Heart & Hand: A visit to the Papertrail with Kevin Martin and Audrey Hollinger

Photo by Candice Leyland

Join Kevin, Audrey (and their resident cricket) for a tour of their New Dundee shop, The Papertrail. They do it all from paper making, to printing and... paper marbling! They will be demonstrating this traditional art form TOMORROW at the Heart & Hand Festival!

Photo by Candice Leyland

Come by and say hello, take part in a demo and pick up some one of kind marbled or hand made paper for your next project!

Want to visit the studio in person? The Papertrail will be taking part in the Rural Routes Studio Tour Nov 1 & 2.  Check out the Papertrail blog for more updates and behind the scenes look at new projects, equipment and more!

   

Heart & Hand: Performer Sarah Granskou

Sarah Granskou, Folk Artist-in-Residence 2013, invites us into the wash house to sit by the hearth as she plays, sings and tells us one of her original Norwegian Folktale. 

You wont want to miss Sarah at this year's Heart & Hand Festival at Joseph Schneider Haus Saturday, September 21! Admission is free! Enjoy activities and hands-on opportunities for the entire family!

Heart & Hand: Meet Potter Sally Pfeiffer

Meet potter and pottery instructor Sally Pfeiffer.  We ask Sally what it is about pottery that excites and inspires her.   

1.  Why Pottery? What is it about this art form that excites you most?

 What excites me about pottery is that I can make something that is beautiful, creative as well as functional at the same time. For example, I have tulip goblettes. Can you imagine drinking a glass of white wine out of a tulip? Or imagine a bud vase that looks like leaves are growing out of it!

2.  How did you get your start? Do you remember the first piece you made?

I got my start through the Waterloo Potters' Workshop Guild. I went to one of their sales at the Waterloo Recreation Centre, picked up a business card and took my first class. My first piece was a vase that went wonky and was super bottom heavy! It's now in the home of a friend who loved the blue glaze decoration!

3.  What is the most difficult aspect of creating with clay

The most difficult aspect of working with clay is working on the wheel and getting it centred in the middle. Once you learn this foundational skill, the rest is smooth sailing!

4.  Can anyone learn to create with clay?

You don't have to be super artistic to learn to create with clay! Clay is wonderfully impressionable, there are so many ways to create interesting texture using found objects, fabrics and stamps. This coating of glaze that gets applied then plays with this texture in the firing process - chemical reactions by the high heat of the kiln produce fascinating, colourful results! I lead my students with step-by-step guided projects until they have the building blocks to create their own projects. No one leaves my classes without a ceramic piece to be proud of!

5.  What’s next for you?  Any large projects you are looking forward to tackling?

I'm looking forward to going bigger in the next year. Creating pieces focusing even more on sculpture "meeting" function in my work.

To learn more about ongoing pottery classes taught by Sally please go to www.sculption.ca/class.htm

Watch as Sally works on the potting wheel. This short clip was taken at last years Heart & Hand Festival!

 

Heart & Hand: Glass Artist Laurie Spieker

 

Maple Leaf

 We've asked Glass Artist Laurie Spieker about her art form and what it is about working with glass that inspires and excites her. Take a moment to meet Laurie...

How did you get your start?  What was your biggest inspiration?

On a fall evening in 1996 I got my start in stained glass in a friend’s basement, where I eagerly put together my first suncatcher.  I carefully chose pieces of glass, cut and ground, foiled and soldered –  with one piece in upside down! – and finished with a loving polish.  This small piece now hangs in my studio.  After much practice at home and in a retail setting, I decided to open my own business, Grand River Glassworks in 2007.  Here, the studio is bright, the kiln is warm, and the atmosphere is welcoming. 

My biggest inspiration remains the glass itself – there is beauty in every sheet of art glass!  I also find inspiration in the students I call friends and, of course, in the timeless beauty of Mother Nature.

Fall Fused Leaf



What are the different ways you create with glass and why?

I create glass art using the traditional Tiffany method of copper foil stained glass and I also fuse glass.  I enjoy both methods of manipulating glass – they each appeal in different and interesting ways.

Can anyone learn to create with glass? 

Absolutely! Once the basic skills are covered, the sky is the limit! Glass is inherently creative, and as with all things, practice is key. Visit www.grandriverglassworks.com for workshop information or email info@grandriverglassworks.com to join my Newsletter Contact list. Grand River Glassworks can also be found on Facebook.





Owls

 What's next? Any projects or plans you are looking forward to tackling?

Over the next months I will experience a dynamic mentorship opportunity at Sheridan College, dealing with in-depth investigations into the medium of glass.

I am also welcoming back into the studio a group of area high school students to complete a project, Glass Fourteen, for installation at RIM Park.  These students have collaborated on an impressive large-scale glass fusing artwork.

Visit Laurie at the Heart & Hand Festival on Saturday, Sept. 22, to learn more and to watch her create her beautiful glass art.  

Heart & Hand: Origami Frog Instructions

Did you know that the Heart & Hand Festival brochure is actually a jumpy frog?

Pick up your brochure today. Watch the video to see how it is done!

Heart & Hand: Brenda Byers Tells a Tale

Meet Brenda Byers, member of the Baden Storytellers Guild. She grew up in a family that cherished music and tall tales. Listen as she shares this story of dreams and visions coming true! Visit the Heart & Hand Festival Saturday, Sept. 22 at Joseph Schneider Haus to hear Brenda sing and share her stories under the tent.

Heart & Hand: Minature Painting with Debbie Thompson Wilson

Joseph Schneider Haus Folk Artist-in-Residence 2012, Debbie Thompson Wilson demonstrates miniature painting and tells us a little about the history of limners and miniature portraits. Before photography, facetime and Skype miniature portraits were the next best thing to being with your loved one.
Visit the Joseph Schneider Haus galleries to view Debbie's tiny works of art. The Medieval World Illuminated, opening Sept. 15, will highlight the labours of the months in medieval times, feature a modern replica of a Book of Hours and include illuminations of popular medieval saints and aspects of medieval life over the course of the seasons.

In the lower gallery The Illustrated Alphabet: Everyman’s ABC takes an intimate look at the alphabet from A to Z through illuminated letters, printed ABCs and other early educational aids.

Visit Debbie at the Heart & Hand Festival, Sept. 22, where she will be demonstrating calligraphy, get your name written in fancy fraktur!

Heart & Hand: Storytelling with Mary McCullum Baldasaro

Heart & Hand 2012 is very happy to announce that many talented storytellers from the Baden Storytellers guild will be coming back to join us for this years festival! We will be featuring a number of these storytellers on our blog.

Meet storyteller Mary McCullum Baldasaro who joined us in the back garden of the Joseph Schneider Haus to share a short story about a very big dog! She also discusses the role of the listener in storytelling; we have a very important job you know!

 

Heart & Hand: 3D Paper Heart



3D Paper Heart




Try this simple and fun little craft. Using only a thin strip of paper (1.5 cm x 15 cm) you can make a delightful little 3D heart.

Use them to make earings, or string them together to make a mini heart garland. You could write little notes on them and give them to your friends.

Watch the video for easy instructions. Try it today! 

Heart & Hand: Hand Stamp Heart Logo

Wondering how we came up with the Heart & Hand Festival logo here at Joseph Schneider Haus?  Check out this video and maybe make your own hands stamp heart art!

Heart & Hand: Thank You!

Thank you to the talented artisans and enthusiastic visitors who took part in Heart & Hand Festival, 2011. We had a wonderful day with you!
Stay tuned for pictures and video of the event.

Heart & Hand: Today is the Day!

It is a beautiful morning at the Joseph Schneider Haus for the Heart & Hand Festival 2011.
We look forward to seeing you!  Here is a sneak peak...


Fred the Blacksmith has arrived with his tools




The tents are set up and artisans are arriving.



The Wash House table awaits you!

The Wash House is ready for visitors to come and sample the home made soup prepared by Culinary Historian, Liz Driver.

There is a craft tent for the kids, storytelling and many treasures to bring home with you.  Get that Christmas shopping done early!


Heart & Hand Festival 2011, Joseph Schneider Haus, 466 Queen St. S., Kitchener.
519 742 7752

Heart &Hand: Al Forler - Decorative Wildfowl Carver

Al Forler is a decorative wildfowl carver and an award winning one at that! He has brought home ribbons form many competitions including the Canadian National Wildfowl Carving Competition. Al was the Folk Artist-in-Residence at Joseph Schneider Haus in 2004 and he sits down with us today to tell us about is art, how it's done and its origins



Don't forget to say hello to Al and his feathered friends at the Heart & Hand Festival, Saturday, Sept. 24th at Joseph Schneider Haus, 466 Queen St. S. Kitchener.

Heart & Hand: Gourd Carving with Karen Cheeseman

Karen brings the garden into the studio as she creates beautiful designs and decorations on gourds. Gourd decoration, and pyrography, is an ancient tradition in Africa and Asia as well as among the indigenous peoples of the Americas, notably the central highland people of Peru, the Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo nations of the American Southwest, and the Nuxálk and Haida nations of British Columbia.  We ask Karen how she got her start and what she has planned next for the gourds in her garden.

1. How did you get started with gourd carving.

My husband grew the first gourds many years ago and I had to figure out what exactly the possibilities were. After lots of research, I just started experimenting with them. I started with pyrography, then tried various carving techniques, then on to fibre-art techniques of dyeing and resists. Now I do one or two, or sometimes all three methods, on my gourds. In the fall I occasionally carve some green gourds.

2. What types of objects and images do you create with the gourds?

My pieces range from fun birdhouses and feeders to gourd vessels and dangling creatures with intricate images and designs. I am strongly influenced by architecture, my rural surroundings and my graphic arts background. I am particularly fascinated with lines and positive/negative space.

3. Do you grow your own gourds?  Are there special gourds used specifically for carving?

My husband, the gardener, grows all of the gourds that I use. We harvest them in the fall and they sit out on the deck for the winter to dry. In the spring they are ready to be cleaned and used. There are lots and lots of different gourds to be grown. We grow birdhouse gourds as they have nice shapes and seem to be suited to our Canadian climate. I think you could probably carve any type.

4. What is next for you and your art? Any big projects in mind?

Now that's a big question... I'm always experimenting with different mediums and techniques. I've been working on more resist techniques lately... maybe some new dancing gourd creatures...

Fiddleheads, carved and dyed

Don't forget to say hello to Karen at the Heart & Hand Festival, Saturday, Sept. 24 at Joseph Schneider Haus, 466 Queen St. S., Kitchener.

Heart & Hand: Once Upon A Tree, Wood Turning with Trevor Ewert

Trees have many stories to tell and things to be made into!  Today we have another instalment in our series on wood carving.  Trevor Ewert explains the process of wood turning and how he helps trees tell their story. 

1. What is the significance of the name of your shop, "Once Upon a Tree"?

The name "Once Upon A Tree" captures the essence of what I try to do in my woodworking; to create a piece that carries on the story of the materials from which it was made.  Many of my bowls and vessels feature a "live" or natural edge with the bark of the tree intact.  This combined with a highly polished and refined surface tell the story of the transformation from tree to art work. 

2. How do you decide what piece of wood to use and how to begin your work?

I try to seek out the most interesting specimens to turn and these tend most often to be burls (tumorous growths on the trunk of the tree).  Inside of a burl the wood can have the most interesting colours and patterns and the grain will show curl and birdseye - quite unlike the rest of the tree on which it grew. 

3. How long does it take to create a piece from start to finish?

I tend to start turning when the wood is freshly cut and the moisture content is high.  Sometimes there is a spray of water coming off of the lathe while the wood is spinning!  After a rough shape is achieved, I air dry the bowl for six months or more until it is stable enough to finish.  There is a lot of chisel work at this point to refine the shape and then hours of ponderous sanding to perfect the surface.  The bowl is then oiled and buffed until a highly polished surface is achieved.  

4. What's next?  Any big plans in the works?

Craft sale season is now starting and I have quite a few that I am doing this year: the Central Art Walk in Kitchener, Artworks at Bingeman's, Cranberry Market in Guelph, Plaid Tidings in Toronto, and the Christkindl Market in Kitchener are a few that I will be exhibiting at.

Heart & Hand: Chip Carving with Peter Findlay

Chip carving, or Kerbschnitt in German, is a style of wood carving that uses knives and chisels to remove small chips in a single piece, to create geometrical designs.

Chip carver, Peter Findlay, joins us on the Joseph Schneider Haus porch to demonstrate and explain his technique and art. 

Don't forget to say hello to Peter at the Heart & Hand Festival, Saturday, Sept. 24 at Joseph Schneider Haus, 466 Queen St. S., Kitchener

Heart & Hand: Geography and History with Doll Maker Janet Hannam

1. How would you describe your work?

My work is very "close to the heart" and very anthropomorphic because of it.  I find that everyone, no matter what age or gender, are surprised at how quickly they find interest and smile because they recognize themselves.  I use a lot of found materials and objects, sparkle and sequins. (I am a magpie.)  



"Loon" from Gifts of the North



2. You live in Thunder Bay, how has geography influenced your art?

Geography has influenced me a great deal! We moved from Kitchener 23 years ago.  I found a community rich in heritage and history that is one generation forward form the 1856 of JSH as the next wave of settlers came deeper into Canada's center. Many different cultures and ethnic groups, because of distance and weather, share the best of each other and the rich First Nations and Métis culture gives us a view of the land that goes back before time and has no European roots. I have completed a major body of work entitled "The Gifts of the North."  It was a four year effort supported by a grant from OAC and it speaks of the many, many facets of the best of living in one of the most unknown part of Canada. It is touring southern Ontario as an ambassador of the north (OAC touring grant), and is now scheduling into 2013.  

"Boreal" from Gifts of the North

3. What is next for you?  Do you have any big projects in the works?

My next big projects include Punch and Judy shows in my studio window for the general public, some teaching of miniatures, teaching basic skills such as hand embroidery, filling my Etsy store (Ready To Pretend) and working on a collection of 12 anthropomorphic chicken sculptures (pin up poses, great breasts and great legs) for a calendar in support of women's issues here in the north. I also want time to bring to life a few creatures that have been waiting for a great while. All in all I am thrilled to be coming home to JSH, although I still feel I have never left.

Don't forget to say hello to Janet at the Heart & Hand Festival, Saturday, Sept. 24 at Joseph Schneider Haus, 466 Queen St. S., Kitchener

Heart & Hand: Book Binding with Marlene Pomeroy

Marlene Pomeroy is the Joseph Schneider Haus Folk Artist-in-Residence for 2011.  We ask here afew questions about book binding and its importance today.

You can judge this book by it's cover!

1. What inspired you to begin building books?

I took a binding class that ignited my passion for books. I was a calligrapher with many years of visual arts behind me. The "book" is a way to incorporate all the arts into a wonderful, enduring housing.  



Marlene's take on the "E" book 



2. Is the art of bookbinding still important or should we just use e-readers and read our books online?



The art of bookbinding is even more important now than ever. People need a place to slow down and depart from their work a day mode of technology. There is no replacement for the tactile feel of the paper and leather between your fingers. The books covers appeal to our eyes and invite us to escape into a different world.    

3.  What is next? Any big projects in the works?

There are many planned projects ahead. A collaborative work of limited editions is in the planning stages and commissions are always waiting to be finished.  I am also working on a new teaching space to be ready late fall.

Marlene's The Book from Flax to Finish workshop is running Sept. 24 & 25 so drop in, ask questions and get inspired. Call  519-742-7752 to register. Visit Marlene's blog Inspired discovery

Heart & Hand: In the Studio with Potter, Jan Bentley



Polar Bear



Potters have been shaping clay into decorative objects and vessels for thousands of years.  The earliest decorative figures, found in what is now the Czech Republic, date from c. 25, 000 BCE!



Santa



Potter, Jan Bentley, invites us into the Polar Pottery Studio and demonstrates how she creates her beautiful bird figures and decorative Santas out of clay.



Crow



Heart & Hand: This Flyer is Really a Box!

The Heart and Hand Festival Flyer is really a paper box! 
Pick up your flyer today at Joseph Schneider Haus, 466 Queen St. S, Kitchener. 
Watch the video and follow the instructions to make your own paper box.