The Craftsperson Speaks: Artists in Varied Media Discuss Their Crafts

Although contemporary American crafts are widely exhibited and appreciated, very little information is available about the artists themselves, their training, careers, inspirations, and feelings about their work, and place in society. As part of a large oral history and survey project of the Research Center for Arts and Culture of Columbia University, ten personal narrative interviews with craftspeople were edited and collected for The Craftsperson Speaks. The selected artists represent a variety of disciplines and media, including ceramics, glass, jewelry, metalwork, and fiber, and also exhibit a balance of age, ethnicity, regionalism, and stage of career development.

Each interview is prefaced by brief life and career data and followed by information on exhibit sources and professional affiliations and honors and a photographic illustration of a representative piece of work. The volume’s introduction, written by the project coordinator, Mary Greeley, offers an overview of the history of the craftsperson in the United States, and a final bibliography provides sources for further reference. This combination of information and insights will be of interest and value to artists, teachers, students, art professionals, and the general public. Greenwood Press is pleased to publish it in time to help inaugurate 1993 and the Year of the American Craft.

JOAN JEFFRI is Director of the Research Center for Arts and Culture at Columbia University, which she founded in 1985, Director of Columbia’s Master’s Degree Program in Arts Administration at Teachers College, and former Executive Editor of The Journal of Arts Management and Law. Her books include Arts Money: Raising It, Saving It, and Earning It, ARTIST HELP: The Artist’s Guide to Work-Related Human and Social Services and The Emerging Arts: Management, Survival, and Growth.