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Remembering the "Craft-Ins"

The Crafty Librarian looks back at the first “Craft-In” in 1971.

By Beth Goodrich
May 2, 2024

Spring 2024

From the Archives

Free To Read

All images courtesy of the American Craft Council Library & Archives

When I think of ritual, I think of a ceremony or gathering held in a specific place. Even more, the term seems to encompass long-held traditions built around activities, objects, and materials. In July 1971, the South Central Regional Assembly of the American Craft Council held the first of several back-to-the-land gatherings in Colorado. It was designated a “Craft-In,” in reference to the sit-ins of anti–Vietnam War activists. The purpose of the event was to revert to the more elemental “in order to open windows to the beauties around us,” according to promotional materials, putting participants in touch with nature and stimulating creativity.

The first Craft-In, held in Steamboat Springs, was open to all craftspeople and their families, with volunteers from among the 400 attendees leading the activity sessions. Jewelry artists were invited to create pieces from plant materials or found objects, or they could pan for gold and extract metal from ores found in the area. Weavers shared knowledge of spinning with drop spindles or extracting fibers from stems, bark, and leaves. Dyers worked with local plants, producing an array of colors. Potters gathered local clay and improvised glaze materials from crushed ore. The Pete and Martina Aquino family of San Juan Pueblo—now known as Okhay Owingeh— demonstrated their pottery-making techniques, which included firing in a hand-built dung kiln.

Ceramist Bill Alexander throws unrefined, locally dug clay on a wheel constructed by ceramist and teacher Paul Soldner at the 1971 Craft-In

Kids participate in a macrame class at ACC's 1971 Craft-In, the first in a series of back-to-the-land gatherings held in Colorado

A group builds a kiln, with Paul Soldner crouching in the center foreground

A participant scrapes an animal hide to prepare it for tanning

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At the second Craft-In, held in Breckenridge in 1972, the Aquino family returned, along with weavers Grace Bitz (Diné) and Lorissa Payne (Tohono O’odham). At least two additional Craft-In events were held in Colorado, in 1973 and 1975. Stripping away access to studios, supplies, and fine tools, Craft-In participants shared in gathering materials, simplifying processes, and enjoying the community of making.

These historical events and others are documented in the ACC Library & Archives and in the ACC Digital Collections.

Beth Goodrich, aka The Crafty Librarian, has been the American Craft Council’s librarian and archivist since 2017.

View more from the archives in the ACC Digital Collections

Digital Collections

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