Until Next Year
A beautiful weekend at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center in August marked the end of another successful season of American Craft Council shows. In addition to aisles of high-quality craft, this show featured tastings of handcrafted Balvenie Scotch whisky, as well as demos organized by the San Francisco Center for the Book and hands-on art projects for attendees, courtesy of the Museum of Craft and Folk Art.

Expanded educational programming was a theme throughout all ACC shows this year, explains education coordinator Jordan McDonald. “The idea was to show process and promote art organizations in each community, where show-goers can take classes in weaving, woodturning, and so on. When people learn about making, it builds a new kind of appreciation of fine craft.”

Awards of Excellence were given to four artists chosen by juror Regina Connell, founder of the popular online magazine Handful of Salt, which covers the intersection of design and craft. Furniture maker John Liston, glass artist Nick Leonoff, and jeweler Brandon Holschuh took home awards for their work, while Lego jeweler Emiko Oye received the booth design award, which honors exceptional display of excellent wares.

All Together Now
In June, leaders in the craft community met in Pennsylvania for a three-day Think Tank Symposium, spearheaded by Crafthaus’ Brigitte Martin and co-organized by host Touchstone Center for Crafts, along with the Society for Contemporary Craft. Their goals? Identify and discuss creative solutions to issues facing the field, and explore opportunities to collaborate. ACC executive director Chris Amundsen led a discussion at the invitation-only event, attended by representatives from Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, the Society of North American Goldsmiths, HandMade in America, and the Center for Craft, Creativity, & Design, among other artists and organizations.

Library Love
The ACC Library earned a coveted spot in the lineup of the American Association of Museums conference in the Twin Cities in May. AAM members toured the library, where ACC executive director Chris Amundsen spoke on the organization’s long history of promoting studio craft. American Craft editor in chief Monica Moses gave a presentation about the magazine and the role the publication has played in the field. The group also had plenty of time to dig into the collection, including the unique artist files, which were
a hit with the history-minded crowd.

The American Craft Council is a nonprofit educational organization that depends on members for support. Join online at bit.ly/Qa6rP0. Andrew Zoellner is American Craft’s assistant editor.