I have seldom walked through a craft show and had my jaw drop at virtually every booth. The outstanding quality and imagination sets the 2018 Smithsonian Craft show at the National Building Museum apart from so many others. It is a stunning show of artistry.

While this year’s theme is Asian Influence / American Design, the work for sale comes from around the world.

(I’ll be linking to websites for the exhibitors since they preferred no photography in the show.) It runs from April 26-29, 2018.

Selected from over a 1,000 applicants, the 120 artists were chosen by a trio of judges,  Bruce Helander, art critic, Jane Milosch of the Smithsonian Provenance Research Initiative and Shoji Satake from the West Virginia University.

In immaculate booths,  ceramics, glass, jewelry, lamps, woodworking and more are displayed. It may sound like a conventional craft show, but there is nothing conventional here. While pricy, what you see and can buy is often one-of-a kind work of art of stunning quality.

Out of  Wilson, Wyoming came stunning hand-blown glass platters and bowls from Thal Glass Studio in vibrant purple and oranges. With steampunk-influenced lanterns, California artist Evan Chambers evokes Jules Verne’s’ Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea in an octopus lamp.

From Peru, Nicario Jimenez invoked the Day out of the Dead in his wall sculptures. Colorful and fascinating. He also won Best of Show.

Jennifer McCurdy’s ceramics may have started life on a potter’s wheel but their porcelain swirling lines, woven texture, and spiky leaves remind you more of wind-sculpted rock or, in one case, magnolia flowers. She’s from Massachusetts.

Zippers as art? Check out Kate Cusack‘s necklaces and pins. She’s one of the many jewelry artists.

If you want handmade unique shoes suitable for the office, try the Cordwainer shop.

Several of the fabric artists channeled the Show’s team of Asian influence. One used Chinese dragons in brilliant red and gold for a swing coat. Susan Bradley out of Minneapolis, Minn. does works with silk and kimono fabrics.  Cathayana from Troy, Michigan has multi-colored accordion-folded scarves.

There seemed an unusual number of ‘decorative fabric artists’ a.k.a. wearable art (think swing coats or filmy hand-painted scarves.)

Sarmite Wearable Art out of New Jersey, has stunningly designed coats. (I have provided a link to a Pininterest page because going to the Sarmite site, I get a list of pills for sale. If you search for them in Google, you probably can reach them through their phone number).

Many of the Show’s artists have donated items for an online auction that runs through May 1, 2018. The proceeds go to grants that the Smithsonian Women’s Committee (SWC) hands out supporting Smithsonian programs, education and research.

The latest set of 17 grants were national and international in scope. Among them, the National Museum of American History got a grant aimed at their digital and video efforts. The Smithsonian Libraries grant went to helping students from DC, MD and VA to help shape “programing” aimed at their peers. The National Zoo got two grants, one for “counting mammal species” in Kenya and the other for a study of the “release of golden frogs from captive care” in Panama.

Kudos to the Smithsonian Volunteers, including Tia Duer, who worked hard to keep things running the day I went. They were unfailingly helpful.

The Smithsonian Craft Show runs for four days, April 26-29, 2018 at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. The online auction runs until May 1st.