Craft Resources: Specific Book Titles

A secret history of craft told through lost and overlooked texts that illuminate our understanding of current art practice. (see record for TOC)

From the canonical texts of the Arts and Crafts Movement to the radical thinking of today's "DIY" movement, from theoretical writings on the position of craft in distinction to Art and Design to how-to texts from renowned practitioners, from feminist histories of textiles to descriptions of the innovation born of necessity in Soviet factories and African auto-repair shops...The Craft Reader presents the first comprehensive anthology of writings on modern craft.

Dormer presents a series of lively, clearly argued discussions about the relevance of handicraft in a world whose aesthetics and design are largely determined by technology. The question of computer aided design in craft is also addressed.

This book brings together cutting-edge research from leading international scholars to explore the geographies of making and craft. See record for table of contents.

A sequel to Thinking through Craft, The Invention of Craft is an engaging and theoretical discussion of skilled work extended back in time and across numerous disciplines. Adamson searches out the origins of modern craft, locating its emergence in the period of the industrial revolution. The Invention of Craft ranges widely across media, from lock-making, wood-carving and iron-casting to fashion, architecture and design. It also moves back and forth between periods, from the 18th century to the present day, demonstrating how contemporary practice can be informed through the study of modern craft in its moment of invention.

Co-published in Association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London This book is a timely and engaging introduction to the way that artists working in all media think about craft. Workmanship is key to today's visual arts, when high 'production values' are becoming increasingly commonplace. Yet craft's centrality to contemporary art has received little serious attention from critics and historians.

Craft practice has a rich history and remains vibrant, sustaining communities while negotiating cultures within local or international contexts. More than two centuries of industrialization have not extinguished handmade goods; rather, the broader force of industrialization has redefined and continues to define the context of creation, deployment and use of craft objects.

A groundbreaking and endlessly surprising history of how artisans created America, from the nation's origins to the present day.

An exploration of the important relationship between craft, queerness, and activism in Britain. See URL above for TOC.

Exhibition catalog.

Crafting Dissent: Handicraft as Protest from the American Revolution to the Pussyhats is the first book that demonstrates how craft, typically involving the manipulation of yarn, thread and fabric, has also been used as a subversive tool throughout history and up to the present day, to push back against government policy and social norms that crafters perceive to be harmful to them, their bodies, their families, their ideals relating to equality and human rights, and their aspirations.

An exceptional anthology, which proposes a panorama of the evolution of crafts from 1945 to the present day- Brings together a selection of over 70 texts from five continents.

A survey of spectacular breadth, covering the history of decorative arts and design worldwide over the past six hundred years.

Here is the first comprehensive survey of modern craft in the United States. Makers follows the development of studio craft--objects in fiber, clay, glass, wood, and metal--from its roots in nineteenth-century reform movements to the rich diversity of expression at the end of the twentieth century. SEE LIBRARY CATALOG FOR ONLINE OPTIONS

The crafts have long occupied a marginal role in Modernist discourse. NeoCraft challenges this assumption with a wide selection of scholarly essays exploring the historical and contemporary positions that the crafts hold within visual culture.

The practice of handmade craft has undergone a huge resurgence in recent times. This book captures the new mood--a return to the unique and the artisanal. (70 different artisans are profiled)

Collectable, one-of-a-kind artisanal objects--whether hand-woven textiles or handblown glass--have become a fixture of the modern home; and the artists who produce them are increasingly sought-after. In this follow-up volume to The New Artisans, design expert and lauded blogger Olivier Dupon continues his exploration of the most creative artisans working today.

20th-century British figures are profiled here.

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases American craft like never before. Accompanying a 2022 exhibition of the same name, it features artists' stories of resilience, methods of activism, and highlights craft's ability to spark essential conversations about race, gender, and representation.

An investigation of makers, materials and the role that craft communities played in the creation of sociocultural practices in ancient Italy. The book covers some of the period’s most iconic works, including luxury bronze objects; sacred temple sculpture crafted over three centuries, votive offerings, monumental tombs and colossal buildings.

This absorbing narrative follows the craft community of French chocolatiers--members of a tiny group experiencing intensive international competition--as they struggle to ensure the survival of their businesses.

A fascinating look behind the doors of the workshops and factories of London that make everything from glass eyeballs to automobiles. Walking through London's busy streets, you would not imagine that the city boasts one of the world's most diverse manufacturing scenes.

Needlework, Affect and Social Transformation offers an original framework for moving beyond binary discourses that class practices of needlework as either feminist or reactionary.

Exploring a contemporary Judaism rich with the textures of family, memory, and fellowship, Jodi Eichler-Levine takes readers inside a flourishing American Jewish crafting movement.

Against the backdrop of an alienating, technologizing and ever-accelerating world of material production, this book tells an intimate story: one about a community of woodworkers training at an historic institution in London's East End during the present 'renaissance of craftsmanship'.

An exploration and celebration of high-quality hand tools for woodworking and the stories of the people who make them. Take a peek inside the boutique shops and small factories of artisan woodworking toolmakers in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, with behind-the-scenes photographs, profiles, interviews, and more.