FEATURED IN COLLECTORS EPISODE

COLLECTORS reveals the essential role that craft appreciators play in the community.

The featured collectors, artists and institutions include Fleur Bresler, Judith Chernoff & Jeffrey Bernstein, Yolanda González, Sonny & Gloria Kamm, Cynthia Lockhart, Cheech Marin, Carolyn Mazloomi, Francisco Palomares, Frank Romero, Norm Sartorius, Peter Shire, Sara Vance Waddell, Jaime “Germs” Zacarias and the American Craft Council Show.

PBS broadcast premiere December 27, 2024 (check local listings).

All episodes streaming on PBS Video App, craftinamerica.org, pbs.org/craftinamerica

FLEUR BRESLER

Fleur Bresler is an international craft collector and patron of the arts, who has donated some of her collection to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

JUDITH CHERNOFF & JEFFREY BERNSTEIN

Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein are craft advocates and avid collectors. They focus on sculptural and turned wood but collect a range of other media, including baskets, ceramics, fiber and glass.

YOLANDA GONZÁLEZ

Yolanda González is a dynamic multidisciplinary expressionist artist known for her vibrant and emotive works that traverse various mediums, including painting, sculpture, ceramics and installation. González draws from her rich Chicana heritage and personal experiences to create art that resonates with themes of unconventional beauty, identity and culture.

SONNY & GLORIA KAMM

Sonny and Gloria Kamm have collected teapots for over 35 years, making their collection the world’s largest and most comprehensive teapot collection. The Kamm Teapot Collection numbers over 17,000 items and runs the gamut from historical decorative arts to industrial design icons to unique works of contemporary art.

CYNTHIA LOCKHART

Cynthia Lockhart’s fiber art is infused with a kaleidoscope of diverse influences such as: nature, fashion, music, dance, travel, African and other cultural arts. Lockhart’s fiber art tells a story – one that encourages people to understand the diversity of people, cultures, and beauty in the world around them.

CHEECH MARIN

Cheech Marin is an actor, director, writer, musician, art collector, and humanitarian. In the mid-1980s, he began developing what is now arguably the finest private collection of Chicano art. Furthering his goal to introduce Chicano art to a wider audience, Marin has entered a partnership with the City of Riverside and Riverside Art Museum to create The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture.

CAROLYN MAZLOOMI

Artist, collector, and curator, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi founded the Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN), whose mission is to educate the public about the diversity of interpretation, styles and techniques among African American quilters as well as educating a younger generation of African Americans about their own history through the quilts the WCQN members create.

FRANCISCO PALOMARES

Francisco Palomares is a contemporary artist who draws upon his lived experiences combining elements of historical narratives and present-day social challenges.

FRANK ROMERO

Frank Romero is a member of the 1970s Chicano art collective, Los Four and exhibited work at the first Chicano art show at a major art institution. Romero created more than 15 murals in Los Angeles. He contributed “Going to the Olympics,” to the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival: a large-scale mural alongside of a bustling Los Angeles freeway.

NORM SARTORIUS

A creator of wooden spoons for 30 years, Norm Sartorius has explored the common wooden spoon as a context for sculpture. Using rare and unusual woods of exceptional beauty, he shapes each spoon to stand as a unique artistic statement of color, form, and texture. Testing the boundary between art and craft, his work is inspired by the material, nature, and rich ethnic spoon making traditions worldwide.

PETER SHIRE

Peter Shire is an American ceramic artist and designer known for his unique mugs, teapots, and furniture. Inspired by the Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco movements, Shire’s work bridges the gap between fine art and industrial design.

SARA VANCE WADDELL

Sara Vance Waddell has built a significant collection of artworks by women, people of color and artists in the LGBTQ community, including the quilts of Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi and Cynthia Lockhart.

JAIME "GERMS" ZACARIAS

Jaime “Germs” Zacarias blends futuristic visions with Chicano heritage. His vibrant paintings, filled with 3D characters and outlandish designs, capture the spirit of Los Angeles and Chicano history.

AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL

The American Craft Council (ACC) is a national nonprofit working to keep the craft community connected, inspired, and supported. The ACC share stories and amplify voices through American Craft magazine and other online content; produce American Craft Made marketplace events that support artists and connect people to craft; celebrate craft’s legacy through longstanding awards and a unique research library; and create space for dialogue and action—because craft can bring people together.