Explore the World of the Human Spirit. Passion, Ingenuity and Skill.
Editor’s Picks
Silver & Gold
These precious metals have been part of the lexicon of jewelers since humans mastered blacksmithing, thousands of years ago.
RAPHAEL SANZIO PENDANT
by Roberta and David Williamson.
Features and Departments
Xinia Guan Volume 46.4
Glen R. Brown finds a deep philosophical undertone in Inner Mongolian immigrant Xinia Guan, who has come to America to pursue her career as a professional craftsperson. With passion and impeccable technique, she uses a fusion of technology and old-fashioned grit to make jewelry patterned with thousands of individual saw cuts.
Shae Bishop Volume 46.4
D Wood brings the wild, wonderful world of Shae Bishop to Ornament. A ceramicist who refuses to be pigeonholed into any one discipline, Bishop makes his living through workshops and adjunct classes, whilst his labor produces beautiful, funny, and insightful critiques on American masculinity and culture. They’re wearable to boot! Slipcast cowboy hats and handsewn glazed tile chaps for the bad hombre!
Anna Johnson Volume 46.4
A delicate exploration between the boundaries of life and death informs the jewelry of Anna Johnson.
Smithsonian Craft Show 2026 Volume 46.4
Patrick R. Benesh-Liu ties in the annual Smithsonian Craft Show, taking place in the heart of our nation’s capital, to the Year of Handwork, which celebrates the semiquincentennial of America with a spotlight on our craftspeople. America’s past was built by the trades, and the Smithsonian Craft Show is one of the foremost venues in the country for finding contemporary makers.
Hoping Against Hope Volume 42.3
Two Iranian women artists discuss their jewelry series and its relationship to Middle Eastern culture.
Lynn & K Meta Reintsema Volume 46.3
Patrick R. Benesh-Liu delves into the more than thirty-five years of making clothing by the Reintsema sisters, Lynn & K Meta. From their artist mother and the complicated example she set for the two daughters, who found a path together on the craft show trail, their elegant and structural art-to-wear speaks to the deep voice of the hand.
Cambay, Idar-Oberstein, Czechoslovakia and France Volume 46.3
Robert K. Liu examines the talhakimt, a Tuareg agate fertility amulet, first made by East Indians, then with better agate and lapidary techniques by Germans in Idar-Oberstein. Due to competition for a share of the African trade in ornaments, the Czechs and French then produced molded glass versions, in various colors and sizes.
Andrew Gn Volume 46.3
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts brings Singaporean fashion designer Andrew Gn to the United States.
Linda Kindler Priest Volume 46.2
Ashley Callahan visits the jeweled menagerie of Linda Kindler Priest, who couples delicately chased and repousséd gold and silver creatures with specifically chosen semiprecious stones. These beautiful portraits of the animal kingdom are also clarion calls to save our planet.
PMA Craft Show 2025 Volume 46.2
The Philadelphia Musuem of Art Contemporary Craft Show brings together some of the best artists in American craft, right as Handwork 2026 kicks off in the City of Brotherly Love.
Future Imaginaries Volume 46.2
Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell takes us through “Future Imaginaries: Indigenous Art, Fashion, Technology” at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California, where Native futurism uses fashion and traditional craft to envision a better tomorrow for Native Americans.
Carter Smith Volume 21.1
We revisit an article by the late Carolyn L.E. Benesh in honor of Carter Smith, who was a dear friend to the Benesh-Liu family. A leader in the art-to-wear movement, and a master shibori artist, here Benesh lets Smith’s own words teach us a lesson or two on love.
J Diamond Volume 46.1
J Taran Diamond’s jewelry seeks to communicate thoughts and ideas with minimal materials that hold deep connotations, and create conversations around race and gender.
Benson Tuareg Collection Volume 46.1
Robert K. Liu examines this unique and large collection of Tuareg jewelry and craft, gathered over a twenty-year period by a Tuareg jeweler, covering all areas where these nomadic artists have lived and worked.
Cat Bates Volume 45.3
Cat Bates is a Maine jeweler who seeks to make handmade, affordable jewelry that celebrates intricate processes and techniques.
Cochineal Volume 45.4
Wayne P. Armstrong contributes his background as a biology professor to reveal the mystery behind the cochineal insect, the source of the bright red dye that was coveted all over the world. In Spanish, it is known as la grana cochinilla. From British Red Coats to 18th century paintings and food dye, cochineal is why red is part of humanity’s wearable repertoire.
Smithsonian Craft Show 2025 Volume 45.4
Patrick R. Benesh-Liu takes a different look at the Smithsonian Craft Show for 2025, as he brings this year’s Visionary Award winner, Nick Cave, to reveal how craft and art can communicate in our most difficult moments as human beings.
Lesley Aine Mckeown Volume 45.4
Lesley Aine McKeown’s jewelry explores space, science fiction worlds and juicy stones, while she shares her wisdom on life and philosophy.
Ancient Hand Skills Volume 45.3
Robert K. Liu provides a comparison between the ancient and the modern craftsperson, using his own personal experience in making as a reference, as well as ancient examples of crafts.
Nikki Couppee Volume 45.3
Ashley Callahan investigates the jewelry of Nikki Couppee, who is inspired by her native Florida. The bright colors, sparkle and glitz of the Sunshine State are recreated in her NeoGems and HoloGems, using silver foil and acrylic to make shining elements.
Please note that these articles have been reformatted for web viewing. To read the full article as it was intended, purchase the magazine or article PDF.
Best of
Wearable Artists
As the 60s and 70s, the heyday of wearable art as a new medium, fade into the past, contemporary wearable art has become more refined, minimalistic, and influenced by fashion. This divergence has seen some of the spiritual successors to wearable art branch off into popular culture, such as Burning Man, cosplay, and fursuiting.
JACKET by K. Riley, of hand-carved blockprinted fabric, 2019.
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Glen R. Brown finds a deep philosophical undertone in Inner Mongolian immigrant Xinia Guan, who has come to America to pursue her career as a professional craftsperson. With passion and impeccable technique, she uses a fusion of technology and old-fashioned grit to make jewelry patterned with thousands of individual saw cuts.