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The Best Episodes of Craft in America

Every episode of Craft in America ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Craft in America!

Explore the vitality, history and significance of the craft movement in the United States and its impact on our nation's rich cultural heritage. Capturing the...
Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS

Best Episodes Summary

"Memory" is the best rated episode of "Craft in America". It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 4/18/2007. This episode scored NaN points higher than the second highest rated, "Landscape".

  • Memory
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    #1 - Memory

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 4/18/2007

    Take a tour through craft's history in America beginning with the pioneers of the field to the intimate stories of some of our country's most prominent craft artists. Memory observes how past is prologue, and looks to the dynamic of cultural history and personal heritage in creating objects. Featured artists include Sam Maloof, Garry Knox Bennett, Mary Jackson, Tom Joyce, and Pat Courtney Gold.

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  • Landscape
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    #2 - Landscape

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 4/25/2007

    Craft artists depend on their natural environment for both materials and inspiration. This hour looks at the processes through which natural materials become finished works of craft, and what deeper messages may be contained therein. Featured artists include Jan Yager, Kit Carson, David Gurney, George & Mira Nakashima, Richard Notkin, and Timberline Lodge.

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  • Community
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    #3 - Community

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 5/2/2007

    Throughout time, craft work has been a community activity. Gifted artists and passionate newcomers alike reveal the deeply held belief that craft is about more than just the making of an object. Featured artists include Jamex & Einar de la Torre, Preston Singletary, Pilchuck Glass School, Sarah Jaeger, Ken Loeber, Dona Look, Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, Penland School, Denise & Sam Wallace.

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  • Origins
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    #4 - Origins

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/2009

    The American craft tradition did not just appear, fully-formed and mature. The artists in Origins tie their work to early craft techniques and demonstrate how they are involved in passing these techniques to others in a continuum of creativity. Featured artists include Philip Simmons, Mark Hewitt, Teri Greeves, Jim Bassler, Paul Stankard, and Vernon, Pam, and Travis Owens.

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  • Process
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    #5 - Process

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/2009

    What inspires a person to choose a career in craft? How does one acquire the knowledge and necessary skills? From self-taught artists to those who pursue formal study, from avocation to college, from apprenticeships to craft schools. Featured artists include the 92nd St Y, Dave & Roberta Williamson, Cary Esser, Nikki Lewis, KCAI, N. Bennet St. School, Tom Killion, and Julie Chen.

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  • Messages
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    #6 - Messages

    Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 5/24/2011

    Many artists use their craft to share personal and political opinions. Craft has the ability to entice viewers to consider topics that they might find difficult. By expressing their ideas through their work, artists add meaning to the objects they create. Featured artists include glass artist Beth Lipman, santero Charles M. Carrillo, bead artist Joyce J. Scott; and jeweler & sculptor Thomas Mann.

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  • Family
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    #7 - Family

    Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/2011

    Family explores the creative environments and personal dynamics of four families of craft artists and asks: Is talent inherited? What is it like to live in a household where objects are made by hand? Meet the featured artists (the Lees, Marionis, Moulthrops and Sorrells).

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  • Threads
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    #8 - Threads

    Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 5/11/2012

    Explore the creativity of the human spirit through works that begin with the humble thread. Featured artists include fiber artist Terese Agnew, weaver Randall Darwall & designer Brian Murphy, artist Faith Ringgold, and fiber artist Consuelo Jimenez Underwood.

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  • Crossroads
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    #9 - Crossroads

    Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 11/16/2012

    How do borders and personal crossroads affect an artist? How do science and craft interact? How do other cultures influence American style and technique? This episode explores the intersections of craft, culture, and technology. Featured artists include Tanya Aguiñiga, Lia Cook, Clary Illian, Warren MacKenzie, and Jeff Oestreich.

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  • Forge
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    #10 - Forge

    Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 10/25/2013

    Exceptional artists forging metal magically transformed by fire. Follow Chloe Darke as she begins her career as a silversmith at Old Newbury Crafters; Iraqi war veterans Tom Pullin and Jeremiah Holland as they turn to art as an antidote to the harsh realities of war; Join sculptor Albert Paley as he prepares for Paley on Park Avenue, the most ambitious project of his 50 year career.

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  • Holiday
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    #11 - Holiday

    Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 12/20/2013

    Embracing familiar and new winter celebrations of our American experience with the handmade. Celebrates some of our most important cultural and religious customs and leads viewers directly to their own creativity.

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  • Industry
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    #12 - Industry

    Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 5/2/2014

    Industry explores the business of craft and how artists contribute to local and national economies.

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  • Service
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    #13 - Service

    Season 6 Episode 1 - Aired 11/2/2014

    Documenting craft in the military and the power of the handmade to inspire and heal.

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  • Music
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    #14 - Music

    Season 7 Episode 1 - Aired 11/20/2015

    A look at how fine handmade instruments are crafted, featuring the world renowned artists who play them including Jake Shimabukuro with his Kamaka ukulele, Joan Baez with her Martin guitar, Scotty Barnhart of the Count Basie Orchestra with his David Monette trumpet, Rhiannon Giddens with her James Hartel banjo, Tony Ellis with his Stelling Banjo, timpanist Joseph Pereira and mallet maker Jason Ginter.

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  • Celebration
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    #15 - Celebration

    Season 7 Episode 2 - Aired 12/11/2015

    Discover the role craft plays in our winter holiday traditions, rituals, and festivities. Featuring lion dancers & float builders for San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade, ceramic artists in Michigan for the holidays at Pewabic (Detroit) and Motawi Tileworks (Ann Arbor), Kwanzaa celebrations with Chicago & Oakland artists, and Christmas card making in Tacoma with Yoshiko Yamamoto.

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  • Teachers
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    #16 - Teachers

    Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 9/15/2016

    Artists committed to sharing their skills and passion for craft with students of all ages. Featuring Navajo weavers Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete at Idyllwild Arts, glass artist Mark Mitsuda at Punahou School, glass artist Therman Statom, and ceramic artist Linda Sikora at Alfred University School of Art and Design.

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  • Nature
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    #17 - Nature

    Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 4/21/2017

    Artists explore the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Featuring sculptor Patrick Dougherty, artist Mary Merkel-Hess, woodcarver Michelle Holzapfel, glass artist Preston Singletary, book artist Catherine Alice Michaelis.

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  • Borders
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    #18 - Borders

    Season 9 Episode 1 - Aired 9/29/2017

    Explore the connections between Mexico and the United States through craft. Featuring master altar maker Ofelia Esparza and the Day of the Dead celebration; master weaver J. Isaac Vásquez Garcia and family; weaver Jim Bassler, potter Veralee Bassler and the colorful Guelaguetza parade; and artist Kiff Slemmons and maestro Francisco Toledo at Taller Arte Papel.

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  • Neighbors
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    #19 - Neighbors

    Season 9 Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/2017

    Explore the connections between Mexico and the United States through craft. Featuring ceramic artist Gerardo Monterrubio; ceramic artists Magdalena Pedro Martínez and Carlomagno Pedro Martínez; glass artist Jaime Guerrero; silver designers William Spratling, Carmen Tapia, Miguel Angel Ortíz Miranda, Cristina Romo, and Eduardo Herrera; muralist Judy Baca and SPARC.

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  • California
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    #20 - California

    Season 10 Episode 1 - Aired 12/21/2018

    Explore the diverse craft traditions and innovations in the Golden State. Featuring Pomo basket weaver Corine Pearce, silversmith Randy Stromsoe, the Arts and Crafts architecture of Greene and Greene, stained glass artists at Judson Studios, cabinetmakers James Ipekjian and Jack Ipekjian, and textile artist Deborah Cross.

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  • Visionaries
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    #21 - Visionaries

    Season 10 Episode 2 - Aired 12/21/2018

    Documenting the ways in which artists and influencers inspire new generations to envision the limitless possibilities of craft. Featuring textile designer and founder of LongHouse Reserve Jack Lenor Larsen, curator Helen Molesworth and Black Mountain College, fiber artist Kay Sekimachi, collector Forrest L. Merrill, and book artist Felicia Rice.

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  • Quilts
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    #22 - Quilts

    Season 11 Episode 1 - Aired 12/27/2019

    Learn about contemporary quilters as we celebrate the role quilts have played in our country's story. Featuring Susan Hudson, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Michael A. Cummings, Judith Content, the International Quilt Museum and special guest Ken Burns.

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  • Identity
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    #23 - Identity

    Season 11 Episode 2 - Aired 12/27/2019

    Artists explore issues of gender, race, culture and place, offering true expressions of their experiences in this world. Featuring potter Diego Romero, photographer Cara Romero, furniture maker Wendy Maruyama and sculptor Cristina Cordova.

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  • Storytellers
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    #24 - Storytellers

    Season 12 Episode 1 - Aired 12/11/2020

    Meet artists who use narrative to communicate personal and universal truths. Featuring artist Nicholas Galanin, Julie Schafler Dale, Linda J. Mendelson, George Rodriguez and Christina Bothwell.

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  • Democracy
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    #25 - Democracy

    Season 12 Episode 2 - Aired 12/11/2020

    In the galleries and halls of our treasured institutions; in the hands of Native American, African American, and Veteran artists; from Appalachia to the Rio Grande Valley; Democracy explores how craft is intertwined with our nation’s defining principles. Hear from Robert L. Lynch, President of Americans for the Arts, who speaks to the role of government in the arts.

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