Tag: crafts

Finest woodworking in the nation at Del Mar!

The most exceptional part of the San Diego County Fair is arguably the Design in Wood exhibition. Exquisitely crafted wood art, furniture, boats, musical instruments and more are exhibited in what has been described as the premiere woodworking show in the United States.

The San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association produces this annual show at the fair in Del Mar. Every time I go the fair I make sure to check it out. Most of the pieces that are displayed will absolutely, positively blow your mind!

Don’t believe me? I submit for your consideration a few photographs!

You might notice a few photos of woodworkers demonstrating their craft at the show. Several local woodworking organizations participate, right there in front of curious fair visitors, making tops, model ships, toys and other objects. Some carve by hand. Others shape pieces of spinning wood using a lathe, or use woodworking scroll saws.

Going to the San Diego County Fair this year? Don’t miss the Design in Wood exhibition!

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Mingei celebrates San Diego Craft Collective.

The Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park has a great exhibit outside its east entrance that celebrates the San Diego Craft Collective. Beautiful objects crafted by members of the collective are proudly displayed!

A collaboration between the Mingei and the San Diego Craft Collective makes perfect sense. The museum collects, conserves and exhibits folk art, craft, and design. The family-friendly San Diego Craft Collective, located in Liberty Station, teaches it members traditional craft, including woodworking, ceramics, textiles, fiber arts, glass art and more. They are dedicated to sustainability, utilizing natural and recycled materials. The collective even teaches organic gardening!

A couple years ago I visited the San Diego Craft Collective. I was amazed by the extent of their facility and the diversity of work by its members. If you want to read that past blog post and see those photographs, click here.

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Czech and Slovak culture celebrated in Balboa Park!

The House of Czech and Slovak Republics, a long-time member of Balboa Park’s International Cottages, hosted their annual cultural lawn program today!

I happened by while walking around.

Shortly after 2 o’clock, everyone on the lawn enjoyed an excellent performance by the acclaimed Czech group Mladá muzika Šardice. I see from the event flyer that after the youth brass orchestra was finished, more music and dance would follow!

Sausages with a roll and pickle were being prepared inside one large tent. Almost forgot the pastries! A nearby fundraising table offered crafts for sale, including traditional corn husk dolls (slaměné panenky or panenky z kukuřičného šustí).

The Czech and Slovak Republics cottage was open too, with numerous beautiful displays to be seen, including costumes, dolls, ceramics and art.

The cottage is almost fully recovered from its unfortunate collision with a falling eucalyptus tree. Looks great!

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Mexican mummies arrive in Balboa Park!

Several human mummies from Mexico have arrived in San Diego’s Balboa Park!

Okay–they’re replica mummies to be exact. Visitors to the House of Mexico cottage can now view them as well as other artifacts from Guanajuato, a state in central Mexico.

The House of Mexico opened this exhibit a day or two ago. Every three months they celebrate one of Mexico’s many states with a new exhibition.

Not only is Guanajuato famous for its mummies, but the mountainous region is known for mining, its unique culture, and colorful architecture that includes many tunnels. Displays in the cottage include photographs, historical information and crafts from this Mexican tourist destination.

Today I enjoyed a free sample of ice cream unique to Guanajuato! I received a beautiful bilingual magazine titled Roads of Guanajuato, too!

Between the mummies and the ice cream, and all the colorful sights inside the House of Mexico cottage, your family will be sure to enjoy a visit!

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Live glassblowing and beer in Escondido!

A cool event is being held today and tomorrow at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. Hot Glass, Cold Beer: A Fundraiser for the Arts features lots of amazing glass art created by local artists! Beer, too!

By sheer coincidence I ran into the event today while walking to the nearby museum. It’s very similar to the glassblowing event I experienced last year in the same Cal Club Courtyard.

If you want to check out an amazing variety of glass art and colorful glassware, head over tomorrow, April 4, 2026, between noon and 5 pm. The event is free. The glassblowing demonstration is led by renowned glass artist James Stone of Stone & Glass.

Sit down, watch, and enjoy a beer. Here’s the event website listing some of the participating artists and organizations.

James Stone and participating artists will generously donate hand-blown glass cups, which will be given away with a complimentary drink ticket in exchange for a $25 donation.

My next photo shows some of the hand-crafted fused glass created by Parris Toyzan (@parrisorginals). Here’s the website.

Parris was nice enough to describe how he carefully makes these amazing creations with a kiln and colored glass!

By purchasing a beautiful glass on one table you support kids learning glassblowing at schools in Escondido and North San Diego County!

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Award-winning quilt in Balboa Park Visitors Center!

Next time you enter the Balboa Park Visitors Center, move to the left side of the front counter and look up. You’ll see an amazing quilt on the wall!

The quilt, titled THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF BALBOA PARK, depicts the Botanical Building and Lily Pond. It’s so detailed and exquisite that it won a prestigious national award. It took First Place in the Group Quilts category at the American Quilter’s Society 32nd National QuiltWeek competition in 2016! Here’s the AQS website with all the winners.

Who created this fantastic work of art? The eight members of San Diego quilting group Bobbin Buddies! The quilt was made to celebrate Balboa Park’s centennial.

The award-winning quilt would go on to be included in the Brigham City Museum’s 46th International Quilt Invitational Exhibit in 2018.

This webpage describes how the beautiful quilt was created, and how it was purchased by the Balboa Park Conservancy and has been on display in its Visitors Center. (Today the Visitors Center is operated by Forever Balboa Park.)

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Beauty created at San Diego Pysanka Festival!

San Diego Pysanka Festival 2026 was held today in Balboa Park. The event was hosted by the House of Ukraine. Participants gathered in the Santa Fe Room at the Balboa Park Club building.

What is Pysanka? It the tradition of egg decoration in Slavic cultures. You’ve no doubt observed beautifully, intricately decorated eggs in museums or elsewhere. The San Diego Pysanka Festival allowed visitors to view the craft up close, learn its history, purchase finished eggs, and even participate in pysanka creation workshops!

As this Wikipedia article explains: The pysanka (Ukrainian: писанка, писанки (pl.)) itself, a wax-resist type egg, is one of Ukraine’s national symbols, and is known throughout the world.

Why the festival now? It’s almost spring and Easter is coming. These are the original Easter eggs!

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Dandelion Day connects Korean youth with heritage.

Dandelion Day was celebrated today in Balboa Park at the House of Korea cottage. The event raised funds that will be used to reconnect young Korean adoptees in San Diego with their heritage.

As one poster explained: This special day offers an opportunity to celebrate and experience Korean culture through engaging activities, traditional games, live performances, and authentic cuisine.

I happened to discover the activity table this afternoon while walking about the International Cottages!

High school youth–the Young Ambassadors of the House of Korea–were demonstrating how to create a traditional hat called a gat, and were making the decorated sugar candy called dalgona, which they offered for a donation. I noticed that visitors could also learn how to create norigae, an accessory made of pendants, cords and tassels worn on the outer jacket of Korean traditional clothing.

Would you like to connect with the House of Korea and support their cultural and educational outreach in San Diego? Go to their website here!

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Farm to Craft exhibit opens at the Mingei.

A surprising new exhibit opened yesterday at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. Farm to Craft: Grains in Global Folk Art is now on display in the museum’s first floor Entry Level, where admission is free to all visitors.

The beautiful handmade crafts from around the world are a treat for the eyes. These artistic works come from farms–from grown material like straw, rice, wheat or corn.

Crafts include dolls and toys. Some of the creations are made to be worn. Others were designed to be useful farming tools or containers. Excessive plant material that might otherwise be discarded is made useful!

I took a few photographs.

These exquisite crafts from the museum’s collection will be on view through January 10, 2027.

Perhaps, after viewing the exhibit, you’ll be inspired to fold your own corn husk creation–such as those roses made by street performers. Here’s a short video on how to craft a simple, easy corn husk flower!

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Art classes in Balboa Park during 2026.

A variety of art classes in Balboa Park will be available during 2026. Hands-on workshops, guided by professional artists, will welcome creative people at Spanish Village Art Center.

For a fee anyone can learn to create Art Journals, Collage, Chinese Brush Paintings, Paper Art, Silk Paintings, and more!

I saw that making Silver Metal Clay Jewelry would be taught today. Workspaces and materials were being prepared on tables in Gallery 21 when I happened by. (Students would mold material that combines fine powered metal with a pliable binding material. Each piece is then fired in a kiln, and the sculpted metal remains. How awesome is that?)

Would you like to learn a new craft or style of art, or perhaps improve a skill? Check out the Village Arts Center classes on their website by clicking here.

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