Take a tour through craft's history in America beginning with the pioneers of the field to the intimate stories of some of our country's most prominent craft artists. Memory observes how past is prologue, and looks to the dynamic of cultural history and personal heritage in creating objects. Featured artists include Sam Maloof, Garry Knox Bennett, Mary Jackson, Tom Joyce, and Pat Courtney Gold.
Craft artists depend on their natural environment for both materials and inspiration. This hour looks at the processes through which natural materials become finished works of craft, and what deeper messages may be contained therein. Featured artists include Jan Yager, Kit Carson, David Gurney, George & Mira Nakashima, Richard Notkin, and Timberline Lodge.
Throughout time, craft work has been a community activity. Gifted artists and passionate newcomers alike reveal the deeply held belief that craft is about more than just the making of an object. Featured artists include Jamex & Einar de la Torre, Preston Singletary, Pilchuck Glass School, Sarah Jaeger, Ken Loeber, Dona Look, Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, Penland School, Denise & Sam Wallace.
The American craft tradition did not just appear, fully-formed and mature. The artists 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. Featured artists include Philip Simmons, Mark Hewitt, Teri Greeves, Jim Bassler, Paul Stankard, and Vernon, Pam, and Travis Owens.
What inspires a person to choose a career in craft? How does one acquire the knowledge and necessary skills? From self-taught artists to those who pursue formal study, from avocation to college, from apprenticeships to craft schools. Featured artists include the 92nd St Y, Dave & Roberta Williamson, Cary Esser, Nikki Lewis, KCAI, N. Bennet St. School, Tom Killion, and Julie Chen.
Many artists use their craft to share personal and political opinions. Craft has the ability to entice viewers to consider topics that they might find difficult. By expressing their ideas through their work, artists add meaning to the objects they create. Featured artists include glass artist Beth Lipman, santero Charles M. Carrillo, bead artist Joyce J. Scott; and jeweler & sculptor Thomas Mann.
Family explores the creative environments and personal dynamics of four families of craft artists and asks: Is talent inherited? What is it like to live in a household where objects are made by hand? Meet the featured artists (the Lees, Marionis, Moulthrops and Sorrells).
THREADS explores the needle arts including weaving, storytelling through quilts and textiles that speak to the creativity of the human spirit. Featuring fiber artists Terese Agnew, Randall Darwall, Faith Ringgold, Consuelo Jimenez Underwood.
How do borders and personal crossroads affect an artist? How do science and craft interact? How do other cultures influence American style and technique? This episode explores the intersections of craft, culture, and technology. Featured artists include Tanya Aguiñiga, Lia Cook, Clary Illian, Warren MacKenzie, and Jeff Oestreich.
FORGE profiles exceptional artists forging metal magically transformed by fire. Follow Chloe Darke as she begins her career as a silversmith at Old Newbury Crafters; Iraqi war veterans Tom Pullin and Jeremiah Holland as they turn to art as an antidote to the harsh realities of war; Join sculptor Albert Paley as he prepares for Paley on Park Avenue, the most ambitious project of his 50 year career.
Embrace traditions, both familiar and new – all part of our American experience with the handmade. Featuring ceramic artist Susan Garson, Garcia Art Glass, paper artist Kathleen Trenchard, ceramic artist Veronica Castillo, National Gingerbread House Competition at Grove Park Inn, Biltmore House, woodcarver Harley Refsal, and John C. Campbell Folk School.
Industry: Handmade in the Creative Economy. Featuring Gee’s Bend quilters Lucy Mingo & Mary Ann Pettway, quilter Joe Cunningham, boat builder Graham McKay & Lowell’s Boat Shop, artist Bethanne Knudson & Libby O'Bryan & The Oriole Mill, jewelry artist Shane Yamane, Etsy.
Documenting craft and the military and the power of the handmade to inspire and heal. Featuring papermaker Pam DeLuco, saddler Eugene Burks Jr., and ceramic artists Ehren Tool, Judas Recendez and Peter Voulkos.
MUSIC features finely crafted handmade instruments and the world renowned artists who play them including Jake Shimabukuro with his Kamaka ukulele, Joan Baez with her Martin guitar, Scotty Barnhart of the Count Basie Orchestra with his David Monette trumpet, Rhiannon Giddens with her James Hartel banjo, Tony Ellis with his Stelling Banjo, timpanist Joseph Pereira and mallet maker Jason Ginter.
Discover the role craft plays in our winter holiday traditions, rituals, and festivities. Featuring lion dancers and float builders for San Francisco’s acclaimed Chinese New Year Parade, artists in Michigan making ceramics for the holidays at Pewabic (Detroit) and Motawi Tileworks (Ann Arbor), Kwanzaa celebrations with artists in Chicago and Oakland, and Christmas card making with Yoshiko Yamamoto
Artists committed to sharing their skills and passion for craft with students of all ages. Featuring Navajo weavers Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete at Idyllwild Arts, glass artist Mark Mitsuda at Punahou School, glass artist Therman Statom, and ceramic artist Linda Sikora at Alfred University School of Art and Design.
NATURE features artists who explore the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Featuring sculptor Patrick Dougherty, fiber artist Mary Merkel-Hess, woodworker Michelle Holzapfel, glass artist Preston Singletary, and book artist Catherine Alice Michaelis.
BORDERS explores the connections between Mexico and the United States through craft. Featuring master altar maker Ofelia Esparza and the Day of the Dead celebration; master weaver J. Isaac Vásquez Garcia and family; weaver Jim Bassler, potter Veralee Bassler and the colorful Guelaguetza parade; and artist Kiff Slemmons and maestro Francisco Toledo at Taller Arte Papel. PBS Premiere Sept 29, 2017
NEIGHBORS explores connections between Mexico and the United States through craft. Featuring ceramic artist Gerardo Monterrubio; ceramic artists Magdalena Pedro Martínez and Carlomagno Pedro Martínez; glass artist Jaime Guerrero; silver designers William Spratling, Carmen Tapia, Miguel Angel Ortíz Miranda, Cristina Romo, and Eduardo Herrera; muralist Judy Baca and SPARC. PBS Premiere Sept 29, 2017
CALIFORNIA explores the diverse craft heritage, traditions and innovations in the Golden State. Featuring Pomo basket weaver Corine Pearce, silversmith Randy Stromsoe, the Arts and Crafts architecture of Greene & Greene, stained glass artists at Judson Studios, cabinet makers James Ipekjian and Jack Ipekjian, and textile artist Deborah Cross.
VISIONARIES documents the ways in which artists and influencers inspire new generations to envision the limitless possibilities of craft. Featuring textile designer and founder of LongHouse Reserve Jack Lenor Larsen, curator Helen Molesworth and Black Mountain College, weaver Kay Sekimachi, collector Forrest L. Merrill, and book artist Felicia Rice.
Learn about contemporary quilters as we celebrate the role quilts have played in our country's story. Featuring Susan Hudson, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Michael A. Cummings, Judith Content, the International Quilt Museum and special guest Ken Burns.
Artists explore issues of gender, race, culture and place, offering true expressions of their experiences in this world. Featuring potter Diego Romero, photographer Cara Romero, furniture maker Wendy Maruyama and sculptor Cristina Cordova.
Meet artists who use narrative to communicate personal and universal truths.
Explore how craft is intertwined with our nation's defining principles.
INSPIRATION reveals the magic and influence of craft. Featuring the Saar family (Betye Saar, Alison Saar, and Maddy Leeser), Simon Rodia and Watts Towers, Diedrick Brackens, Ayumi Horie, Suzanne Thao, Mandora Young, Tousue Vang, Chef Yia Vang, and Mary Little.
HOME visits artists whose environments are filled with meaning and metaphor. Featuring Syd Carpenter, Helen Drutt, Wharton Esherick, Biskakone Greg Johnson, North House Folk School, and Sim Van der Ryn.
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.
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.