1. 18th & 19th Century Paint History and Methodology Limit: 12 Students
June 2 (1 Day) Fee: $125.00
This program will begin with a presentation on the history, manufacture, and use of house painting pigments and binders in 18th and 19th century America. Participants will become familiar with many of the materials which they will be using during the second portion of the workshop. Students will participate in an interactive demonstration of making linseed-oil paints of the type most commonly found in 18th and 19th centuries. Participants will get hands on experience grinding pigments into oil with a traditional muller and slab, as well as an 1840’s cast-iron paint mill and then have the chance to apply each sample paint made to a board that they may take home.
Christian Goodwillie- Christian and his wife Erika Sanchez Goodwillie are involved in the making and installation of traditional Paints at Shaker sites, private homes, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mount Vernon, Montpelier, and a number of other historic sites and museums
2. Traditional Sign Painting Limit: 8 Students
June 3-5 (3 Days) Fee: $ 425.00
An introduction to the art of painting traditional signs will begin with and explanation of proper preparation and design layout. Students will be taught the techniques used for hand lettering a sign, what tools and materials are used and where to find period fonts to work from. Participants will actually spend days practicing hand lettering techniques, mixing colors, hand stripping and shadowing letters. Students may bring a small prepared sign board to paint if they like, otherwise we will provide some prepared boards to use personal projects.
Lloyd Fosby, has been a sign painter since 1969 working in all mediums, but specializing in hand lettering and stripping, Stephentown, NY
3. Textile History Forum
June 10-12, 2011.
The Textile History Forum brings together textile historians, students, researchers, museum curators, independent scholars, artisans, dealers, and collectors from around the country for a weekend of enthusiastic focus on textiles. The 2011 Forum will include papers on current textile research, workshops on spinning and weaving, panel discussions, a display of historic carpets under period lighting, and a close look at the wonderful private collections of Donald Carpentier, founder of Eastfield Village. Registration is $95. Special dinner at Eastfield Saturday: $20. Tour of Historic Cherry Hill textile collections on Sunday: $10. Participants may stay at Eastfield for free and experience 19th-century life, sleeping on rope beds, cooking on the hearth, and dining by candlelight. Call 518-284-2729 to register.
4. TINSMITHING I Limit: 8 students
June 13-17 (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
5. Redware in America 1650-1850
June 24-26 (3 Days) Fee: $465.00
Redware in a variety of forms has been in use in America since our early colonization. British and domestically-produced wares will be the focus of this program. While some Chinese wares were imported directly to this country, the British were busy making and sending us all sorts of red bodied wares based on Chinese models. At the same time a large number of local potteries in the US were making a spectacular array of inexpensive domestic redware for use in taverns, farm houses, kitchens and pantries. In the early 19th century cities like Philadelphia boasted potteries making nicely refined red bodied pots in competition with English imports. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of pots and shards for discussion. We will once again have an 18th century dinner on Saturday evening in the 1793 tavern.
Lectures will include:
An Overview of Redware in America. J. Garrison Stradling, together with his wife, Diana, is a New York City scholar dealer specializing in rare and important American artifacts, with a concentration on ceramics and glass.
“To Put You in Mind of a Red Pot Teapot” – the Story of English Red-bodied Ware during the 18th and 19th centuries, whether in stoneware or earthenware bodies. Dr David Barker is a freelance archaeologist, writer and lecturer and formerly Senior Archaeologist for Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Keeper of Archaeology at the City Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent. He Is the author of William Greatbatch – a Staffordshire Potter.
Red Earthenware Production in the Massachusetts Bay. Steven R Pendery, Ph.D. Acting Branch Chief, Archeology, Heritage Preservation, Planning & Compliance, National Park Service, Northeast Region, Lowell, Mass. Pendery is the former Boston city archaeologist.
From Lard Pots to Teapots: Hervey Brooks, Thomas Crafts, and the Making of Redware in Rural New England. Nan Wolverton, Ph.D., is a Museum and Decorative Arts Consultant specializing in the study of the material culture of New England and is the President of the China Students’ Club of Boston.
Art in Clay: North Carolina Moravian Pottery. Johanna M. Brown, Curator of Moravian Decorative Arts and Director of Collections, Old Salem Museums and Gardens, Winston-Salem, NC.
Long Island Redware. Anthony Butera, collector and contributor to Ceramics in America, will cover recent discoveries about the pots and potters of Huntington, Long Island.
The Union Village, Ohio, Shaker Pottery, 1811-1852. Beginning with the production of smoking pipes, the Shakers produced vast quantities of earthenware for their own use as well as that of "The World". While mostly plain and utilitarian, some examples show great potting skill and regional styles brought to Ohio by converts to the Shaker faith. Greg Shooner is licensed by a number of major museums to recreate redware examples from museum collections. He follows traditional techniques including the use of lead glazes to make his wares as authentic as the originals.
Pottery and Piety: Moravian Red Earthenware in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1742-1767. Brenda Hornsby Heindl, Independent Scholar, potter and proprietor of Liberty Stoneware, specializing in salt-glazed stoneware.
Redware Potting Demonstration. Greg Shooner, along with his wife, Mary are working redware potters in Oregonia, Ohio.
6. Historic Lighting Part I - 1780-1839
August 20-21 (2 days) Fee: $ 295.00
Many museum curators and personnel, as well as those restoring 18th and 19th century houses, question which kinds of lighting are appropriate for the period of their homes. This course introduces participants to the variety of lighting available from 1780-1839, the types of lamps used depending on locality and wealth, and how lamps and candleholders were placed in rooms to maximize their effectiveness. Images from period paintings, catalogues, and prints will be presented. We examine examples of early lighting devices including candle, gas, Argand, astral, Isis, and sinumbra lamps, as well as the common glass and tin lamps that burned whale oil. Changes in culture and technology and how they influenced daily life and lighting use are also be discussed.
There is a period dinner provided on Saturday night in the Briggs Tavern followed by a lighting demonstration and discussion.
Lectures include:
The Latest in Improved Lamps: What Was Available as Revealed in Period Catalogues, Broadsides and Ads. David Lauer, independent scholar& collector, Philadelphia, PA
Small House, Large House, Taverns, Shops, Factory and Streets: the Kinds and Quantities of Lighting Appropriate for Each. Phil Dunning, archeological researcher, Parks Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Light Without a Wick: Gaslights from 1782 to 1839
Parallel with developments in fluid lighting, an entirely different form of illumination was independently invented in at least three countries. Recent research has revealed the sad story of the American gas light pioneer. Working examples of early nineteenth-century gas lighting are demonstrated. Dan Mattausch, Smithsonian, National Museum of American History, Washington, DC
Technical Evolution of Lighting during the First Half of the 19th Century. The invention of the Argand burner had enabled the production of a multitude of lighting devices. While the lamps of the Federal Period mainly relied on animal and vegetable oils, the exploration of alternative fuel types have spiked the interest to develop new types of lighting. These devices eventually replaced oil lamps and heralded the beginning of new lamp forms of the Victorian period. This presentation will discuss how fuel types have determined the construction and function of burner mechanisms and how these have affected design and style of lamps. Heinz and Ursula Baumann, scholars in the history of fluid lighting & authors of numerous articles on lighting of the 19th century, Buffalo, NY.
How Lighting Affected Period Interiors: a Lecture and Demonstration. Both the quality and quantity of lighting in period rooms influenced furniture placement, color schemes, as well as carpet and wallpaper designs. We explore aesthetics of lighting designs that were drawn from both ancient and contemporary sources. Jon and Jill Maney: independent scholars, writers, collectors, dealers, Westford, NY
Repair, Restoration and Reproduction of Early Oil Lighting: Common Problems and Their Solutions. Joel Paradis, independent scholar & proprietor of JP Tinsmith, Westmoreland, NY
This program is offered jointly by Eastfield and the newly formed Historic Lighting Association (HLA): Library, Scholarly Papers, Photo Gallery, & Forum. Dedicated to the Preservation and Study of Lighting Technology from Early History to the Present.
Contact: Steve Pacitto email: gaslights@nyc.rr.com
or Joel Paradis 315-853-1444 email: jptinsmith@roadrunner.com
7. Making Traditional Sheet Iron Weathervanes. Limit 8 Students
August 5-7 (3 Days) Fee: $425.00
After an introductory session describing the history of early American sheet iron profile weathervanes, their construction and mounting details, participants will begin to design what they intend to make. A large collection of early weathervanes and early tin weathervane patterns from several early tin shops will be available for examination. Students will work on a small to medium size weathervane cutting, riveting and reinforcing them where necessary. On the second and third day we will be joined by a blacksmith who will show participants how to forge special parts, strapping and simple mounting mechanisms to complete the project.
William McMillen, Master Tinsmith, Glenmont NY, Don Carpentier, Director of Eastfiled Village, E Nassau, NY, Olof Jansson, Blacksmith for almost 30 years specializes in making items for Museums and Historic Sites in the Capital District of NY State and the Mohawk Valley.
8. Kitchens and Baths 1800-Present; Sensitive Restorations and Additions for modern living.
August 22-23 (2 Days) Fee: $295.00
Beginning in the early 19th century a variety of improvements began that would permanently change the way well live in our homes. In many areas both urban and rural running water began to appear in kitchens as did a totally new feature, the bathroom. As the century progressed, the need for cleanliness and work saving devices became a major goal. New, more efficient stoves and ranges were patented by the thousands and specialty items for the bathroom began to appear in catalogues. By the early 20th century our modern world began to appear in a parade of truly wonderful stoves, labor saving appliances, fully plumbed kitchens and baths in the newest fashions. Understanding how these improvements evolved and how they changed our architecture and lifestyles will be examined in depth, as well as the importance of saving important period features of these rooms.
The American Kitchen: 1800 to the Present. A great many factors influenced and shaped the evolution of the American kitchen through time. While improvements in cooking technology and domestic services helped spur this on, changes in architectural trends, domestic practices, and family life equally affected how the kitchen developed. A study of surviving period kitchens will explore key changes and features unique to their era. Eric Gradoia, architectural historian, Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker Architects, Albany, NY
Recognizing What You Have: How to discover the significance of your old house by the using investigative measures to reveal historic materials, construction techniques, decorative features and spatial organization. Each aspect will be illustrated by artifacts from the Eastfield collections. Learn how to get to know your house before undertaking your “improvements”. John I Mesick, Restoration Architect and Partner, Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker Architects, Albany, NY & Don Carpentier, Director Eastfield Village.
Preserving Integrity—Inserting a Modern Kitchen or Bath into the Old House: A discussion of various architectural approaches to the issues of retrofitting modern conveniences within historic interiors. How to preserve surviving historic features when confronted with contemporary notions of “must have amenities”. In short learning how “to do no harm”! John I Mesick, Restoration Architect and Partner, Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker Architects, Albany, NY
The development of the kitchen Stove in America: 1880-1930. David Erickson, Erickson’s Antique Stoves, Littleton, Mass.
Rural Plumbing and its History 1840’s to 1930’s
A practical talk on the moving of water from outside activity to an indoor necessity and all of the wonderful inventions and devices that involved water for the “modern” Kitchen and Bathroom. Walter Parker, Master Plumber, independent Scholar, Collector and owner of Walter K Parker II, Old School Plumbing
The Evolution of Kitchen Equipment from 1800-1900. Labor saving devices & fuel efficient inventions that changed the way we prepared food and what we ate. Don Carpentier, Director, Eastfield Village, E. Nassau, NY
From Ice Box to Monitor Top, 1900-1940. The development of Appliances and Gadgets in the early 20th century that would transform our modern kitchens. Karla Pearlstein & Aaron Boonshoft operate Restoring History, LLC., a restoration and design company based in Portland, OR , specializing in projects ranging from the Victorian era to 50’s Mid-century Modern.
9. Early 19th Century Hearthside Cooking. Limit: 10 Students
October 24-26 3(Days) Fee: 375.00
Participants will experience open fireplace cooking using tin roasting kitchens, an 18th century clock jack, a bake oven, and a large collection of early cooking equipment. The cooking will be done in the well-appointed kitchen of the Wm. Briggs tavern (1793). Students will be working with 19th Century
New England recipes.
Bake goods will be made the first day followed by a Formal 19th Century Tea in the afternoon. A typical farm family meal will be prepared day two. Typical Tavern Fare will be prepared on the last day. All of the food prepared will be eaten by the participants, and cleanup will be done in the large early stone sink in the tavern kitchen.
Chip Leis an interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village and Lead interpreter for the Dinner in a Country Village Program at the village.
