Todd Conover from the SU fashion department spoke to my class today about the American Arts and Crafts movement. He is an avid collector of Arts and Crafts items and has a lot of knowledge to share on the subject. I had no idea that the Arts and Crafts movement originated right here in Syracuse, NY. The topic of the class is metal forming and he was able to share many examples of beautiful raised and formed pieces from his collection (and of his own works). Some of my favorite pieces from his collection are unmarked items often student or amateur work. He brought in a letter opener that he bought on ebay, made by an anonymous maker that exactly matched a DIY project in a journal of the time. There was something so sweet in that 100 years ago, in a time of early mass production, a person had the desire to make and so diligently followed a pattern to have a hand made item they could be proud of. And now that item is being collected, studied by students and will be donated to an Arts and Crafts museum (although I forget which one) to be forever cherished.
A link to Todd's website can be found here (although I can't find a place to look at photos of his collection you can see his own personal artworks).
Until next time,
Gitta
No comments:
Post a Comment