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

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).

International Folk Art Market basket weaver

1m 57s

International Folk Art Market CEO Melissa Mann on the market and master weaver Nelsiwe Dlamini, representing her women's collective from Eswatini, on how participating in the market has changed her life. 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).

Puppeteering the snow leopard at Noah's Ark

1m 47s

Kinetic designer and puppeteer Chris Green works with Skirball Cultural Center Noah's Ark supervisors and educators, Kelsey Kato and Jacqueline Rivera, as they puppeteer a snow leopard. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Recycling plastic through Precious Plastic program

54s

Stevie Morrison, sustainability coordinator at Breck Create, on recycling plastic through their Precious Plastic program to create new materials. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

International Guild of Miniature Artisans

2m 27s

Barbara Davis, Director of the Guild School, on the International Guild of Miniature Artisans. 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).

Calder Kamin on Austin Creative Reuse

1m 18s

Artist Calder Kamin on how she discovered Austin Creative Reuse, a great resource for educators and artists. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings). Archival images courtesy of Austin Creative Reuse

Underground Railroad, Not a Subway by Schroeder Cherry

25m 34s

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry's puppetry performance, Underground Railroad, Not a Subway. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Multiple Visions: A Common Bond

1m 20s

Alexander Girard donated 100,000 objects from his and his wife Susan’s folk art collection to the Museum of International Folk Art, which became the museum’s permanent exhibition, "Multiple Visions: A Common Bond." Featured in the MINIATURES episode, now streaming on the PBS App. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

El Orfeon Santiago Chorus

1m 23s

Chorus performance from El Orfeon Santiago and the importance of the arts in Cuba. 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).

Schroeder Cherry's Civil Rights Childrens Crusade

9m 53s

Artist, puppeteer, museum educator Schroeder Cherry's puppetry performance, Civil Rights Childrens Crusade. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Roberto Benavidez on creating piñatas & "piñathkos"

1m 49s

Artist Roberto Benavidez speaks with curator and art historian Catherine Hess on creating pinatas and "piñathkos", paper paintings. Bonus video from PLAY, now streaming on PBS App, pbs.org/craftinamerica, and craftinamerica.org. PBS broadcast premiere December 29, 2023 (check local listings).

Gustave Baumann's Printing the Democrat woodblock print

1m 10s

Thomas Leech, former director at the press at the Palace of the Governors, on Gustave Baumann's woodblock print titled "The Print Shop" also known as "Printing the Democrat." 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).

MINIATURES preview

1m

MINIATURES explores the world of small objects and big ideas. Featuring miniaturist Mark Murphy, designer and collector Alexander Girard and the “Multiple Visions: A Common Bond” exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art, the International Folk Art Market, Cuban artist Leandro Gomez Quintero, and woodblock printmaker and marionette maker Gustave Baumann.

PLAY preview

1m

PLAY celebrates the power of imagination and the child in all of us. Featuring piñata artists Roberto Benavidez and Lorena Robletto, puppeteer Schroeder Cherry, artist Calder Kamin, and Noah’s Ark at the Skirball Cultural Center and the Cotsen Children’s Library.

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