Description
Your ticket to the best state fair craftsfrom Choctaw basketry to sculpted butter cowswith more than 100 amazing images of American craft art!
A Dolly Parton crop art portrait. Size-96 cowboy boots. A quilt incorporating the jean outfits of a farmer and his son. This book features more than 100 photos of extraordinary and unconventional crafts from state and tribal fairs, including needlework, basketry, ceramics, crop art, butter sculpture, Nordic Rosemaling, and Spanish Colonial embroidery. In essays that explore the history of crafting at state fairs from the 1840s to present day, contributors reflect on:
The way fairgrounds connect people through craft
How the fair provided a public platform for womens achievements
The significance of Indigenous fairs
4-H and youth participation
The relationship between fairs and studio craft
Crafts in unexpected places, including tractor and machine halls, horticulture and dairy displays, rodeos, and horse races
From kitschy to tender, the highlighted crafts and the local and regional traditions behind them create a vibrant portrait of American culture. Come one, come all! State Fairs has a little something for everyone.
Author: Mary Savig
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Smithsonian Books
Published: 09/23/2025
Pages: 160
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9781588348005
Language: English
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.