Rooted and interwoven: Craft, cultural ecology and evolving material practices

Volume 16.2 features a range of contributions that consider craft through the lens of cultural ecology and reflect on the evolution of material practices across time and place. Mari Koppanen and Antti Lindfors explore the tradition of amadou-making in Romania and the material’s recontextualization in contemporary craft and design practices. Gareth Thomas examines coppicing in Wales, demonstrating how the revival of a heritage craft can foster community (re)connection and support ecological sustainability. Yuttapong Tonpradoo, Sawit Pongvat and Supansa Suwan focus on the production of cultural commodities produced through crafting with Indigenous Ton Bai Romkao in Kapong District, Southern Thailand, framed by the challenge of integrating tradition with sustainability. The evolution of a material practice is explored in Olga Beatrice Carcassi, Mohammad Hossein Zowqi and Lola Ben-Alon’s enquiry into the integration of 3D printing with soil and plant-based fibre material recipes, which are informed by traditional basketry and bridge analogue and digital craft. Ponimin, Muhammad Faizal bin Abdul Rani and Okta Viviana Asmi Nusantari present how terracotta plant vases, which combine local cultural ideas from Indonesia and Malaysia, are incorporated into interior and exterior aesthetics. The portrait by Nizam Orcun Onal and Aysenur Ceren Asmaz features the ceramic glazes of Danish artist Christina Schou Christensen. The exhibition Soft Power: Lives Told through Textile Art held at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, is reviewed by Loucia Manopoulou and D Wood reviews A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects by Robell Awake.