Above: a map showing where each of the sessions will be located. During Arts & Crafts In August, we will join others from across the country, viewing presentations, house tours, demonstrations and discussion sessions on the American Arts and Crafts Movement and its European origins.
FREE for anyone to access! Requires registration by August 15th at 6pm Eastern.
“Caring For Your Arts & Crafts Furniture”
with Bruce Johnson, author of The Pegged Joint, Founder of the National Arts & Crafts Conference and Shows, woodworker, and Grove Park Inn historian.
1:00 PM Eastern
This special session kicks off the events of Arts and Crafts In August with a free visit to the workshop and Arts & Crafts house of Bruce Johnson, the founder of the National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows and author of many books on the Arts & Crafts movement and the Grove Park Inn. You’ll see him present on the proper care for your Arts and Crafts furniture, get the chance to ask him one on one your questions about furniture care, and be able to donate LIVE to the Arts and Crafts Research Fund, Bruce’s non-profit organization that funds the study of the Arts and Crafts movement. If you couldn’t join us this past February or wasn’t able to win a silent auction item this year, make sure you don’t miss this special opportunity online!
SUNDAY, August 18th
“Gertrude Jekyll’s Home & Garden: Munstead Wood
A Replay & Live Q&A”
with Judith Tankard, Landscape Historian and Author & Katherine Mills, General Manager of Munstead Wood.
1:00 PM Eastern
Munstead Wood contained not only the home and garden of Gertrude Jeykll – it was her hub for her gardening experiments and proof of her collaborations with architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. In 2023, The National Trust purchased Munstead Wood and expert landscape historian Judith Tankard presented exclusively to the Royal Oak foundation on her study of the personal house and garden where Jeykll lived. In an exclusive replay for Arts and Crafts In August, attendees will see the replay of the presentation originally given to the Royal Oak Foundation last year by Judith. Both Judith and Katherine will join us live after to answer questions.
MONDAY, August 19th
POSTPONED
“An Arts & Crafts Contemporary Style in Ceramics”
A Demo by Scott Draves of Door Pottery
11:00 AM Eastern
Due to an urgent family health matter, the “Art & Crafts Contemporary Style in Ceramics” session with Scott Draves on Monday, August 19th has been postponed.
As Online Events Passholders, you all will have automatic access to this session as soon as the session can be rescheduled.
Stay tuned for the re-scheduled date and time of this special demonstration. Our apologies for the inconvenience.
Monday, August 19th at 11:00 AM Eastern
*New addition*
A replay of the 2023 National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows seminar:
“Why William Morris Today? Art, Craft and The Pursuit of Happiness”
by Yoshiko Yamamoto of The Arts & Crafts Press
“Translating Flora Onto the Ceramic Canvas”
A Demo by Kelsey Schissel of Kelsey Schissel Ceramics
1:00 PM Eastern
Living in Western North Carolina has its perks, including a vibrant selection of plant life along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Kelsey Schissel’s memories of the flora and the mystery of the creative process led her to make her new line of ceramics works. Each form and surface combines a childhood memory with a representation of the petals, leaves, stems and shadows experienced in her part of the world. The symphony of golden sunlight on the path and the mottling effect it had on the foliage around her led Kelsey to experiment with gold and mother of pearl surface designs. Because of this, each piece is unique. Kelsey will join us to share her creative process in this special demo.
“Artistic Typography in the Arts & Crafts Aesthetic”
A Demo by Julie Leidel of The Bungalow Craft
3:00 PM Eastern
Julie Leidel is a Master Roycroft Artisan inspired by The Arts & Crafts Movement (1880-1920), the Art Nouveau Movement, and the WPA era of the 1930s. Julie’s artwork evokes a feeling of yesteryear, and her revivalist approach calls upon the spirit of the Arts & Crafts Movement. At its center was the principle that the head, heart, and hand should ideally work as one.
TUESDAY, August 20th
“The Early Art Glass of William Lees Judson”
by David Judson of Judson Studios
1:00 PM Eastern
The artist and stained glass designer William Lees Judson was born in Manchester, England: he was the son of a cotton mill manager who had studied the decorative arts. His family’s travels took him to Brooklyn, Canada, back to New York City, London and eventually to Pasadena, California where Judson, elected first dean of the USC Art Department, became a leading provider of stained glass and opened Judson Studios with his two sons. A bronze medal in the Panama California Exposition kept his popularity going – Judson’s family ensured his legacy. David Judson, the fifth generation president of Judson Studios, joins us at Arts & Crafts In August in presenting the early Art Glass of founder William Lees Judson in this special presentation.
Judson Studios is the oldest family-run stained glass company in America. For more than 125 years, Judson Studios has designed, fabricated, restored, and installed thousands of iconic stained glass and fused glass projects throughout the United States and around the world.
“The Glasgow Four: Charles Rennie Mackintosh & Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh”
by Dr. Anne Anderson
3:00 PM Eastern
In his lifetime, innovative architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh was lauded throughout Europe. Yet, unlike his contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright, his potential was never fully realised, and Mackintosh ended his days in obscurity. Moreover, the part played by Margaret Macdonald, his wife, and her sister Frances, in creating a unique Glasgow style is only now being fully acknowledged. Herbert MacNair, who married Frances, completed the Glasgow quartet. The Four, as they were known, drew on Japanese prints, the Arts and Crafts ethos, Celtic ornament, and the graphics of Aubrey Beardsley to create a unique variant of the New Art. Dr. Anne Anderson FSA joins Arts & Crafts In August from the UK to present the style of The Glasgow Four.
With a first degree in archaeology and a PhD in English, Anne was a senior lecturer in Art and Design History at Southampton Solent University for 14 years. She has curated four national exhibitions, including those on the Pre-Raphaelites, Ancient Landscape, and Pastoral Visions: Samuel Palmer to the Ruralists (2008). She is the author of seven books, The Perseus Series accompanied the Edward Burne-Jones exhibition (2018, Tate Britain). Anne has also published over a hundred academic papers. She has held several prestigious fellowships including Fellow of the Huntington Library, CA (2008-09 and 2018-19), Fellow of the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Library and Museum (2009/10) and Fellow of the American Antiquarian Society (2015). She has lectured for the V&A Learning Academy, the National Trust and the Art Fund. Currently a guide and lecturer, Anne specialises in Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts art tours.
Dining room in the Purcell-Cutts house. Photo courtesy of Karen Melvin.
“The Purcell-Cutts House: A Live Tour of the Prairie School Masterpiece”
by curator Jennifer Komar Olivarez
5:00 PM Eastern
Jennifer will lead a tour of the Purcell-Cutts House, one of the most significant Prairie School homes in the country that combines Purcell’s talent for innovative residential planning with Elmslie’s ingenious and exacting decorative detail. Highlights include Purcell and Elmslie’s interpretation of Louis Sullivan’s principles of organic design such as an open interior plan, earthen colors, more than eighty art-glass windows, custom-designed stencils, furniture, and artworks. She will also cover new focus areas including hygiene and health in design, women in architecture, and race and access to housing in Minneapolis in the early 1900s.
WEDNESDAY, August 21st
“The Women Metalworkers of Boston AND the Arts & Crafts Society of Boston”
by curator Jeannine Falino
1:00 PM Eastern
Boston was the first of American city to embrace the Arts and Crafts movement before it swept the entire country, and in 1897, the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston became the first in the nation to rally around the ideals first advanced by John Ruskin. Artists in the region were celebrated for their work in metalwork, jewelry, and ceramics. Curator Jeannine Falino joins us to explore the works and lives of Boston’s women metalworkers, and the mother of all American craft organizations, the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston.
“The Arts & Crafts Details of Chicago’s Own Glessner House”
by Executive Director Bill Tyre
3:00 PM Eastern
With the Glessners’ house, H. H. Richardson shattered the designs typical for the period and created an example of one goal of the Arts and Crafts Movement: a completely integrated environment. The design of Glessner House is both medieval and modern, and Thomas Hubka has dubbed it the “archetype for an attached urban house.” Not only is the house part of the Prairie Avenue Historic District, but the house portrays a number of Arts & Crafts characteristics including wood furniture design by the Herter Brothers, William Morris designs on the walls and floors, and the ceramics collection of Mrs. Glessner, an avid supporter of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Listed on the national register for historic places and named both a National Historic Landmark and a Chicago landmark, the Glessner House shines as an example of historic Chicago’s finest and Executive Director Bill Tyre will reveal the Arts & Crafts details of the Glessner House and show a number of small antiques and details close for Zoom attendees.
“Beyond Fallingwater: Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright’s Lifelong Visions”
by Bill Keene
5:00 PM Eastern
In exploring Frank Lloyd Wright’s own version of utopia, attendees will see the many houses and structures designed by Wright – the known and the unknown in this special presentation by Smithsonian associate Bill Keene.
Bill Keene has for many years lectured in architecture and urban studies specializing in the history of architecture in the United States with a special interest in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Bill for several years taught in an urban studies program at the University of Southern California, and he also taught urban history at Pepperdine University. Beginning a decade ago, Bill began developing and presenting tours and lectures dealing with architecture, infrastructure, sustainability, and design for the Smithsonian Associates. He has also presented lectures, seminars and tours at the National Building Museum, the Oasis Institute, the North American Festival of Wales and other groups and institutions.
THURSDAY, August 22nd
“The Grand Re-Opening at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms: Rebuilding and Restoring an Arts and Crafts Landmark”
with Executive Director Vonda Givens
1:00 PM Eastern
“The Online Researcher’s Guide to Exploring Arts & Crafts Antiques”
with Michael Lehr and David Kornacki
3:00 PM Eastern
A Collector’s Focus session
Included with the online events pass
“Cross Currents of Arts and Crafts Metalwork”
by Bill Drucker
5:00 PM Eastern
FRIDAY, August 23rd
“Ruskinian Wealth in Textiles”
with Dr. Rachel Dickinson
11:00 AM Eastern
“Starting An Art Pottery Collection For Under $1,000”
with Patti Bourgeois
1:00 PM Eastern
A Collector’s Focus session
Included with the online events pass
SUNDAY, August 25th – a special rescheduled session
Photo courtesy of David Mathias.
“A Live Tour of the Greene & Greene Designed Bungalow: The Thorsen House”
with Thorsen House resident Elias Myers
4:00 PM Eastern
One of four “Ultimate Bungalows” designed by Greene & Greene, The Thorsen House was the historic home of William Randolph Thorsen and Caroline Canfield Thorsen (the younger sister of Nellie Canfield Blacker, owner of Pasadena’s Robert R. Blacker House) and now houses the Sigma Phi Society, who gives tours of the house. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a California State Historic Landmark. Featuring a dramatic brick wall, a double stairway, carefully-designed landscaping, hand-painted friezes, iridescent art-glass, and exotic woods, the Thorsen House is a fitting tribute to the Greene and Greene Architectural legacy. The live tour will be given by resident Elias Myers.