is shaped.
If all of this sounds medieval, or even more ancient, that’s because it is.
Blacksmiths, she says, are among the few craftspeople who not only make their own tools but also make tools for many other artisans. Smithing is traditionally associated with iron, but McLarty is deeply into steel, which is an iron-carbon alloy– preferably 18 gauge. She teaches workshops where copper—soft, forgiving, comparatively inexpensive—is used as an introductory medium, and she also works with bronze.
Among her specialties are railings and gates, which often integrate found objects. The gate to her home incorporates billiard balls as the street address numbers, and other gates, such as a 15-foot by 15-foot steel and copper entryway to the Occidental College Athletic Field, are even more fanciful.
To plan a railing, she makes what she calls a “story stick,” which is a length of pine used as a model, marked with the stairs and other aspects of the build. She says, “I’m not a linear person, and I don’t think in two dimensions. I may do a basic sketch, but really, to get started on a metal piece, I pretty much pick up a tool and start working.”
For the past century, sociologists have theorized that much modern angst arises from the fact that urban people rarely make things with their hands, with even manual laborers, such as assembly-line workers, producing only an isolated element with no sense of completion. Women have historically excelled in art forms and craft forms termed low resistance: cooking, baking, sewing, painting, embroidering, knitting, weaving, crocheting, quilling, clay sculpting, beadwork, jewelry fabrication. Whipping 18-gauge steel into submission requires an entirely different attitude.
Read the full article to continue.
Something for the Summer: Tea for Two at Craft in America
KTLA
2025 Getty Marrow Mid-Point – Jana Mae Rubio
Good morning everyone! This is Jana Mae, reporting live from the Craft in America Center in sunny Los Angeles. It doesn’t feel like five weeks has passed – it’s been so fun meeting everyone at the Center and the other interns in the Getty Marrow program. I’m really looking forward to hanging out with the other West LA interns next week.
It’s been eye-opening to see how social media is approached and analyzed internally. I have been learning about the back end of Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. Recently, my projects have centered around optimizing our Pinterest account. Pinterest, in general, is an underused platform by many American museums. This avenue will be amazing to showcase the beautiful work featured in our Center space.
An upcoming project of mine is brainstorming short-form videos to promote our current exhibition! There’s always something new to adapt to – converting the momentum from a viral post (e.g. Helena Hernmarck’s video) to more engagement with our social media overall is challenging. But I’m learning more about what resonates well with users and what makes them more likely to interact with a post.
Pop culture is always trending, so I’m currently managing a balance between a personable video style with Craft in America’s academic approach to media. I have hope that this can reach a new audience of Gen Z users.
Learning WordPress and organizing past artist talks and interviews has been very satisfying. I’ve also been updating Craft in America’s artist database with all of the people featured in their episodes and exhibitions. If you are an artist, I implore you to at least have an Instagram or website. We need your contact information! We want to keep in touch with you!
One of the highlights of the internship so far was going to the Arts Summit where I met the interns from the other institutions for the first time! It was so fun seeing everyone’s outfits (we all seem to be artsy…) and what keychains people collected on their bags. My favorite bag was definitely Dylan’s. She thrifted hers and immediately took to decorating it. I, too, have my own cherished bag that accompanies me to the Center. It was great to bond over the little details of an outfit!
Everyone has been so receptive to all the social media ideas I’ve had. There’s more in the works so watch out for updates! See you soon!
2025 Getty Marrow Intern — Jana Mae Rubio
Jana Mae recently finished their Bachelor of Arts in Narrative Studies at the University of Southern California. A native Angeleno, Jana Mae grew up visiting many beloved institutions such as LACMA, the Getty Museum, and the Huntington Library. It was here that Jana Mae’s interest in museums began.
During their time at USC, Jana Mae always gravitated towards areas that prioritized hands-on experiences. From sewing traditional clothing for Troy Philippines, 3D printing her graduation sash at 3D4E, to becoming a writer within USC’s video games program, Jana Mae has always been a restlessly curious individual. Most significantly, Jana Mae’s love for handicraft started with researching her family history. Her mom comes from an island renowned for textiles in the Philippines, and as such, Jana Mae joined the Southern California Handweavers’ Guild to learn more about weaving traditions. Jana Mae’s senior thesis paper discusses piña, a traditional Filipino fiber, as a form of nationalism in the Philippines.
Upon researching handwoven textiles, Jana Mae learned about the laborious process of weaving, and the intimate nature of passing this knowledge on to others. At Craft in America, Jana Mae hopes to meet other people interested in workmanship and community-building. Especially after seeing how difficult primary sources were to find for piña weaving, Jana Mae hopes to utilize digital media during their internship to make handicraft knowledge accessible for all inquisitive minds.
Have ‘Tea for Two’ at Craft in America
Original post in Beverly Press Park La Brea News
May 15, 2025
Sharing a cup of tea with someone can be an intimate, resonant experience, and through the eyes of Los Angeles art collectors Gloria and Sonny Kamm, the dutiful, historically laden teapot can be a site of great visual and tactile expression, where the focus becomes evocative abstraction of its most standard features. Through Aug. 30, Craft in America welcomes the exhibition “Tea for Two: The Teapots of Gloria and Sonny Kamm.”
The Kamms are known and respected for collecting and commissioning studio craft teapots by a wide range of artists. Envision a teapot made of perforated clay or another made of heavily embroidered fabric or even one made of metal mesh and pistachio shells.
Gloria Kamm has called these concept teapots “delightfully useless” in terms of practical function. And yet in partnership with her husband Sonny, the Kamms see the function of a teapot less as a device for serving the beverage, but rather as a celebrated vehicle for expression. The hospitable and iconic teapot has a 500-year history and has been widely and wildly interpreted by artists and production houses alike. “Tea for Two” will feature a curated selection giving insight into the inclinations and motivations of the renown Los Angeles art collectors, whose collection also ranges beyond that of their teapots. The couple is also featured in one of the newest Craft in America episodes, “Collectors. “
Gloria Kamm regards contemporary, one-of-a-kind teapots as “containers full of ideas” where the artist has transmuted, by their hands, their worries, celebrations or ponderings into the object. The wide scope of styles and materials in the curated selection will not only cause visitors to marvel, but to also give greater consideration to the structure of a teapot: pot, handle and spout. The irreverent and whimsical interpretations of these integral parts will provide entertaining musing for viewers of all ages.
May 2025 In Memoriam: Gail M. Brown
Craft in America warmly recognizes the recent passing of Art Historian Gail M. Brown. Among many things, Gail was an enthusiastic curator of contemporary craft and an educator whose (60+) exhibitions work spanned over 25 years across all regions of the U.S.A. Craft in America’s Center especially recognizes her as a longtime annual supporter of our overall organization. We also honor her generosity in donating her sizable art book collection to our growing Craft Library—her donated contributions have since helped create a Special Collections mini-collection of rare and unique exhibition catalogs and paper ephemera. Craft in America remains grateful for Gail’s contributions and impact within the Arts, and we send our condolences to her family and friends. As an effusive collaborator and proponent of the Arts, Gail M. Brown will be sorely missed.
