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Interviewee:
Saylan, Merryll B., 1936-  Search this
Interviewer:
Adamson, Glenn, 1972-  Search this
Subject:
Blunk, J. B.  Search this
Cooper, Michael Jean  Search this
Evans, Ralph  Search this
Foy, George  Search this
Fredell, Gail  Search this
Glaser, Jerry  Search this
Lipofsky, Marvin  Search this
Maruyama, Wendy  Search this
Rapp, Joanne  Search this
Stocksdale, Bob  Search this
Stubbs, Del  Search this
Weir-Quiton, Pamela  Search this
American Association of Woodturners  Search this
California State University, Northridge  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
University of California, Los Angeles  Search this
Wood Turning Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this
Woodstock School of Painting  Search this
International Turned Objects Show (1988 : Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
England -- description and travel
France -- description and travel
Guatemala -- description and travel
Hong Kong -- description and travel
Japan -- Description and Travel
Philippines -- description and travel
Place of publication, production, or execution:
England
Physical Description:
7 Items, Sound recording: 7 compact discs (6 hr., 9 min.), digital, 2 5/8 in.; 116 Pages, Transcript
General Note:
Originally recorded on 7 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 9 min.
Summary:
An interview of Merryll Saylan conducted 2006 May 20-June 5, by Glenn Adamson, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in London, England.
Saylan speaks of her childhood in Los Angeles, California; her early musical education in piano and viola; memories of World War II; her family's political views during the Cold War; meeting her first husband at UCLA; dropping out of school to move to Virginia and Georgia in fulfillment of her husband's military service; experiencing anti-Semitism in Georgia; the challenges of her eldest son's speech problems; traveling to France, Japan, Guatemala, Hong Kong and the Philippines; her interest in Japanese culture; completing her B.A. in design at UCLA and her M.A. in studio art at California State University, Northridge; anti-Vietnam sentiment on campus; early interests in environmental design; her second husband and his friends; her interest in furniture and woodworking; differing approaches to woodworking on the east and west coasts; her views on feminism and working women; her use of color and texture in woodworking; teaching experiences; popular perception of her work; receiving a grant to go to England and her involvement with English and German woodturners; the lack of collector interest in her work; forced absences from working because of illnesses; serving on the boards of the American Association of Woodturners and The Woodturning Center; her involvement in the International Turned Objects Show, the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Biannual Exposition, and the International Turning Exchange; her thoughts on future work. Saylan also recalls George Foy, Bob Stocksdale, Michael Cooper, Pamela Weir-Quiton, Joanne Rapp, J.B. Blunk, Marvin Lipofsky, Gail Fredell, Wendy Maruyama, Ralph Evans, Del Stubbs, Jerry Glaser, and others.
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Merryll Saylan, 2006 May 20-June 5. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding:
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Biography Note:
Merryll Saylan (1936- ) is a wood artist from San Rafael, California. Glenn Adamson (1972- ) is a museum professional, in London, England.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Decorative arts  Search this
Environmental engineering  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Furniture making  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Woodwork  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Turning (Lathe work)  Search this
Theme:
Craft  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13576
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)260467
AAA_collcode_saylan06
Theme:
Craft
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_260467