Handwork: Handcrafted Objects that Made America (DESIGN) - Tapa dura

Acerca de los autores

Carol Sauvion es una investigadora estadounidense de artesanía y creadora de la serie de PBS ganadora del premio Peabody, Craft in America. Sauvion fue la directora fundadora de Craft in America y, durante más de cuarenta y cinco años, dirigió Freehand, su galería en Los Ángeles especializada en artesanía funcional.

Emily Zaiden es directora y curadora del Craft in America Center en Los Ángeles, donde ha organizado más de ochenta exposiciones multidisciplinarias de arte contemporáneo, artesanía y diseño para el centro y los museos asociados. Zaiden supervisa programas públicos, una iniciativa educativa para estudiantes de primaria y secundaria, y proyectos digitales, incluida la creación del Craft Video Dictionary en línea. Su investigación se centra en los procesos artesanales, la materialidad, el diseño funcional y el arte cultural, especialmente desde una perspectiva histórica. Zaiden tiene una maestría del Programa de Cultura Material Estadounidense de Winterthur.

De la contraportada

Craft in America presents a compelling and essential portrait of American culture through an extraordinary range of handmade objects

Handwork: Handcrafted Objects that Made America is a visually stunning, deeply inspiring celebration of America’s spirit through ordinary, surprising, and overlooked handcrafted objects spanning more than 250 years. Edited by Emily Zaiden, director and lead curator of the Craft in America Center, with a foreword by Carol Sauvion, the visionary behind the Peabody Award–winning PBS series Craft in America, this book is part of a sweeping national initiative marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.

Grouping handmade objects into four curated sections―DWELL, FEED, FURNISH, ADORN―Handwork takes readers on a journey through time and across the multiplicity of cultures that have made America, uncovering the powerful stories behind objects that shaped American life. From a nineteenth-century Kiowa cradleboard and a silver bowl made by Paul Revere to celebrate a rebellion, to an antique Hawaiian papa heʻenalu―or surfboard―and a prototype for an iconic sneaker, these objects reflect innovation, resistance, artistry, and community―and were all crafted by hand.

Accessible yet authoritative, the book includes illuminating essays by experts nationwide and places a special focus on overlooked narratives and the underrepresented artists who helped define American life through their craft. Contemporary makers featured throughout show how craft traditions live on―reimagined, reinterpreted, and renewed.

The official book of Handwork: Celebrating American Craft 2026―Craft in America’s yearlong, nationwide initiative marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, featuring hundreds of museum exhibitions and events, a four-part PBS docuseries, and specially designed educational components―Handwork is essential reading for anyone curious about American history, design, material culture, or craft. With vibrant full-color photography; a fresh, engaging layout; and an inclusive approach, this book is as captivating and eye-opening as the objects and artists it celebrates.