Explore Furniture Details, Art Metalwork, Ceramics, Historic Preservation and More Online with “Arts & Crafts In August”
by Kate Nixon
While the country cautiously opens their doors for the summer, the popularity of online events continue to connect those in the world of decorative arts and collecting attracting makers and collectors to such virtual events as Maker’s Meetups, . Among last year’s virtual events was a new offering from the organizers of the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn: “Arts & Crafts In August: A Virtual Event,” a week long schedule of Zoom sessions, seminars, demonstrations and a virtual show, a shorter version of 2021’s virtual month-long 35th National Arts and Crafts Conference in February through the conference website. Now Arts & Crafts In August returns one year later during a more hopeful summer with the plan to continue to connect peers from across the country.
In 2021, Arts and Crafts In August offered collectors the convenience of organized and moderated Zoom small group discussions, seminars from the archive of the National Arts and Crafts Conference, and links to demonstrations from artisans during the afternoons. For those who were busy, attendees could still access next-day recordings of each session to view at the Video on Demand page included in each registered attendee’s account. That same experience returns in August as Zoom session links will be listed in each attendee’s account along with links to seminars, helpful resources, and live demonstrations, ready to access. If you register during the month of May, you can register for the price of $85.00 before it goes up to $100.00 in June.
See the registered attendee experience by clicking the video above.
At least 13 live discussion sessions will be offered through Zoom over a period of seven days during the first week of August; registered attendees will get access to links to live Zoom sessions, seminars from the archives, and live demonstrations starting August 1st from a sizable schedule. Each live session will be suitable for collectors of all experience levels and a chance to ask a question of authors, artisans and professionals in the decorative arts. Below are descriptions of the live sessions scheduled thus far for the first week of August.
Want to register? Click here to register at the Early Bird rate.
The live sessions
The live sessions kick off on Monday, August 1st with a look at the precursor to the easy chair; the Morris chair. Both traditional and “Craftsman style” Morris chairs have made their way into many a bungalow as part of an Arts and Crafts collection — Morris Chairs from a variety of Arts & Crafts era firms will be explored including Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Studios, Charles Limbert, Greene & Greene, and the Roycrofters including their similarities and differences. Author Mike McCracken will co-lead this discussion on the many developments of the Morris chair in “Concerning the Easy Chair: Exploring Arts & Crafts Morris Chairs.” Next, Gustav Stickley enthusiasts won’t want to miss this special presentation by the Stickley Museum taking place in Gustav Stickley’s own kitchen. Executive Director Vonda Givens and Jonathan Clancy, Director of Collections and Preservation, will join us for an exploration of efforts to restore the family kitchen in the Craftsman Farms log house in “A Tour of Stickley’s Kitchen” ; the log house kitchen will be restored from the original floor plan and instructor Jonathan will also explore the work into restoring Stickley’s own kitchen stove! As always, Vonda and Jonathan will be able to answer questions live after the presentation.
Those who collect art metal won’t want to miss these next sessions; come explore the similarities and differences between the early works of Onondaga Metal Studios to the later reincarnation of Benedict Art Studios metalwork — and how did they compare to the metalworks of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Studios? Hammered & Hewn’s Bryan Mead and Stickley Copper’s Ron Ciarmello will be live with Arts and Crafts In August to explore the metalwork from all three firms in “Art Metalwork of the Syracuse School.” Next, the works of enigmatic Karl Kipp and his shop will be explored in this special session from Roycroft historian, author and appraiser Robert Rust. From buttressed vases to hand hammered boxes to lighting, Kipp’s metalworks and a brief overview of the Tookay Shop will take the spotlight as some of the finest Arts & Crafts era metalwork with important copper designs; works that are still relevant with metalwork collectors and the collections of Arts & Crafts enthusiasts even today. Make plans to attend”Collecting the Tookay Shop” with Robert Rust.
In the world of art pottery and ceramics, stories about women artists and designers in the Arts and Crafts art pottery world continue to emerge as the works of Adelaide Robineau, Mary Chase Perry, Sarah Tutt, the Saturday Evening Girls, and others make their mark in modern day auctions. The roles of women designing vases and ceramic works have increased awareness of the movement and a discussion about women bucking turn of the century convention, but were women only limited to the role of designers at the turn of the century? The expanded roles women took on in Arts and Crafts era pottery firms are explored in “The Changing Roles of Women in Art Pottery.” Speaking of legacies, well hear the story of a woman and her sisters who brought back the Fulper name in ceramics. The granddaughter of Fulper Pottery owner William Fulper, writer Anne Fulper joins us for a live reading of the compelling story “The Story of Fulper Tile” about how she and her sisters found her grandfather’s glaze recipes in the attic and would continue her grandfather’s ceramic legacy with the creation of the modern company Fulper Tile, the company created by the Fulper sisters using family recipes. Anne recounts the story along with an additional story in an amusing live reading.
The theme of light and color take the Zoom stage as Natalie Richards of Paint-by-Threads and design Karen Hovde will join to take about designing and decorating your Arts & Crafts house. Do have trouble deciding what to do with your Arts & Crafts windows? Natalie Richards of Paint-By-Threads brings her knowledge of Arts & Crafts textiles and shows us the basics of window design in “Dressing Your Arts & Crafts Windows“. Karen Hovde of Interior Vision in the Craftsman Style will join us to talk about tips for choosing color for the interior and the exterior of your Arts & Crafts house in “Color is Everything: Tips in Choosing Color for your Arts & Crafts Home.” Hovde specializes in restoration, renovation, exterior and interior color palette development, lighting solutions, and custom textiles and stencils.
An editor of the beloved publication Style 1900 magazine, writer, and researcher Marilyn Fish will talk about her experience being an editor, her influence on stories, and how her desire for organized research led her to take on the gargantuan task of indexing issues of The Craftsman. She’ll share the similarities between the two publications in this special recorded session. Delve into the research and publication process for a special Small Group Discussion session as we explore research techniques and how to get published with Turn of the Century Editions and The Parchment Press publisher Peter Copeland. Other authors will be on hand to share their experiences in writing their books and going through the process of releasing a book in “From Research to Release: How Do I Research and Get My Book Published?”
The last live Zoom session, free to professionals, enthusiasts, and registered attendees, will address the victories and the losses in the field of modern day historic preservation. In this special “Historic Preservation Roundtable,” we’ll talk about the longstanding challenges and goals of tomorrow, volunteer the real-life case studies, and outline helpful practices moving forward in this special session.
If you’d like to register to participate in and watch all sessions listed above during August, click here to register.
For more information, please visit Arts-CraftsConference.com