Search Results

Interviewee:

Eckert, Carol  Search this

Interviewer:

Lauria, Jo  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Anderson, Dale, 1944-  Search this

Anderson, Doug, 1943-  Search this

Blaine, Sandy  Search this

Boyd, Karen Johnson  Search this

Branford, Joanne Segal, 1933-1994  Search this

Covey, Steven  Search this

Docter, Marcia  Search this

Eckert, Tom, 1942-  Search this

Elliot, Lillian  Search this

Garrett, John  Search this

Koplos, Janet  Search this

Lieberman, David  Search this

Lieberman, Sarah  Search this

Manhart, Marcia, 1943-  Search this

McQueen, John, 1943-  Search this

Minkowitz, Norma M., 1937-  Search this

Niehues, Leon  Search this

Okun, Barbara Rose  Search this

Rapp, Joanne  Search this

Sauer, Jane, 1937-  Search this

Turk, Rudy H.  Search this

Extent:

48 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2007 June 18-19

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Carol Eckert conducted June 18-19, 2007 by Jo Lauria, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in the artist's home and studio in Tempe, Arizona.

Eckert speaks of moving from North Carolina to New York during her childhood; her interest in making things as a child; her love of reading and a particular interest in mythology, legends, and fairy tales; choosing to pursue painting as an art major at Arizona State University; working as a substitute teacher after graduation; teaching herself the needle arts; and teaching painting and drawing classes at a local community arts center.

She also discusses experimenting with clay; the process that guides her work; the influence of her painting training on her color and composition choices; her marriage to furniture maker Tom Eckert; the development of the basketry field over the past decades; participating in exhibitions and shows; teaching workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts; the cross-cultural animal symbolism present in her pieces; the working environment in her studio; the importance of craft publications; the development in her own work towards larger pieces; her commitment to the longevity and preservation of her work; and upcoming exhibitions.

Eckert recalls Steven Covey, Barbara Rose Okun, Jane Sauer, Sandy Blaine, Lillian Elliot, Joanne Segal Branford, John Garrett, John McQueen, Leon Niehues, Norma Minkowitz, Sarah and David Lieberman, Janet Koplos, Marcia Docter, Doug and Dale Anderson, Karen Johnson Boyd, Rudy Turk, Marcia Manhart, Joanne Rapp, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Carol Eckert (1945- ) is a fiber artist from Tempe, Arizona. Jo Lauria is a curator and arts wrtier from Los Angeles, California.

General:

Originally recorded 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 40 min.

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.

Restrictions:

Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.

Occupation:

Fiber artists -- Arizona  Search this

Topic:

Decorative arts  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women textile artists  Search this

Function:

Artists' studios

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.eckert07

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c45a09a8-6375-4149-b2b1-78211976b4aa

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-eckert07

Interviewee:

Butt, Harlan W., 1950-  Search this

Interviewer:

Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

American Craft Council  Search this

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Enamelist Society  Search this

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Penland School of Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Rhode Island School of Design -- Faculty  Search this

San Diego State University -- Faculty  Search this

Society of North American Goldsmiths  Search this

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale -- Students  Search this

Tyler School of Art -- Students  Search this

University of North Texas -- Faculty  Search this

Brooks, Jan  Search this

Glantz, Ken  Search this

Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013  Search this

Lechtzin, Stanley, 1936-  Search this

Moty, Eleanor  Search this

Paley, Albert  Search this

Pijanowski, Eugene, 1938-  Search this

Pijanowski, Hiroko Sato, 1942-  Search this

Pujol, Elliot  Search this

Scanga, Italo, 1932-2001  Search this

Shirk, Helen Z., 1942-  Search this

Snyder, Gary, 1930-  Search this

Staffel, Rudolf, 1911-2002  Search this

Winokur, Robert, 1933-  Search this

Extent:

7 Items (Sound recording: 7 sound files (5 hr., 19 min.), digital, wav)

90 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Place:

Australia -- Description and Travel

India -- description and travel

Japan -- Description and Travel

Date:

2009 July 27-28

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Harlan W. Butt conducted 2009 July 27-28, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Butt's studio, in Ptarmigan Meadows, Colorado.

Harlan Butt speaks of the influence of Asian art on his work; the use of text and imagery in his work; the use of pattern in his work; his undergraduate minor in weaving; the influence of Asian religion and mythology; series The Earth Beneath Our Feet , Garden Anagogies, and Snakes in Heaven; his childhood growing up in Hopewell, New Jersey, near Princeton; undergraduate work at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; discovery of Buddhism and Eastern religions; his mother's death when he was 20; studying with Stanley Lechtzin and Elliot Pujol at Tyler; graduate school at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; interest in Japanese tea ceremony; more exploration of Zen Buddhism; use of color in his work; studying with L. Brent Kington; reliquary series; move to Connecticut in 1974; second trip to Japan in 1984 to co-curate Kyoto Metal: An Exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Art Metalwork; introduction to Japanese system of artisan apprenticeship; early efforts as a writer and poet; the influence of poet Gary Snyder; summer teaching position at Rhode Island School of Design, Providence; teaching job at San Diego [California] State University in the mid-1970s; rattles and pipes series; exploring the Western landscape; the power of the snake image; taking a teaching position at University of North Texas, Denton (1976- ); first trip to Japan in 1980; differences in artisanal/metalworking practices in Japan and the United States; teaching workshops at various craft schools, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina; Haystack School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine; and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, compared with teaching in a university; the pros and cons of the gallery system; work with the Nancy Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan; the challenge of commission work; National Parks Project, Denton Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, Texas; the role of haiku and text in his pieces; series 1,001 Views of Mt. Mu; series Snakes in Heaven; the influence of his wife and children; trip to India and organizing Colour & Light: The Art and Craft of Enamel on Metal, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, 2001; trip to Australia; involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths, Enamelist Society, and American Craft Council; subtle issues of environmentalism in his work; his affinity for metalsmithing and enameling. He also recalls [Rudolf] Staffel, Robert Winokur, Italo Scanga, Jan Brooks, Mike Riegel, Rachelle Thiewes, Eleanor Moty, Albert Paley, Shumei Tanaka, Ken Glantz (Ken Chowder), Randy Thelma Coles, Sandy Green, Mickey McCarter, Gene Pijanowski, Hiroko Pijanowski, Toshihiro Yamanaka, Helen Shirk, Ana Lopez, and Sarah Perkins.

Biographical / Historical:

Harlan W. Butt (1950- ) is an artist, metalsmith, and educator in Denton, Texas. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a writer and independent scholar in San Francisco, California.

General:

Originally recorded on 4 sound mini discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 19 min.

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.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Art teachers -- Interviews  Search this

Topic:

Art, Asian  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Buddhism  Search this

Metal-workers -- Texas -- Interviews  Search this

Weaving  Search this

Japanese tea ceremony  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.butt09

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw990c0174f-3e27-4a2f-bccb-8d302a50d30d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-butt09

Interviewee:

Bacerra, Ralph, 1938-2008  Search this

Interviewer:

Lloyd, Frank, 1951-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Faculty  Search this

Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles, Calif.) -- Students  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Andreson, Laura  Search this

Hamada, Shōji, 1894-1978  Search this

Heino, Otto, 1915-2009  Search this

Heino, Vivika, 1910-1995  Search this

Kester, Bernard  Search this

Maloof, Sam  Search this

Peterson, Susan, 1925-2009  Search this

Rady, Elsa, 1943-  Search this

Saxe, Adrian Anthony, 1943-  Search this

Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002  Search this

Extent:

45 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2004 April 7-19

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Ralph Bacerra conducted 2004 April 7-19, by Frank Lloyd, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Los Angeles, California.

Bacerra speaks of his family background; his high school art teachers; attending Chouinard Art Institute and his friendship with his ceramics instructor Vivika Heino and her husband Otto; the interaction among ceramicists in Los Angeles around 1960; attending a workshop taught by Shoji Hamada; teaching at Chouinard Art Institute; building a studio; teaching a workshop at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts; traveling to Japan and Taiwan and the influence of Asian ceramics on his artwork. Bacerra also speaks of his daily work routine; the importance of glaze technology; changes in ceramic education and the market for ceramics in the last 50 years; exhibiting works at American Hand, Garth Clark Galleries, and Frank Lloyd Gallery; taking part in pivotal exhibitions including "Objects: USA"; attending National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts conferences and the current sense of community among early ceramic artists; the importance of craft publications and critical writing; commissions completed throughout his career; attending museums for ideas and inspiration; teaching and the careers of his former students; and how reviews impact his work. Bacerra recalls Susan Peterson, Peter Voulkos, Bernard Kester, Laura Andreson, Sam Maloof, Elsa Rady, Adrian Saxe, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Ralph Bacerra (1938-2008) was a ceramicist of Los Angeles, California. Frank Lloyd is a gallery owner from Santa Monica, California.

General:

Originally recorded 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 9 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 23 min.

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.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Topic:

Ceramics -- Study and teaching  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Ceramics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.bacerr04

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw908754716-42c7-47f6-a9d3-823b3094b8ba

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-bacerr04

Interviewee:

Eckert, Tom, 1942-  Search this

Interviewer:

Lauria, Jo  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Arizona State University -- Faculty  Search this

Arizona State University -- Students  Search this

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Castle, Wendell, 1932-2018  Search this

Dunning, William  Search this

Ellsworth, David, 1944-  Search this

Haas, Cervini  Search this

Himovitz, Michael  Search this

Jordon, John  Search this

Krenov, James  Search this

Laitman, Nanette L., 1924-  Search this

Rapp, James  Search this

Rapp, Joanne  Search this

Reinsdorf, Jerry  Search this

Reinsdorf, Martyle  Search this

Stocksdale, Bob, 1913-2003  Search this

Extent:

44 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2007 June 19

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Tom Eckert conducted 2007 June 19, by Jo Lauria, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home and studio in Tempe, Arizona.

Eckert speaks of his childhood interest in drawing; his first art lessons as a child; working as a cabinetmaker after high school; the decision to attend Arizona State University (ASU); earning very poor grades at ASU and enrolling at Phoenix College, where his art teacher inspired him to pursue art more seriously; returning to ASU to earn his BFA and MFA.; being hired to teach at ASU; creating and heading a wood program there; and helping to design the wood studio at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. He continues discussing his fascination with Flemish painting during his art history education; the sense of illusion present in much of his work; being drawn to wood as a medium because of its ability to be shaped into an infinite amount of forms his experience making a few large scale works of art; feeling a certain spirituality towards his studio and the tools and equipment related to his craft; the importance of first satisfying a personal creative drive, then of showing the work produced, and finally in selling the work; the ways in which galleries and museums assist in attaining those three goals; being invited to participate in a show at Galerie Lieve Hemel in Amsterdam; incorporating the Internet and new technology into the design process; mixing his own colors using pigments; his desire to create larger works in the future; and contentment with and excitement for his life as an artist. Eckert recalls William B. Dunning, James Krenov, Bob Stocksdale, Nanette L. Laitman, David Ellsworth, John Jordan, Wendell Castle, Martyle and Jerry Reinsdorf, Cervini Haas, Michael Himovitz, Joanne Rapp, James Rapp, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Tom Eckert (1942- ) is a wood artist from Tempe, Arizona. Jo Lauria is a curator and arts writer from Los Angeles, California.

General:

Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 44 min.

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.

Occupation:

Woodworkers -- Arizona  Search this

Topic:

Decorative arts  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.eckertt07

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94003b5b2-3754-4842-85fb-0b0bd618ac50

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-eckertt07

Interviewee:

Sudduth, Billie Ruth  Search this

Interviewer:

Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this

Names:

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Ala.) -- Students  Search this

John Campbell Folk School -- Faculty  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Penland School of Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Smithsonian Craft Show  Search this

University of Alabama -- Students  Search this

Bringle, Cynthia, 1939-  Search this

Gingrass, Katie  Search this

Risatti, Howard, 1943-  Search this

Ross, Caroline Sedestrom  Search this

Trapp, Kenneth R.  Search this

Extent:

3 Sound discs (Sound recording (4 hr., 42 min.), digital, 2 5/8 in.)

81 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound discs

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

2007 July 26-27

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Billie Ruth Sudduth conducted 2007 July 26-27, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home and studio, in Bakersville, North Carolina.

Sudduth speaks of her childhood in Alabama; her adoptive family; growing up in a creative and musical environment; an early exposure to women working with their hands; buying a Cherokee basket at age 12; childhood piano lessons and later exploring rhythm in her baskets; attending Huntingdon College; a strained relationship with her mother; meeting her biological family; attending the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and earning a Master's degree in social work; working as a social worker and psychologist for over 20 years; balancing a career with family; taking a basket-making class in an effort to relax and do something for herself; making baskets in spare time and teaching herself new techniques; her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada; teaching basket-making classes to adults; developing Math in a Basket curriculum; an interest in Fibonacci and the inclusion of its ratio in her baskets; an interest in color and natural dyes; returning to North Carolina and focusing full time on basket making; receiving a North Carolina Arts Council Emerging Artists grant to photo-document her body of work; becoming interested in chaos theory and its application to her basketry; the popularity and success of Math in a Basket; teaching experiences at Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and John Campbell Folk School; receiving a North Carolina Arts Council Visual Artist grant to study Cherokee, Choctaw, and other Native American tribes' basketry; her extensive basket collection; the honor of being named a North Carolina Living Treasure; participating in juried shows, including exhibiting at the Smithsonian Craft Show for 12 years and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show for seven years; the evolution of her workspace and studio; making the Carolina snowflake, which was exhibited at the White House; her exhibition history; an increasing respect for and recognition of baskets as art objects; the advantages university-trained artists have over self-taught artists; learning the business side of art making through trial and error; living and working in an incredible community of artists and collectors in North Carolina; a growing interest and participation in donating her baskets for fundraisers; and looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren. Sudduth also recalls Cynthia Bringle, Carol Sedestrom Ross, Kenneth Trapp, Howard Risatti, Katie Gingrass, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Billie Ruth Sudduth is a basketmaker from Bakersville, North Carolina. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.

General:

Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 42 min.

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.

Occupation:

Psychologists -- North Carolina  Search this

Social workers -- North Carolina  Search this

Topic:

Basket makers -- North Carolina -- Interviews  Search this

Basket making  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.suddut07

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw935479105-c28a-49ff-a40d-87c8cdb150c3

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-suddut07

Interviewee:

Ellsworth, David, 1944-  Search this

Interviewer:

Shea, Josephine, 1958-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Anderson Ranch Arts Center  Search this

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Bellas Artes (Santa Fe, N.M.)  Search this

Cooper-Lynn Gallery  Search this

Del Mano Gallery  Search this

Gargoyle Gallery  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this

Oberlin College  Search this

United States. Army  Search this

University of Colorado -- Students  Search this

Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.) -- Students  Search this

Woodstock School of Painting  Search this

Bressler, Charlie  Search this

Bressler, Fleur  Search this

Dodson, Virginia  Search this

Foster, Clay  Search this

Gibson, Giles  Search this

Hogbin, Stephen  Search this

Holzapfel, Michelle, 1951-  Search this

Klein, Bonnie  Search this

LeCoff, Albert B., 1950-  Search this

Lindquist, Mark, 1949-  Search this

Lindquist, Melvin  Search this

Lipton, Irving  Search this

Mason, Arthur K.  Search this

Mason, Jane S.  Search this

Mastelli, Rick, 1949-  Search this

Moran, Lois  Search this

Moulthrop, Ed, 1916-2003  Search this

Prestini, James, 1908-  Search this

Rapp, Joanne  Search this

Scarpino, Betty  Search this

Sfirri, Mark  Search this

Extent:

5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (2 hr., 41 min.), digital, wav)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Sound recordings

Place:

Colorado -- description and travel

Iowa -- Description and Travel

Date:

2007 July 16

Scope and Contents:

An interview of David Ellsworth conducted 2007 July 16, by Josephine Shea, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Ellsworth's home, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Ellsworth speaks of living and growing up in Iowa for the first fourteen years of his life; moving to Boulder, Colorado when his father became the director of libraries; being the youngest of two boys; his parents meeting at Oberlin College; his early interest and skill in leatherwork and woodwork as a child; spending time with the family at their cabin up in the mountains in Colorado; his experiences with music, vocals, and woodshop in junior high; attending a preparatory high school that had a very strong art program; singing in the Army for the Army Air Defense Command; traveling around with the band; being sent to the headquarters of United States Army of Europe in Heidelberg as a speed typist; studying and learning German while abroad; getting admitted into the architecture department at Washington University in St. Louis; flunking out after three semesters; going to New York City to follow a love interest as well as to study art; attending The New School for Social Research; moving back to the Midwest due of the heavy toll of city life; enrolling in the sculpture department at the University of Colorado and receiving both a bachelor of fine arts and a master of fine arts; his first independent show at Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado; working as a designer for a stainless steel food services equipment company called Green Brothers; working at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado; opening up a private studio in Boulder; partaking in various craft shows; working with the Belles Artes Gallery in New York City and Santa Fe, the Del Mano Gallery in Los Angeles, The Hand and the Spirit Gallery in Scottsdale which became Materia Gallery, the Gargoyle Gallery in Aspen; and the Cooper-Lynn Gallery in New York City; working as a teacher at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg; his experiences working with resin; his past experiences working with various kinds of wood; his past divorce; the influence of Native American and Southwest architecture and landscape on his work; the lack of reviews on woodturners and woodturning exhibitions; the difficulty of writing about craft art because of the lack of language; turning down commission work because of the limitations it imposes on the artist or creator; the direction in which he believes the craft of woodturning is going; woodturning as predominantly a hobby for retirees seeking to satisfy a need for creative energy; woodturning as a male-dominated craft; the surprisingly large number of well-known men in the fiber field today; designing and making his own line of tools; creating tutorial videos; holding woodturning classes at his home studio; his working process and how it has changed over time; how he and his wife Wendy ended up in Quakertown, Pennsylvania; and how he came up with his various series and how each developed. Ellsworth also recalls Ed Moulthroup, Melvin and Mark Lindquist, JoAnn Rapp; Steven Hogbin, Lois Moran, James Prestini, Irving Lipton, Albert LeCoff, Rick Mastelli, Clay Foster, Michelle Holzapfel, Mark Sfirri, Virginia Dodson, Betty Scarpino, Bonnie Klein, Arthur and Jane Mason, Fleur and Charlie Bressler, Giles Gibson, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

David Ellsworth (1944- ) is a studio woodworker from Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Josephine Shea (1958- ) is a curator from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.

General:

Originally recorded 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 41 min.

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.

Topic:

Decorative arts  Search this

Woodworkers -- Pennsylvania -- Interviews  Search this

Woodwork  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.ellswo07

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw988134bfb-2ba4-48a8-bbb6-42b23cb1a364

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-ellswo07

Creator:

Crow, Nancy, 1943-  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Interviewer:

Robertson, Jean  Search this

Names:

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Snyderman Gallery  Search this

The Ohio State University -- Students  Search this

Extent:

50 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

2002 December 18

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Nancy Crow conducted 2002 December 18, by Jean Robertson, for the Archives of American Art, at her home and studio, in Baltimore, Ohio, as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

Crow speaks of her early childhood and her father's high standards; her early interest in color; her studies at Ohio State University and her first ceramics professor Edgar Littlefield; joining the textile guild in Athens, Ohio; how her quilting evolved from traditional to contemporary and abstract forms; her practice of working on several quilts simultaneously; the influence of Anna Williams, a quiltmaker in Baton Rouge, Alabama; and she describes her studio. Crow also discusses her association with the Snyderman Gallery, Philadelphia; a trip to China that resulted in the series Chinese Souls; and how beauty is her ultimate goal. She talks about her travels to Mexico and South Africa; her technical mastery of strip piecing; working at home while raising two sons; the dyeing process; her sketchbooks; her long-term working relationship with hand quilter, Marla Hattabaugh; teaching at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts; the beginnings of the Quilt National Show at the Dairy Barn; the Ohio Arts Council; the Art Quilt Network; periodicals including FiberArts, Surface Design, Hali, and Raw Vision; two seminal exhibitions in her career, "Nancy Crow: Work in Transition," at the American Craft Museum, 1993, and "Nancy Crow -- Improvisational Quilts," at the Renwick Gallery, 1995; and the changing market for quilts in America. She recalls Bruce Hoffman, Rick and Ruth Snyderman, Jan Myers-Newberry, Rosalie Gascoigne, Sandra Blaine, Vivian Harvey; Linda Fowler, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Nancy Crow (1943- ) is a fiber artist and quiltmaker in Baltimore, Ohio.

General:

Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 31 min.

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. Researchers note: A separate 1988 interview of Crow, also conducted by Robertson is also available.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Quiltmakers -- Ohio  Search this

Fiber artists -- Ohio  Search this

Topic:

Decorative arts  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women textile artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Sponsor:

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.

Identifier:

AAA.crow02

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ce64981a-db9c-462f-80b1-c97cc93e278a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-crow02