about by hand
Blue Line Arts is excited to announce the much-anticipated return of By Hand – An International Craft Nouveau Competition, a biennial event generously sponsored by the Creative Arts League of Sacramento. This esteemed competition exclusively celebrates handcrafted items and showcases dynamic pieces across a wide range of mediums, from furniture and elegant vases to jewelry, ornamental adornments, macramé, and sculptures crafted from glass, clay, wood, metal, and/or fiber.
By Hand and the term "Craft Nouveau" embodies the fusion of traditional craftsmanship and innovative design, where the human touch transforms raw materials into exceptional works of art. This competition honors the skill and artistry of those who elevate everyday objects into meaningful, functional masterpieces. Each piece tells a story—one that celebrates folk traditions while pushing the boundaries of the medium to reflect the artist’s unique vision.
We are thrilled to share the creativity and craftsmanship that has unfolded in this year's competition.
Statement from show sponsor creative arts league of sacramento
It is a great pleasure that we welcome you to BY HAND, an International Craft Nouveau Competition & Exhibition sponsored by the Creative Arts League of Sacramento and exhibited at Blue Line Arts in Roseville, California January 10 - February 21, 2026. This extraordinary exhibition features a variety of media and features the work of artists from 16 states. The selected pieces exhibit the highest standards of workmanship, use of material and creative vision.
We are delighted to have Harriete Estel Berman as our juror for this exhibition. Berman is an internationally exhibited artist whose jewelry and sculpture—crafted from post-consumer recycled materials—deliver poignant social commentary on gender, consumerism, environmental issues, and the influence of modern advertising, with works held in major museum collections worldwide.
The Creative Arts League of Sacramento (CALS), founded in 1952, is an active non- profit organization dedicated to promoting, exhibiting, educating and building community around art and exemplary fine craft. CALS has brought more than 20 major exhibitions to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California including
“The Art of Gold”, “Clearly Art - Pilchuk’s Glass Legacy”, “Hubert A. Arnold Collection”, “Living Treasures”, “Fred Uhl Ball Retrospective” and helped to fund the exhibition catalogs for “The Vase & Beyond”, “ The Sidney Swidler Collection”, the “Clayton Bailey World of Wonders” and most recently “Exuberant Earth, The Ceramics of Ruth Rippon.”
Pam Trump, President
Creative Arts League of Sacramento
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statement from juror harriete estel berman
Thank you to Mary Tess Mayall and all the artists for submitting their artwork in this year’s exhibition By Hand – An International Craft Nouveau Competition. It is an honor and great responsibility as a juror to review the many submissions and then choose the final selections for awards. My goal when reviewing work is to consider the craft skills and the concepts presented in each piece consistent with the exhibition goals. In addition, the materials, craftsmanship, and composition should uniquely express a singular “voice” of the artist. Ultimately, for an award, the selected work must best represent the artist, the exhibition and clearly engage the audience.
I strongly encourage artists to appreciate that fabulous photos are key to successfully submitting work to exhibitions, but I also understand that some work is difficult to fully capture in a photo. For this reason, I intend to select the award-winning work when visiting the exhibition in person and am grateful that this is possible.
I truly empathize with artists who submit work for an exhibition – it requires a willingness to take a risk. It is an investment of your time and money, but it should also be viewed as a potential growth experience and opportunity to obtain professional feedback about your work. Therefore, I am offering to correspond with any artist/maker who wants feedback for their work as a growth experience in developing your artistic expression. Likewise, I encourage viewers of the exhibition to personally engage with the artists and makers about their work either at the exhibition opening, or at another time.
At the exhibition opening, I look forward to seeing the artwork and meeting the artists in person.
About Harriete Estel Berman
Harriete Estel Berman uses post consumer, recycled materials to construct jewelry, Judaica to sculpture with social commentary. Berman's art work has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa. Her work has been acquired for the permanent collections of 16 museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Detroit Institute of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
by hand show catalog
