An interview of David Holzapfel conducted 2008 January 26-March 2, by Josephine Shea, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Holzapfel's home and studio, Applewoods Studio and Gallery, in Marlboro, Vermont.
Holzapfel speaks of his childhood; attending high school in Rome, Italy; university experiences at Marietta College and Marlboro College; studying Italian poetry; his favorite poets including Libero de Libero and Alfredo Giuliani; time spent traveling in Italy with wife Michelle; the births of their children; going to work for Roy Sheldon at Fabulous Tables; being self-taught in woodworking; starting his own furniture making workshop with Michelle; materials he prefers to work with, including maple, beech, and oak; his hollow furniture forms; travels throughout Europe and in Africa; his experience with craft shows and galleries, including Pritam & Eames and Peter Joseph; and his creative process. Holzapfel recalls Desmond O'Grady, Edmond Brelsford, Peter Joseph, Nathan Ancell, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
David Hozapfel (1950- ) is a self-taught woodworker in Marlboro, Vermont.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 36 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.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
88 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2004 November 22
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Judy Kensley McKie conducted 2004 November 22, by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
McKie speaks of having artist parents; growing up in Lexington, Massachusetts; doing art projects as a child; studying painting at the Rhode Island School of Design; spending her senior year in Rome; teaching art at a private school; making wall hangings and other early projects with her husband Todd; her first furniture pieces; exhibiting her work at Design Research in Boston; joining New Hamburger Cabinetworks; working on commissioned projects; being a self-taught furniture maker; working in a cooperative shop; becoming interested in wood carving; using animal imagery in her work; being influenced by art from other cultures; students who worked in the shop; exhibiting in galleries such as Pritam & Eames; participating in various exhibitions; how her work has changed during her career; experimenting with colors and figure designs; becoming part of the woodworking community; having her work cast in bronze and carved in stone; making small-scale objects out of resin; working on public art projects; how the craft world has changed; preparing for exhibitions; her current studio space; and the future of furniture making. McKie also recalls Ted Dodd, Mary Gregory, James Krenov, Wendell Castle, Garry Knox Bennett, Alphonse Mattia, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Judy Kensley McKie (1944- ) is a furniture maker from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Edward S. Cooke, Jr. is a professor from Newtonville, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 1 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.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Extent:
64 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2001 September 19-October 8
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Jere Osgood conducted 2001 September 19 and Oct. 8, by Donna Gold, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Osgood's home, in Wilton, N.H.
Osgood describes his early childhood years in Staten Island, N.Y.; the influence of his architect grandfather and handyman father; his early interest in architecture; visiting museums with his mother and aunt; Vermont vacations; high school; and reading "Popular Science," "Popular Mechanics," and "Wildlife Magazine." He describes his architecture studies at the University of Illinois and the subsequent use of parabolic and catenary curves when making bowls; attending the School for American Craftsmen in the 1960s when it was "thriving"; selling bookends at America House; exhibiting in "Young Americans" (Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 1962); teaching at Boston University; studying bookbinding and weaving in a folk art school in Denmark in 1960; the distinction between "furniture makers" and "furniture designers" in Denmark; working in his father's basement workshop; setting-up a workshop in Connecticut; the appeal of root forms; developing lamination techniques; making curved forms; and experimenting with various woods. Teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), and Boston University are discussed in detail, as are his typical workday, his design process and means of evaluating form, the growing craft industry, and sculptural furniture. Osgood recalls his teacher Tage Frid.
He also discusses his works of art including Elliptical Shell Desks, a walnut Semainaire, Writing Desk (1986), Angels in the Snow (1986), and Cylinder Front Desk (1989). He comments on selling his work at Pritam & Eames (East Hampton, N.Y.); the influence of Wharton Esherick on his career in the late 1950s; commissions; furniture making at RIT and the North Bennett School in Boston; his experiences teaching at Penland, Haystack, Arrowmont, and Peters Valley Craft Center; his involvement with organizations such as the New Hampshire Furniture Masters' Association, American Craft Council, and The Furniture Society; the importance of good photography; the economics of the craft business; and his appreciation of pure form.
Biographical / Historical:
Jere Osgood (1936- ) is a woodworker from Wilton, N.H. Donna Gold (1953- ) is an art writer from Stockton Springs, Maine.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 12 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 46 min.
Related Materials:
Oral history: Renimiscenses of Jere Osgood; Columbia University. Oral History Research Office, Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027.
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.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Jere Osgood, 2001 September 19-October 8. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Judy Kensley McKie, 2004 November 22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with David Holzapfel, 2008 January 26-March 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
