Plot Synopsis

CRAFT IN AMERICA takes viewers on a journey into the diverse and ever-evolving world of American craft.

Each one-hour episode of the first season highlights a specific aspect of American craft: "Memory" takes a personal tour through craft's history in America beginning with the pioneers of the field; "Landscape" focuses on the relationship between the artists and their physical environment; "Community" highlights the spiritual connection artists have to their communities through craft making; "Origins" tells the stories of artists who tie their work to early techniques and pass these practices on in a continuum of creativity; and "Process" relates how one acquires the knowledge and skills necessary to become a craft artist. The Season 4 premiere episode, "Threads," explores work by Faith Ringgold, Consuelo Jimenez Underwood and Terese Agnew -- who through story-quilts and fiber collages go beyond pure technique to tell us fictions and truths that pierce our sensibilities -- and Randall Darwall, whose luscious woven textiles affect us intellectually and emotionally through musical and visual rhythms and sensuous tactility.

CRAFT IN AMERICA returned for its fifth season on Friday, October 25, 2013 at 10pm ET/PT on PBS in most cities (check local listings).

On Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 10:30pm on PBS (check local listings), CRAFT IN AMERICA returned to explore America's creative spirit through the language and traditions of the handmade. The newest episode, "Service," part of the PBS veterans initiative Stories of Service, is the story of craft and the military. From the origins of the Army Arts and Crafts Program and the G.I. Bill to contemporary soldiers and veterans, this episode documents the power of the handmade to inspire, motivate and heal.

On Friday, November 20, 2015 at 10pm on PBS (check local listings), CRAFT IN AMERICA returned to feature fine instrument makers and renowned musicians, including Joan Baez with her Martin guitar, Jake Shimabukuro playing his Kamaka ukulele, trumpet maker Dave Monette and leader of the Count Basie Orchestra Scotty Barnhart, Tony Ellis and Stelling banjos, musician Rhiannon Giddens with minstrel banjo maker Jim Hartel, and Joe Pereira, timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with mallet maker Jason Ginter.

On Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 8pm (check local listings), PBS premiered the eighth season of CRAFT IN AMERICA. The season opener, "Teachers," debuted during PBS' week-long programming event that focused on education. The season debut follows artists committed to passing on their skills and passion for craft to new generations. Featured are Barbara Teller Ornelas, Lynda Teller Pete, Therman Statom, Mark Mitsuda at Punahou School and Linda Sikora at Alfred University.

Season 9 of CRAFT IN AMERICA premiered on Friday, September 22, 2017 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings). The season opener, "Borders," explores the relationships and influences Mexican and American craft artists have on each other and on our cultures. The program features traditional weaving and the creation of paper jewelry.

The tenth season of CRAFT IN AMERICA premiered on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings), with back-to-back new episodes. "California" (9pm): This episode explores craft practices definitively Californian, from Native Americans continuing ancient traditions, to contemporary artists expressing new iterations of the art of the handmade. Featuring Pomo basket weaver Corine Pearce, metalsmith Randy Stromsoe, the Arts and Crafts architecture of Greene and Greene, stained glass artists at Judson Studios, and textile artist Deborah Cross. "Visionaries" (10pm): This installment includes artists, curators and collectors who envision limitless possibilities of craft and imagine new methods of achieving that vision. 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.

Season 11 of CRAFT IN AMERICA premiered on Friday, December 27, 2019 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings) with two new episodes: "Quilting" (9pm): This episode looks at how quilts carry meaning, are rich with history, emotion, memories and beauty. They tell stories that would otherwise not be told, each one as unique as their maker. "Identity" (10pm): What combination of work, ethnicity, nationality, family and heritage go into the sum of who we are? This episode explores how artists challenge accepted norms of gender, race, culture and place, offering truer expressions of their experience in this world.

PBS premiered both episodes of CRAFT IN AMERICA's 12th season on Friday, December 11, 2020 from 9-11pm (check local listings). The season opener, "Storytellers" (9pm), highlights artists who use narrative to communicate personal and universal truths, creating a uniquely powerful expression of our human experience. Then, the second episode, "Democracy" (10pm), begins with Robert L. Lynch, President of Americans for the Arts, who speaks to the presence of craft in U.S. history and the role of government in the arts.

On Friday, December 16, 2022 from 9-11pm (check local listings), PBS premiered both Season 14 episodes of CRAFT IN AMERICA: The season opener, "Inspiration" (9pm), visits the Saar family of artists (Betye Saar, Alison Saar, & Maddy Leeser), Simon Rodia & Watts Towers, weaver Diedrick Brackens, potter Ayumi Horie, Hmong master of paj ntaub embroidery Suzanne Thao & Mandora Young, artist Mary Little. The second episode, "Home" (10pm), features Ojibwe artist Biskakone Greg Johnson, North House Folk School, ceramic artist Syd Carpenter, sculptor Wharton Esherick, architect Sim Van der Ryn & the Outlaw Builders, and curatorial consultant/educator Helen Drutt English.
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The 15th season of CRAFT IN AMERICA debuted with two episodes on Friday, December 29, 2023 from 9-11pm on PBS (check local listings):

"Play" (9pm): The season opener celebrates the power of imagination and the child in all of us. This episode features these artists: pinata artists Roberto Benavidez and Lorena Robletto; puppeteer Schroeder Cherry; and artist Calder Kamin. Plus, the installment visits Noah's Ark at the Skirball Cultural Center; and the Cotsen Children's Library.

"Miniatures" (10pm): The finale examines the world of tiny objects and the artists who make them. From folk art to marionettes to tiny furniture, the artists of MINIATURES reveal what motivates them to work at a scale that demands a masterful attention to detail. This installment features these artists: Mark Murphy, a miniaturist living and working in Astoria, Oregon, who creates intricately detailed miniature furniture; Santa Fe's Alexander Girard, who shares his passion for folk art through the "Multiple Visions" exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art; artist Leandro Gomez in Baracoa, Cuba, who crafts faithful recreations of vehicles like the iconic Willys Jeep; and multidisciplinary artist Gustave Baumann who created paintings, woodblock prints and marionettes in the first half of the 20th century.