Arts and Crafts Metalwork, Books, a Textile Show and Tell and the Antiques of the Grove Park Inn: An Online Lineup

by Kate Nixon

 

Arts & Crafts In August: An Online Celebration

August 5th – 11th, 2023

Early bird online pass registration extended through July 5th, 2023! Regular registration will continue through August 5th. Individual session registration is also available online at Arts-CraftsConference.com.

See the schedule at Arts-CraftsConference.com.

Online events pass registration: Click HERE.

For more information, visit Arts-CraftsConference.com.

 

 

For those collectors who could not make it to the Grove Park Inn this past February, online seminars, discussion sessions, demonstrations and previews will be made available to any enthusiast with an internet connection.

 

 

The third annual Arts & Crafts In August, which takes place August 5th through the 11th, will be centered around the Zoom sessions, but there will be something for collectors and makers of all experience levels. Additionally, while the conference continues to offer the online events pass which gives access to all Zoom sessions and the library of recorded sessions, registration includes a new offering for August’s online conference: the ability to register for single sessions for $20 each. Through the Eventbrite website, attendees can pick and choose those individual sessions and expect to get access to those live sessions as well as the recordings for each the following week.

 

Presentations

The Arts and Crafts online fun kicks off with a new seminar from author Darcy Evon: the topic of Arts and Crafts era jewelry from the midwest is explored during Handwrought Beauties of the Midwest: The Arts and Crafts Jewelry of Chicago, Cleveland, and Middle America in a presentation guaranteed to have gorgeous visuals of jewelry from The Kalo Shop, LeBolt, Jessie Preston, and other Arts and Crafts era jewelry artisans. For those students studying the movement and in particular the Arthur Wesley Dow influence, author Richard Mohr will delve into the basics of the designs of the movement with Grids and Graces: The Design Principles of the American Arts & Crafts Movement Explained in a Nutshell, a presentation full of illustrations and insights on the early 20th century influences who shaped and guided the movement. For those who enjoyed the live reading from Anne Fulper last year will love seeing a life in Antiques from upcoming author and lifelong Antiques auctioneer Robert Brunk of Brunk Auctions. Ahead of his upcoming book A Question of Value: Stories From the Life of An Auctioneer, Robert will share stories of the auctioneer life and in the Fine and Decorative arts.

One subject that always turns up at our Arts and Crafts conferences is the study of Gustav Stickley and his catalog of the handcrafted; the Stickley influence comes to our Zoom classroom with Setting the Stage: Stickley’s 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibitions, a presentation from Bruce Austin based on his exploration of the 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Syracuse, New York and what it did for future Arts and Crafts exhibitions. We continue our exploration west to the city of Detroit where the influence not only lies in Pewabic Pottery and in Cranbrook, but the philosophies are found elsewhere. Initiatives In Art and Culture’s Lisa Koenigsburg and a representative from the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House will join us to discuss The Art and Craft of the Ford House. We’ll move south to the iconic city of New Orleans, famous for its contributions to American art pottery: Newcomb College pottery. While examples of the famed pottery firm can be found in collections across the country, Tulane University has spent the past three years creating its online inventory of original Newcomb College ceramics and crafts, learning new lessons and histories. Join Sierra Polisar, director of collections at Tulane University as we explore the iconic Newcomb College catalog and what its digital catalog reveals Digitizing Newcomb: Bringing the Legacy Online and What It Taught Us.

 

If you enjoyed seeing the exhibition of Arthur Wesley Dow from the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement in St. Petersburg, Florida, rejoice because MAACM will once again return to show us their upcoming exhibit. Dignity and Grace: These Humbler Metals is meticulously curated by MAACM’s founder, Rudy Ciccarello and features more than 300 metalwork objects from the Two Red Roses Foundation’s Collection.  MAACM Director of Collections Andrea Morgan will take us through the copper and wrought iron items such as lamps, chandeliers, vases, candelabras, bookends, andirons, smoking and stationary sets, iron gates and more, this new permanent installation shows the work of leading designers and metalsmiths from the Arts and Crafts era. Artists include Frank Lloyd Wright, Greene and Greene, Tiffany Studios, Marie Zimmermann, Elizabeth Copeland, Gustav Stickley, Robert Jarvie, The Roycroft Shops, Karl Kipp, Jessie Preston, Dirk van Erp and Samuels Yellin.

 

Lastly, an exciting new component to Arts & Crafts In August is the hybrid stage. This year, Bruce Johnson and Kate Nixon will present live from the Skyline Room on Friday, August 11th to both an in-person audience and simultaneously to the Zoom audience. Bruce Johnson will join us to present The Antiques of the Grove Park Inn, where items come out of the Vanderbilt Wing display cases and are shown by the GPI historian in a curated collection discussing the history behind the items and the iconic hotel. Director Kate Nixon will join shortly after to provide an exclusive preview of the 2024 Conference Seminar speakers and a preview showcase of what you can expect to see in 2024. This session is free for the general public, but will still require registration as there are limited seats in person and limited spots in the Zoom session. You’ll find the links in the schedule page of Arts-CraftsConference.com.

Discussion Sessions

 

Some of the best learning experiences we can offer come in the form of our small group discussions, both online and at the Grove Park Inn conference. This August, you’ll be able to talk the appraiser process, Arts and Crafts design in the Tourism Industries, making the best use of native plant species in your Arts and Crafts gardens, and collecting the books of Roycroft in these Zoom sessions. Ask your questions to the experts and get live feedback from collectors across the country in these special sessions meant to connect collector to collector. Here is the current short list of discussion sessions available:

– Do You Need An Appraiser? with Tommy McPherson;

– From Little Journeys to A Message to Garcia: The Roycroft Print Shop Then and Now with the Roycroft Campus Corporation;

– Arts and Crafts Design in the Tourism Industries with Daniel Garvey of the Roycroft Inn;

– Waiting For Spring…Considerations For Your Arts & Crafts Garden In The Fall And Winter with Rick Taylor

Please note: the last of the sessions are still being added.

 

Demonstrations

Studio Ibis and RALA master artisan printmaking Holly Bird will offer some background about the history and process of copper plate etchings and their relevance to the Arts and Crafts collectors, while doing a live inking, wiping and printing demo on her studio’s etching press in Copper + Paper + Ink : An Etching Exploration. The history of Antique books will also be covered especially on Monday, August 7th with a live bookbinding demonstration from Dr. Jason Nairn of Librariana LLC. Dr. Nairn will talk the early 20th century processes of bookbinding, showing the machinery of the times as well as demonstrating the processes, alternative binding materials, and examples from his own portfolio in this live session. The following day, just coming off her 2023 seminar at the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn, Dianne Ayres of Arts and Crafts Period Textiles will lead an Antique textiles Show and Tell. It’s your opportunity to show your best antique textiles in your collection live and ask questions of textile expert Ayres. You can even submit an image to share during the session for live feedback: you can email Dianne here if you’d like to submit your images in advance.

 

The Online Event Pass experience

If you’ve never attended one of our online conferences before, watch the video below so you know what to expect. Not only will online attendees have access to links for live seminars, discussion sessions, and demonstrations, but you will also have access to the video archive and our library of resources for collectors and scholars alike. Please note: this experience details for those who choose the online events pass registration. For those who register for individual sessions, you will simply receive the link to the session as well as the recording later in the month of August.

 

 

To see the full schedule for days and times and to keep track of the last few sessions to be added, visit Arts-CraftsConference.com.