Carol Sauvion
Carol Sauvion
Carol Sauvion
Portrait of Carol Sauvion. Photo courtesy of Craft in America.
Craft is Carol Sauvion’s lifelong passion. After earning her BA in art history from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, she became a potter. She later moved to Los Angeles, where she opened Freehand Gallery in 1980, a shop specializing in functional craft. After her husband’s death in 1992, Sauvion took their 12-year-old son on a road trip, traveling to baseball games, as well as museums, craft galleries, and artist studios. And Sauvion had a revelation.
The craftspeople she met comprised a singular world that “is the best part of who we are as a country,” she told American Craft in 2014. They’re “idealistic in their varied interests, and they’re talented, and they’re problem solvers, and they’re community-based. More people need to know about this.” So, Southern California’s exuberant purveyor of crafts developed the Peabody Award–winning PBS documentary series Craft in America. The series is the centerpiece of the educational nonprofit Craft in America, of which Sauvion is executive director. Each hour-long episode explores a theme—such as “Landscape,” “Family,” or “Crossroads”—from a multidimensional perspective, showcasing contemporary makers in their element.
To advance knowledge of the handmade, Sauvion also participates in conferences and lectures on craft. She’s served on the board of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund and the American Craft Council. She is currently on the planning committee for Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026, a semiquincentennial initiative to honor the diverse and dedicated group of makers who have built our country since before the Declaration of Independence, and who continue to contribute to our nation. In 2020 Craft in America was awarded the Distinguished Educator Award from the James Renwick Alliance for Craft.
“What is craft?” she was asked by the LA Times. “Craft is when someone combines skill, creativity, and intellect and has made something unique,” she replied, adding that craft is an essential part of America’s material culture: the place where utility meets art.
Read more about the other 2024 ACC Awards recipients and honorees here.
Be part of the celebration
Join us Thursday, September 19 as we celebrate and honor individuals who have dedicated their careers to craft, and who—through their work as artists, educators, mentors, curators, and advocates—have inspired and informed the field.
This article was made possible with support from the Windgate Foundation.