{"id":1819,"date":"2011-03-02T20:51:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T02:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=1819"},"modified":"2025-11-07T21:25:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T04:25:46","slug":"pioneer-craft-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/pioneer-craft-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Pioneer Craft House: A Jewel in the Cultural Crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In a fast-paced technological world where almost everything is mass-produced, there is an intense and simple joy to be found in creating something entirely with one\u2019s own hands. There is room to revel in the potential of raw materials being transformed by an energetic imagination and skillful manipulation \u2014 and one can rejoice in the antithesis of today\u2019s\u00a0faster bigger stronger<\/em>\u00a0mantra because making something by hand is delectably slow.
\nPioneer Craft House, located in South Salt Lake City, is undergoing a renaissance and is poised again to become a premier community resource for those interested in high standards of art and craft education, programs and events. Founded in 1947, residents first came to the replica pioneer cabin to learn skills like spinning and weaving that were brought west by early pioneers. In its heyday, Pioneer Craft House boasted an average of 200 students on campus Monday through Saturday learning drawing, sculpture, weaving and other crafts.<\/p>\n

Pioneer Craft House<\/a>\u00a0suffered a period of decline as the world became busier and people were less interested in making items that could be bought cheaply in stores, but an energetic group of volunteer artists is slowly refurbishing the organization\u2019s buildings and vying to become a \u201cjewel in Salt Lake\u2019s cultural crown\u201d by offering classes in traditional and contemporary arts and crafts. With the aid of ZAP funding, the infrastructure is being upgraded to meet ADA requirements, repairs are being made, and a room is being created to accommodate \u201cwet\u201d arts such as dying, printing and felting. The weaving, pottery and jewelry studios are already among the state\u2019s best equipped, and there is plenty of room for community groups to rent space.<\/p>\n

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Jane Grau, a painter and writer, is one of the enthusiastic core volunteers orchestrating the renaissance of Pioneer Craft House.|5|<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThe walls are dripping with nostalgia and sentiment,\u201d she says in her poetically Southern voice, \u201cbut we have exciting plans for moving forward. We don\u2019t churn butter out here, we\u2019re not a reproduction farm, but we do want people to get engaged in a new craft or take a master class if their skills are more advanced.\u201d Grau jokes that the Pioneer Craft House was established in 1947 BC \u2013 \u201cBefore Cable, when people actually made things\u201d \u2013 and she is utterly convinced that people\u2019s lives will be richer if they ward off their intimidation and spend time learning bookbinding, spinning, tatting, Pysanky or any other craft.<\/p>\n

Bill Hughes, a master flute maker, is also one of the core volunteer artists.|6|<\/strong>\u00a0He has crafted over 9,000 wooden flutes and is still reverent about each one. He says he has a conversation with each plank of wood as he contemplates what it can offer him, and how he can cut and plane it correctly to bring out the flute\u2019s tones. \u201cSometimes I get frustrated,\u201d he says. \u201cOne time I held a piece of wood over the dumpster and said, \u2018We have to make a deal or you\u2019re going to end up right here in the garbage!\u2019\u201d Grau chimes in to say, \u201cThat conversation is like the call and response of a gospel song, and if you do it right, you get heaven.\u201d Which is quickly evident when Hughes offers to play one of his flutes for me and photographer Gerry Johnson. Both of us are transfixed as hauntingly pure notes float from the flute and fill the studio with grace and tranquility.<\/p>\n

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Mark Bennion, a skilled potter, also evokes the paradise theme when talking about the Craft House.|7|<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThis is a little bit of heaven out here,\u201d he says, \u201cand it\u2019s going to get even better. We\u2019re past the part where we talk about why the lights or kilns don\u2019t work. We get together now to dream and to figure out how to get the community to recognize what this place can be for them.\u201d As Bennion throws a pot on the wheel, he recounts a recent experience he had watching a master potter throw some clay. \u201cI\u2019ve been doing this for 40 years,\u201d he says with awe in his voice, \u201cand it was a stellar moment just to sit and watch her hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Pioneer Craft House has also reached out to the refugee community. A group of mixed-age women from Myanmar (formerly Burma) meet each week to practice the craft of backstrap weaving, a method of weaving wherein warp yarn is anchored on one end to a low rail attached to a wall and, on the other end, around the weavers\u2019 backs. The women have the opportunity to pass their skills from one generation to the next while producing bags, rugs, and other goods to sell.<\/p>\n

As I concluded my tour and interviews, unbridled passion sped after me and the bravado phrase from\u00a0Field of Dreams\u00a0<\/em>came to mind: If you build it, they will come. As Bennion says enthusiastically, \u201cThis place has had some serious glory through the years, and we\u2019re ready to get back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pioneer Craft House is located at the corner of 500 East and 3300 South. On March 18th they will open an exhibit of original handmade rag rugs. A complete calendar of classes and events can be found at\u00a0www.pioneercrafthouse.com, or call 801-431-7131.<\/span><\/p>\n

photos by Gerry Johnson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An old institution looks to the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1622,"featured_media":1835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-organization_spotlight","category-visual_arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/slideshowcrafthouse.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 11:59:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1622"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1819"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98048,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819\/revisions\/98048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}