SCOTTS, Mich. – The third annual gathering and meeting of the SeatWeavers’ Guild will be held July 30-Aug. 1, 2010 at Tillers International in Scotts, Michigan. Tillers International is a non-profit organization dedicated to international rural development and specializing in farming with oxen. At the Tillers International Cook’s Mill Learning Center, classes are offered in various farming techniques, as well as blacksmithing and metal work, timber framing, woodworking, cheesemaking, and other farm-related artisanal skills.
Within the agricultural setting, members of the SeatWeavers’ Guild will learn about the ancient chair-caning craft. The workshop titled “Seating with a Twist” will demonstrate such rare chair seat weaving techniques as Danish cord, hand-twisted corn shucks, cattail leaf rush and bulrush; and more
An exhibit of caned and woven chair seats will be open to the public throughout the weekend, but the actual “gathering and meeting” will be for current guild members only. A separate annual membership meeting will be at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 31.
Membership applications and reservations for the special event will be accepted through July 7. View complete details at the official site of the SeatWeavers’ Guild, http://www.SeatWeaversGuild.org.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Palm Beach Appraisers Association (PBAA) will partner with US Antique Shows at all four of the promoter’s upcoming antiques events, including the New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, the Miami Beach Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, and the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show.
“We’re thrilled to forge this unique relationship with US Antique Shows,” said Chris Hayes, president of Palm Beach Appraisers Association. “As a result, we’ll be able to enter and connect with additional antiques, jewelry, watch, luxury estates dealers from around the world.”
Recent industry reports show that more Americans are planning and “actively shopping” for big-ticket items, including new and used cars, appliances, fine jewelry and luxury pieces. “In light of a recent uptick in big-ticket spending, our partnership with the Palm Beach Appraisers Association seems more relevant than ever,” said Andrea Canady, US Antique Shows’ fair director. “This on-going relationship provides our exhibitors with direct access to incomparable levels of expertise in appraising, selling, purchasing and auctioneering of fine jewelry and antiques.”
With many of the major luxury and major retailers showing an increase in sales due to increasing consumer confidence, consumer spending is rising. This trend is just in time for the New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, July 23-26, 2010, at the Metropolitan Pavilion, located at 125 West 18th Street, New York, New York. The show brings together more than 100 of the finest dealers showcasing rare and signed pieces, a wide variety of antique jewelry, exceptional jewels and gemstones and unique designer pieces, as well as the finest in personal timepieces representing multiple periods throughout jewelry history.
Show hours are from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 23; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, July 26. The one-time admission fee of $15 is valid for all four days of the show.
For additional partnership information about US Antique Shows, please call 239-732-6642 or visit www.usantiqueshows.com.
Palm Beach Appraisers Association is offering all new members a one month’s free membership. To enroll, log on to www.palmbeachappraisersassociation.org.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival continued its steady growth with sold-out dealer spaces and very active buying during the June 4-6 edition of the popular show. Festival owners Kay and Bill Puchstein reported that interest on the part of visitors was especially high in the areas of antique guns and 1950s vintage items. [Antique firearms do not require a Federal Firearms license, and a permit is not required to own or carry one.]
One dealer had great success with vintage television sets. He sold three sets in working condition that had the usual arrangement of small screens, around 12 inches, but housed in much larger 30 inch cases. Buyers were delighted to find working models. Original Florida Highwayman R. L. Lewis demonstrated his painting technique, while his son R. L. III, explained the method and took orders. One bystander was curious about the assortment of very large brushes used by Lewis. He replied, “That’s so I can paint fast.” And paint fast he did, to keep up with orders.
The new WPBAF summer series of two-day shows kicks off on July 3-4. Other summer shows are scheduled for Aug. 7-8, Sept. 4-5 and Oct. 2-3 and will featured reduced booth rent. Some dealer space is still available for the summer.
One booth that will not available is the prominent lobby booth occupied by Americana dealers Nancy and Woody Straub. The Straubs are veteran dealers in American fine art circa 1860-1945 and American furniture ranging from the colonial era to the Arts & Crafts period of the early 20th century. They have been antiques dealers for more than 40 years and have family ties to the business going back beyond that. Nancy and Woody have been regular exhibitors at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival since Kay and Bill Puchstein took over the show in late 2008.
The most popular items shown in the Straub booth are paintings by listed American artists. Younger buyers are attracted to American regional artists of various art colonies. The Straubs recognize the need for dealers to maintain a diversity of inventory, and they buy and sell authentic cowboy gear and American Indian material, and sdisplay hundreds of small accessory items from many periods in their booth at West Palm Beach.
The popular “early buyers admission” feature will be continued in the summer, starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday before the regular show opening time of 10 a.m. The $25 early buyer ticket is good for the entire weekend.
Summer show hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Adult daily admission $7, seniors $6, with a discount coupon for adult admission available on the website. Anyone under 16 is admitted free. There is no charge for parking at the fairgrounds.
The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fair located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Fla., 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of 441/SR7. For more information contact the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival at 941-697-7475, e-mail info@wpbaf.com or log on to www.wpbaf.com.
Artist: Bonnie MacLean; date: Aug. 1-6, 1967; venue: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco; performers: Muddy Waters, Buffalo Springfield, Richie Havens, Dan Bruhn’s Fillmore Lights. Image courtesy collection of Houston Freeburg.
TOLEDO, Ohio—Of all the visual art produced in the late 1960s, the most influential may be San Francisco psychedelic concert posters. Many are instantly recognizable because of their innovative use of text, psychedelic colors and coded messages. Not only do the posters visually define the period, but they also have shaped graphic design ever since.
This summer the Toledo Museum of Art is spotlighting these influential posters in a special exhibition. Some 150 posters from the Houston Freeburg Collection will be seen in The Psychedelic 60s: Posters From the Rock Era in the Museum’s Canaday Gallery through Sept. 12. Admission is free.
The highly collectible posters will rock the memories of many baby boomers while introducing newer generations to American popular culture symbols from the era of acid rock, free love and war protests.
Influenced by the surrealist, art nouveau, pop and op art movements, the artists include the legendary Wes Wilson, “father” of the 1960s rock poster movement; giants Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly, whose work is strongly tied to the custom car and hot rod movement; Victor Moscoso, creator of the logo for the Family Dog, a collective that sponsored some of the earliest psychedelic concerts; Bonnie MacLean, wife of Fillmore concert promoter Bill Graham; Detroit graphic designer David Singer, and Lee Conklin, who made more than 30 posters to promote acts at the Fillmore.
The musicians who played at the Avalon Ballroom, the Fillmore East and West and other venues are recognizable, too: Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, the Byrds, Fleetwood Mac, Cream, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Joan Baez and others.
Of special note are 50 posters with fluorescent or phosphorescent colors that glow in the dark and represent the height of black light design. The themes often relate to the racial, sexual, political, feminist and drug issues then whirling through American society.
“Certainly there is a popular appeal to this exhibition, but there also is real art historical substance as well,” said Amy Gilman, the museum’s associate curator of contemporary and modern art. “These artists and their work had a very profound influence on graphic design and actually all print media since that time.”
In mounting the exhibition, the Museum has taken care to replicate the atmosphere of the late ’60s through sound, staging and lighting, including the use of black light when appropriate, so viewers become immersed in elements of the counter-culture the posters depict.
“There are many artists, many styles and a good range of bands,” said Gilman. “A lot of people did Jimi Hendrix posters, and you’ll see how different people had a different take on him. The black light posters are really varied. Some have a handmade look, showing their underground roots. The exhibition presents a great window on that time period.”
Admission to the Toledo Museum of Art is free. The Psychedelic 60s: Posters from the Rock Era and related programming is made possible in part by KeyBank, and with support from members of the Toledo Museum of Art and the Ohio Arts Council, which helps to fund programs with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
The Museum is located at 2445 Monroe St. at Scottwood Avenue, just west of the downtown business district and one block off I-75. For general information, visitors can call 419-255-8000 or 800-644-6862, or visit www.toledomuseum.org.
Refer to the Web site for dates of the free Summer of Love Film Series and free hands-on activities for all ages.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Artist: Wes Wilson; date: April 1,2, 1967; venue: Winterland, San Francisco; performers: The Byrds, Moby Grape, Andrew Staples. Image courtesy collection of Houston Freeburg. Artist: Bonnie MacLean; date: Nov. 2-4, 1967; venue: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco; performers: Big Brother and the Holding Company, Pink Floyd, Richie Havens, Glenn McKay’s Head Lights. Collection of Houston Freeburg.
Santiago Cucullu, The Fate Await (Serious Delirium or You Will Die Tomorrw), 2005, Courtesy of the artist and LABOR, Mexico City DENVER (AP) – An aging Greek-revival building known to most residents only as the place to pay property taxes is coming into bloom – thanks to a lush makeover from a Mexico City artist among those bringing exhibits to Colorado in an experimental cultural exchange that starts next month.
The McNichols building in Civic Center Park, built to be the city’s first library in 1909, will be the main stage of the inaugural “Biennial of the Americas” beginning July 1, an event that will feature artists from 35 Latin American countries throughout the Denver area. Roundtables around the city to discuss poverty, health care, energy and education will feature Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, U.S. Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has said he hopes the city will host the event every even-numbered year.
Jeronimo Hagerman, 42, the Mexico City artist decorating the outside of the building, said his goal is to create a “tropical experience” for the people visiting the neoclassical building. This week, workers started setting up rings around the top of the Greek columns in front of the building to hold plants with long, showy green leaves. The plants are meant to complement the leafy, concrete designs at the top of each column, Hagerman said.
He calls it a plant “intervention.”
“The only thing I’m doing is showing off what’s already there,” Hagerman said in Spanish. The courtyard at the front entrance of the building will have beach chairs below strands of the pink cloth used at street markets in Mexico, creating a “pool of pink light under the plants,” he said.
McNichols will be the site of musical performances three nights a week and have art from Latin-American artists, including works from an Argentinean who fashions murals out of vinyl and a Peruvian who specializes in video and animation.
The last time the building was open to the public to this extent was in the 1950s, before the library moved and the Denver Water Board remodeled the space for offices in 1955. The city’s treasury department later moved in.
By the time organizers of the biennial decided to use it, the building looked nothing like it did when it was first built, said Mike Moore, design principal at the Boulder-based Tres Birds Workshop, the firm that undertook the remodeling of McNichols.
The high ceilings and natural sunlight that flowed into the open spaces of what used to be the library changed into boxed-in rooms with low ceilings to accommodate offices.
“Over time the integrity of the building was destroyed,” Moore said. “When we got a hold of it November, it was offices that were depressing.”
Moore said remodeling the inside of the building has meant stripping it down to its original form, creating more space with higher ceilings and allowing more natural light.
The remodeling inside the building is expected to be complete Thursday, Moore said.
Admission into the building will be $9 for an individual one-day pass and $20 for a family, said Rachel Chaparro, a spokeswoman for the biennial. Students, seniors and military personnel will pay $5. A monthly pass will cost $35.
Exhibits will also be shown at other places around the city. The Museum of Contemporary Art, for example, will have a large-scale reproduction of the first-ever particle accelerator and a light display mapping the migration of people from Mexico into the U.S. The Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science will also have exhibits.
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Online: http://www.biennialoftheamericas.org
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WS-06-16-10 1835EDT
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Miwa Matreyek, Dreaming of Lucid Living, Live Performance Artist, image courtesy of the artist
Attendance was up 15 percent over last year at the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show. Image courtesy of US Antique Shows.
LAS VEGAS – US Antique Shows today reported strong sales and a 15 percent increase in attendance over last year at the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show, an annual trade-only event. The show was held at MGM Grand during Jewelry Week, June 3-6.
The four-day show featured more than 300 national and international dealers that exhibited unique vintage and one-of-a-kind pieces. A sample of the beautiful merchandise exhibited included an amazing 7.34-carat pigeon blood Burmese ruby and diamond ring and an 18-karat yellow gold plique-a-jour diamond and emerald dragonfly brooch. Other unique pieces included heavy Georgian and Victorian jewelry that has intrinsic value and in great condition, such as a large gold and 3 carats of multicolored sapphire locket engraved with Peony blossoms.
“The gate saw a record number of buyers who were actively purchasing at this year’s show. This increase in attendees is a reflection of the stabilization of our industry,” said Andrea Canady, fair director for the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show. “This unprecedented number of dealers who came out to our show and purchased exceptional one-of-a-kind items for their customers proves the resilience of the antique and estate jewelry industry.”
Exhibitor comments on the last day of the show were favorable.
“It was the best and most high energy show we’ve had in years,” said John T. Haynes of John T. Haynes Inc. “The show had a lot of buying and selling activity.”
Todd Denaburg with Levy’s Fine Jewelry said, “The show has been much better than we thought it would be and the same has been said by all the other exhibitors I spoke to.”
Next year’s Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show will be held at our new location, the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. The show is scheduled for June 2-5, 2011. The next show for US Antique Shows is the fourth annual New York Antique Jewelry & Watch Show being held July 23-26 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.
For details call (702) 485-2219 or visit www.USAntiqueShows.com.
Don’t be burned by fiery opalescence. Learn to shoot like the pros by attending Will McGuffin’s seminar ‘Photographing Your Glass’ at the Eastern States Early American Pattern Glass Society Meeting. Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates. HARRISONBURG, Va. – All members of the Early American Pattern Glass Society are cordially invited to attend the 2010 Eastern States EAPGS Meeting in Harrisonburg, Va., Wednesday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010. The event will take place at the Courtyard Marriott Harrisonburg and at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates’ auction gallery in nearby Mt. Crawford.
The meeting will begin on Wednesday evening with an informal member gathering and will conclude on Saturday and Sunday with Jeff Evans’ Sixteenth Annual cataloged auction of Early American pattern glass. The sale will feature more than 4,500 pieces, and Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
The Thursday agenda includes member glass sales and displays at the Courtyard Marriott, followed by a reception at “Sites House,” the historic circa-1800 home of Jeff and Beverley Evans.
Seminar sessions will be conducted at the Evans gallery on Friday. Planned seminar presentations include a talk by Jeff Evans on early flint EAPG, a presentation by Will McGuffin on “Photographing Your Glass,” a book-signing talk by Joanne Autenreith, author of a new book on the Co-operative Flint Glass Company; a presentation by Dean Six on “The Collections of the West Virginia Museum of American Glass,” and a pre-auction gallery walk with Jeff Evans.
A registration fee of $45 per person covers the Thursday evening reception, morning coffee, tea and muffins on Friday; and a box lunch on Friday. Registrants will make their own arrangements for all other meals. The registration fee also defrays the cost of other expenses of the meeting.
Registration forms and checks for the registration fee (made payable to Eastern States EAPGS) should be sent to Jim and Ann Walters at 4479 Drifton Drive, Columbus, OH 43227-2532 before Aug. 15, 2010.
To contact Jeffrey S. Evans & Assoc., call 540-434-3939, ext. 140 or 141; or e-mail info@jeffreysevans.com. Visit them online at www.jeffreysevans.com.
Visitors enjoy the open-air country atmosphere at Round Lake Antiques festival. Image courtesy of Allman Promotions. CLAYTION, N.Y. – Allman Promotions will host the 38th annual Round Lake Antiques Festival and the 27th annual Great American Antiquefest for the summer enjoyment of visitors and residents of Upstate New York. The Round Lake Antiques Festival, 20 miles north of Albany and 8 miles south of Saratoga Springs, will be held June 26-27. Great American Antiquefest will be held at Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, N.Y., 8 miles west of Syracuse on July 23-25.
Both events will feature more than 200 quality dealers. The Round Lake Antiques Festival, the Capitol District’s largest, oldest and most popular antiques and collectibles show, features exhibitors in a park-like setting that has drawn crowds in excess of 10,000 people for the last 20 years. The Round Lake Antiques Festival is sponsored by the Women’s Round Lake Improvement Society, which uses proceeds to help fund the town’s library.
The annual three-day Great American Antiquefest routinely attracts dealers from across the United States and Canada and 8,000 to 10,000 customers. Antiquefest, Syracuse’s oldest outdoor antiques show, will feature acres of quality antiques, abundant and delectable foods and amenities that make shopping easy, including bulky item pickup services and free directories.
This year’s Antiquefest will feature a special display and discussion on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Jan and Harold Reichard, local history enthusiasts, attired in costumes of the period, will share their knowledge and items from their collection, relating to the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. Of note, on display, will be a piece of the bunting from the exterior of Lincoln’s coffin. Harold will talk about the last hours of Lincoln’s life.
The Round Lake Antiques festival has free admission with free parking and free shuttle service to offsite parking.
General admission to Great American Antiquefest is $6. Early buyers’ admission takes place Friday, July 23, from 9 a.m. to noon. An early buyer pass costs $20 and is good for unlimited re-entry to the show all three days.
Other upcoming Allman promotions events include the Round Lake Arts and Crafts Festival, Aug. 21-22; the Syracuse Antiques Show at the New York State Fairgrounds, Nov. 27-28; the Venice Florida Antiques Show, Jan. 8-9 and Feb. 26-27; the Old Naples Antiques Show in Naples, Fla., Jan. 15-16 and Feb. 19-20; the Punta Gorda, Fla., Antiques Show, Jan. 22-23; the Holliston Mass Antiques Show, Feb. 26-27; and the Greater Syracuse Antiques Expo at the New York State Fairgrounds, March 12-13.
For more information, contact Allman Promotions at (315) 686-5789, e-mail allman@gisco.net or visit the website at www.allmanpromotions.com for complete schedule and venue details.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
A booth at Round Lake offers your choice of antique dog paintings. Image courtesy of Allman Promotions. This booth offers a selection of Native American basketwork. Image courtesy of Allman Promotions. An early American chest and majolica umbrella stand seem at home together in this booth. Image courtesy of Allman Promotions.
NAPA, Calif. – American creativity, past and present, has been a driving force in shaping the spirit of the American Folk Art Festival. On Saturday, May 1, this creative spirit will again be alive and well in the heart of the Napa Valley, as knowledgeable dealers and talented artists come together to showcase and sell many wonderful examples of both antique and contemporary American folk art.
The event is the third annual American Folk Art Festival, again being held on the grounds of the beautiful Laird Family Estate Winery, 5055 Solano Avenue in Napa from 12 noon until 5 p.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Napa Valley Museum located in nearby Yountville, California.
The festival is open to the public, and a $10 admission will be charged. A wonderful array of folk art will be available from purchase, including everything from whirligigs, gameboards, tramp art and dolls, to braided and hooked rugs, quilts, paintings and papier-mache creations.
Featured wood sculptor Freeland Tanner will be present with several examples of his works inspired by tramp art. Freeland’s work has been featured in the book Tramp Art: Another Notch, Folk Art from the Heart by renowned collector and dealer, Clifford Wallach.
Festival guests can enjoy Laird Family Estate wines, refreshments and light appetizers throughout the afternoon and listen to live music provided by Pacific Chamber Jazz. All of this is included with the $10 admission.
The Napa Valley Museum is dedicated to promoting the cultural and environmental heritage of the Napa Valley. The museum’s special, changing exhibits represent a diverse range of subjects from fine arts to history to natural sciences. They are committed to presenting exhibits that will entertain and educate the local community as well as visitors from around the world. The Napa Valley Museum is located at 55 Presidential Circle, Yountville, California.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Image courtesy of American Folk Art Festival Image courtesy of American Folk Art Festival Image courtesy of American Folk Art Festival Image courtesy of American Folk Art Festival Image courtesy of American Folk Art Festival
Kay and Bill Puchstein are adding a full summer schedule to their West Palm Beach Antiques Festival series.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – “Everyone knows there is not a whole lot of antiquing going on during the summer in Florida. We are going to change that and make West Palm Beach a year round destination for antiques and collectibles,” said Kay and Bill Puchstein, owners of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
Responding to increased dealer and customer interest and bucking the current trend in the industry, the Puchsteins announced an agreement with the South Florida Fairgrounds to include the scheduling of summer shows for the mid-2010 season in addition to the regular November to June shows. Bill Puchstein noted, “Many dealers who used to set up at the old West Palm Beach summer shows years ago have told us that the summer shows were always their best shows of the year.”
The new format for the summer shows will be a two-day affair, Saturday and Sunday instead of the normal three-day event during the regular season. Summer show dates will be July 3-4, August 7-8, September 4-5 and October 2-3; with a full day of setup for dealers on Fridays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In another welcome move, the Puchsteins have lowered dealers’ booth rent by 15 percent over the normal show fee. The popular “early buyers admission” feature will be continued in the summer starting at 8 a.m. on Saturdays before the regular show opening time of 10 a.m.. The $25 early buyer ticket is good for the entire weekend.
Summer show hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Adult daily admission $7, seniors $6 with a $1 discount coupon for adult admission available on the Web site. Anyone under 16 is admitted free. There is no charge for parking at the fairgrounds.
The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fair located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Fla., 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of 441/SR7. For additional information call 941-697-7475 or e-mail info @wpbaf.com.
