Roadside daisies, common on long road trips, first caught my attention in the White Mountains of Eastern Washington. I associate them with warm weather and daydreaming on drives with the windows down. But are they weeds? What role do they play in the ecosystem?

Similarly, jewelry artists create beautiful "luxury items" that enhance personal style, but where do we fit within the art canon? Critical reflection on jewelry artists in current art movements is notably absent. Whether a weed or a critical inquiry into the injustices humanity inflicts on each other, jewelry warrants acknowledgment for its contributions.

Tanya Crane is a multi-disciplinary artist working mainly within the context of jewelry and sculpture for the body. She is an Assistant Professor in 3D Foundations + Jewelry + Sculpture at Long Beach City College. Craft has become a bridge between her artistic practice and her dedication to serving communities through education and active involvement.

Crane was the 2024 winner of a United States Artist Fellowship. She was a 2023 Artist in Residence at Hewnoaks in Lovell, Maine, and a 2022 Artist in Residence at Indigo Arts Alliance in Portland, Maine. In 2018, Crane exhibited her work in a solo exhibition at the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

Her work is part of several prestigious collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Racine Arts Museum, Stewart Program for Modern Design in Montreal, Canada, Yale University Art Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Crocker Museum, and the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.