medium

: Wood

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

Nestled beneath live oaks in Laurel, Mississippi, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is a cultural gem housed in a striking Georgian Revival building. Established in 1923 as Mississippi’s first art museum, it honors the legacy of Lauren Eastman Rogers, whose family transformed personal loss into public enrichment.

The museum’s five specialized collections span American and European paintings, Native American baskets, Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, and British Georgian silver. Beyond its permanent holdings, LRMA hosts rotating exhibitions, studio classes, concerts, and lectures, fostering creativity and community engagement.

Free to the public since its founding, the museum remains a beacon of inspiration and education. Its blend of architectural elegance, curatorial depth, and civic spirit makes it a cornerstone of Southern cultural heritage.

Laurel,
MS
Museum
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
Ilan-Lael, Julian CA. photo by Chris Henry

The Ilan-Lael Foundation was founded by James Hubbell, a world-renowned and award-winning artist who, for more than 60 years, created artworks and architectural designs of extraordinary beauty in many different mediums that reflected a spiritual essence, reverence for nature, and put into practice the idea of life as art and art as life.

His home and studio buildings which today are operated by the Ilan-Lael Foundation, were built sustainably using local materials; adobe, stone, and cedar. He combined them with colorful stained glass, mosaic tile, and forged metal to express his singular artistic vision. His integrated approach is seen in many of his works world-wide, but is most celebrated at Ilan-Lael, located in Julian, CA. Thousands visit the site each year to witness the artist’s singular creativity.

The Ilan-Lael Foundation programs the space for education, site visits, artist retreats, and public use to encourage all to embrace creativity and use it to make positive change in the world.

Santa Ysabel,
CA
Arts/Cultural Organization
Clay Glass Metal Other Wood
Be inspired, share history, and create art through Vesterheim’s world-class collection, immersive Folk Art School, and engaging exhibits and programs, including 12 historic buildings. Vesterheim

Exhibits at Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum and Folk Art School, explore the diversity of American immigration through the lens of the Norwegian-American experience and showcase the best in historic and contemporary Norwegian folk arts. This national treasure features a world-class collection of 33,000 artifacts and a Heritage Park of 12 historic buildings, as well as a Folk Art School in scenic Decorah, Iowa.

But you don’t have to be Norwegian-American to enjoy all the beauty and wonder Vesterheim has to offer. Be inspired, share history, and create art while visiting the exhibits, taking a class at the Folk Art School, and shopping the Museum Store!

Decorah,
IA
Arts/Cultural Organization Museum
Fiber Metal Other Wood
North House Folk School Campus. H Window

Located on the North Shore of Lake Superior, North House Folk School enriches lives and builds community by teaching traditional northern crafts. Founded in Grand Marais, Minnesota in 1997, North House hosts classes in over 18 teaching themes, from basketry to blacksmithing and timber framing to fiber arts.

As a folk school, North House emphasizes learning for the sake of learning in a non-competitive, supportive environment; over 90% of courses are open to complete beginners. Since its inception, North House has been a welcoming community hub, hosting a variety of events, public programming, and youth programs throughout every month of the year.

In addition to courses and events, North House also enriches the development of the next generation of craft artisans through an Artisan Development Program and Craft Education Internship. No matter the program, each experience at North House serves to inspire the hands, the heart, and the mind.

Grand Marais,
MN
Arts/Cultural Organization Craft School
Fiber Metal Other Wood
Nathan Favors, woodturner, Bakersville, NC.

The Blue Ridge Craft Trails highlight the rich creative heritage in Western North Carolina.

The project, an initiative of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, guides visitors across the region to craft artists’ studios, shops, and galleries filled with local, handmade artwork. Over 340 artists and galleries are listed in the directory, offering visitors unique opportunities to meet creators, view art, and purchase authentic, handmade pieces.

The Blue Ridge Craft Trails also feature itineraries by region, guiding travelers through the Foothills, High Country, Central Mountains, and Far West regions of the state, making it easy to plan an immersive adventure that highlights individuals, communities, and towns. Craft Trails artists benefit from promotional opportunities and are involved in vending events, educational programs, and networking meetups.

Asheville,
NC
Arts/Cultural Organization
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. Photo Credit: Iwan Baan

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts offers an inspiring array of visual, performing arts, and educational experiences. The Museum is committed to creating an inclusive cultural space for the community to engage with diverse artistic perspectives through the AMFA Foundation’s 14,000 object permanent collection, compelling temporary exhibitions, lively theatre, and enriching courses.

The mission of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is to create an inclusive cultural space that inspires and builds community through the visual and performing arts. Serving the state of Arkansas and beyond, AMFA provides enriching experiences in the arts for all. Let your creativity flourish through instruction in diverse media, find inspiration through innovative programming, and experience art in new ways at Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts is home to the Windgate Art School, offering studio instruction in drawing, painting, ceramics, glass, metals, woodworking, and more. Instruction is available for students of all ages and skill levels, with daytime and evening classes offered quarterly, as well as short-term and specialty workshops.

Little Rock,
AR
Arts/Cultural Organization Craft School Gallery Museum
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
RAM at night. Jon Bolton

Racine Art Museum (RAM) is a nationally recognized institution that presents exhibitions and programming curated around contemporary art, craft, and design.

Located in Racine, Wisconsin, a historic community on the shores of Lake Michigan, it occupies two facilities—the Racine Art Museum, an expansive modern gallery with award-winning architecture on the downtown waterfront, and the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (Wustum), an exhibition space and studio art center housed in a historic farmhouse surrounded by lawns and gardens.

RAM is known for having the largest contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 14,000 works by renowned artists in ceramics, fiber, glass, metal, polymer, wood, and more. Our thoughtful exhibitions invite visitors to engage with artistic innovation, the physicality of materials, and the intersection of the craft and contemporary art movements.

We welcome approximately 50,000 guests from 40 states and 15 countries annually—making RAM a cultural and economic anchor for the region. Each year, as many as 15,000 people take part in our educational programs. Others benefit from wide-reaching K–12 experiences, community collaborations, and creative engagement opportunities for people with memory loss.

Racine,
WI
Arts/Cultural Organization Museum
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Philadelphia Museum of Art, East Entrance. Philadelphia Museum of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art—in partnership with the city, the region, and art museums around the globe—seeks to preserve, enhance, interpret, and extend the reach of its great collections in particular, and the visual arts in general, to an increasing and increasingly diverse audience as a source of delight, illumination, and lifelong learning.

We are committed to being the cultural heart of Philadelphia. Learn about who we are, what we value, and how we connect people to the arts.

Philadelphia,
PA
Museum
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Wharton Esherick Studio, Malvern, PA. Wharton Esherick Museum

The Wharton Esherick Museum is the home and studio of famed American artist Wharton Esherick, located atop Valley Forge Mountain in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Set on 12 wooded acres, the Museum campus is comprised of multiple buildings including Wharton Esherick’s Studio, which is now the centerpiece of the Museum. Esherick’s highly individual, hand-built Studio was constructed over a 40-year period beginning in 1926, incorporating Arts and Crafts, Expressionist, and organic designs. Two years later Esherick began his 1928 Expressionist garage, now our Visitor Center. In 1973, just one year after its official opening as a museum, the Studio was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1993, the Museum was designated a National Historic Landmark for Architecture.

 

Malvern,
PA
Museum
Other Wood
Penland Gallery, with sculpture by Hoss Haley. Penland School

Penland School of Craft is dedicated to helping people live creative lives. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Penland offers one-, two-, and eight-week workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking and letterpress, textiles, and wood. The school also offers artists’ residencies, community collaboration programs, and a gallery and information center.

The Penland Gallery & Visitor Center, located at the entrance of Penland School, serves as an inspiring introduction to contemporary craft. The gallery features curated exhibitions from March to December, showcasing the work of current and former Penland instructors, resident artists, and alumni from across the country. The Visitor Center Gallery provides a visual overview of Penland’s history and current programming, while the Lucy Morgan Sales Gallery showcases an impressive collection of functional and sculptural craft created by over one hundred fifty artists.

At Penland, craft involves continuous exploration of materials, techniques, and ideas. The gallery supports both the artists and their works, which embody this creative philosophy.

Bakersville,
NC
Craft School Gallery
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Paper Wood
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Photo by Houston First Corporation.

As one of the leading craft-collecting institutions in the United States, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is dedicated to the research and interpretation of contemporary craft. Dating from 1940 to the present and international in scope, the collection represents all media including ceramics, fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, metalwork, sculptural and turned wood and alternative materials. Important collections include the Helen Williams Drutt Collection of jewelry, the Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection of ceramics, the Leatrice and Melvin Eagle Collection of craft, and the Carol Straus Collection of fiber art.

Founded in 1900, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is the oldest museum in Texas, and one of the largest cultural institutions in the United States, with over 270,000 square feet of space dedicated to the display of art. Nearly one million visitors engage annually with the Museum’s permanent collection of more than 70,000 objects. The encyclopedic collections of the MFAH cover world cultures dating from antiquity to the present.

Houston,
TX
Arts/Cultural Organization Museum
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Historic St. George's after the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was built - a mere 14 feet away. HSG Museum & Archives

Explore the historical significance of Methodism in the oldest continuously used Methodist church building in America, purchased in 1769.

Philadelphia,
PA
Museum
Clay Fiber Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Facade of museum featuring roses in the foreground. Couresty of Chuck Barry

The de Saisset Museum provides ambitious and groundbreaking exhibition and educational programing to our diverse publics on and off campus that are timely and multifaceted in nature. We foreground projects that highlight the varied realities lived by our diverse community of practitioners and support Santa Clara University’s goal of educating the whole person through interdisciplinary collaborations and partnerships. Our work is experimental; we function as a test-site for new ideas, methodologies, and practices and aspire to be in a constant state of evolution. We are governed by a code of ethics that foreground diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is reflected in all that we do.

Santa Clara,
CA
Museum University or College
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Contemporary Craft. Sean Carroll

Established in 1971, Contemporary Craft seeks to engage the public in creative experiences through craft by presenting innovative exhibitions featuring international, national, and regional artists; offering a range of hands-on workshops in their newly expanded studios; providng a variety of community engagement programming; and representing some of today’s best craft artists in their Store. Contemporary Craft supports regional and national artists through its Artists-in-Residence programs, providing access to their fully equipped studios, stipends, and for the National Artists-in-Residence free housing and a semi-private studio space.

In 2025, Contemporary Craft underwent a major expansion, doubling the organization’s size. This expansion included the creation of a new regional gallery, expanded metals and fibers studios, the re-introduction of a wood studio, and the introduction of a new urban blacksmithing studio. The expanded CC campus includes the Raphael Building and the new Timmons Studios.

Admission to Contemporary Craft’s exhibitions is always free, and the organization seeks to provide a variety of avenues for individuals to experience the joy of craft.

Pittsburgh,
PA
Arts/Cultural Organization Craft School
Fiber Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood
Around the Marlborough Show. Paradise City Arts, LLC

Paradise City Arts brings the best in contemporary art and design to New England—curated, cutting-edge, and unforgettable. Our award-winning festivals attract thousands of collectors, creatives, and curious minds who come to discover 200+ visionary artists & makers from across the country. It’s more than an art show—it’s a full-on experience: think live music, killer local food, and a vibe that’s equal parts gallery, street fair, and creative playground.

Easthampton,
MA
Arts/Cultural Organization
Clay Fiber Glass Metal Mixed Media Other Paper Wood