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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.

small portrait of Gail M. Brown smiling among colleagues at a conference dinner — Gail Brown. Photo credit: Studio Art Quilt Associates Inc. www.saqa.com

Getty Marrow Digital Communications Paid Internship 2025

The Craft in America Digital Communications intern will provide support and assist in various aspects of organizational digital media content and management. The intern will be involved in researching and writing content to support the organization’s exhibitions, programming, website, and PBS documentary series. The intern will be involved with episode post-production tasks. The intern will assist with the Craft in America book proofs and coordinate with the writers/artists involved. The intern will work on the Center exhibitions and programming. In addition, the intern will catalog and caption our digital video library as well as catalog our physical library.

The intern will participate in outreach with artists, outside organizations, collectors, local businesses, student groups, and art schools. The intern will be trained to use our website and Constant Contact and will have structured time to familiarize with Craft in America’s resources, artist database, and style guide. Familiarity and knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Google Suite is a plus.

This internship is on-site at the Craft in America Center two days a week and remote for three days a week for a total of 40 hours a week.

To apply:

Submit résumé, two letters of recommendation or contact information (phone/email) for two references (teacher, professor, former employer, etc.), and a description of how you meet the requirements for the position. Email all submissions to apply@craftinamerica.org with the subject heading “Internship.” APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 18, 2025

Eligibility

Students must:

– Be a member of a group underrepresented in careers related to art conservation, museums, and/or visual arts organizations, which can include groups defined by – among other things – socioeconomic status, cultural background, physical or other disability, geographical origin and/or any life experiences that add diverse and underrepresented perspectives.

– Be currently enrolled as a full-time undergraduate in either a bachelor’s degree program or an associate’s degree program. Students must have completed at least one semester or two quarters of college by June. Students who graduated the semester or quarter immediately before the internship begins are also eligible. (Students who are enrolled in a second BA or BS program are not eligible.)

– Attend college in or be a permanent resident of LA County; and

– Be a United States citizen or permanent resident (non-citizen authorized to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis; also known as a “green card” holder). Students with DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) status valid through the internship period are also eligible.

About Craft in America

Craft in America is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization founded in 2004 with the mission to promote and advance original handcrafted work through programs in all media.

Craft in America produces a Peabody Award-winning, Emmy-nominated documentary series, which first aired nationally on PBS in 2007 and has produced 33 hour-long episodes to date. These programs are filled with artists, techniques, and stories from diverse cultures, blending history with living practice. In addition to the series, Craft in America’s organizational efforts include extensive websites (pbs.org/craftinamerica and craftinamerica.org), a YouTube channel youtube.com/craftinamerica, multi-disciplinary educator guides that adhere to national standards, a small permanent collection, and the Craft in America Center in Los Angeles. All organizational content is provided to the public at no charge.

The Craft in America Center is a public gallery, programmatic space, and library located in the heart of Los Angeles. The Center organizes contemporary craft exhibitions, educational outreach, artist and scholarly talks, and hands-on art workshops.

Winter ‘25 FEATHER EXHIBITIONS : ART LIBRARY DISPLAY

This winter / spring the Craft in America Center is exhibiting innovative feather-based artworks by Boris Huang, a Taiwanese-Hawaiian featherwork artist and Chris Maynard, a biologist/birder feather artist. Our Education Coordinator, Sam Sermeño, has curated an interactive library display to accompany technically distinct and cross-cultural approaches to feather art. During the exhibition opening, the Center was fortunate to have both artists present. Maynard gave an in-depth presentation on his work and Huang gave a detailed feather lei demonstration which will be featured in our Craft Video Dictionary, a new learning resource for craft and art techniques across mediums.

Several of the displayed magazines and books highlight long standing featherwork art forms, from Mardi-Gras to Hawaiian lei-hulu art traditions shared by renown matriarchs. This collection explores the dynamism of feather work’s niche art culture, craft techniques, and its deep impact on different regions’ community expression; from the ornately feathered and beaded regalia and parade culture of New Orleans, to several schools of Hawaiian indigenous featherwork traditions, to more contemporary and fiber-cut dimensional feathered installations.

We hope you enjoy browsing this selection of reading materials, and please know that the invitation to browse our library remains open-ended. Thanks to generous book donations and ongoing curatorial scholarship, our library warmly welcomes the curious passerby, armchair art historian, artists & creatives across all mediums and practices.

photo of feathers and bird diagram next to a red black and yellow "Royal Hawaiian Featherwork" book — Royal Hawaiian Featherwork: Nā Hulu Aliʻi (2015) by Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco & Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum et. al; and example feathers provided by artist Boris Huang

Royal Hawaiian Featherwork (2015) dives into various museology research, curatorial insight, and cultural critique of what is considered the origin of Hawaiian featherwork among royalty ranging from the 18th to 19th centuries. This book pays homage to the hand-techniques required in constructing these various feather cloaks and adornments. Ample parts of this book share accounts and research about the cultural recognition of fetherwork’s craft and how this featherwork secured Hawaiian chiefs spiritual protection and prosperity for centuries. According to most art historians, few royal feather artworks (known as nā hulu ali‘i) are known to survive outside of various art museum and private collection settings. Viewers will learn much about the surveyed seventy+ rare examples of royal featherwork capes and cloaks (‘ahu’ula), feathered royal staffs (kāhili), helmets (mahiole), feather leis (lei hulu manu), and various feathered deity iconography (akua hulu manu) in paintings and other paperworks. Deeply rooted in cultural significance, this book explore how various featherwork are detailed, along with their recorded historical-social functions; many of these items were central to Indigenous Hawaiian diplomacy, from securing political alliances and agreements, to battlefield armor and regalia, used as their own form of martial currency, to eventual trading and foreign visitor cultural gifts. This dense volume also serves as the catalogue accompanying one of the first Hawaiian featherwork exhibitions on the U.S. mainland, via the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (2015).

Cover for the book "House of Dance and Feathers: A Museum Book" — The House Of Dance And Feathers: A Museum book, By Ronald W Lewis (Rachel Breunlin and Helen Regis, 2009)

Vivid orange feathered and beaded New Orleans parade dancers smile and prepare for their festivities down the city's streats with musical accompaniment — The House Of Dance And Feathers: A Museum book, By Ronald W Lewis (Rachel Breunlin and Helen Regis, 2009)

The House Of Dance And Feathers: A Museum By Ronald W Lewis (Rachel Breunlin and Helen Regis, 2009).

This book was published nearly a decade before Ronald W. Lewis, an illustrious New Orleans culture-shaper, passed away. Lewis helped assemble the “House of Dance & Feathers” museum found in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. Readers will enjoy the museum displays, festival and parade photos, interview excerpts and insider knowledge sourced from the posthumous Lewis himself and close knit communities. This work highlights and honors the different worlds Lewis inhabited, and these communities’ cultural impacts on Black history and New Orleans’ social fabric; recognizing New Orleans’ various Bone Gangs, Parade Krewes, Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs’ continued legacies amidst decades of change.

Colorful photo of Revised edition of "Feather Lei As an Art" — Feather Lei As an Art book, revised ed. (Mary Louise Kaleonahenahe Kekuewa and Paulette Nohealani Kahalepuna, 2005)

Colorful photos of people wearing feathered lei on straw hats, with brief table of Hawaiian color and feather significance — Feather Lei As an Art book, revised ed. (Mary Louise Kaleonahenahe Kekuewa and Paulette Nohealani Kahalepuna, 2005)

Feather Lei as an Art (2005) by the late and renown Elder Mary Louise Kaleonahenahe Kekuewa and her daughter Paulette Nohealani Kahalepuna.

The native Hawaiian press Mutual Books released this revised and expanded edition 15 years after the original was self-published by the authors to bring it to a wider audience. Boris Huang’s featherwork mentor– Elder Mary Louise was renown as one of the main Matriarchs of lei hulu feather arts, and various diasporic Hawaiian heritage-arts revival movements. This book generously shares layers of history, cultural insights, spiritual symbology, and technical diagrams and approaches to this traditional art practice. Sharing practical criteria for knowing one’s feathers (hulu manu), to feather preparation stages, to making traditional lei (Wli) or more contemporary Humu Papa lei with feathers, and respectfully storing and preserving these iconic feather adornments and uses.

Two diagonally stacked Recent issues of American Craft magazine (Winter 2024-Spring 2025) — Recent issues of American Craft magazine (Winter 2024-Spring 2025)

open magazine spread with ornate feathered amorphous. installations spilling over an old fashion looking kitchen, close up of feathered layers as well — Recent issues of American Craft magazine (Winter 2024-Spring 2025)

The Craft Center’s library proudly houses over 2,000 periodicals and decades of various art and craft magazines. Librarian Sam has pulled a handful of articles from Surface Design and American Craft Magazines? featuring featherwork and related cultural art history articles. Readers will enjoy short features about Kate MccGwire’s mind-bending feather installation sculptures (Surface Design, 2014, Jessica Hemmings) to New Orleans contemporary mixed media artists to further explore; such as Charles DuVernay, Pippin Frisbie-Calder, Mapó Kinnord, Seguenon Koné, and the late Sylvester Francis, founder of Backstreet Cultural Museum (American Craft, 2024, Katy Reckdahl and Jennifer Vogel).

The library is open to the public: Tuesday – Saturday, from noon to 6pm.

The Craft in America Center Library proudly houses over 3000 books, exhibition catalogs, and more than 2000 periodicals dedicated to the art of craft and related topics.

For further Lbrary or Craft in Schools inquiries, please visit our Library page or contact Education Programs and Library Coordinator sam@craftinamerica.org

feather leis on display next to the Craft Center's book cases — Craft Center Library and Boris Huang’s feathered leis on display, 2025.

Boris Huang’s exquisite featherwork on display at Craft in America Center

1/18/25

Read original post on Art Daily here.

Huang’s recent feather work, made expressly for this exhibition, are on display at the Craft in America Center.

In Hawaiian culture there is a long tradition of feather garments made to protect and distinguish royalty, and more commonly known, feather leis are used to symbolize welcoming and compassion.

Boris Huang settled in Hawaii when he landed a good job after his education there. Taking interest in the local culture, he took a workshop on Hawaiian featherwork and became so enamored with the craft that he asked to apprentice with Hawaiian Feather Lei Master, Aunty Mary Louise Kekuewa. Over the five years of working with her, he mastered the laborious technique of individually tying single feathers to a net base to create leis, capes and other adornments.

The feathers Huang uses for his work are sustainably sourced from molting and other harmless means of gathering. Feathers from different parts of the bird have different qualities and these subtle variations become the basis for symbolic and aesthetic decisions.

Being from Taiwan, Huang’s work is set apart by his skillful blending of Eastern and Western featherwork traditions and aesthetics. Before passing away, his mentor gave him the encouraging words, “You’re not in the box; keep doing your amazing work.”

“What makes my feather artwork different from others is the skill passing and culture crossing between two different ethnicities. Thereʼs love, encouragement and home for a stranger like me to settle in, and thereʼs respect for [the Hawaiian] land and culture.” —Boris Huang

Feathers as symbols of yearning: Chris Maynard’s art at Craft in America Center

1/18/25

Original post on Art Daily here.

Imagine carving into a single bird feather with a surgical scalpel to cut several individual bird outlines. That is the art practice of Chris Maynard. Over his career, he has carved hundreds of tiny birds and arranged them into delicate conﬁgurations both contained in shadow boxes and scattered over wall installations. These conﬁgurations allude to a range of bird activities, from dynamic murmurations to the ecosystems they are part of. A selection of Maynard’s work, including an in-situ wall installation, will be on display at the Craft in America Center starting January 18, 2025.

Maynard carves feathers into intricate art and creates elegant arrangements in order to heighten awareness of their natural beauty. His work highlights the subtle patterns and colors of the feathers themselves, inviting the viewer to look deeply. For him, feathers represent ﬂight, transformation, and a bridge between our present lives and our dreams.

“We want to ﬂy but cannot.” he says. “But birds can, so their feathers become symbols of this yearning.

Feathers are perfect by themselves.” Presenting them slightly altered but still retaining their featherness, he encourages people to see feathers in new ways, promoting beauty and new connections.

Maynard works with feathers gathered sustainably from birds such as turkeys, parrots, peacocks, and many more. A conservationist at heart, many of the feathers are sourced from natural shedding, which means that the birds they came from may still even be alive today.

Birds were always a part of Maynardʼs childhood. As a young person, he took refuge in the woods around his home in Washington State where, his head nestled in moss, he observed the birds high up in the trees. He ﬁrst began working with feathers at age 12.

FALL ‘24 in the Library: Paper Craft and Puzzling Papers

During our Fall 2024 Puzzling with Paper and Papercut Perspectives exhibitions, visitors to the Craft in America Center can browse our library selections on display. This selection features several books, periodicals, and segments on the history of origami, papercutting, and experimental directions within the world of paper-craft.

These books nod to the winding global history of papercraft with papyrus origins dating back to ancient Egypt (2900 BCE), to the first documented paper making process in China(206 BC), through the industrial literary book arts, popularized Origami, and global papercutting movements. Paper art enthusiasts will enjoy seeing cross-cultural examples of papercut and folded storytelling. Various books on display feature tutorials on paper cutting and folding. Center guests will also gain more insight into the work of exhibiting artists, Lorraine Bubar and Erik and Martin Demain. Puzzling with Paper and Papercut Perspectives will be on display September 14, 2024-January 4, 2025.

Craft in America’s extensive craft library features over 3000 books, exhibition catalogs,and more than 2000 periodicals dedicated to the art of craft and related topics. Craft in America’s library supports the armchair learner, art researcher, public in-house browsing, and craft library questions at large.

The library is open to the public for browsing: Tuesday–Saturday, noon to 6pm. For the list of periodicals and magazines, visit our library page & stay tuned!

侯玉梅满族剪纸集 = Yumei Hou Man nationality paper-cuts (Yumei Hou, 2005)

Red papercut designs on the book cover of "Yumei Hou Man Nationality Paper-Cuts (Hou, 2005)" — Yumei Hou Man Nationality Paper-Cuts (Hou, 2005)

Greyscale ornate papercut pastoral scene and 3 photos of artist Yumei Hou with family, doing paper-cutting — Yumei Hou Man Nationality Paper-Cuts (Hou, 2005)

American Craft (June/July 2017 issue) featuring Lorraine Bubar

3 colorful paper-cut designs of Lorraine bubar, showing different ecological and animal/city dwelling creatures — “Slice of the World” article on Lorraine Bubar’s paper-cutting. From American Craft Magazine (Jun/July 2017)

two scenes of city homeless-tent encampments, and people migrating on rafts amidst big ocean waves, in a repeating pattern — “Slice of the World” article on Lorraine Bubar’s paper-cutting. From American Craft Magazine (Jun/July 2017)

The Art of Papercutting (Melichson, 2009)

Book cover for "The Art of Paper Cutting" green background with an ornate paper-cut silhouette of a tree bearing fruit — Book cover for “The Art of Paper Cutting” (Melichson, 2009)

4 photos show progression of folded piece of paper with a sketch, that gradually is cut, to reveal a symmetrical plants and mirrored chickens design — Book cover for “The Art of Paper Cutting” (Melichson, 2009)

Surface Design – Creative Explorations of Fiber and Fabric (Paper & Books, Summer 2011 issue)

Cover of different clay and fiber collage for "Surface Design Creative Exploration of Fiber and Fabric" Magazine — Surface Design magazine:Paper & Books issue (2011)

Colorful orange, blue, grey and earth tone photo of one of Larry Schulte's 'woven painted paper pieces' — Surface Design magazine:Paper & Books issue (2011)

Kiff Slemmons & Arte Papel Oaxaca (Slemmons, 2012)

red, black and brown papercut beads show layered paper textures up close — Cover of rom “Kiff Slemmons & Arte Papel Oaxaca” (Slemmons, 2012)

acknowledgments page with photo of mission-style red and white building — Cover of rom “Kiff Slemmons & Arte Papel Oaxaca” (Slemmons, 2012)

New Expressions in Origami Art: Masterworks from 25 Leading Paper Artists (McArthur, 2020)

Featuring artworks from innovative paper artists such as (Craft in America featured) Erik and Martin Demaine, Yuko Nishimura, Tomoko Fuse, Miri Golan, Mademoiselle Maurice, and more!

small artist photos upper right corner of Erik and Martin Demaine, and centered grey origami paper sculpture — Collaborative mixed-media works of Erik Demain & Martin Demaine. From “New Expressions in Origami Art: Masterworks from 25 Leading Paper Artists” (McArthur, 2020)

five clear glass vessels hold colorful twisted origami paper sculptures within — Collaborative mixed-media works of Erik Demain & Martin Demaine. From “New Expressions in Origami Art: Masterworks from 25 Leading Paper Artists” (McArthur, 2020)

Tribute to a MatheMagician (Cipra, Demaine, et. al, 2004)

This collection of essays merge STEM and metaphysical connections between empirical mathematical truths, puzzles, paradox, and paper folding/papercraft models. This collection will offer visitors insights into the creativity and playfulness found within the great mathematician-educator Martin Gardner’s puzzles and his contributions to the world of recreational mathematics.

Colorful origami and math diagrams amidst differing 3-d shapes for "Tribute to a Mathemagician" — Cover from “Tribute to a Mathemagician” (Cipbra, Demaine, et. al, 2004)

"Fold-and-cut magic" page, showing various designs, wherein a star is drawn on diagrams of paper that is folded in different ways. From Tribute to a Mathemagician book — Cover from “Tribute to a Mathemagician” (Cipbra, Demaine, et. al, 2004)

ATALM conference

We had the privilege to attend the International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries and Museums – ATALM – in Palm Springs last week. It was a fascinating few days including a presentation about the traveling glass exhibition Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, a talk by artist Lily Hope, and a full day workshop with filmmakers Ben West and Yancey Burns. We highly recommend their documentary entitled Imagining the Indian.

Conference chair Rick West welcoming Sean Sherman, the Sioux Chef to the ATALM stage to receive his award

Cahuilla Artist Gerald Clark being wrapped in a blanket and receiving his medal. — Conference chair Rick West welcoming Sean Sherman, the Sioux Chef to the ATALM stage to receive his award

The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilt Block Challenge

Karen Nyberg sewing on the International Space Station, Craft in America — Karen Nyberg sewing on the International Space Station. Photo: Courtesy of the Artist

Astronaut and quilter, Dr. Karen Nyberg, the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts, and NASA collaborated to create a new quilt block challenge to celebrate the space program’s return to the moon.

The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilt Block Challenge was launched as a STEM program to 7-12 graders in the United States last month. Due to the overwhelming, positive response from quilters around the country who learned about the program, applications are now open to all USA individual quilters, artists, and crafters.

Information, guidelines, and application forms can be found on the Kennedy Center website.

Nov 20, 2024: deadline to submit intent to participate
Dec 10, 2024: deadline to submit application/artwork

This initiative was launched in conjunction with the Kennedy Center’s upcoming EARTH to SPACE: Arts Breaking the Sky festival in March and April of 2025. A judging panel of astronauts and NASA and Kennedy Center executives will pick the best lunar block entry from each state. The 50 winning panels will be sewn into an official Lunar Quilt designed by Karen Nyberg. The Lunar Quilt will be displayed during the festival next spring at the Kennedy Center.

Karen Nyberg, Doug Hurley, First SpaceX Dragon Commander quilt, Craft in America — Karen Nyberg, Doug Hurley, First SpaceX Dragon Commander quilt. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Karen Nyberg, Luke & Leo quilt, Craft in America — Karen Nyberg, Doug Hurley, First SpaceX Dragon Commander quilt. Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Beverly Press: Craft in America Center opens colorful exhibit on paper art

9/12/24

Original post in the Beverly Press here.

The Craft in America Center is holding “Erik and Martin Demaine: Puzzling with Paper” from Saturday, Sept. 14, through Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.

Father-and-son Martin and Erik Demaine are featured in the upcoming Craft in America episode, “SCIENCE.” The duo has a stimulating generative practice that blends disciplines from math to zoology.

They fold pieces of paper by hand along geometrically derived lines and transform flat sheets into intricately curved constructions. The works at the same time prove math theorems. They plot out the pattern of a sunflower’s face, improvise pathways of hot glass on paper, extract Shakespeare’s words and write programs that generate threedimensional and animated fonts.

The Craft in America Center also presents “Lorraine Bubar: Papercut Perspectives” from Sept. 14-Jan. 4. Bubar creates lush imagery reflecting the hierarchy and intricate patterns of nature through the cutting and layering of fine Asian colored papers.

Hurricane Helene

We are thinking of those affected by Hurricane Helene, including artists, organizations, and craft schools like Penland School of Crafts.

Craft artists in need of emergency support should apply for CERF+’s emergency relief grant, cerfplus.org/grants/emergency-relief.

If you are in a position to donate, please consider cerfplus.org.

To support Penland’s cleanup and repair efforts, donate via fundraise.givesmart.com/e/mvl0Vg?vid=1802qj&mc_cid=ce4459699c