“You’re turning, turning. Softly. Okay, stop. Blow. Stand by in three, two, one. Torch it!”

Dancing? Cooking? No, but to artists such as Tony Jojola and his team of assistants, the art of glass-blowing is as choreographed as a dance and demands the precision timing of a chef preparing crème brûlée. Native American glass art

Basketry is arguably humankind’s oldest art form. From time immemorial, women and men of the Americas have bent, twined and coiled root, grass and branch into superlative art. Weavers crafted more than just baskets for storing and preparing food, though—they also wove clothing, hats, baby carriers and gambling trays for daily use, gifts, ceremonies and trading.

For many Native artisans, it was the memory of a grandmother’s deftly moving fingers, or a grandfather’s quiet words, that stirred up a powerful desire to learn and carry on an ancient skill perhaps in danger of being lost to the modern world. In some cases, the effort of a single artist—who taught someone else, who then taught someone else—has revived and preserved important ancient Native crafts.