I just got word from from my podcast hosting company LibSyn, that there’s a service outage. That means that you may not be able to listen to some of the podcasts on the site until they fix the problem.

They’re working to resolve the problem…and I’ll send word when the problem is fixed.

The first part of a three-part PBS series on American Craft is set to premiere tonight. The PBS documentary, Craft in America showcases American artists and craftsmen and looks at how craft effects our culture. Tonight’s episode, named “Memory” will look at the stories of current craftsmen use them as a context for the history of craft itself. Tonight’s guests will include woodworker Sam Maloof, basketmaker Mary Jackson, metalsmith Tom Joyce, and furniture maker Garry Knox Bennett.

Tonight’s episode will air at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT, but you should check your local PBS station to confirm the time for your area.

The second episode, “Landscape” will air at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT and the third episode, “Community” will air at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT.

For more information about the Craft in America project, check out the web site at http://www.craftinamerica.org

It’s been awhile since I last dipped my toe in the podcasting waters. But after a couple of months of hard work, I’ve finally launched the new Crafting Voices web site and next week I’ll be launching the new season of the Crafting Voices podcast on April 17th!

The first episode of the new 11 show season is called The Transformation of Trash and I decided to launch this episode just in time for Earth Day as the theme of the show focuses on artists who use trash and discarded materials to create their artwork. In this episode, I interviewed artists Bryant Holsenbeck, Boris Bally, and Michael de Meng. All of these artists were great interviewees and I had a great time interviewing them for this episode, so be sure to check out the launch of this episode on April 17th.

In the meantime, be sure to explore the new web site. Along with a fresh new look, I’ve also added new features such as individual pages for past show guests where you can go learn more about the guests who were interviewed for past shows and listen to excerpts from their interviews. I’ve also added a guest gallery, where you can look at some of the crafts and artwork of the artists who have been featured on past shows. If you run into any problems, so something doesn’t seem to work correctly, please let me know!

Welcome to the Crafting Voices blog, the companion site to the Crafting Voices podcast. The Crafting Voices podcast is an audio program that focuses on American craft and those individuals who spend their lives creating, promoting, and collecting American craft. Crafting Voices is partly inspired by the Chicago Public Radio program This American Life and follows a similar format. Each show has an overall theme and will contain interviews and stories that focus on that theme.