What will each of us remember about life during a global pandemic? News of racial unrest, political protests, natural disasters, and skyrocketing COVID-19 rates gripped our attention. At work, I helped my department pivot to a predominantly online learning environment. At home, I quietly grieved over the death of my mother, as well as the passing…

Objects are embedded in a network of relations from which they derive their meaning. Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM) encourages to question the networks in which people participate as makers or consumers of the range of items that can be considered jewelry. RJM is a community jewelry mining and recycling project that emphasizes the ethical sourcing…

The author writes this article to remind art educators of the importance of crafts in art education. They have noticed that scant attention is given to crafts in contemporary art education in the United States. Through this article, the author would like to reflect on why crafts are essential in art education by considering their role in…

Freedom for most of the 4 million enslaved Black Americans in the United States was not granted when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Freedom came about in numerous ways and at different times. The status of Maryland's enslaved population was not decided until October 1864, when a statewide referendum on a…

While holding a lesser place in art education theory, many artists believe that craft education is important and should return to the school curriculum (Mason, 2005). Stereotypical views of handwork as domestic and purely functional can expand and align with 21st-century skills, while maintaining the craft traditions of working with one's hands.…

In March 2013, Art Education editor Robert Sweeny (2013) published an editorial titled "Ten Ways of MAKING" focused on capturing the mounting zeitgeist of the concept of making. The maker movement encourages informal teaching and learning of practical technical skills related to electronics, metal- and woodworking, and traditional arts…

In connecting personal stories with historical and cultural contexts, art becomes more accessible. We have integrated into this article our family stories that connect our personal experiences, historical, social, and cultural contexts with artmaking. They frame their family stories as "funds of knowledge," or knowledge and skills…

This instructional article demonstrates the parallels between the way art is used as forms of celebration and protest in several different cultures. The author provides thought-provoking questions to pose to students, encouraging them to research unfamiliar cultures and draw connections between multi-cultural art and the art the students create.

This article explores the arts-integrated approach to teaching and learning by combining the art of quilt making, technology, and research. The author challenged his students to use technology and the knowledge of their surrounding county to create a quilt that reflects a sense of community and engagement. The goal was to encourage a more engaged…

When first encountering contemporary art, the viewer is confronted with particular challenges--the works can be both surprising in application of materials and provocative in presentation. Contemporary art can confound its audience as they attempt to decode and interpret its meaning. This Instructional Resource outlines an approach for art…

For military veterans suffering from the long-term trauma of warfare, arts and crafts become much more than the fabrication of relics; they can literally save the spirit. Dialogue and interaction between the veterans, volunteers, and staff are crucial to the success of veterans' arts and crafts program. The purpose of this research was threefold.…

C. Maxx Stevens, Katy Stone, and Hildur Bjarnadottir create monumental sculptural paintings, installations, and textiles to impart ideas regarding domesticity and nature as well as stories of evolving family or community traditions. Questioning and breaking traditional rules of art in unique ways, their innovative and graceful use of alternative…

Arts and crafts education opens up the creative ambitions of hearing-impaired children, cultivates their ability to express themselves, strengthens their organizational ability, helps them develop visual and tactile sensitivity, and increases their interest in learning. Self-respect and self-confidence are the result. (RM)

The author describes the history, theories, and methods of the German institution called the Bauhaus, which he considers to be the basic influence on American studio art education in the last 50 years. (Author/SJL)

Describes an introductory fiber arts unit for children and university students based on weaving the traditional Scottish tartan plaid on the floor or table loom. Concludes that the tartan plaid presents students with a satisfying artistic medium which can be mastered by all age levels. (GEA)