Worn

Whether it’s a pair of perfectly lived-in blue jeans, an heirloom piece of jewelry, or a beloved, dog-eared book, it seems we all have something that is better because of how it’s been worn. In this issue, we explore the theme of "worn" from many perspectives – as jewelry, as a testament to the passage of time, and as the stories objects carry with them.

While the show is nearly one year away, we are thrilled to introduce Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo, a significant contribution to the Getty's 2024 Pacific Standard Time initiative. This exhibition delves into the interplay between art and science, past and present, addressing the complex nature of this traditional dye. Blue Gold reveals indigo's fascinating journey, highlighting the roles of botany, chemistry, medicine, ecology, and economics in its cultivation and production.

On our Commons Level, you can now view the remarkable baskets of local artists Neil and Francina Prince in an installation dedicated to their work, Needles and Grass. Their vessels, primarily crafted from San Diego’s iconic Torrey Pines, stand as a testament to the artistry deeply rooted in our local community. In this issue you can dive into our interview with them, gaining insight into the inspiration behind their creations.

Also, in this issue, Kristi Ehrig-Burgess, Mingei’s Head of the Library and Archives, addresses a frequently asked question: where do all our library books come from? With a collection of over 12,000 reference materials focused on craft, folk art, and design, the Museum’s library has grown over the years. New additions to the shelves come through purchases, exchanges, and generous contributions, with many of the books finding a second life here at Mingei.

We also give our heartfelt gratitude to members Joyce Axelrod and Joseph Fisch for their support in this issue. They are dedicated champions of the San Diego arts community, and their generosity has allowed Mingei to deepen its mission of preserving and celebrating the beauty of worn, cherished, and enduring objects.

As we explore this theme of "worn," we invite you to delve into the stories woven, etched, and embedded into the objects on view here at Mingei. I hope you discover a new appreciation for the worn and loved objects in your life, as well.

Thank you for being a part of our Mingei community.

Jessica Hanson York
Executive Director & CEO

The exhibition, La Frontera, explores the complexity of the U.S.–Mexico border as a physical location, politicized space, and personal experience through the medium of jewelry – an object repeatedly used for communication throughout human history.

Worn to visibly adorn the body, jewelry is inherently performative. As personal tokens, these objects are suggestive of often unknown aspects of the person who wears them. This interplay between the external appearance and internal significance allows us to consider the surface of the body as a border, making it uniquely intimate. In this exhibition jewelry becomes a personal platform to explore themes such as home, migration, landscape, and identity.

La Frontera features over 85 works from contemporary jewelry artists from diverse backgrounds, including 24 artists who were born, raised, live, or work along the U.S.–Mexico border region. Expanding on traditional jewelry forms, materials, and function, each artist redefines jewelry itself as they explore the symbolic and material significance of the borderlands and the stories they tell of geography, existence, and desire. Exquisitely crafted, these objects are mementos of journey and place. They are stories that are worn.

Originally curated in 2013 by Mike Holmes and Lorena Lazard, La Frontera was redeveloped in 2023 by Holmes and Lazard with assistance from Secret Identity Projects co-founders, Jess Tolbert and Kerianne Quick. Mingei International Museum presents this traveling exhibition in conjunction with a concurrent La Frontera exhibition at CECUT – Centro Cultural Tijuana. The exhibition travels to Mingei and CECUT from its opening at the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts in El Paso, Texas, and the Centro Cultural de las Fronteras at Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua in 2023.

Preston Singletary, a Tlingit artist living and working in Seattle, discovered studio glass while working as a night watchman at Glass Eye, the studio of glass artist Dante Marioni, a high school companion. He soon began blowing glass himself, and after years of study and innovation, has become an internationally renowned glass artist in his own right. His work frequently references traditional forms and symbols of the Tlingit – an indigenous tribal nation living in Alaska. In this work, he represents a traditional Tlingit woven spruce root and cedar bark basket, visually emulating the tightly woven “over and under” of this art form in a new medium.

Explore the creative journey of Francina and Neil Prince, a couple from Leucadia, California, in our exclusive interview. Their 30-year collaboration includes creating Torrey Pine needle vessels, blending Francina's creativity with Neil's engineering skills.

Discover their experimentation with designs and mediums, including Pacific tidal seagrass, showcased in conjunction with the Over/Under: Woven Craft exhibition at Mingei.

If you’ve stopped by Shop Mingei before you may have noticed it’s not your typical museum store. The Shop is stocked with objects made by both local and international craftspeople, designers, and artists, with many items that are handmade and one-of-a-kind. Whether you fall in love with jewelry from local artist, Carmen Pauli, or pick out a gift from Wee Gallery for a little one in your life, your purchase not only supports the Museum but also our thriving art community. Every piece tells a meaningful and memorable story – here are just a few of them.

Carmen Pauli
Swiss-born, California-based architect Carmen Pauli is already one of our customers’ favorite new jewelers. With over 20 years of experience in historic preservation architecture, Carmen brings the same marriage of forward-thinking design and tradition to her jewelry. Her love of natural objects and the built environment shows in her work – in her architectural bezels and stone settings, the clean form and angles of her bronze and sterling silver earrings, and the classic lines and simplicity of her neckrings. Pearls, lapis lazuli, high-quality turquoise, and other stones add to the timeless quality of her jewelry.

Price Range: $120-$400

Verloop Knits
Cozy up to one of our favorite new brands, Verloop Knits! Verloop Knits focuses on transforming textile waste into colorful knits for the home and body.

Saving excess and deadstock yarns from the landfill means that Verloop’s design process is based on experimental, creative approaches that are heavily influenced by their materials. You can see the quirky results in their hats, slippers, scarves, throws, rugs, and more. This is fun meets function in happy patterns of flowers, checkers, quilts, and stripes! Everything is made under one roof in a family-owned factory in the Philippines, keeping the process tight-knit, literally and figuratively.

Price Range: $26-$158

We’re Not Kidding Around!
Folk art, craft, and design aren’t just for grown-ups. We’re happy to announce the addition of thoughtfully chosen children’s items to Shop Mingei. Perfect for gift-giving, these objects celebrate great design with classic concepts of mingei. Playful products from Wee Gallery, all made from natural and sustainable materials in India and Thailand, encourage learning through play. Cozy knit booties from artists in Azerbaijan keep babies and toddlers (and adults!) warm while celebrating a traditional craft. Classic and new children’s books as well as clothing based on traditional African patterns – keep an eye out as we discover more artists and brands making great objects for kids!

Price Range: $7-$50

School in the Park is an immersive educational program at Mingei that blends formal and informal learning by utilizing the museums and educational institutions in Balboa Park for select City Heights Elementary Schools. With 14 classes and over 370 students reached last year, this week-long experience fosters cultural understanding and teaches important art-making skills. Behind-the-scenes museum tours provide insights into various careers, shaping future leaders.

Watch the video below to learn more about this program from Chiho Saito, Mingei's School and Tour Programs Specialist.

In the Art Library, we often encounter two common inquiries: first, the curiosity about the origins of our extensive book collection, and second, whether we welcome book donations. Our library houses a curated compilation of more than 12,000 reference materials with an emphasis on folk art, crafts, and design. This collection has evolved, from its modest beginnings in 1978, through purchases, exchanges, and, most notably, the invaluable contributions from donors who have graciously gifted their treasured books to our institution.

Since the Museum's reopening in 2021, the Library has expanded its collection by adding over 1500 books. Among these additions, one of the most varied came as a bequest from the Estate of Ted Cohen, the San Fransciso-based exhibition designer. This collection encompasses an array of folk art and design books, showcasing artistic expressions from 25 different countries.

Donations account for 95% of the library’s intake and these acquisitions are highly selective and aligned with the Library’s needs and Museum’s mission. Likewise, donors are interested in finding the best home for their books. For example, textile collector and Mingei Docent Emerita Bea Roberts and Pat L. Nickols – a renowned quilt historian and collector – donated more than 340 books to the Museum. Additionally, Martha Banyas, a prominent enamel artist, educator, and dealer in ethnographic arts, donated books while downsizing her personal library. While Hannes Kling and his brothers Neal and Wendell donated books to honor the memory of their late mother, the artist Britta Kling who created Scherenschnitte – traditional German scissor cuttings – avidly collected books on the subject.

Most of our donations come to us through private donors; however, on occasion, we've welcomed book donations from museum libraries or engaged in exchanges with fellow institutions. These interactions primarily serve to augment our collection by filling gaps or facilitating reciprocal exchanges of museum publications.

There is a careful balance between the need to grow and also refine the library. We consistently evaluate the collection to assess current needs and to weed out duplicates, irrelevant, or obsolete materials. These book purges, which then go into our fun book sales, free up space and provide revenue to support new acquisitions.

Our purchases are thoughtfully strategic, often involving consultations with our curators, educators, community members, and docents. We collaborate with them to identify reference materials that best support their research or programming requirements. Additionally, our Museum's Docent Council provides funds for the acquisition of books as a tribute to docents who have passed away. In these instances, we select books that align with the late docents' interests while also meeting the library's needs. Now that our library is accessible and open to museum visitors, we also consider guests’ requests when purchasing.

This brings us to the question of whether we are currently accepting book donations.

Not at the moment, but only because we need a little time to catch up. We have been immensely fortunate to receive an abundance of materials and now we are now happily immersed in cataloging and incorporating these new acquisitions into our library. We can’t wait to share them with you!

Mingei launched an annual lecture series timed with the Museum’s reopening. The Joyce Axelrod Lecture aims to bring exceptional artists, craftspeople, curators, and scholars to San Diego, amplifying voices connected to craft in alignment with Mingei’s mission. This new lecture series is generously funded by Joseph Fisch. In fact, it was a surprise gift from Joseph to Joyce, in her honor!

The inaugural event in early 2022 featured Glenn Adamson, an American historian and curator whose work focuses on the intersection of craft, design, and contemporary art. The second was held in May 2023, and featured internationally renowned Native American glass artist, Preston Singletary. And Mingei fans can see Singletary’s work at the Museum in this fall’s exhibition, Over/Under, and in the 2025 exhibition, Clearly Indigenous.

Joyce and Joseph are long-standing Mingei members and friends. They continue to be passionate supporters of the Museum, attending countless programs and exhibition openings, and are Mingei ambassadors in the community. They share the Museum’s mission to showcase living artists and others who work to propel the craft movement forward in our modern world.

We are grateful to Joyce and Joseph for their dedicated involvement and commitment to furthering Mingei’s mission – and stay tuned for news about Spring 2024’s lecture slated for early May.

As part of the Getty’s 2024 Pacific Standard Time initiative, Blue Gold: The Art and Science of Indigo is an upcoming exhibition focused on the intertwined histories of art and science, past and present, addressing some of the most complex challenges of our century. Opening in September of 2024, Blue Gold will feature stunning indigo objects from around the world and across time, coupled with scientific study and explanation, as a compelling manifestation of art and science.

Indigo – a varied plant family that grows worldwide and the deep, blue dye it produces – has a long and multifaceted history of cultivation, production, and distribution. Blue Gold combines science, craft, and history to explore this color’s complex past and present. Indigo’s beauty and ubiquity have eclipsed the unpleasant realities of its growth and manufacture, including hard labor and pollution, and its association with colonialism and slavery. As a pigment, indigo has been assigned protective properties, healing powers, and dangerous qualities that have shaped its uses in craft and the arts.

The exhibition highlights the roles of botany, chemistry, medicine, ecology, and economics in indigo cultivation. Contemporary craftspeople and artists working with indigo, such as Laura Kina and Porfirio Gutierrez, address questions about the sustainability of indigo, its problematic legacies, and technological alternatives to manual processing.

Sadly, we have recently lost some people close to Mingei.

On August 13, Howard Weiner passed away peacefully at home with his loving family by his side. Howard was an entrepreneur and supporter of the arts in Minneapolis and San Diego. He served on Mingei’s Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2021 and was a generous member and supporter of the Museum, along with his wife, Jo Weiner. He was generous with his family, friends, and community in every way.

On October 14, longtime docent Alison Cummings passed away after a battle with cancer. Alison was a former teacher and school principal, devoted to volunteering her time at both Mingei and St. Madeleine Sophie Center in her retirement. The Mingei staff who knew Alison absolutely adored her - she was supportive of the Museum’s work and mission, and a true lifelong learner.

On October 19, Mingei Trustee Ellen Whelan died unexpectedly. Ellen had served on Mingei's board for less than two years, and immediately distinguished herself as a smart and caring contributor. Ellen also served on the board at SDMA for many years. She frequently visited the Museum for board meetings and events. Ellen was a respected and successful estate planning attorney and passionate about the arts.

Just a few days later, on October 23, longtime former Mingei Trustee Carolyn Owen-Towle passed away. Carolyn’s history with the Museum was significant: her father, the artist Millard Sheets, was the mentor and teacher of Martha Longenecker, the founder of Mingei. Carolyn loved to relate stories of Martha from when she was a young girl, and Martha and her husband lived in an apartment above the Sheets family garage. Carolyn stayed in touch with Martha and joined the Mingei Board in 2006, where she served until 2022. She could often be found in the Museum with her husband, Tom, dining at ARTIFACT and touring the Museum with friends.

All of these individuals made a significant impact on the Museum, sharing their time, talent, and financial support to help Mingei thrive. We are grateful to each of them.

Ancestors to the Future are Mingei supporters who have named the Museum in their will or trust. These invested patrons collectively help ensure Mingei will continue to thrive, now and for decades to come.

Learn more about Ancestors to the Future and Legacy Giving here.