1. Natural Cements and Lime Mortars for Restoring Period Masonry Limit: 15 Students
June 10-11 (2Days) Fee: $325.00
Great strides have been made in the field of historic mortars in the past few decades. New sources (sometimes old ones) have become available that can match the properties of early mortars in more ways than ever. Our instructor, Ken Uracius, has been in the forefront of this research for over 30 years. His research actually led him to the original Rosendale Cement Mines in NY State that supplied natural cement from 1822-1900. He has now opened one of the mines on a limited basis and has made true Rosendale Cement available for the first time in many years.
Ken will discuss the different binders used in this period including mortars using lime, natural hydraulic lime, hydraulic lime, American natural cement, French Natural cement, pozzolans, and pre rotary kiln Portland cement, as well as when and where they were used. The program will be lecture/demonstration and student participation working with the materials will help their understanding of these processes and material. Ken has been involved in many major restoration projects in throughout the US.
Ken Uracius is a Restoration Mason and Vice President of Stone & Lime Imports, Inc., Brookfield, MA.
www.stoneandlime.com
www.freedomcement.com
2. Period Make-do’s and How to Reproduce Them Limit: 10 Students
June 14-15 ( 2Days) Fee:$325.00
A Make-do was an expedient way to save a cherished, broken item for continued use in a household in Early America. They were made of wood, tin, iron and included items like a new handle on a teapot, a base for lamp, or even a wrought iron handle for a wooden plane. Today these items are highly collectable and of great interest for their ingenuity.
After an in-depth lecture from one of the country’s leading collectors of early make-do’s on the range diversity of items that were repaired. The Students will be introduced to a large variety of period make-do’s and the construction methods used to make them will be explained to them.
The participants will be asked to bring several special damaged items and then in consultation with the instructors, plan several projects and spend the rest of the class working, with the help of the instructors to complete them. Participants will also be introduces to methods for aging the make-do so that it has the appearance of use and age.
A Manhattan interior designer who maintains a blog that illustrates the make-dos in his collection by category, Past Imperfect: the Art of Inventive Repair,
William McMillen, Master Tinsmith, Glenmont NY, Don Carpentier, Director Eastfield and Craftsman. Olof Jansson, blacksmith for almost 30 years specializing in making items for museums and historic sites in the Capital District of NY State and the Mohawk Valley..
3. An Early British & American Ceramics “POTpourri”
June 21-23 (3Days) Fee: $465.00
This year we have decided to continue the theme from last year’s program and provide wonderful lectures on a variety of fascinating subjects related to early British and American Ceramics. “Dish Camp” is an engaging, relaxed, and informal three days of talk and experience involving pottery. We encourage timely conversations; give-and-take between speakers and audience.
Our speakers are all involved in a variety of projects that allow them to work closely with the artifacts that they will be discussing in depth. As usual, there will be many wonderful items to examine on the huge tables in the church and all participants are encouraged to bring pots for the show and tell as well.
There will be a period Dinner served as part of the program in the Briggs tavern on the evening of Saturday, June 22 at NO additional charge.
This year’s exciting assortment of subjects will include the following lectures:
Angelika Kuettner, Assistant curator of ceramics at Colonial Williamsburg: Early repairs to ceramics.
Brandt Zipp, auctioneer and researcher, Crocker Farm, Inc., Sparks, Maryland: An 18th Century African American Freeman Potter in New York.
Brenda Hornsby-Heindl, Chapel Hill Preservation, and operator of Liberty Stoneware: Researching, building, and firing a salt glaze stoneware kiln. We will also be treated to demonstrations of pottery making by Brenda.
Debbie Miller, National Park Service archaeologist: Privy site archaeology in center city Philadelphia with emphasis on dipped wares.
Jonathan Rickard, author and collector: Forty years of researching, collecting, and writing about dipped wares.
Justin Thomas, TV professional, antiques dealer, and ceramics blogger, together with Joe Bagley, Boston city archaeologist: 18th century Charlestown redware: results from the Big Dig.
Jeff Evans, Proprietor and auctioneer, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Mount Crawford, Virginia: Ceramics at Auction in the Shenandoah Valley.
Louise Richardson, research associate at Strawberry Bank in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Spoils of War: A War of 1812 Privateer's Prize Ceramic Cargo, The auction of a British merchant vessel, loaded with British pottery & bound for Antigua when it was captured & brought into Portsmouth. Very important and rare original documents describe in detail the auction, buyers and the merchandise.
Don Carpentier will display some of the items from Spode that have never been shown before. Additionally, another display will be on Don’s newly discovered ancestor Potters from NJ, Asher Bissett from Old Bridge (began potting in 1816) & Xerxes Price from So. Amboy (began potting in 1801) and Abial Price, also from So. Amboy (began potting before 1830 in Mass.). The family potters worked until the 1880’s and marked many pieces.
4. Beginning Blacksmithing Limit: 6 Students
June 28-30 (3 Days) Fee: $375.00
This course is designed to familiarize the student with the basic techniques of Blacksmithing. The processes of drawing out, upsetting, riveting, welding, basic heat treating and managing the forge fire will be covered. Students will then begin by making their own set of forge tools. The remaining time wil be spent on small projects of the student’s choice.
Olof Jansson, blacksmith for almost 30 years specializing in making items for museums and historic sites in the Capital District of NY State and the Mohawk Valley.
5. Baking in Early American Ovens Limit: 8Students
June 28-30 (3Days) Fee: $300.00
Students will primarily focus on baking and reference Amelia Simmons' 'American Cookery', the first cookbook published in America in 1796. This was the first cookery book to utilize items native to North America...corn, pumpkins, etc. We will use a brick wall oven to make a variety of period dishes and also bake in a Dutch oven. We will also include a few of the English cookery books that were in use in America....Hannah Glasse, Elizabeth Raffald, and others.
Baked items will include pies & puddings, sweetmeats, small cakes and dessert items like syllabubs/creams.
Niel DeMarino- is a living history / culinary historian who is rather at home in the 18th century, he researches and produces period correct foodstuffs based on original receipts using only natural ingredients available to our 18th century ancestors. Niel has appeared in the PBS series The American Experience films titled “John & Abigail Adams” and “Alexander Hamilton”.
6. Tinsmithing I Limit: 8 students
August 5-9 (5 Days) Fee: $440.00
An introduction to the art of tinning designed to provide a basic working knowledge of the late 18th & early 19th century tinning tools, construction techniques & pattern layout. The history of American tinning is covered. Students construct several pieces of tin ware based on traditional designs, using period tools & methods.
William McMillen, Master Tinsmith, Glenmont NY
7. 19th Century Wet Plate Collodion Photography Limit: 10 Students
August 10-11 ( 2 Days) Fee: $ 475.00
During the mid to late 19th century the art and industry of the photograph was in a constant state of improvements and refinements. After the introduction of the Daguerrotype in 1839 new methods to improve on the reliability and cost of making photographs were being discovered.
One of those improvements came in 1857 with the introduction of the Wet Plate Collodion process. This process offered a cheaper and less toxic method of producing a photograph and also offered the photographer the ability of making multiple paper prints from a single negative.
With the introduction of the Wet Plate Collodion process photography and the photographic industry really began to spread to all corners of the globe.
Nationally renowned artists Claude Levet and Will Dunniway have both been working with the Wet Plate Collodion process since it’s current revival in 1988. Both studied under and worked with Master Collodion artist John Coffer in upstate New York.
Students will learn the making of ambrotypes (glass direct positives) and tintypes (Ferrotypes, tin plate direct positives), and glass negatives. Students are guided through the process step-by-step from the mixing, pouring, exposing and development of plates poured with wet collodion. The newest edition of the manual, Making the Wet Collodion Plate in 16 Steps manual by Will Dunniway is included in the 2 day workshop.
8. TINSMITHING II Limit: 8 students
August 12-16 (5 days) Fee: $475.00
Course is designed for those who already have experience & a good basic knowledge of construction methods as well as the use of standard tin tools. Students have access to a large collection of tin sconces, lanterns, chandeliers, candle sticks, crooked spout coffee pots, roasting kitchens, etc. which they are invited to examine, measure & copy with the expert help of the instructor. All tools & tin are supplied for the workshop but participants are encouraged to bring examples of tin ware & tools for examination, discussion & use.
William McMillen, Master Tinsmith, Glenmont NY
9. Historic Cemetery Preservation Limit: 12 Students
August19-21(3 Days) Fee: $425.00
This program will focus on the proper care, maintenance and repair of historic headstones in old cemeteries. We will begin with a lecture/demonstrate on history of headstone design and then the students will be shown the techniques of actually carving and lettering a stone by Karin Sprague.
Following that Joe Ferrannini will show recent work with original headstones that he has done and show the steps involved in the process. He will also explain how to evaluate and make a plan for the work that needs to be done. Following these lectures the students will be taught, both by demonstrations and actual hands-on work, how to properly clean and repair old headstones. Several old cemeteries will be visited that are near Eastfield and students will be able to work on some of the early headstones in the cemetery in front of the church at Eastfield. All materials will be supplied. Participants are encouraged to bring photos from their local cemeteries for discussion.
Joe Ferrannini proprietor of Grave Stone Matters in Hoosick Falls, NY and Karin Sprague Propietor of Karin Sprague Stone Carvers LLC • 904 Tourtellot Hill Rd. • No. Scituate, RI 02857
`10. Textile History-To have or not: How available were interior furnishing fabrics in post-revolutionary rural America, 1790 to 1825? Limit: 20 Students
August 23-25 (3days) Fee: $195.00
Looking at the wealth and commerce of the rural northeastern US in 1800, we’ll establish some context for examining this period of textile production and consumption.
What were considered middle class furnishing textiles for rural areas?
Where did they come from? And how did they get there?
Who was making them in rural America? And on what equipment? To answer these questions we will start with a short session on “How do we identify textiles and How do we know what we know?”
Discussions will include working with these sources: probate inventories, auction records, bills of lading, account books, draft books, city directories, tax records, gazetteers, fair premiums, newspapers, court and patent records.
We will look at historic interiors and Interior décor illustrations - the “vogue” versus the reality, and then we’ll examine historic documented textiles.
Instructor will include: Rabbit Goody, Textile Historian, Founder & Owner of Thistle Hill Weavers, and Jill Maney, Independent Scholar & Business Manager, Thistle Hill Weavers and Jon Maney, directoer of Hyde Hall, Cooperstown, NY, and others to be announced.
There will be a period Dinner served as part of the program in the Briggs tavern on the evening of August 24, at a charge of $25.00per person.
To register for this program please CALL 518-284-2729 or email: rabbitgoodythw@gmail.com
