80th American Crafts & Historic Homes Tour
Hazelton’s hooked rugs are all her own original designs. Inspirations come from antique quilts, tole trays, weather vanes, photos, geometric patterns and creative imagining. All rugs are hooked on new linen.
Handmade brooms are constructed of broomcorn and sapling handles or hand-shaped wooden handles. Various sizes of domestic brushes, including kitchen and clothing brushes, are made using only broomcorn and twine. The history of broom-making, including Shaker and Appalachian influences, are discussed during show demonstrations.
Mihills creates original pictures using a miniature needle and a single strand of cotton thread producing a series of approximately 1200 loops and stitches per square inch. The technique creates intense detail, surface texture, depth, and a sense of motion.
The technique was used on a larger scale for punched rugs in the 1800s. It was also used on a smaller scale for folk costumes.
She will be demonstrating the technique on a miniature rug.
Handmade, one at a time Carpetbags made in Woodstock VA. Made from upholstery fabric, with leather rope handles, fabric straps and brass or antique brass locking mechanisms. Wooden bottoms with brass stud feet. Inside pockets, some with zippers.
My carpetbags have been in movies like Tombstone, Bewitch, The Lone Ranger, Hell on Wheels (western), Last Man Standing and many more.
Durnell, 2022 Waterford Artisan of the Year, is a mixed media artist working in natural fiber, wood, repurposed antique or vintage fabrics, leather, and clay. She’s a storyteller and adventurer at heart. “If I could have Jules Verne over for dinner, I would.” She is also a collector and admirer of textiles, tools, and objects from the past and uses the carvings and collections to create the chapters of her life in imagery evocative of 17-19th century lithographs, literature, and satire. The provenance of materials often makes its way into the brief stories of each character as a way to punctuate their tales, to preserve old materials, and honor the methods for making them. Durnell uses only hand tools and prides herself on creating one-of-a-kind characters using wood she finds on her adventures, injecting a bit of humor, and promoting the old idea of “making do.” The characters look like they have lived a lot and have a story to tell. She feels her job, once they are at a show, is to connect them with the next leg of their journey.
Durnell will be doing a moderate amount of wood carving to show the method of choosing wood for her characters and the use of hand tools. She will be demonstrating clothing design and draping methods as well as the making of the tiny leather shoes. As always, the stories of the characters with the provenance of their vintage materials, are an integral part of her work. The collectors come to hear the tales!
Ratcliffe creates miniature quilts inspired by 19th c. quilts. Using the most effective elements in the design and color of 1800s. pieces, She stitches intricate miniatures adding contemporary interpretation. Each is a complete, backed quilt of cotton fabric, hemmed by hand. Quilt tops are sewn using traditional sewing-machine straight stitching and hand techniques such as straight stitching, cutwork applique, English paper piecing, and foundation piecing. She makes patterns chooses fabric based on the study of 19th c. textiles and quilt construction techniques, thus preserving and validating the early works of artistic expression. Quilts range from 6 to 13 inch squares and rectangles, about 1:12 scale, some with as many as 1,200 tiny pieces. Current work reflects the change in style from early chintz quilts to the bold graphics of later and current times. All quilts are presented archivally framed in wooden frames.
Withnell is passionate about fiber arts and particularly enjoys spinning yarns from animals she has bred, delivered, raised and cared for. Weaving allows her creative needs to explore color and texture, while designing unique items. Susan Withnell was the 2020 Waterford Fair Artisan of the Year!
Stanik is a second generation woodworker, and learned most of his skills by working with his father. He has worked with his hands and built furniture most of his life. His passion is to take pieces of rough lumber and fashion it into a fine piece of furniture. About 15 years ago he began to enjoy building furniture using reclaimed American Wormy Chestnut. All of the wood used is reclaimed from structures that have outlived their usage. This sets Yesteryear apart from other craftsmen as they are able to build wonderful furniture that has an incredible history. Most of the pieces built are of Shaker style. They learn the history of how the Shakers built their furniture. During this time in history, metal was hard to obtain and expensive, so they were forced to come up with methods to construct their furniture that achieved the purpose and would last for years. Stanik utilizes as many of these methods as they feel it is still superior to modern methods.
