You asked, and we heard you: This week, we’re taking a deep dive into crafting! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, get inspired, learn from the experts, and find your next hobby right here.
Already an artist? Well then, we want to showcase your art! Submit your work from any medium to The Community Canvas for a chance to have it displayed on our Digital Mural over the Mass. Pike. How cool is that?!
Yours in media,
Elizabeth He, Visual Communications Editor
P.S. If you want even more craft content, check out our programming on GBH Create (click the arrow next to TV.)
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From the arts to history to drama and beyond, dig into a weekly interesting topic featuring GBH programming.
Let’s Get Artsy!
Get Inspired: Knitting, Sewing, Quilling, and Zentangle
Calling all crafters and wannabe crafters! You Oughta Know: It’s All About Crafting is the show for you.
Paper Crafts: The Art of Letterlocking
In this lively, interactive show, learn the historic art of locking letters and the cutting-edge technology used to “virtually unfold” these treasured documents.
Or, learn how to make an origami jumping frog out of a single sheet of paper!
Fiber Arts: Sewing with Nancy: Sew the Perfect T-shirt
Learn how to sew with knit fabrics and add designer touches that transform a simple T-shirt into a wardrobe favorite. Make a trendy new addition to your closet!
Or try needle felting, which uses a barbed needle to intertwine wool fibers and create a solid fabric or object.
Flowers: J Schwanke’s Life in Bloom: Traditional Japanese Flower Arts
Enter the world of Japanese flower arts, from Ikebana flower arranging to the art of Bonsai.
Want to admire a flower’s beauty forever? Try this easy technique to preserve flowers, keeping both their structure and color.
Calligraphy: Hobby Hunting: How to Begin Hand Lettering
Make your journals and planners beautiful by picking up the hobby of hand lettering! Follow along to learn five unique styles.
Perfecting Their Craft
Rustic Living: Adirondack Stained Glass Works
Meet three stained glass masters, and then pay a visit to a rustic furniture maker. See these amazing craftspeople at work.
Hat Making
Rose Monzyk is a hatmaker, seamstress, and fine artist who demonstrates some of her methods for creating original – and wearable – pieces of art.
Weekends with Yankee: Handmade in New England
Learn how to spin wool into yarn, meet Syrian baker Ahmad Aissa, and discover New Hampshire artisans.
The Art Scene: Embroidery Artist
Michael Birch Pierce is a fashion professor and embroidery artist who creates on-the-spot embroidered portraits. He has been invited to create his art at SXSW and the Super Bowl.
Pioneer Specials: Knit with Love
Dana Conroy goes on a journey to understand the significance of knitting in her great-great-grandmother’s life. She learns about her family, the latest trends in knitting, and how to make yarn the old-fashioned way.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: Silk-Embroidery Crazy Quilt ca. 1890
How much does this quilt cost? Watch to find out.
Recipe of the Week
The Craft of a Beautiful Pie Crust with Julia Child
Making your own pastry is actually very simple and the flaky, buttery payoff is huge. So, throw on an apron, and soothe yourself with Julia’s warbly-sung tips.
Crafts with a Purpose
* A quilt artist showcases Black history through Bisa Butler’s quilts based on Gordon Parks photographs. And with bold and expressive quilts, another quilter is telling unheard Black history stitch by stitch.
* Fiber artist Janet Echelman of Boston creates large-scale aerial sculptures that blend art, architecture, and engineering. She discusses her new book, Radical Softness.
* The AIDS Quilt redefined what a monument could look like. It’s not made of stone or steel, it’s not made by a single artist, and it’s not even located in a single place. Check it out.
* New Englanders patch holes to make sustainable wardrobes. The idea behind the trend is simple: save some cash and reduce the use of fossil fuels.
* See how MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Jeremy Frey elevates basketry from craft to high art.
Dive Into America 250
Patriots Got Crafty and Made Their Own Gunpowder!
History professor David Hsiung explores the surprising environmental and scientific history behind one of the most critical shortages of the American Revolution – gunpowder. How did Americans try to create their own?
Off Topic
1. Under the Radar hears from the author of Man-Made, who discusses the challenges faced when products are not designed with women in mind.
2. Which salt should you use? Dan Souza from America’s Test Kitchen joins The Curiosity Desk to give his opinion.
3. Check out this NOVA reel about how engineers sealed Chernobyl.
