Craft in America

Arts and Music Series / 16 Seasons

Craft in America explores the vitality, history and significance of the craft movement in the United States and its impact on our nation's rich cultural heritage. Capturing the beauty, creativity and originality of craftsmanship, the film highlights artists and explores the inter-relationship of what they do, how they do it and why they have chosen a life of creating art.

53m 27s

Feather artist Chris Maynard

7m 29s

Chris Maynard creates intricate art entirely from bird feathers. Inspired by his love of the natural world and his background as a biologist, Chris hopes to give people a new perspective on nature through his art. Segment from SCIENCE episode

Meet the artists in Cheech Marin's Chicano Art collection

8m 42s

Learn more about the artists in Cheech Marin's Chicano Art collection, Jaime "Germs" Zacarias, Yolanda González, and Francisco Palomares, featured in the COLLECTORS episode

See more of Erik and Martin Demaine's sculptures

4m 47s

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Erik and Martin Demaine combine math with art. Erik is an MIT professor of computer science and the father-son team takes inspiration from their research to create unique curved-crease origami sculptures from folded paper.

COLLECTORS episode preview

58s

COLLECTORS reveals the essential role that craft appreciators play in the community, examining how collectors affirm and inspire the artists they support. The episode highlights collections from Chicano art to teapots to wooden spoons, looking at what drives collectors and how their support furthers artists at all stages of their careers.

SCIENCE episode preview

1m

SCIENCE investigates the unexpected intersection between art and the sciences, spanning technology, engineering, biology, math, and the climate emergency. Nature, space, algorithms, and more serve as inspiration for artists connecting their work to the world around them, from the Santa Clara Pueblo in New Mexico to the computer science labs of MIT to NASA.

Lloyd Cotsen's collections

5m 22s

Learn about Lloyd Cotsen's collections, which include Chinese bronze mirrors, textiles, folk art, and Japanese baskets. Lloyd Cotsen founded the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton University, which houses Cotsen’s vast collection of children’s books from around the world. Bonus video from the PLAY episode

Epsi Frazier's work at JELMA

1m 16s

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry on his role as curator at the James E. Lewis Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, where he invites artist Espi Frazier to show her work in the gallery. Bonus video from PLAY episode

Mark Murphy shows us his miniature furniture

2m 19s

Miniaturist Mark Murphy shows us his miniature 1/12th scale furniture made in collaboration with Annelle Ferguson, Lee-Ann Wessel, Mary Grady O'Brien, and Pat Richards. Bonus video from the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

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