Crafts
Albert Paley's Gates Return to Renwick Gallery
The Renwick Gallery's famed Portal Gates by master sculptor and blacksmith Albert Paley are once again back home, reinstalled last week on the second floor in a custom-made alcove, after going on exhibit at Iowa State University. The gates have been a much-loved staple at the gallery since their in...
November 04, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Looting Mali's History
As demand for its antiquities soars, the West African country is losing its most prized artifacts to illegal sellers and smugglers
November 2009 |
By Joshua Hammer
Five Things You Didn't Know About Picture Frames
Martin Kotler, a conservator of picture frames at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, will be leading a tour through the Renwick Gallery’s Grand Salon this Wednesday (at noon) to discuss not the artworks, but the frames that surround them. Surprisingly, American picture frames have a history all t...
October 21, 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Events for the Week of October 19-23: Fantastic Frames, Gallery Talks, Halloween at the Zoo and More!
Monday, October 19: A Stitch in Time: Block-by-Block Quilting SeriesIdeal for persons aged 8 and older, this workshop will introduce you to the basics of quilting. That's right, you too can gain the skill set required to make a piece suitable to keep you warm or to hang on the wall as a part of you...
October 19, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Sit 'n' Knit at the Renwick Gallery
Yesterday morning, just after 11 AM the steady clinking of knitting needles could be heard from the interactive gallery in the Renwick's Craft Invitiational 2009 exhibit. Every first and third Tuesday from 11 to 1 PM, and second and fourth Sunday from 1 to 3 PM, knitters of all levels gather here t...
September 16, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
"Staged Stories" Opens at the Renwick Gallery
Every two years, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery reevaluates where contemporary craft is headed. This year, curator Nicholas Bell noticed the emerging trend of incorporating narrative into craft. All four artists chosen for the "2009 Renwick Craft Invitational," which opens Fr...
August 05, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Smithsonian Events for the Week of August 3-7: Andy Warhol, Orchids, Superheroes and More!
Monday, August 3: Warhol Himself: Culture in Motion PerformanceCome experience a fantasy interview with the iconic pop artist extraordinaire Andy Warhol in a performance piece that culls quips and quotations from the artist, portrayed here by Kryztov Lindquist. Free, but seating is limited. Call 20...
August 03, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Ralph Eubanks, Legends of Vaudeville and a Family Arts Festival
Friday, June 5: 2-Day Family Festival: Start with the ArtsTo celebrate the recently-opened exhibition, Jean Shin: Common Threads, enjoy a performance by Bash the Trash, learn how to make musical instruments from found objects and decorate environmentally friendly tote bags. The festival continues o...
June 05, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
The Cherished Tradition of Scrapbooking
Author Jessica Helfand investigates the history of scrapbooks and how they mirror American history
May 14, 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Weekend Events: Disco, Jazz and Heavy Metal
Friday, April 3: Discotheque UndergroundWhy sit in your room all day listening to ABBA songs when you can come to the Ripley Center and be the dancing queen? That's right. Disco is at the Smithsonian. Afraid? Petrified? Don't be, because the DJs Jay Style and Evaa Pearl are on deck spinning tunes t...
April 03, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: African Pearls, Another Inaugural Ball, and a String Quartet
Friday, January 30: A Scattering of Pearls: Architecture of the Gold Road and the Mali-Spain DiasporaAfter completing a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, Mansa Musa, emperor of Mali, returned with architect Al-Saheli. With Mansa's support, Al-Saheli constructed palaces and mosques—notably the Djingareyb...
January 30, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Weekend Events: Tea and Philately
Friday, January 23: Iranian Film Festival: Head WindA documentary that examines the Islamic Republic and how it tries to control the inflow of information from the outside world. Will the age of DVDs and the Internet overwhelm traditional modes of living? In Persian with English subtitles. Free, bu...
January 23, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
I Can't Live Without That. . .Necklace?
Lectures offered around the Smithsonian tend to bear titles that range from the curiously vague ("Children at Play: An American History") to the esoterically detailed ("Topics in Museum Conservation Lecture: Hygric Swelling of Stone"). So when a talk came up on "Protective Ornaments: Dressed for...
May 02, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Rug-of-War
For nearly thirty years, Afghani weavers have incorporated images of war into hand-woven rugs
February 04, 2008 |
By Mimi Kirk
Tied Together Through the Generations
When Ellen Holen started stitching her sons’ old neckties into a colorful silk quilt some seven decades ago on a central Nebraskan farm, she was probably just being practical, not trying to create a work of art. After all, it was during the Great Depression and she had 10 children — they couldn’t ...
January 02, 2008 |
By admin
Buying a Carpet in Istanbul
A guide to types of Turkish carpets and techniques that go into making them
June 01, 2007 |
By Rick Steves
Fabric of Their Lives
There's a new exhibition of works by the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama, whose lives have been transformed by worldwide acclaim for their artistry.
October 2006 |
By Amei Wallach
Healing Arts
At Ojo Caliente, site of New Mexico's ancient hot springs, an artisan revives the craft of Native American pottery
April 2005 |
By Paul Trachtman
Token of Appreciation
A grateful Pomo Indian's gift to a friend exemplifies the brightest form of Native American artistry
August 2004 |
By Ed Leibowitz
Dream Weavers
In the Mexican village of Teotitlán, gifted artisans create a future from bright hand-loomed rugs
November 01, 2003 |
By Bruce Selcraig
