M: 1. Why do you have this misshapen vase, Jana?W: 2. That’s the first vase I made in my glassblowing class.M: You’re taking a glassblowing class?W: 3. Not for credit. I’m taking it because I’m interested in culture and traditional crafts. Maybe my dad is rubbing off on me after all. 3. I’m interested in folk art.M: What is folk art for you?W: Well, the general definition of folk art is that it’s people’s art, but the question is what people, and what art.M: Which means?W: 4. In the United States, the term usually refers to traditional crafts, often those associated with outmoded technologies — handmade ceramics, furniture and glassblowing of course.M: Oh, cool. And glassblowing is a traditional craft?W: It is in many countries, including the US. It was one of the first crafts brought here. I like to think I am helping to preserve the cultural heritage of the country. And I study traditional crafts of my own country, too, of course.M: That’s really cool. This vase seems much more beautiful now. I think it’s fantastic. I have never learned a traditional craft.W: You should try! You could always come to my glassblowing class.M: I’m doing a study on culture. I want to know your opinion. 5. Do you think that folk art can have influence beyond its cultural territory and the context in which it was produced?W: 5. Yes, I believe all art functions on multiple levels of readership. For example, African tribal sculpture found favor in Western 20th-century art through formalist readings, not through any appreciation of its native cultural meaning. The popular embrace of any cultural production has to be viewed through the culture of reception. Artworks, themselves, have no intrinsic value.M: I can’t agree with you more. Maybe next time, I will join you with your glassblowing course.W: That’s great!