FEATURE STORY

Art Craft Color

We’re tired of AI slop. There’s a renewed appreciation for something slower, nostalgic, and tactile.

For a while, handmade was considered junk. Something you resorted to when you couldn’t afford the store-bought “real thing”. Now, there’s a quiet pull back to analog. A shift towards putting our phones away and doing a craft in the time we’d spend doom scrolling.

Lisa Solomon’s new book, Art Craft Color, meets us right at this moment. With contributions from 20 diverse artists, crafters and makers from across the nation, the book takes us through guided projects in every color of the rainbow.

Are these your grandma’s crafts? Not exactly. The book does introduce time-honored craft techniques, such as how to weave a basket from rope or how to sew French Seams, but there’s more. The contributors bring years of experimentation and art-making to the table, developing their own methods and techniques through their professional practice. In this book, they’re sharing it all – as well as their favorite materials to make the project a success. (Materials matter a lot!)

I sat with Lisa to discuss her new book, her favorite art supply stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, tips for making art as a busy mom, Japanese crafts you need to try (at least once!) and so much more.

The vodcast interview is available to watch on Youtube.

– Manal

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