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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We publish The Queue on the ACC blog every other Monday. Sign up to be notified about new posts via email. Plus, with your registration today, we'll send you a link to our digitally reproduced June/July 1979 issue of American Craft featuring museum-quality handcrafted furniture.
The Queue: Rhiannon Griego
Based in Santa Fe, Rhiannon Griego is one of nine textile artists featured in our Spring 2022 issue who are "grappling with issues of environmental, economic, and social sustainability." In The Queue she shares about finding beauty in paradox and steadiness in change—and gives a shoutout to another textile artist whose work she'd love to own.
The Queue: Shae Bishop
Shae Bishop is a North Carolina–based ceramic and fiber artist who makes sculptural garments that he displays with photographs of himself wearing the pieces in specific environments. In The Queue Shae shares how fashion and history inform his craft, what he's been reading, and about two artists whose work he admires.
The Queue: Beth Dow
Based in the Twin Cities, Beth Dow is the artisan behind Fieldwork Goods, a line of leather accessories made with traditional saddlery techniques and vegetable-tanned leather. In The Queue, Beth shares about the intention behind her work and how she balances her craft with a photography practice—with a shoutout to another leather artist she admires.
The Queue: Aspen Golann
Aspen Golann is an artist and furniture maker blending early American furniture forms with sculpture and social practice. She's also an educator and the founder of The Chairmaker's Toolbox, a project that is amplifying and supporting the work of underrepresented artists in the woodworking field. In The Queue she shares about the questions that drive her personal practice—as well as some of her "artist crushes!"
The Queue: Tracey Beale
Tracey Beale creates metal jewelry and copper wall art that she describes as modern relics. Beale's interest in African artifacts and articles of adornment informs a lot of her work. In The Queue she shares what medium has been a major source of finding beauty, what go-to tool she uses to create texture in her jewelry, and more.
The Queue: Kristy Kún
Kristy Kún is an Oregon-based fiber artist who, having studied engineering and after a career as a woodworker, has turned her focus to sculptural compositions in handmade felt. In The Queue she shares her surprising and insightful go-to tool and lets us know whose work she's inspired by.
The Queue: Matthew Nafranowicz
European-trained traditional upholsterer living in Madison, Wisconsin, Matthew Nafranowicz is the furniture artist behind Straight Thread Chair Co. In The Queue, he shares what terrifying yet effective 18th-century tool he uses in his practice, what installation and spoon carving artists' he's inspired by, and more!
The Queue: Trish Andersen
Trish Andersen is a Savannah, Georgia—based textile artist who takes a painterly approach to the technique of rug tufting, with recent works resembling draped, dripping, abstract expressionist–like canvases. In The Queue, Andersen shares the shows she's binging and what twists and turns her career has taken to get her to this point. Read how big risks and saying no have led her to where she is now.
The Queue: Sebastian Martorana
Sebastian Martorana is a sculptor and illustrator living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. He's the "In My Studio" contributor for our Winter 2022 issue, sharing an overview of his workspace and a personal reflection on his creative process. In The Queue, you can get to know what books, tools, and shows are currently inspiring him.
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.
