(Los Angeles, CA) The second season of the Emmy nominated and Peabody Award winning CRAFT IN AMERICA, a filmed journey of the history, artists and techniques of our nation’s rich craft culture, has concluded shooting. The two new episodes, filmed in locations including New York City, Oakland, Boston, Kansas City, Cleveland, Palm Springs, Los Angeles and New Jersey, will air nationally on PBS in Fall 2009.
An encore presentation of the original three episodes from season one of CRAFT IN AMERICA has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 3, 2009 from 8 to 11PM (check local listings.)
The critically acclaimed series CRAFT IN AMERICA, which premiered on PBS in 2007, is the result of a decade-long passion of Carol Sauvion, the project’s executive producer. Joining her are Steve Fenton, creative director and writer, and Jacoba Atlas, senior advisor, who is currently president of Creative Visions Productions.
The new episodes continue the journey into the diverse and ever-evolving world of American craft.
The two new episodes airing in fall 2009 are entitled “Origins” and “Process.” “Origins” focuses on the origins of the American craft movement and features artists who tie their work to early craft techniques and pass these techniques to others in a continuum of creativity. Artists featured include South Carolina blacksmith Philip Simmons, North Carolina potter Vernon Owens, Kiowa beadworker Teri Greeves, weaver and professor Jim Bassler, and New Jersey glass artist Paul Stankard.
“Process” looks at what inspires a person to choose a career in craft and shows how they go about acquiring the knowledge and necessary skills. Artists and institutions featured include New York City’s 92nd Street Y, Professor Cary Esser of the Kansas City Art Institute, and Nikki Lewis, a recent graduate of her ceramics program, Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, the director of Boston's North Bennet Street School which has been training people for employment in the crafts since 1885, book artists Julie Chen and Tom Killion, and jewelers David and Roberta Williamson of Berea, Ohio.
Further information on the new episodes is below. Please contact us for art and interviews.
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Origins
The American craft tradition did not just appear, fully-formed and mature. Where have our craft practices come from? How do they continue? Each of the artists featured in “Origins” tie their work to early craft techniques and demonstrate how they are involved in passing these techniques to others in a continuum of creativity.
Since earliest time, human beings have made objects. Most, such as tools, cooking utensils, blankets and clothing, served a simple utilitarian function. If they performed well, appearance was unimportant. Other objects, like beaded jewelry, were used for both personal adornment and for more symbolic purposes. As tradition and convention established and standardized the shape, size, and function of these objects over time, more personal imprints were incorporated into their production. "Origins" will reference the traditions, tools and techniques developed millennia ago to explore how today’s artists put them to use in their work and reflect our national roots and heritages.
Philip Simmons, blacksmith, Charleston, South Carolina, is directly linked to the traditions of African-American metalworkers in the South and to age-old metal working techniques. Philip, and the people who have apprenticed with him, are responsible for many of the iron gates that give Charleston its unique identity.
Vernon Owens, master potter, Jugtown Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina. Vernon, a sixth generation potter, has been making pots at Jugtown for over 50 years, having started making pots for sale at the age of ten. His story – and that of one of America’s oldest potteries – continues with Pam Owens, Vernon’s wife, son Travis, age 22, recently graduated from NCSU, and daughter Bayle, age 17, who have decided to work at Jugtown and continue the family tradition. We will hear from potter and former owner of Jugtown Pottery, Nancy Sweezy, and potter Mark Hewitt.
Teri Greeves is a beadworker who both follows and updates the Kiowa tradition of beadwork and is a modern link in the chain of personal adornment that began thousands of years ago. Teri uses her talents to tell the story of the American Indian, both contemporary and historical. Her works include books, jewelry, and even high top sneakers!
Jim Bassler is a weaver and professor who re-invents ancient weaving techniques from Peru and Mexico and uses them to express his ideas about the importance of fiber techniques to the history and evolution of humanity. We will include Jim’s students in the World Culture program at UCLA, where he encourages the consideration of the tactile and handmade in our modern, technological culture.
Paul Stankard, glass artist, Mantua, New Jersey. Paul follows in the tradition of centuries-old European lampwork, elevating the practice of flamework through his botanical paperweights. Paul lives and works in an area of southern New Jersey where glass has been produced since 1739. With him in the studio are his daughters Katherine Stankard Campbell, Pauline Stankard Iacovino and Christine Stankard Kressley, and long-time assistant David Graeber, accomplished flamework artists who assist in the creation of his masterpieces.
Process
In a fast-track, high-tech, drag-and-drop world, what inspires a person to choose a career in craft and how do they go about acquiring the knowledge and necessary skills? What makes an established professional give up everything to make a 180-degree turn to the arts in mid-career? What educational opportunities are available for people of all stages of life who harbor the desire to learn a craft?
Ernest Hemmingway said the most frightening thing he ever faced was the blank page. What gives a person the impetus to face the fear and joy of approaching their “blank page” -- their block of wood, slab of clay, or piece of silver?
These are the issues of Process, an episode that will answer many of the questions viewers of the first Craft in America series have posed, including how to learn a craft, how to make a living as a craft artist, and where an artist finds the creative strength to overcome their struggle with his or her demons -- their twin terrors of success (and failures) – prompted by their talents or the sheer physicality of their materials.
We will take the viewer where craft is practiced on different levels, from those who are self-taught to those who pursue formal study; from avocation to education in college and at the university level; from apprenticeships to craft schools. Then we will follow them into the world and see where they take their educations, and, ultimately, demonstrate their importance and value to society.
New York City’s 92nd Street Y has been a seminal part of craft education for decades, even training artists under the GI Bill. A program like theirs is often a step in the process from amateur to professional craft artist. We visit with several students and teachers including Jonathan Wahl, the Y’s Director of Jewelry and Metalsmithing, and Robert “Bobby” Silverman, Director of Ceramics.
Cary Esser, Professor, Kansas City Art Institute, and Nikki Lewis, a recent graduate of Cary’s program who went on to receive her MFA at UCLA. Cary goes beyond teaching skills and techniques, preparing her students for a career in ceramics by mentoring them as they evolve from students to trained professionals. It is a credit to Cary’s influence on her students that so many of them attempt and succeed at having a career in the ceramic field. We will visit her in our country’s heartland to experience her influence. We will also visit with Nikki Lewis, one of Cary’s students, who is now a professional potter and teacher in Los Angeles, and is carrying on the tradition of passing along knowledge to another generation of prospective craft artists.
Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, Director of the North Bennet Street School, Boston, Massachusetts. North Bennet Street School has been training people for employment in the crafts since 1885. It pioneered the concept of intensive instruction in a classroom/shop setting for the sole purpose of learning a trade. Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez is himself a graduate of the furniture department and a teacher dedicated to preserving and advancing craft traditions, and promoting greater appreciation of craftsmanship. The school is unique in training students for careers in diverse areas like bookbinding, cabinet and furniture making, carpentry, jewelry making and repair, locksmithing, piano technology, preservation carpentry, and violin making and repair – all traditional trades that use hand skills in concert with evolving technology. Miguel will show us the methods and value of this unique education.
Julie Chen, book artist, Berkeley, California. Julie Chen’s works defy traditional definitions of bookmaking, combining original works of poetry and three-dimensional paper techniques to stunning effect. Each one holds embedded messages to be discovered and journeys to be taken, in form and text. Julie Chen works like a conceptual artist, allowing an idea to determine its form and content. Her book forms reflect the variety of concepts that fascinate her, including language, history, memory, and time. Every element – structure, shape, color, material – is in symbiotic relationship with the concept. In contrast to Julie’s highly innovative and conceptual books, we will present the work of Tom Killion, printmaker and book artist, whose work reflects a traditional aesthetic.
David and Roberta Williamson, jewelers, Berea, Ohio. The Williamsons create jewelry that combines ephemera and found objects, some of which has been passed down in their families, and others found at the many flea markets and antique shows they frequent. Working as true partners in the process, Dave brings the technical skills that complement Roberta's creative combinations of art and design. Part of their own lives goes into each of these talismans and the story they tell is interpreted and re-invented by the wearer. Through classes they teach locally, students are encouraged to "find their own stories" and build a piece of jewelry that captures and envelops an emotional moment or memory dear to their own lives.
