Gather
When we were planning this issue on the theme “gather,” we found stories to share with you about the many ways craft creates connection. Here you’ll learn about the new ways craft collectors are supporting artists and sharing their collections with others, and how ceramic artists create community when they come together to fire their works in the kiln. You’ll discover how and why artists employ the gathering-together technique of the fold. And we hope you’ll appreciate—as we do every day—the myriad ways craft lives at the heart of human gatherings, like coming together to enjoy a meal or to play a game.
We also hope you’ll join us in celebrating a group of remarkable people who have dedicated their time, attention, and extraordinary talent to craft. Once every two years, American Craft tells the stories of the recipients of the American Craft Council Awards, which are given to craft artists, scholars, curators, and advocates by their peers. This year, awards are being given to 20 people—about double the usual number—because the awards committee, made up of professionals in craft, simply wanted to honor more people. Among them are six recipients of the Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship and eight new inductees to the College of Fellows, including Tip Toland, whose work appears on the cover of this issue.
Our wish is that we all can gather with our loved ones this fall, and that we can find comfort and joy in the many connections—both tangible and intangible—that craft offers.
P.S. Share your craft collection with us. We’d love to see and hear about the pieces in your home that you love—whether it’s one special work, a collection on a shelf, or a table set with handmade dishes. Please send us a high-resolution image along with a brief description. As an example, see the image of craft on our own art directors’ table on page 96, with descriptions of the works online at craftcouncil.org/gathering-table. We may publish your image in print or share it on social media! Send to: [email protected].
Nick Schwartz’s stoneware Firebox Bottle, 2018, was fired in John Dix’s anagama kiln in Shigaraki, Japan, when Schwartz was teaching a workshop there for students from around the world. “The bottle has no applied glaze,” he says. “The surface is a result of combining the process of burning wood for almost a week, the type of clay, the atmosphere of the kiln, and the style of firing accomplished by the hardworking crew of the kiln.” Learn more in "Kilns that Build Community."
