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  • Cassandra Mayela. Photo by Shana Jade.

    The Queue: Cassandra Mayela

    Cassandra Mayela weaves stories of displacement from the clothing of Venezuelan migrants. In The Queue, the Brooklyn-based artist shares about artists who create work around immigration experiences, the emotional reactions her work has drawn, and a Venezuelan pop artist whose work she admires.

  • Two brooms made by Sunhouse Craft and SWEVEN

    Clean Sweep

    The American broom industry took off nearly two centuries ago to serve a rapidly growing nation. The five makers here make woven brooms—frequently using locally gathered materials—that are built to last and beautiful to display.

  • Vivian Chiu with vessels from her Passages (those that carried us) series. Photo courtesy of the artist.

    The Queue: Vivian Chiu

    Vivian Chiu’s rigorously constructed wooden sculptures explore heritage, migration, and identity. In The Queue, the artist and woodworker shares about the craft scene in her adopted hometown of Richmond, Virginia; how she keeps track of the wood in her complicated vessels; and the artists whose work she’d love to own.

  • Planter Vase, 2024, made from pine crate wood from Wing on Wo, sits on a rosewood stand, 8.5 x 10 x 10 in. Photo by Vivian Chiu.

    Containing Memories

    Richmond, Virginia–based woodworker Vivian Chiu created vessels from wooden shipping crates collected by Wing on Wo & Co., a store that opened in 1890 in New York City’s Chinatown.

  • Mayela’s Maps of Displacement Vol I: NYC 2021, documents the migratory stories of Venezuelans who fled their home country, 90 x 144 x 2 in. Photo courtesy of Olympia and JO-HS.

    Weaving Their Stories

    Brooklyn-based artist Cassandra Mayela weaves the garments and sentimental items of Venezuelan migrants into tapestries that tell their stories.

  • Cassandra Mayela’s Maps of Displacement Vol I: NYC 2021

    The Things They Carried

    Two artists—Vivian Chiu of Richmond, Virginia, and Cassandra Mayela of New York City—have crafted complex and moving works from vestiges of the migrant experience.

  • Fiber artist Claire Zeisler with her sculpture Red Forest I, which was included in the 1972 Museum of Contemporary Crafts exhibition Sculpture in Fiber. Images courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives.

    Beyond the Loom

    Within the realm of contemporary art, weaving is having a moment. Several exhibitions, currently running, place textile arts and weaving firmly in the realm of fine art.

  • Terumi Saito at her exhibition Earthen: Interweaving Fiber and Clay at Forecast Gallery in Brooklyn. Photo by Tina Nguyen, courtesy of Forecast.

    The Queue: Terumi Saito

    Terumi Saito anchors her expansive artistic practice in the ancient method of backstrap weaving. In The Queue, the Brooklyn-based artist shares about a fascinating indigenous Japanese weaving culture, the physical challenges of using a backstrap loom, and a community-minded ceramics workshop she attended in New York.

  • A large desk anchors the workstation in Terumi Saito’s home studio. Photo by Izaac Costiniano.

    Building an Artistic Sanctuary

    Terumi Saito’s Brooklyn apartment serves as a studio space for her backstrap weaving—and a gallery for her vibrant, inventive works.

  • Through Vacation With an Artist, apprentices can learn craft skills from accomplished makers such as Loretta Pettway Bennett. Photo courtesy of Vacation With an Artist.

    Learning from Makers

    Here’s what three VAWAA participants made of their opportunities—and how artists benefit beyond an additional income stream.

  • Jiyong Lee. Photo by Rusty Bailey.

    The Queue: Jiyong Lee

    Rigorous craftsmanship shines through in Jiyong Lee’s glass sculptures. In The Queue, the Carbondale, Illinois–based artist and professor shares about the inspiration behind his work, the challenges of sourcing materials, and the interplay between teaching and studio work.

  • Frank Lloyd Wright's Teater's Knoll. All photos by Gabe Border.

    A Match Made in Idaho

    In 2017, on a trip to Japan with the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, architectural writer Henry Whiting encountered the work of the ceramist Shiro Tsujimura at Kou Gallery in Kyoto.

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