exhibits / events

  • Arts and Crafts Revival Society of Boston

    reader Carl Close Jr., an artist blacksmith at Hammersmith Studio, forwards the following notice and hopes that other craftspeople in his area will be interested in forming a latter-day craftsperson’s guild:

    Are you an artist or craftsperson that works in the Arts and Crafts style? I am a metalworker in the Boston area and want to start a group that fosters the ideals and philosophies of the founders of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. I thought it might be fun to also have an exhibit called Then and Now, a show that could showcase past masters and what similar artists are doing today to revive the Arts and Crafts Movement. So if you are a wood carver, metalworker, potter, book artist, silversmith, furniture designer, pleinair painter or any other historically-styled craftsperson, and live in the Boston or New England area, please let me know if this would be of any interest. You can contact me off my website, hammersmithstudio.com, or write me email.

    Thank you – Carl Close, Jr, artist blacksmith

  • Roycroft Campus big weekend coming up!

    Boice Lydell, a Roycroft collector ‘extraordinaire’ and expert on Arts & Crafts antiques, will be present at the Roycroft Inn salon this coming Sunday, November 12, from 1:30 to 4 pm. For $5 per item he’ll give a professional verbal appraisal of your family heirloom (or, as the Roycroft Campus blog puts it, your "flea market find"). He cannot appraise firearms or coins. Mr. Lydell will also open up the Roycroft Arts Museum on Sunday afternoon for a very special and personal look at part of his extensive collection of Roycroft objects.

    Boice’s appraisal service is one part of the Connection: 2006 Arts & Crafts conference held on the Roycroft Campus from Friday November 10 through Sunday the 12th, and sponsored by Style 1900 Magazine. Featured speakers include:

  • Pasadena Heritage: Craftsman Weekend, October 20 – 22, 2006

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    Join Pasadena Heritage for their 15th annual Craftsman Weekend event and "immerse yourself in the American Arts & Crafts Movement." Note that prices have gone up, and a full weekend of events can easily break the bank for those not endowed with very high incomes; start saving now, because there’s plenty you won’t want to miss! This year’s event includes:

    • a house tour on Sunday the 22nd from 9 am to 4 pm, with visits to siz period homes that "showcase the unique and individual styles of Pasadena’s architects and builders," including an in-process remodel in North Pasadena Heights; The French House; the Bartlett House in Prospect; Greene & Greene’s recently-restored Pitcarin House and others;
    • evening events, including a private tour of the Cordelia Culbertson House and an opening reception at the wonderful Pacific Asia Museum;
    • bus tours of Ventura, Pasadena’s Landmark District, Greene & Greene properties and a tour exploring "the Native American presence in southern California and its significant influence on Arts & Crafts culture";
    • walking tours of Bungalow Heaven, Busch Gardens and Magnolia Avenue;
    • lectures from Paul Duchscherer, Mark Winter, Tim Gregory, Patricia Gebhard and Ann Scheid;
    • a special tour of the magnificent beaux-arts Fenyes Mansion and its enormous collection of California plein air paintings;
    • plus the usual – and this year, extraordinarily large – exhibits of antique and contemporary furniture, glass, ceramics, textiles, books, metalwork and more from a wide variety of dealers, designers and others.

  • Historic Seattle presents the 2006 Bungalow Fair

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    On Saturday September 30 and Sunday October 1, join Historic Seattle for the
    2006 Seattle Bungalow Fair. Over 50 Craftspeople in metal, tile, glass,
    textiles, ceramics, and lighting, antique dealers, architects, and
    interior designers will be exhibiting their work; the show and sale are opportunities to learn about
    early 20th century architecture and design and to ask questions and get
    answers from knowledgeable people in the field. It is also an
    opportunity for those who have been won over by Arts & Crafts
    period furniture and decoration to be visually stimulated and to think
    about ways in which to incorporate the many old and new offerings
    presented here into their homes. See details on the lectures and workshops planned for this year’s Fair, or ger directions to Town Hall. Tickets are $8 pre-registered, $10 day of fair; children under 12 are free. Admission does not include a ticket to the special lectures, some of which have an additional fee.

    Event sponsors include Old House Interiors magazine and our good friends at Rejuvenation Hardware, located in Seattle and Portland.

    Saturday September 30: 10 am – 5 pm; Sunday October 1: 10 am – 4 pm

  • Craftsman Arts & Crafts Weekend: September 16 & 17

    Rago Arts presents another auction weekend coming up in a few days. Previews run all week, 12-5 pm, at their Lambertville NJ auction center; the auction itself begins at noon on both Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th. The full catalog is available online, and you can also download two higher-resolution PDFs. As usual, an enormous volume of furniture, glass, ceramic and metal items will be available, as well as some graphic art and paintings and other miscellany.

  • Another Auction Record: Kappa Candlesticks, $60,000

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    Our friend Tamara Herrod, who handles PR for the folks at Treadway-Toomey, forwards us the following press release. $60,000! Well, some folks have an awful lot of money, don’t they? Not that these aren’t gorgeous – they certainly are – but, well, goodness.

    Rare Pair of Kappa Candlesticks by Chicago Metalsmith Robert Jarvie Brings Record $60,000 at Treadway-Toomey Galleries’ Auction

    But man, the twofold creature, apprehends the twofold manner, in and
    outwardly, and nothing in the world comes single to him, a mere itself,
    – cup, column, or candlestick.
    ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

    OAK PARK, Ill. — A rare and perfectly matched pair of Kappa model
    bronze candlesticks handwrought by Chicago metalsmith Robert R. Jarvie
    fetched a record $60,000 at Treadway-Toomey Galleries’ 20th Century Art
    & Design Auction on May 7.  The presale estimate was $10,000 to
    $15,000 for the pair. The graceful, 14-inches tall candlesticks had
    their fine original patinas and removable bobêches.    

  • Frank Lloyd Wright home to become Milwaukee museum

    One of several homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for a local developer, a tiny 1915 home of unusual geometric design will become a museum in the near future. The Wisconsin Heritage Tourism Program will convert the 900 square foot home, originally built by developer Arthur Richards as part of his American System-Built program, into a museum showcasing Wright’s experiments in low-cost housing for working class families.

    One of Wright’s central interests was in creating sturdy and attractive housing for urban neighborhoods; he wrote many times that people of all economic classes deserved good architecture, and this was one of many such collaborations in this area.

    The group is currently raising money to rehab the property, which has fallen into disrepair, and has applied for a grant from the Save America’s Treasures program and other sources. However, it is now open for regularly-scheduled tours (cost is $2 per person); Wright in Wisconsin has a schedule of the Saturday tours.

  • Arts & Crafts Conference in Minneapolis

    The Arts & Crafts Movement: The Intersection of Regionalism and Internationalism — A Living Tradition (June 22 – 25, 2006
    )

    The eighth
    annual Arts and Crafts conference takes place in Minneapolis and
    environs under the aegis of the University of Minnesota’s Department of
    Art History, and in conjunction with the reopening of the Minneapolis
    Institute of Arts (MIA). The MIA, which houses one of the finest
    collections of decorative arts of the period, will also be the site of
    formal sessions and other activities.

    This
    conference explores how foreign influences were brought to bear on the
    region’s art and architecture, and how local practitioners transformed
    international influences to an individualized regional expression. We
    discuss the effect of trade and of travel between cities of major
    figures in the movement whose work is evident in Buffalo, Chicago,
    Minnesota and elsewhere throughout the nation, thus coming closer to
    understanding the dissemination of influence.

    Download the conference brochure, or continue reading the whole conference introduction below.

  • Live Oak Crafts Fair 2006

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    My favorite crafts fair in the country will be held this coming weekend. On June 10 & 11, do not miss the 36th annual Live Oak Park Fair in Berkeley, California: 125 artists and craftspeople vie for your attention, and there will be plenty of live dancers, musicians, and lots of great food and drink. It’s outside, the weather should be terrific, and there’s lots for kids as well.

    The park in a residential neighborhood and you may have to park a few blocks away, but you’ll get to walk through a neighborhood with plenty of beautiful Craftsman houses to and from the park. Here are driving directions and a map; there’s also a free shuttle from the nearby North Berkeley BART station.

    While you are at the fair, don’t miss Jeannine Calcagno Niehaus‘s booth (#48). Jeannine is a wonderful ceramic artist and I have been a big fan of hers ever since I first saw her work several years ago at the same fair. She’ll be there with lots of her beautiful vases and bowls and other pieces – the wisteria, gingko and eucalyptus designs are especially apt for anyone looking to liven up their bungalow. Tell Jeannine you read about her and her work here, and pick up a piece or two!

    This year’s image is by Yoshiko Yamamoto, whose work should be familiar to many of you – not just her graphic art, but also as author of the many books she’s made with her husband, Bruce Smith. They also produce The Tabby.

  • Electric Tiffany

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    Reader Brenda Haines writes with info on an interesting show opening this coming Saturday at the Paine Estate & Gardens in Oshkosh WI. The exhibit runs through 8 October 2006.

    In the largest exhibition of Tiffany lamps in 20
    years, the Paine Art Center and Gardens
    showcases an extraordinary exhibit featuring 50 original lamps created by the
    studios of renowned American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany.
    Tiffany created the exquisite lamps between 1895 and 1920. Electric Tiffany presents superior
    examples of the full spectrum of his inspired use of electric light.

    Tiffany Studios produced more than 400 different designs for both shades and
    bases in a variety of forms, ranging from table and floor lamps to hanging
    fixtures. Botanical themes inspired most designs, but other motifs show
    Tiffany’s interest in insects, Moorish art and architecture, and
    geometric patterns. Electric Tiffany demonstrates
    this immense diversity and celebrates the creativity, innovation and exquisite
    craftsmanship of Tiffany’s magnificent lamps.