In 1955, Frank Lloyd Wright, known as one of the most prolific architects of the 20th century, took a unique divergence in his career when he partnered up with F. Schumacher and Co. to design …
Material Culture
Interconnections: Experiencing The History of UW–Madison Through Building Terrariums
This somatic addition to the show helped imprint how we learn from material, and provided access to these skills, since the equipment and instruction required to try out a new craft is often a barrier for new learners.
Building Community Through Making in the Work in Progress (WIP) Lab
The purpose of the WIP Lab is not to make a particular thing or to learn a specific technique; but rather, make things together…
Making the Future with Berea College Student Craft
A blog post on the current exhibition Heart, Head, and Hand: Making and Remaking at Berea College Student Craft examines some of the lessons we may learn from craft and design as we cultivate a more equitable and flourishing world.
Weaving the past into the present
A recent inventory of 13,000+ artifacts inspired a fresh look at the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection Written by Nicole Etter If the story of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection (HLATC) was told through …
Imagining the Healing Process through Manual Practices: The Arpillera Experience in Peruvian Communities
Can collective healing processes be manifested through creative activities? If so, how might we envision this taking place? The meticulous curation of the Social Threads exhibition challenges viewers to reconsider how communities have organized visual …
Layers of History Woven into Lace
With their unassuming appearance, these two bobbin lace pieces may at first seem like mere objects of craft, evocative of a time when lace adorned everything from haute couture fashion to the furniture of our …
Weaving Between the Lines: Authenticity, Identity, and Place(s) of Origin
Amongst objects in the Social Thread exhibition such as embroidered Hungarian shawls, Hmong story cloths, and Polish lace runners, the Filipino tapis is an object with a deceptively heavy history. When I saw it in …
Student Spotlight: Alternative Fashions by Addison Nace
What is fashion? This question is one of the guiding inquiries that inspired Uncut Attire. Since entering grad school, I have begun to consider ways in which the definition of fashion may be broadened to …
Student Spotlight: Experiencing “Questioning Things” by Sarah Egan
Experiencing “Questioning Things” on my first day back as a gallery assistant in the Center for Design and Material Culture was daunting. Having been gone for the summer, the exhibit was a surprise to me, …