On behalf of Americans for the Arts' partnership with We Are Veterans, Bob Lynch, President and CEO, will join a discussion panel after the special screening of PBS Craft in America: Service at the McEvoy Auditorium in the Smithsonian American Art Museum on November 6, 2014.

"Craft in America", the Peabody Award-winning series, explores America's creative spirit through the language and traditions of the handmade.  The newest episode, Service, premieres on local PBS stations November 2, as part of the PBS veterans initiative Stories of Service, stories and conversations around the veteran experience.  Service tells the story of the long and important relationship between craft and the military, including the Army Arts and Crafts Program (begun in 1940), the GI Bill, and work done by veterans today, documenting the power of the handmade to inspire, motivate, and heal.

The artists profiled in theService episode are:

Ehren Tool (ceramic artist) - third generation Service Member and Marine veteran, served in the Gulf War. Since 2001, Tool has given over 14,000 cups to everyone from homeless veterans to President George W. Bush. “I hope that the cups can be a starting point for conversations about unspeakable things.”

Judas Recendez (ceramic artist) - retired from the US Army after serving 2 tours in Iraq. On a routine patrol in 2006, an IED exploded, causing him to lose both legs. Through the GI Bill, “I was able to pursue something that I never thought I would do,” says Recendez about his new career in the arts.

Pam DeLuco (papermaker) - created Paper Dolls: stories from women who served, a handcrafted book recounting remarkable lives of ordinary women in the military. Each storyteller donated her uniform to make the pulp for the pages on which their stories are printed.

Eugene Burks Jr (saddler) - and leathersmith of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), Fort Myer, VA, the Army's official memorial affairs unit and oldest active duty regiment dating back to 1784. “The craft is handed down from one generation to another. It’s a privilege to do this. Every one of us here is using our skill to honor those who served this country.”

With a special segment on GI Bill artist Peter Voulkos, possibly America’s greatest ceramic artist, whose influence on the art world is undeniable.   

After the screening of Service, Bob Lynch and Brigadier General Nolen Bivens will join featured artists Judas Recendez and Eugene Burks Jr. in a discussion with Craft in America Director Carol Sauvion about their experience with crafts and the military.  America for the Arts' supports We Are Veterans, with its strong emphasis on the arts, as part of our ongoing National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military.