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Craft In America - a journey to the artists origins and techniques of American craft
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Craft in America wins peabody award

“In craft we see the essence of the American Experience in all its amazing, wide-screen variety: from Eastern shipwrights to Navajo weavers; from those who work with needles to those who work with sledgehammers, from saddlemakers and banjo-builders to the potter who’s ‘always praying over the kiln’.” – Gilbert Grosvenor, chairman, National Geographic Society

We have always had a deep sense of longing for the handmade. Perhaps because each of us, in our own way, has had a craft experience. Sometimes it’s an object passed down to us, or one that crosses our path, and connects us to others in traditions, heritage and rituals. You’ve begun your understanding and appreciation with our tv series. Now go further with the other elements of this comprehensive journey. Welcome.

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How do we recall our history? Through words? Images? Events? The true link to our collective past – and keeping it alive – is through our objects, drawing power from their influences. Sometimes humble, sometimes extravagant, objects stay with us. They are the ties that bind us to our past, no matter how distant that past may be. Learn about the events, legends, and stories.

Our landscapes are our surroundings; the land underfoot, or the world over the horizon; a state of being or a state of mind. Physical, political, philosophical, landscape goes beyond picture postcard panoramas. It encompasses the environments – the real and the ideal – of craft artists in all mediums. Here’s how they influence their objects and vision.

Community carries with it many meanings in the world of craft. It is manifest in the social traditions passed from generation to generation. Or in a literal community of people, bound by geography or skill or place in time that comes together on a project, or to help one another. It is the give and take of academic communities where knowledge is exposed.  Discover community’s many meanings.

We make it easy for you to bring craft into your classroom, with guides that explore craft’s historical traditions, materials, methods, processes, and practices. Add guides that mirror the PBS series, and make craft a fun experience for your students. Core ideas allow additional entry points into the material found in the three episodes. Download your copy here.


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© 2007 Craft In America
Published May 2007



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