Craft in America

I'm sure some people think a documentary about crafting sounds boring, but I found this series to be highly fascinating. I did a lot of arts and crafts when I was a kid, and I really want to get back into it, as I'm trying to be more intentional about staying productive. I now have a kit for making macrame that goes around potted plants. As much as I love macrame, I'm kind of intimidated by trying to make it, but I know I'll probably have fun once I start working on it. I've also done pottery, and now that covid is improving I would love to take a class again. Craft in America is an exploration of artistic expression and its various types: quilting, weaving, glass blowing, jewelry making, etc., and artisans all over the US discuss the cultural and social influences behind their work. I don't feel like art is promoted enough in society. All you hear about is STEM and it gets quite tiresome. I know jobs are becoming gadget driven, so it's important to be technologically competent, but art brings people together more so than technology. Even if you're not a fan of crafting, I still suggest watching. It's a really interesting documentary that can teach everyone something. Make yourself a cup of tea or hot chocolate and enjoy.

It is the time that the artist excels past the mechanics to an expression that makes you want to try the different arts for yourself.

Every once in a while there is a clinker. But for the most part, you will want to repeat watching.

It helps that I have already dabbled in a lot of the arts so I can tell that whoever chose the individual artists excelled in the choice.

The presentation is in episodes like Memory, Landscape, and Community. I am not sure of the significance. I just watched from one end of the DVD to the next. Two good points about this presentation. One is not in sound bite form where all the artists say one thing then all the artists say, anointer. Second, it tells a little history of how the artist came to a point in life where he/she decides to be an artist instead of a drone in society.

I know that the series cannot be everything for everybody, however, I would have liked them to have slowed down to shoe more of the mechanical details of each craft.