As a child, I never really thought much of the crafts my grandmother would make. A frog out of a few rocks, a face out of dried leaves and acorns or an umbrella out of cigarette packages … It wasn’t until I saw an exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum showcasing crafts made in internment camps that I realized where she had learned to make these things and why she used the materials that she did and it definitely gave me a greater appreciation for that art and the subsequent art forms that she practiced once out of camp.
A similar exhibit is currently at the Smithsonian American Art Museum until January 30, 2011.