Black and white photo proof of customers at a basket booth at the 12th Annual Minnesota Crafts Festival in 1984. A basket-maker is at work in the foreground.
Volume 2, number 1 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in 1976. Contents include the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program; proposal of various committees for MCC; report on the National Endowment for the Arts' Master Craftsman Apprenticeship Program; potter Nils Lou and apprentice Howard Kiefer; the Twin Cities Metropolitan Arts Alliance; information on services, health insurance, taxes, legal assitance, and other legal issues for artists; the formation of a gallery and studio space for the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota (W.A.R.M); and summary of the 1976 Minnesota Crafts Festival.
Volume 3, number 4 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in August 1977 and is centered around traditional crafts. Contents include a report 1977 Minnesota Crafts Festival, including award winners and statistics; profile of blacksmith Dan Kral; an extensive list of upcoming art fairs across the midwest; crafts at Gibbs Farm Museum; Columbia College's Ethnic and American Folk Arts Project to preserve traditional craft skills; and a show of American pottery dated from the colonial period to 1910.
Volume 31, number 1 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in 2003. On the front page is a photo of the Minnesota History Center, the future site for the 2003 Minnesota Crafts Festival. Other contents include Governor Pawlenty's proposal to cut arts funding; Minnesota State Arts Board's budget plans; a teapot building workshop at the New London Art Center with Mei-qun Gu, Guang Gzhen Zhuo, Craig Edwards, and Emily Deuth; past venue changes of the Minnesota Crafts Festival and information on the new venue; and reviews of digital cameras for photographing art.
Volume 21, number 1 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in the first quarter of 1997. The story on the front page profiles basket maker Keith Raivo. Other contents include the celebration of the 25th Minnesota Craft Festival; Margaret Gordon, winner of the Fiber/Metal Arts Pursuing Excellence award; the closure of Craft Connection Gallery; expanded categories of MCC membership; and a strategic plan proposal from the MCC Board of Directors.
Volume 10, number 4 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in the fourth quarter of 1984. On the front page is a photograph of weaver Else Bigton and wood carver Phillip Odden. Other contents include women crafters; interview with silkscreen and sumi-e artist Susan Christie-Kellman about her experiences in China; summary of a survey about crafts in museums; profile of Norsk Wood Works co-proprieters Else Bigton and Phillip Odden; the distinction between handmade and handcrafted items; a maker's relationship with an object and what makes an item handcrafted; exhbition of the 1984 Minnesota Crafts Festival award winners; the "art to wear" movement; review of Leonard DuBoff's book "The Law (in Plain English) for Craftspeople"; review of an exhibition of clay houses by Wayne Branum; and "The Weaver's Journal" moving headquarters to St. Paul.
Volume 29, number 4 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in the fourth quarter of 2001. On the front page is a color photo of textile work by Jan Friedman. Other contents include MCC artists participating in the St. Paul Charlie Brown exhibits; the Textile Center of Minnesota's move to a new facility; profiles of Fiber/Metal 2001 artists Heinz Brummel, Dennis Alfred Phillips, Barbara and Dana Deardorff, Kathleen Rivard, Louise Rauh, and Anna Carlson; a list of artists exhibiting at Fiber/Metal 2001; and award winners and color photos of works from the Minnesota Crafts Festival.
Volume 12, number 4 of Minnesota Crafts Council (MCC) Craft Connection was published in the fourth quarter of 1986. On the front page are photos of paper-makers Eileen Custer and Norma Hanlon. Other contents include the planning of an MCC member directory; the 14th Annual Minnesota Crafts Festival; the upcoming Fibers Minnesota '86 media show; profiles of basket-makers Keith Raivo and Delores Boyer; profiles of Eileen Custer and Norma Hanlon; the opening of Lowry Hill Gallery; the opening of Art Resources gallery; the upcoming opening of Celebration Designs; using profit as a motive for crafting; a slide workshop with Bruce Baker; and defining success and failure.