American Craft magazine celebrates the diversity of American craft and its makers. From the handmade that we use in our homes every day to the fine craft honored in museums, we cover inspiring craft being made today. We also showcase craft organizations making a difference in their communities, thought leadership in the field, and the importance of craft in contemporary American culture.

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From the Editor

Gather. When we were planning this issue on the theme “gather,” we found stories to share with you about the many ways craft creates connection. Here you’ll learn about the new ways craft collectors are supporting artists and sharing their collections with others, and how ceramic artists create community when they come together to fire their works in the kiln. You’ll discover how and why artists employ the gathering-together technique of the fold. And we hope you’ll appreciate—as we do every day—the myriad ways craft lives at the heart of human gatherings, like coming together to enjoy a meal or to play a game.

We also hope you’ll join us in celebrating a group of remarkable people who have dedicated their time, attention, and extraordinary talent to craft. Once every two years, American Craft tells the stories of the recipients of the American Craft Council Awards, which are given to craft artists, scholars, curators, and advocates by their peers. This year, awards are being given to 20 people—about double the usual number—because the awards committee, made up of professionals in craft, simply wanted to honor more people. Among them are six recipients of the Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship and eight new inductees to the College of Fellows, including Tip Toland, whose work appears on the cover of this issue.

Our wish is that we all can gather with our loved ones this fall, and that we can find comfort and joy in the many connections—both tangible and intangible—that craft offers.

KAREN OLSON / Editor in Chief

Nick Schwartz’s stoneware Firebox Bottle, 2018, was fired in John Dix’s anagama kiln in Shigaraki, Japan, when Schwartz was teaching a workshop there for students from around the world. “The bottle has no applied glaze,” he says. “The surface is a result of combining the process of burning wood for almost a week, the type of clay, the atmosphere of the kiln, and the style of firing accomplished by the hardworking crew of the kiln.”

American Craft Council publishes American Craft magazine on a quarterly basis but reserves the right to change the number of issues in an annual term, including discontinuing any format and substituting and/or modifying the manner in which the subscription is distributed.