Last week when I went to see and hear Sam Maloof speak at the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, his visit was in association with a new exhibit, Craft In America: Expanding Traditions. The exhibit will travel from Arkansas to a number of museums throughout the United States and was produced in association with a documentary series on PBS called Craft In America. Part 1 premiered last week and you should check your local listings for parts 2 and 3. In Arkansas all three parts will be aired in succession on May 30.

In case you don't get a chance to see the exhibit or the documentary, you can check in on Craft in America through the website www.craftinamerica.org

The exhibit was reviewed in this morning's Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The reviewer expressed regret several times in the course of the review that things in museums cannot be touched by the hand, but concludes:

Between the artist's hand and your questioning hand stands the museum guard. But you're free to learn what you can by looking and to carry away whatever inspiration might apply to your own things, the things you make. Make them better. Do your best. Recognize others who have more skill than you and celebrate creativity with them. That's what all this fuss is about.

I hope the average reader of the Democrat Gazette is actually engaged in making something. It would be a shame if he or she were not. The basket shown in the photo above is from the exhibit.