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Welcome to the newest edition of Ornament Magazine! 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.
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!
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.
Robert K. Liu discusses a striking form of Chinese feather jewelry that dates back to at least the Han Dynasty, probably older, and so popular in the Qing Dynasty that its use threatened the extinction of the Chinese kingfisher species used. The fabrication of this jewelry was so damaging to eyesight of the makers that many went blind.