Craftsmanship Magazine

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Biology’s Unseen Craft | Craftsmanship Magazine Nate Dube’s passion is the art of manipulating microscopic diatoms to uncover their hidden beauty. Welcome to diatom arranging, an obscure craft that’s been obsessing a subculture of the ultra-meticul...

Nate Dube’s passion is the art of manipulating microscopic algae to uncover their hidden beauty. Welcome to diatom arranging, an obscure craft that’s been obsessing a subculture of the ultra-meticulous for nearly two centuries. Read “Biology’s Unseen Craft,” written by Chris Colin: bit.ly/4brg5Zp

View "The Chapel: Inside Ireland's National Print Museum" | Craftsmanship Magazine Although the modern design world continues its well-documented love affair with the look and feel of letterpress, the once highly regarded trade of printing press operation has largely faded out as a ...

Ireland’s National Print Museum in Dublin was founded in 1996 by retired printers who couldn’t bear to watch their trades disappear without trace or fanfare. Volunteers are now dedicated to keeping the museum’s collection of historical printing machines from fading away: bit.ly/3L2MFoI

Cairo’s New Brass Revivalists In an city once known for its fine brasswork, Noha El Qahwagy is one of just a few Egyptian artisans crafting traditional brass pieces by hand today.

Brass, a material once prized across the Islamic world for its beauty and endurance, fell victim to industrial sameness. Now, against the tsunami of mass production, a handful of artisans are reviving the traditional designs and old techniques. Read “Cairo’s New Brass Revivalists”: bit.ly/4ct1DCj

The Little Block-Printing Workshop that Could | Craftsmanship Magazine Navigating market shifts, a pandemic, and two record-breaking floods in a row has taught Padmini Govind a thing or two about creativity, and rising above the tide.

Padmini Govind picked up the threads of her mother’s modest home business and grew it into a thriving cottage industry amid a multitude of local and global challenges. Read “The Little Block-Printing Workshop that Could,” written by Alden Wicker.
Read Story: bit.ly/3YxzcbG

The Norwegian Sweater Detective | Craftsmanship Magazine How did Norwegian sweater patterns evolve, and what do they mean? Follow this in-depth exploration of the famous Setesdal sweaters with local artisan and historian, Annemor Sundbø.

In a postcard-perfect valley in southern Norway, Annemor Sundbø nurtures her life’s work: old garments, paintings, and other clues to the myths and meaning woven for centuries into Norwegian sweaters. Read "The Norwegian Sweater Detective," written by Sarah Pollock: bit.ly/3XM0TNr

Freshly Unlocked: "Woodworking vs. Perfection" Wood entices us with its natural beauty, usefulness, and endless variety. Yet, perhaps more than any other raw material, it defies the artisan's Sisyphean quest for perfection.

Today’s featured article is the final installment of a three-part “mini series” by master craftsman and teacher Gary Rogowski. In this essay, he contemplates one of woodworking’s most seductive and self-defeating illusions: perfection.
Read “Woodworking vs. Perfection”: bit.ly/4kZlDP7

Black Artists Are Reshaping How We Think About American Ceramics | Craftsmanship Magazine Contemporary Black ceramicists are continuing a long legacy of Black Americans working in clay. As they find new ways to tell their stories, the art world is finally catching up.

Contemporary ceramicists are continuing a long legacy of Black Americans working in clay. As they find new ways to tell their stories, the art world is finally catching up. Read "Black Artists Are Reshaping How We Think About American Ceramics," written by Ruth Terry: bit.ly/45w3TEC

Introduction to “The Future Is Handmade” — A Craftsmanship Mini-Documentary Film (Documentary) | Craftsmanship Magazine A short documentary film: "The Future is Handmade" by Dutch archaeologist M. Kuijpers, featuring interviews with leading experts on craftsmanship worldwide.

Modern capitalism is what created today’s fractured work world, where so many people skip from job to job. And most schools aren’t helping matters, merely funneling more workers into a broken system that truly serves only a few. But all is not gloom and doom.

Watch short film: bit.ly/3ZgEybv

The Craft of a Sustainable Economy, Part 2 | Craftsmanship Magazine How did the wealth inequality that now plagues the U.S. get so bad?

Did you know that in 1965—when America was experiencing one of its most robust periods of economic growth—the typical CEO got paid roughly 20 times what average wage earners earned? How did the wealth inequality that now plagues the U.S. get so bad?: bit.ly/4at2txx

Congressman John Lewis’ Artistic Side | Craftsmanship Magazine The late congressman’s civil rights legacy of “good trouble” is well-known, but his inner circle also knew him as an art lover and avid collector, particularly of works by Black artists. February 21 i...

The late congressman’s civil rights legacy of “good trouble” is well-known, but his inner circle also knew him as an art lover and avid collector, particularly of works by Black artists. Read "Congressman John Lewis’ Artistic Side" written by Melanie Eversley: bit.ly/40gMxXM

An Artist Who Listens | Craftsmanship Magazine N.Y. fabric artist Martha Mae Jones has built a rich (and successful) life by bouncing between art and political activism while traveling the globe — and heeding inner voices.

The N.Y. fabric artist Martha Mae Jones built a rich life by bouncing between art and political activism while traveling the globe. Throughout it all, her creations, and her life choices, have come from heeding inner voices. Read "An Artist Who Listens," written by Melanie Eversley: bit.ly/40rBQlF

Chasing Powder, and Hand-Carving Wooden Skis in the French Alps Peter Steltzner’s bespoke, handcrafted skis are coveted by freeride skiing enthusiasts. His path to crafting a living this way has also been something of a freeride….

Peter Steltzner’s bespoke, handcrafted skis are coveted by freeride skiing enthusiasts. His path to crafting a living this way has also been something of a freeride…. Read “Chasing Powder, and Hand-Carving Wooden Skis in the French Alps,” written by Anna Richards: bit.ly/4rmTjsk

The Sculptor vs. The Robots | Craftsmanship Magazine As automation spreads, even into the world of fine art, American sculptor Fred X. Brownstein proudly holds the barricades with the tools and techniques — and even the marble source — used centuries ag...

As automation spreads, American sculptor Fred X. Brownstein proudly holds the barricades with the tools, techniques, and even the same Carrara marble source used centuries ago by Michelangelo. Which side will prevail? Read "The Sculptor vs. The Robots," written by Thomas Cooper: bit.ly/3JLiukT

A Black Artist’s Haven on a (Mostly) White Vineyard | Craftsmanship Magazine Long seen as a summer retreat for the East Coast elite, Martha's Vineyard has welcomed and inspired generations of Black artists and craftspeople, including longtime resident Janice Frame.

Martha's Vineyard has long been seen as a summer retreat for the East Coast elite. The island’s reality, however, is a far more complex environment that has welcomed and inspired generations of Black Americans, including an artist and doll maker named Janice Frame: bit.ly/3YiHzZl

Freshly Unlocked: "Raising Corals in the New Age of Aquaria" In the U.S. alone, nearly 3 million homes have a saltwater aquarium. And globally, the market is worth billions of dollars. Could this booming hobby become a force for ocean conservation?

Contributing editor Jeff Greenwald, who excels at applying the lens of craftsmanship to unusual topics, offers a peek into the colorful and fascinating world of saltwater aquaria—specifically, home aquarists who grow and maintain corals.
Read “Raising Corals in the New Age of Aquaria” bit.ly/3M6w6eF

For Lifelong Artist Kimberly Camp, Art is Life | Craftsmanship Magazine Following a long, influential career as an arts administrator, Kimberly Camp, 64, seems to be working harder than ever. And enjoying every minute.

A profusion of dolls, sculpture, jewelry, clocks, paintings, and artifacts from around the globe cohabitate at Kimberly Camp’s Galerie Marie in Collingswood, NJ. More than 200 artists are represented in the storefront space. Read "For Lifelong Artist Kimberly Camp, Art is Life": bit.ly/3Rmxloi

San Francisco's "Last Black Calligrapher" Invites You to Go Deeper | Craftsmanship Magazine Hunter Saxony III, aka "The Last Black Calligrapher of San Francisco, imbues his lettering work with layers of meaning, while also intentionally leaving it open to interpretation. In the process, he's...

Calligrapher Hunter Saxony III imbues his work with layers of meaning that he intentionally leaves open to interpretation—a departure from the more literary (and literal) traditions of an age-old art form. Read "San Francisco's 'Last Black Calligrapher' Invites You to Go Deeper": bit.ly/3SsyomZ

Making Noise: The Endangered Craft of Foley Sound Using everything from cornstarch to coconut shells, Foley artists have been creating the invisible landscapes of cinema since the “talkies” were first invented.

Jeff Greenwald, takes us behind the scenes at Outpost Studio in San Francisco, where a father and son team of Foley artists demonstrate how Foley is traditionally created, why it is critical to good filmmaking, and which parts of their craft can’t easily be replaced by digital tools: bit.ly/4rmwrss

The Art of Venetian Masks for the Carnival of Venice | Craftsmanship Magazine Many cultures enjoy the playful freedom one feels when donning a mask. But no place has taken these toys for grownups to greater extremes, both elegant and diabolical, than Venice. Take a richly illus...

Many cultures enjoy the playful freedom one feels when donning a mask. But no place has taken these toys for grownups to greater extremes, both elegant and diabolical, than Venice. Read "Venice and the High Art of the Mask," written by Erla Zwingle: bit.ly/40sWdij

The Craft of a Sustainable Economy, Part 1 | Craftsmanship Magazine Strip-mining human labor isn’t sustainable. The values of craftsmanship have much to teach us about ensuring fair wages and a more equitable tax system, and creating an economy that's built to last.

Strip-mining human labor isn’t sustainable. The values of craftsmanship have much to teach us about ensuring fair wages and a more equitable tax system, and creating an economy that's built to last. Read "The Craft of a Sustainable Economy, Part 1," written by Todd Oppenheimer: bit.ly/4rehKry

The Return of the Harmonica | Craftsmanship Magazine Harmonica devotees have worked to improve the once-overlooked instrument, prompting Hohner, maker of long-popular Marine Band harmonicas, to keep up.

When Hohner, the world’s largest harmonica manufacturer, changed its flagship model (and in the process, its signature sound), a few musicians and harp customizers waged a quiet rebellion—and won. Read or listen to "The Return of the Harmonica," written by Ben Marks: bit.ly/3XyjZIH

Freshly Unlocked: "My First Design" Gary Rogowski, a master woodworker and furniture designer (and longtime Craftsmanship collaborator) reflects on how his first handmade bench came into being.

Gary Rogowski, a master woodworker and furniture designer (and longtime Craftsmanship collaborator) reflects on how his first handmade bench came into being. We hope you’ll enjoy reading “My First Design,” by Gary Rogowski. Now available for all of our readers to enjoy—free of charge: bit.ly/4sEdTW5

Portugal’s Azulejo Detectives | Craftsmanship Magazine A small, quiet army of historians, scientists, and restoration experts are putting the pieces of Portugal’s past together again, one gorgeous tile at a time.

Behind the scenes at Lisbon's Museu Nacional de Azulejo, an institution dedicated entirely to the craft of traditional Portuguese tilework, historians, scientists, and restoration experts are fitting together the pieces of Portugal's long history, one handpainted tile at a time: bit.ly/44z5xox

Colorado’s Marble Motherlode | Craftsmanship Magazine In a deep canyon in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, there's an old mining town that once provided marble for some of America’s most famous memorials. It's now enjoying a new life—in both industry and the ...

Deep in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, sits an old mining town that provided marble for some of America’s most famous memorials. Abandoned and revived over and over through the years, the town of Marble is now enjoying another new life, in both industry and the arts: bit.ly/3w0Ls8G

How Cairo’s Kids Learn Geometry: With a Chisel Inside a 250-year-old house in Cairo, patient teachers and traditional Islamic patterns offer students powerful lessons in craft, cultural knowledge—and math.

Inside a 250-year-old house in Cairo, patient teachers and traditional Islamic patterns offer students powerful lessons in craft, cultural knowledge—and math. We hope you’ll enjoy reading, “How Cairo’s Kids Learn Geometry: With a Chisel,” written by Pauline Bartolone: bit.ly/3Nfo17y

Reviving the Craft of Plant-Based Photo Developing | Craftsmanship Magazine For Beatrice Thornton, an artist, photographer, and archivist based in Oakland, CA, nature is more than a muse: It's also the source of the sustainable materials she uses for developing analog film.

For Beatrice Thornton, an artist, photographer, and archivist based in Oakland, CA, nature is more than a muse: It's also a source of sustainable materials she uses for developing analog film. Read “Reviving the Craft of Plant-Based Photo Developing,” written by Jeff Greenwald: bit.ly/3L9xhJH

Soul Food Gets the Vegan Treatment | Craftsmanship Magazine These Black restaurateurs are breaking the mold with plant-based versions of traditional — but often unhealthy — soul food dishes.

Driven primarily by health, Black vegan restaurateurs are creating plant-based versions of soul food that avoid meat, salty fats, and other bodily evildoers, while still retaining the flavor, texture, and succulent richness of those beloved old family recipes: bit.ly/3GfD0HF

Freshly Unlocked: "Rediscovering the Craft of Slow Writing" A pen, a notebook, a vintage typewriter, some art supplies: A writer’s quest to reclaim her love of the craft opens up a new creative chapter (so to speak).

A pen, a notebook, a vintage typewriter, some art supplies: A writer’s quest to reclaim her love of the craft opens up a new creative chapter (so to speak). We hope you’ll enjoy reading “Rediscovering the Craft of Slow Writing,” written by Jennifer Berney: bit.ly/4qCiGph

Throwaway Nation | Craftsmanship Magazine Throwaway Nation: America’s History of Planned Obsolescence. Why we’re addicted to buying stuff—and what we can do to stop.

"Planned Obsolescence"—the Made-in-America practice of making goods that are not meant to last—has left the U.S. with the world's largest waste stream. Why do we keep feeding this destructive cycle by buying more and more stuff? Read "Throwaway Nation," written by Julia Scheeres: bit.ly/3RjiLQb