Craft in America, the Peabody Award-winning series that explores America’s creative spirit through the language and traditions of the handmade announces two new episodes. Harmony bridges the art forms of music and craft, celebrating the joy of music and the creation of handcrafted instruments. Jewelry explores the history, artistry, and impact of personal adornment.
Harmony features accordion maker Marc Savoy and the Savoy family; bow maker Susan Lipkins; luthier Doug Naselroad and the Appalachian Artisan Center Culture of Recovery program; and artist Richard Jolley, whose monumental glass sculpture inspired the commission of a violin concerto. In Hindman, Kentucky master luthier Doug Naselroad leads the Appalachian Artisan Center Culture of Recovery program, which teaches musical instrument making to people in recovery from opioid addiction and other substance abuse.
The program teaches students how to make the mountain dulcimer. Using woods from the region, it seeks to revive the local economy as well as support its students on their road to recovery. Many of the graduates go on to become luthiers themselves or apply their new knowledge to other occupations – a testament to the healing power of craft. Jewelry features classic jeweler Tom Herman; artist Harriete Estel Berman who creates jewelry using recycled materials; the co-editors of Ornament Magazine; the legacy of modernist jeweler Art Smith; nature-inspired artist Gabrielle Gould; and Navajo/Hopi master jeweler, Jesse Monongya.
We explore the legacy of Art Smith, whose avant-garde creations redefined the boundaries of modernism from 1946 to the early 70s. Smith ran his jewelry studio in the heart of Greenwich Village. He designed for some of this country’s most prominent African American creatives including James Baldwin, Lena Horne, and Harry Belafonte. His story is brought to life with the help of artist Joyce J. Scott, photographer Michael Fields, art historian Leslie King-Hammond, and curator Joanne Hyppolite from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
We visit the studio of Harriete Estel Berman in San Mateo, California who explores women’s roles and environmental issues through her jewelry. She works with recycled materials to create thought-provoking works of art that challenge the values of our society. 360 Magazine is pleased to see how jewelry is created and crafted in America.
