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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.