The Queue
Meet craft's movers and shakers and stay up on trends
A biweekly roundup for and by the craft community, The Queue introduces you to the artists, curators, organizers, and more featured in the current issue of American Craft. We invite these inspiring individuals to share personally about their lives and work as well as what's inspiring them right now.
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The Queue: Jovencio de la Paz
Jovencio de la Paz is an artist, weaver, educator, and writer. Their work exists at the intersection of the history of computation, coding, weaving, and textiles. They reflect on the theme of the newest issue of American Craft "Wonder" as it relates to their work and practice. Jovencio also lets us in on their current favorite podcast and go-to tool for weaving!
The Queue: Lisa Mauer Elliott
Lisa Mauer Elliott is the art director of American Craft, along with Adam Mauer Elliott. She’s also a maker of art in a multitude of mediums—from drawing, painting, and photography to printmaking, jewelry, and sculpture—with an emphasis on responding to nature in all its forms. Lisa shares her go-to tools, her favorite contemporary maker, and more in The Queue.
The Queue: Amanda McCavour
Amanda McCavour is a Toronto-based artist who works with stitch to create large-scale embroidered installations. Learn more about her work, what she considers to be her biggest challenges in her career, and see which contemporary artists' Amanda is currently inspired and excited by.
The Queue: Dina Nur Satti
Based in New York City, Dina Nur Satti is the artist behind Nur Ceramics and is the featured maker in the the Fall 2021 issue of American Craft. In this week's Queue post, Dina reflects on the ethereal side of creative practice and learnings from the past year, and shares about the scholars and artists who have influenced her work.
The Queue: Amy Weiks & Gabriel Craig
Amy Weiks and Gabriel Craig are the co-founders of Smith Shop, a dynamic, craft-centric metalworking studio based in Detroit. Amy shares a goldmine of new podcasts for you to check out to stay inspired, and Gabriel details which body of work best reflects our Fall issue's theme of "Kinship". See their book recommendations and more in this installment of The Queue.
The Queue: Sandra & Wence Martinez
Sandra and Wence Martinez have been working together for decades in a true artistic partnership. Sandra is a symbolist painter. Wence is a weaver with ancestral roots in Oaxaca, Mexico. He weaves the patterns in her paintings. Together they make up Martinez Studio. They both share what kinship means to them, what their go-to tool is in their toolkit, and much more in The Queue.
The Queue: Giles Clement
Giles Clement is a New York-based photographer who uses wet-plate methods to create his portrait work. He sees his photos as collaborative efforts telling the stories of his subjects only if they are open and willing to share. Giles lets us know which artists he's recently purchased work from, what's the biggest barrier he's had to break through as an artist, and more in The Queue.
The Queue: Amber Cowan
Amber Cowan is a sculptural glass artist based in Philadelphia. Her work is based around the reuse and rejuvenation of American pressed glass. In this edition of The Queue read about Cowan's practice, what current exhibition she wants more people to know about, and how she stays grounded in her daily life.
The Queue: Jennifer Bower
Jennifer Bower is a fine hand engraver based in Michigan. She enjoys engraving old hand tools and locks, making functional items into something very personal and inspiring to use. In The Queue, she shares what's inspiring her, what she's currently reading, and which blacksmith she'd like to one day own work from.
The Queue: Sylvie Rosenthal
Sylvie Rosenthal is an artist and educator based out of Madison, Wisconsin, "who has become known for sculptural pieces that are whimsical, often surreal, and always challenging." She shares her favorite go-to tools and how she's broken personal barriers as a queer, female-bodied craftsperson in The Queue.
The Queue: Yi Hsuan Sung
Yi Hsuan Sung is a textile designer who integrates craft and technology to create biodegradable textiles—and who enjoys discovering the littlest surprises from the natural world. She shares her favorite Instagram account for discarded NYC treasures and tells us which French ceramicist she'd like to start collecting work from.
The Queue: Pearl Dick
Glass artist, educator, and activist Pearl Dick is the co-founder of Project FIRE (Fearless Initiative for Recovery and Empowerment), a glassblowing and trauma recovery program for youth injured by gun violence in Chicago. An avid reader and social justice advocate, she has a handful of great book recommendations and current projects by like-minded artists she fills us in on.
The Queue: matt lambert
matt lambert is a trans, nonbinary craft scholar, metalsmith, and multidisciplinary collaborator currently living in Stockholm, Sweden. They reflect on the challenges this year has brought, what it means to “flourish” in their work and practice, and what barriers they’ve broken through in their career. Get to know lambert’s inspirations in The Queue as they introduce you to new podcasts and exhibitions they’re currently keeping up with.
The Queue: Sara Trail
Sara Trail is a quilter and educator and the founder of Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). This grassroots organization facilitates workshops and projects that create community while addressing the consequences of systematic oppression. Read what Sara is currently reading and listening to and how her work with SJSA nourishes herself and her community.
The Queue: Ava Roth
Ava Roth is a Toronto-based encaustic painter, embroiderer, and mixed-media artist who works in tandem with honeybees to create art objects embedded in honeycomb. She lets us know what artists are really catching her attention right now, and how the idea of “nourishment” has changed for her over the past year.
The Queue: Dianne Nordt
Dianne Nordt is a textile artist based in Virginia who handweaves blankets using naturally dyed wool from sheep she raises on Nordt Family Farm. Nordt shares how keeping sheep year-round has helped her gain perspective, and tells us how her blankets provide nourishment for the land, her flock, herself, and the lucky people who have one in their homes.
The Queue: Michele Quan
Based in New York, Michele Quan creates ceramic art and objects for the home and garden. As a canvas for her love of drawing, painting, text, and color, her work often explores visual symbols of Eastern iconography and ideas of impermanence and interconnection. See what she’s reading and which podcasts are keeping her full of inspiration and energy.
The Queue: Sarita Westrup
Sarita Westrup is a sculptural basketry artist based in North Carolina. While making she reflects on her original home on the Texas-Mexico Borderlands, her Latinx identity, and considers themes like tension, movement, and portals. In this edition of the Queue, Sarita shares what her biggest barriers have been, what her go-to tool for weaving is, and more.
