Sessions for the Maker: Learn from Roycroft Master Artisans Live During Arts & Crafts In August!

by Kate Nixon

 

Things are shaping up for a memorable week of sessions in the first week of August. If you’re looking to bring out your inner artist or craftsman, there are a number of sessions you can watch and get questions answered live!

Arts & Crafts In August, a week-long event of seminars, live Zoom discussion groups and presentations and demonstrations, includes a number of Roycroft Renaissnace Master Artisans who reveal their processes behind their recent works. These hardworking artisans will be able to demonstrate for you the basic building blocks of their craft during their Zoom sessions: 2022 topics include woodblock carving, making your own Arts & Crafts Stencil art, and viewing the complete process of how to make a layered print or a customized piece of furniture from a Master Artisan.

Below are examples of sessions with Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisans during the first week of August.

 

Monday, August 1st

Chat with a Craftsman with Brian Brace of Brian Brace Fine Furniture

Who can attend: Registered and unregistered attendees

 

The Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan Brian Brace of Brian Brace Fine Furniture returns to our Zoom classroom during Arts & Crafts In August to discuss making a recent project. Brace specializes in bedroom and dining room furniture in a number of styles including Arts & Crafts, Greene & Greene, Mission, Stickley, and Mackintosh.  Brace uses traditional mortise and tenon joinery within his customized works, which maximizes wood strength and forming pieces pleasing to the eye.

This session is free to access for both registrants and the general public as it will be hosted on Brian Brace’s Facebook page.

To watch Brian Brace’s Facebook feed during August 1st, click here.

 

Thursday, August 4th at 1:00 PM Eastern

The Art of Carving: A Hands-on Block carving Demonstration and chat with Roycraft Renaissance Master Artisan Holly Bird of Studio Ibis

Who can attend: Registered attendees

As an art director and graphic designer for over 25 years, Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan Holly Bird found herself thinking “There are times when I’ve thought I was born a hundred years too late.” Her work in the early days of computer technology and design made her yearn for homemade art that didn’t “disappear when the power’s turned off or a battery runs out.”

Enter Studio Ibis. The studio located in Florida is Holly’s printmaking studio, representing her journey to become a Roycroft-certified Renaissance Master Artisan and during the first week of August, single household pass holders, makers and collectors alike, can visit Holly in her studio LIVE through the Zoom classroom to learn how to carve a woodblock. On Thursday, August 4th at 1:00 PM Eastern, Holly Bird will present a live online demonstration of woodblock carving using unmounted linoleum block and a black sharpie! Follow along live with your own black sharpie and unmounted linoleum block (available in most crafts supply stores) during this special Zoom session, where you can ask Holly questions about her process or about the project.

A video for this session will be released as a pre-cursor to Holly Bird’s live Zoom session. Registered household passholders will be able to access the video via email blasts. If interested, please see the button below to register for Arts & Crafts In August.

 

Thursday, August 4th at 5:00 PM Eastern

“Morning Mist: A Bumpy Ride in Printmaking” with Laura Wilder

Who can attend: Registered attendees

Additionally on the fourth, Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan Laura Wilder will be presenting the story of her latest print, “Morning Mist” where she shows the trials and tribulations of creating a multi-layered colorful print playing with color and light. Master Artisan Wilder’s live presentation will show step-by-step each chapter of her process in making this new print in this entertaining presentation.

After getting her degree in art and spending several years as a graphic designer and commercial illustrator, Laura discovered the designs and philosophy of the Arts and Crafts movement. Inspired, she learned printmaking, and submitted her vintage-style block prints to the Roycroft Renaissance Jury. The jury certified her as a Roycroft Renaissance Artisan, and soon elevated her to Master Artisan.

If you’re a fan of Laura’s work, it’s your chance to ask her a question about her process  in this special session.

 

Friday, August 5th at 5:00 PM Eastern

“Dressing Your Arts & Crafts Windows and Making Your Own Arts & Crafts Stencil Art” with Natalie Richards

Who can attend: Registered attendees

In this special part-discussion, part demonstration, Natalie Richards of Paint-By-Threads gives us a look into the world of how to utilize fabric in creating more beauty in your house. Natalie will lead a discussion on dressing your windows AND provide a demonstration on how to create your own stencil art!

As a Roycroft Renaissance Artisan, Natalie Richards honors the designation by providing high quality craftsmanship, mastery of embroidery techniques and understanding of Arts & Crafts forms and aesthetics, originality in design, innovation and continual artistic growth all of which are attributes necessary to be awarded use of the mark and hold the designation of Roycroft Renaissance Artisan. Natalie Richards embroiders all textiles by hand, and honors the distinction of Roycroft Artisan by signing each creation with her initials and a hand embroidered Roycroft Renaissance Mark.

 

Registered passholders will be able to access this session and the links to all other sessions as they log in to their account. For a look at how to access your account and the links to the individual sessions, please see the video below.

 

There’s still time to register for Arts and Crafts in August. For more information on how to register, please visit the link below: