Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern Summer 2023 Final Post

Mary here, Craft in America’s Getty Marrow Undergraduate Intern for Summer 2023. I can’t believe it’s been ten weeks since I started my internship. I am amazed by how much I’ve learned about the world of craft in such a short time. I came to Craft in America having just graduated from college, with little awareness of opportunities to learn new creative skills outside of academia. Since then, I’ve been exposed to so many local artists and organizations dedicated to furthering the art of handmade craft. I am thrilled to be able to promote these opportunities to the creative-minded people in my life. Allied Woodshop, for example, offers woodworking classes specifically for women, trans, and GNC individuals. I don’t think woodworking is for me, but I am hoping to take a blacksmithing workshop at Adam’s Forge, another LA-based nonprofit, sometime in the future. I still treasure the advanced weaving workshop I took at the Craft in America center with Ferne Jacobs, and will definitely be back for more.

During my second week at Craft in America, part of my duties included attending an artist talk at the Center given by Jeff Oestreich. In preparation, I researched the legacy of Leach Pottery in the Midwestern United States as carried on by Bernard Leach’s students (Jeff Oestreich, Warren McKenzie, and Clary Illian). This helped me comprehend the significance of craft as a bedrock of community. Not only has this internship increased my understanding of the necessary administrative work which underlies the craft world, it has brought me closer to finding a place in my own community of fellow makers.

I am sincerely thankful to the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship program for this opportunity, and to all the staff at Craft in America for making this such a positive experience.