The Queue

Next In The Queue Q and A with the craft community

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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Roberto Benavidez with some of his piñata creations in his Los Angeles home studio. Photo by Roberto Benavidez.

The Queue: Roberto Benavidez

Roberto Benavidez sculpts piñatas that embrace the odd and fantastical. In The Queue, the Los Angeles–based piñatero shares about the piñata that first inspired him, John J. Audubon’s influence on his work, and the craft art in his home studio.

Jo Andersson. Photo by Sarah Maria Yasdani.

The Queue: Jo Andersson

Jo Andersson’s glass vessels and lighting inspire reflection and contemplation. In The Queue, the Gothenburg, Sweden–based artist shares about the embodiment at the core of glassblowing, her admiration for masters of the medium, and her future plans in glassblowing.

Kandy Lopez. Photo by ShootmeJade.

The Queue: Kandy G Lopez

Kandy G Lopez stitches mesmerizing, bold portraits of people of color. In The Queue, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida–based multimedia artist shares about her favorite place to get materials, the qualities that draw her to a portrait subject, and a fascinating Miami fiber art exhibition.

Watertower, 2012, salvaged acrylic and steel with arduino programmed light, 22 x 10 x 10 ft. Photo by Guerin Blask.

The Queue: Tom Fruin

Tom Fruin turns found materials into vivid public sculptures. In The Queue, the Brooklyn-based sculptor shares about the discarded items that find their way into his work, his favorite tools, and two visionary South American artists with recent shows in New York.

Ian Alistair Cochran. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Queue: Ian Alistair Cochran

Ian Alistair Cochran casts resin in a new light. In The Queue, the Chicago-based artist shares about the tool that enables him to create perfectly smooth resin, his experiments with new-to-him materials, and the elemental appeal of light.

Arleene Correa Valencia. Photo courtesy of Adrian Osnaya.

The Queue: Arleene Correa Valencia

Arleene Correa Valencia explores the Mexican immigrant experience in textiles, mixed-media sculptures, and paintings. In The Queue, the Napa, California–based artist shares about her use of repurposed work clothing, her Indigenous collaborators in Mexico, and how she came to incorporate textiles into her practice.

Fitzpatrick inside a custom oversize tool chest she built for a client, 25 x 52 x 28 in. Photo by Christopher Schwarz.

The Queue: Megan Fitzpatrick

Megan Fitzpatrick spreads the word about the joys and peculiarities of hand tool woodworking through purposeful, engaging books and classes. In The Queue, the Cincinnati-based editor, woodworker, and teacher shares about her mutually enriching professions, the publishing project she’s most proud of, and her favorite hand tools.

Dirk Joseph with his painting Fractal Being, 2023, acrylic on canvas. Photo by Dirk Joseph.

The Queue: Dirk Joseph

For Dirk Joseph, art and artmaking is the ultimate form of play. In The Queue, the Baltimore-based artist, educator, and puppeteer shares about the puppet show that inspired him to perform, his material experiments with paper, and a landmark book on puppeteering in the African diaspora.

Stoneware and porcelain tableware by Miro Chun, 2022. Photo by Miro Chun.

The Queue: Miro Chun

With an architect’s eye, Miro Chun creates minimalist, functional tableware. In The Queue, the Phoenix, Arizona-based ceramist shares about the beauty in commonplace materials, the other artists in her family, and her dream collaboration.

Sarah Zapata in her studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, 2023. Photo by Minnie Bennett.

The Queue: Sarah Zapata

Sarah Zapata weaves the many strands of her identity into colorful, cascading, textile installations. In The Queue, the Brooklyn-based fiber artist shares about a piece of textile art she first encountered as a teenager, the potential of fabric waste, and the joys of researching a site-specific installation in Kansas City.

Misha Kahn. Photo by Joshua White, courtesy of Friedman Benda and Misha Kahn.

The Queue: Misha Kahn

Misha Kahn’s unrepentantly maximalist works use a dizzying array of materials and techniques to steamroll over the borders between craft, design, and sculpture. In The Queue, the Brooklyn-based designer and artist shares about the iconic craft artists whose works populate his home, the challenges of working with wood, and the alchemical magic of electroforming.

Sophie Glenn with her tool cabinet, Anni Albers in the Black Lodge, 2019, various hardwoods, brass hardware, 36 x 24 x 14 in. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Queue: Sophie Glenn

Sophie Glenn’s clever furniture isn’t what it appears to be. In The Queue, the Reading, Pennsylvania–based woodworker, metalworker, and furniture designer shares about her process, why she references pop culture in her work, and the challenges of converting traditional wood forms into metal.

Chevonne Ariss at her desk. Photo by Sam Backhaus.

The Queue: Chevonne Ariss

In her lively, wide-ranging  podcast Cracked, Chevonne Ariss highlights modern stained glass artists. In The Queue, the Portland, Oregon–based glass artist shares about her lightbulb moment with glass, how a thriving online community led her to start her show, and the qualities of a good podcast guest.

Jiha Moon in her painting studio. For her new still life series, Moon mounted Korean mulberry paper, or hanji, on canvas, then used ink  and acrylic to paint symbolic icons including the peach, peony flowers, and haetae, a Korean mythical creature that protects family and loved ones.

The Queue: Jiha Moon

Jiha Moon mixes cultures and materials in her playful, vibrant ceramics. In The Queue, the Tallahassee, Florida–based painter, sculptor, printmaker, and professor shares about her busy upcoming exhibition schedule, how teaching can conquer generational divides, and the traditional textile art that deserves more attention.

Jeff Neil in his Tennessee workshop. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Queue: Jeff Neil

Jeff Neil melds two traditional craft forms—Shaker boxes and quilts—into delightful wooden boxes and trays meant to be used. In The Queue, the Tennessee-based woodworker shares about the box that first captivated him, his workhorse plane, and a fellow Tennessean who is a masterful chair maker.

Tali Weinberg weaving with plant- and insect-dyed cotton in her former studio. Photo by Melissa Luckenbaugh.

The Queue: Tali Weinberg

Tali Weinberg weaves natural and petrochemical-derived materials into elegant textiles in response to pressing social issues. In The Queue, the Illinois-based artist shares details about her favorite loom, how she combines the personal and the political in her work, and five poignant works about climate change.

Tyrrell Tapaha weaving. Photo courtesy of Bill Hatcher.

The Queue: Tyrrell Tapaha

Tyrrell Tapaha entwines elements of agro-pastoral living and Diné weaving into dazzling textiles. In The Queue, the Flagstaff, Arizona–based sheepherder and fiber artist shares about their free-flowing process, their cherished tools, and a new exhibition on Diné textiles in Santa Fe.

Alison Elizabeth Taylor marquetry hybrid titled The Residency, 2022.

The Queue: Alison Elizabeth Taylor

Alison Elizabeth Taylor’s marquetry hybrid panels depict desert and city life in wood, paint, and collage. In The Queue, the Brooklyn-based artist shares about her process, the layered music she turns to for inspiration, and the historical painting exhibitions she’s looking forward to this fall.

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