Decorative Arts Center of Ohio -- Reese-Peters House - Blog

Haiku Rocks! in New Kids' Classes

2/24/2022

While writing haiku is a fun experience, this type of poetry is often a misunderstood genre, Ohio Arts Council Teaching Artist Jennifer Hambrick says.

“While some may think haiku shoehorns them into writing just three lines, it’s more than that, because it encourages simplicity and cleaning your mind, relaxing and being in the moment,” the award-winning poet said.

Hambrick will host two classes in the coming weeks at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio that give participants a glimpse into this historical and popular form of poetry.

These include a Haiku Rocks! course from 2 to 3 p.m. April 3 for children ages 9 to 12, as well as a What Is Haiku? course from noon to 1:30 p.m. April 10 for teens age 12 to 18.

“Each of these workshops is going to guide the participants to be in the moment, to tap into their own experiences, to look a little bit backward and connect some past experiences when writing these lovely poems,” Hambrick said.

The Haiku Rocks workshop will also serve as an introduction to haiku for many participants, focusing on how to write this type of poetry and incorporate sensory experiences.

“The participants will be given a smooth rock to write their haiku on with colored sharpies,” Hambrick said. “They can then take the rocks home or leave them somewhere in the community.”

While writing poetry can be intimidating, haiku offers an opportunity for someone to write something short that packs a punch, she says.

“I think a lot of times folks are a little bit afraid to write poems, that maybe they learned that poems need to rhyme or be very long,” Hambrick said. “They won’t have that experience with haiku. It’s a shorter genre but also rooted in sensory experiences. It’s about bringing your own memories and experiences in the world into these poems, so there’s nothing really scary or intimidating about haiku.”

In recent years, Ohio has emerged as a hotbed of haiku activity, Hambrick says.
“There has been increasing interest among adults in the state,” she said. “It’s a genre that is defined by fun.”

It’s also a way to learn more about a different culture, since haiku emerged centuries ago in Japan as the opening part of a longer poem called regna.

Hambrick is also one of four award-winning poets from Central Ohio who will read and discuss poems inspired by the Hindsight exhibition. This special event will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. April 10, and joining Hambrick are Chiquita Mullins Lee, Pat Snyder Hurley and Linda Fuller-Smith.

'HINDSIGHT' Artists Preserve Memories Through Paintings, Objects

1/28/2022

Below: Curators Andrew Richmond and Hollie Davis

Capturing the simplicity of earlier days in rural Ohio, memory painters offer unassuming visual interpretations of life in the Midwest. Their work will be on display in a new exhibit at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, called HINDSIGHT: The Art of Looking Back. The exhibition will run January 29 through April 24.

For curators Andrew Richmond and Hollie Davis, the exhibit is an opportunity to pull back the curtains and see the many layers of stories that each piece tells.
“We are in a public moment, where we are looking at nostalgia and monuments, and the context in which the storyteller tells the story changes constantly,” Richmond said.

Often compared with the work of the New York-born Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses, whose paintings feature nostalgic interpretations of the New England landscape, the Ohio painters in Hindsight offer similar snapshots of life in the Buckeye state.

Artists featured in the exhibit include Leuty McGuffey Manahan, Paul Patton, Harold Everett Bayer, Charles Owens and Tella Kitchen. Richmond says Menahan’s work serves as a great example of how a painting can share a deeper story that goes beyond face value.

“She’s painting warm and fuzzy memories of churning butter and cutting ice, but it wasn’t really that fun,” he said. “This is back-breaking, grinding work.”

Davis says many of the paintings in the exhibition show how living during a particular time period could be difficult. Many of the nostalgic paintings can also be relatable to exhibition visitors today.

“We also chose examples that you can see are not so subtle,” she said. “In Manahan’s painting, Mother’s Day, the house is in complete disarray and kids are everywhere. A woman is in the middle of it working away. (The artist) was not sold on the nostalgia of the good old days, either.”

In addition to paintings, the exhibition will include three-dimensional “memory objects,” including photographs of colonial-style interiors and gardens taken by the early 20th-century New England minister Wallace Nutting, as well as some of Nutting’s reproduction of colonial-era furniture.

“We try to bring interesting objects in,” Richmond said. “In the past, we had extensive interpretive labels. With this one, there’s going to be basic information. It’s really a chance for people to get in and engage with the objects on their own terms, to think about them and their memories, and how we preserve and consolidate our own memories.”

A native Ohioan, Richmond received a bachelor’s degree in history from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in American Material Culture from the Winterthur Museum and the University of Delaware. After more than a decade in the world of antiques and art auctions, he is now a certified personal property appraiser and decorative arts adviser.

With a passion for Ohio decorative arts, Andrew has lectured and published widely on the subject. His previous exhibitions were Equal in Goodness: Ohio Decorative Arts, 1788-1860 (2011), A Tradition of Progress: Ohio Decorative Arts, 1860-1945 (2015), and An Ohio Childhood: 200 Years of Growing Up (2016, co-curated with Davis).

Hailing from the mountains of central West Virginia, Davis is a librarian by training, having received degrees in English from West Virginia Wesleyan University and library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After years working in public libraries, she began working for an online antiques auction price database, which she now owns.

In addition to co-curating An Ohio Childhood, Hollie provided significant research and writing assistance for both Equal in Goodness and A Tradition of Progress. She is the lead author of “Beneath the Surface,” a monthly column about working and living with “old stuff” in the Maine Antiques Digest.

Above: Mother's Day by Leuty McGuffey Manahan.

Three Centuries of Valentines on display at DACO

1/27/2022

Reflecting nearly 150 years of valentines, a new exhibition at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio is sure to steal the hearts of visitors.

The exhibition, “Valentines: Tokens of Love,” will run Jan. 29 through Feb. 27 and will feature hundreds of Valentine’s Day cards and mementos ranging from the late 1700s to the 1950s.

Two special Curator’s Talks will take place in February with Dr. George Johnson, who curated the exhibition with his wife, Jeanne. The talks will take place at noon and 2 p.m., Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Cost is $10 for members or $5 for members with prepaid registration. Admission at the door is $15. Register here for the noon talk and here for the 2 p.m. talk.

Dr. Johnson shared some of the ways suitors declared their love and how the act of giving a Valentine evolved into a favorite children’s activity every year.

What are some of the highlights from the exhibition that visitors can look forward to seeing? We will have Valentines from the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s on the main floor. One of the earliest ones has a date of 1823 and a letter that goes with it. They will be grouped by decades. Visitors will see how they change over the years - graphically, artistically and historically. As we get into the 1850s and 1860s, we see that they begin to get mass-produced as opposed to hand-crafted.

What did mass production of Valentine’s Day cards look like during this time? They were made in a workshop, almost like an assembly line, and usually done by ladies who would have a bunch of materials around them to make the cards. It wasn’t a machine or assembly line like you’d see today. The ladies got to pick and choose the materials as they assembled them. There’s a certain element of style that’s all the same, but there is also a lot of variety and small elements that are different.

How did the inkwork vary over the years? Mostly all of the older Valentines were hand-done and the writing on them is in ink calligraphy. In the 1930s, there was copper-plate printing. Images were printed as an outline, the same as you would see in a newspaper, then hand-water colored with other pieces added to it, such as gold or silver paper trim, dried flowers and embellishments like that.

When did we start to see manufacturers use modern-day practices to create Valentines? When we move into the 1870s and 1880s, they created mechanical Valentines. You’ll see layers to them and wheels that spin, and hidden messages were a big thing. It’s hard sometimes to put yourself into the mind of a suitor. I like to think that they were thinking, “I want to tell her I love her, but I don’t want her dad to get bent out of shape.” The messages were hidden, and the boy could tell the girl where to look.

Did Valentines ever go above and beyond in meaning? Valentines were proposals, and often had a gold ring in the paper. There were even proposals for elopements. One of the most interesting is a Valentine from 1820 that was a puzzle purse. They would tell people’s futures by sharing messages on the sides of them. A tab or silk cord would allow it to expand. It’s all paper engineering. I like that time period because they were very clever with their structure and design.

What have been some of your favorites from your collection? In the 1900s to 1920s, the most popular Valentines were fold-down or fold-out Valentines. They were mechanical, creating a very three-dimensional piece. Simple ones had two layers and more complicated ones had six or seven layers. These allowed you to look through the 3D piece and were very fragile. They were usually made in Germany at this point in time and the background of the card was printed separately. Workers picked the images and assembled them with flowers. These are some of my favorites because they are very elaborate and come in all different shapes, from taxis and boats to carriages, children, birds and angels.

When did school Valentines become popular? In the 1930s to 1950s, most of the Valentines we have are school Valentines. Before that, Valentines were for adults. Into the 1950s, kids began exchanging them at school and building Valentine boxes for classmates. Some of them that are my favorites from that time period are homemade ones from the 1930s. They tell a story of those people badly affected by depression and those who still had money. You can see each of the classes in the Valentines they gave to each other.

Do any of the class Valentines stand out to you? One that sticks out in my mind is a small Christmas card that was recycled for a Valentine’s Day card. I find those very poignant. That’s what that kid had to give. Some others are cut out of catalogs and others are nice commercially made pieces from the time. It really shows the stratification of classes during the Great Depression. World War II Valentines depicted what was going on in the war. Some were sent from camps where soldiers were stationed up until they were deployed. Some sent them to wives, and the return address is a camp or APO. So those are always interesting. The historian in you always wonders if that is the last card that she got and if he made it home.

daco welcomes reeves as weekend manager

1/16/2022

The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio is pleased to welcome Mary Anne Reeves as our new Weekend Manager. She is responsible for all museum and museum shop operations during our weekend hours.

With a graduate degree in art history, she worked for 16 years at the Ohio Historic Preservation office in Athens, Ohio, where she still resides. Over the course of her career, Reeves has taught courses related to architecture and history at Ohio University, Hocking College, Rio Grande University and Columbus State Community College.

Reeves says she’s excited to work at DACO, where she’s been a loyal patron for many years. “I was drawn to DACO because it combines my love of art, architecture and meeting new people," she said.

Welcome to DACO!

DACO Names Schorr Director of Art Education

12/30/2021

The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (DACO) has named Lisa Schorr its new Director of Art Education. The promotion comes after nearly 15 years of teaching a variety of art classes at the Wendel Center for Art Education at DACO.

“Lisa is well-known in our community as a passionate and dedicated teacher and artist. We are thrilled to have her leading our arts education program here at DACO,” says Executive Director Jason Crabill. “Whether she is running our children’s summer camp programs or meeting with her group of loyal Wednesday Watercolor students, Lisa puts a special touch on everything she does. We are looking forward to bringing new and innovative education programming and partnerships to DACO under Lisa’s leadership.”

Schorr brings to DACO a strong foundation of art skills, which take many varied forms. She found her gift at a young age, channeling her creativity into painting, among other mediums, and as a hairstylist. After giving teaching a try, she knew she had found her passion. She studied with many artists to continue to build her foundation.

“Anything that makes people light up is my favorite thing to teach,” Schorr says. “No matter what I am teaching, if (the students) are enjoying it, it’s worth every minute.”

Schorr’s responsibilities include developing an ongoing art education curriculum, hiring teaching artists and instructors and coordinating partnerships with local schools and organizations. She will also create educational opportunities that enhance each DACO exhibition.

“I feel very privileged to be such an integral part of the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio,” says Schorr. “We have such a deep-rooted history here, but we are also working with the future. Kids and young adults are learning new things here.”
Among her goals in her new role are introducing new classes in areas that DACO has not recently explored and ensuring that the community feels home at DACO.

“I want as many people as possible to experience art education at DACO and learn something new or improve their artistic skills. Maybe they will even discover something new inside of them,” says Schorr.

'A Victorian christmas' arrives at daco

11/2/2021

Visitors to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (DACO) will travel back in time to experience “A Victorian Christmas” this holiday sea

The exhibition, which opens Nov. 6, 2021, will run through Jan. 2, 2022. Curators George Johnson and Randall Thropp carefully considered each component of the exhibition to maintain its authenticity.

Featured in the exhibition are an assortment of Christmas trees adorned with authentic 19th-century Victorian ornaments from Johnson’s personal collection
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“Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children, and for Christmas, they set up a tree for each of their children,” Johnson said. “So we’re going to put up eight trees plus one Christmas pyramid, which is a German tradition.”

A Christmas pyramid is a carousel-like structure that can vary in size and dates back more than 200 years. The pyramid that is part of the “A Victorian Christmas” exhibition will feature four different platforms, with a windmill at the top.

“Victoria’s grandfather and great-great grandfather were German, and Prince Albert was German, so German Christmas trees were no stranger to them,” Johnson said. “Princess Victoria wrote in a diary about going to her grandparents’ house and seeing their decorations.”

In addition to authentic Victorian ornaments, electric candles will adorn each of the trees to replicate the use of real candles used during the 19th century time period. Victorian-era toys will sit under the trees, with nearby mantles decorated with antique Christmas decorations.

Visitors will also get a glimpse of what men and women may have worn to celebrate the holidays through the incorporation of costumes found in a popular exhibit at the museum.

Thropp, who curated the “Distinctly Paramount: Fashion & Costume from the Paramount Pictures Archive” exhibition that runs through Jan. 2, 2022 at DACO, selected a handful of costumes from the small and big screens to showcase in the Victorian Christmas exhibition.

“I am excited to be a small part of this year’s Victorian Christmas exhibition at DACO,” he said. “Five Paramount costumes will be added to the first floor that represent The Alienist, Angel of Darkness and So Evil My Love.”

“A Victorian Christmas” will be open during regular museum hours. At least two formal tours are planned, and docents will be on hand to provide information about this exhibition during regular museum hours.

Docent’s Love of the Arts Drives Passion for Volunteering

7/27/2021

Barb Sater.

“Many first-time visitors are surprised to discover the House is the museum of DACO,” she said.

Although her professional background isn’t in the arts, Barbara L. Sater says it was her love of the arts that brought her to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio.

A retired registered nurse, Sater is one of several volunteers at DACO who come from a variety of backgrounds, all with one thing in common - their appreciation for the arts and willingness to learn.

Sater, a docent volunteer since 2013, has lived in Lancaster for more than 40 years. During one of her visits to DACO, an exhibition of “Christmases Past” that featured toys from the 1950s and 60s piqued her interest in volunteering, she says.

“I was very impressed with the docents and appreciated their enthusiasm and pride in the museum and the (Reese-Peters) House,” she said.

As a docent, Sater’s role is to make works of art meaningful, accessible and inspiring to visitors, she says.

“I interact with all visitors coming through the exhibition on my scheduled day, introducing them to the event and generally getting them started on their tour of our four galleries located on the second floor of the Reese-Peters House,” she said.

Sater also provides historical tours of the property to showcase the preservation of architecture and the collections of the Reese-Peters House.

As a volunteer, Sater also participates in ongoing docent training that includes semi-annual updates about the museum and curator-led docent training for each of the three exhibitions per year.

She says her most memorable experience as a volunteer has been the Paramount costumes exhibitions, not only because of the interesting exhibits alone, but also due to the sheer number of visitors coming through the museum each day to experience it themselves.

“Visitors are in awe of the costumes, their craftsmanship and history,” Sater said.

She remembers a “dapper looking” 98-year-old gentleman who toured the current “Distinctly Paramount” exhibition in particular as someone who made an impression on her because of his joy in seeing men’s fashion on display.

“He told the story to the tour group of meeting designer Emilio Pucci when he himself happened to be wearing a Pucci-designed suit,” she said.

For Sater, volunteering offers an opportunity to be part of a group of people who share an interest in decorative arts, architecture and heritage of the Reese-Peters House.

“Volunteering is the lifeblood of organizations such as DACO,” she said. “It’s critical that we pass the baton to the next generations so they may continue the enthusiasm, excitement and commitment to our community’s heritage.”

To volunteer at DACO, visit our Volunteer Portal.

Malvar-Stewart brings ‘Farm to Fashion’ to DACO fashion show, Nuno felting class

7/27/2021

Photography by Seth Moses Miller. Hand-felted ensemble with Filipino “terno” sleeves. Local wool, fibre from RaeRae my favourite alpaca, and banana fibre.

Since moving to Columbus nine years ago, Celeste Malvar-Stewart has worked closely with Ohio women farmers to obtain animal fibres that she uses for her projects.

The designer knows the name of every animal and visits them regularly.

“Because positive energy is important to me, working with happy animals is key,” she says.

Malvar-Stewart currently uses wool from two heritage sheep breeds - Lincoln Longwool sheep and Cotswold sheep - as part of her efforts toward preserving these threatened animals. She also uses fibres from huacaya and suri alpacas, which are among the most eco-friendly fibre animals.

“My work is quite literally from local farms to my fashion,” Malvar-Stewart says.

On Aug. 14, visitors to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio will get the opportunity to learn more about these fibers that are used to create one of the most popular fashion accessories: a scarf.

As part of the “Farm to Fashion Nuno Scarf Workshop” with Malvar-Stewart, individuals will learn the process of Nuno felting, also known as laminate felting, using a silk base and textured raw fibre for surface design. Participants will leave the class with their own mini scarf after designing and hand felting it.

“I first began creating Nuno felted scarves while living in New York City as a way to practice and master the craft,” she said. “I enjoy the organic and somewhat unpredictable aspect of the technique and its textural results.”

Malvar-Stewart will also be one of four Ohio-based designers featured in an intimate runway show Sept. 18 called, “Fashion of Our Times.” The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio event will also include designers Tracy Powell, Dom Susi and Xuena Pu. The show will include designs inspired by these four, as well as a panel discussion for them to share their inspiration, vision and other behind-the-scenes details leading up to creating their collections.

“In addition, I will be showcasing a small collection of my latest work called, ‘I’ve Got the Blues,” which will include my signature looks while incorporating various new techniques using deconstructed denim waste combined with traditional tailoring, embroidery and felting,” she said. “Many pieces will include blue - dyed with indigo or infused with denim waste.”

For Malvar-Stewart, incorporating sustainable practices into her creations is a priority.

“Practicing and cultivating sustainability, intention, mindfulness and kindness within the fashion and fibre arts are the most important aspects of my work,” she said.

Each piece is produced with minimal to zero waste.

“Any additional colors are achieved by using natural dyes that I grow, locally forage or source responsibly,” she said.

An independent fashion and fibre artist for more than 25 years, Malvar-Stewart focuses on sustainable design in couture and high-end fashion and accessories. Her work has been showcased and published in The New York Times, Essence and local publications like Midwest Living and Buckeye Lifestyle.

She obtained a bachelor of applied arts degree and a master’s degree in fashion and textiles.

With her husband and two pugs, she lives in German Village, just a stone’s throw away from her studio, “Hangar 391” where she creates fashion under her brand, “MALVAR = STEWART.” She also creates fashion accessories and interior wear products exclusively for U.S.-based sustainable fashion and interior design platforms like MIVE in Columbus and Lu France Interiors in San Diego.

Pu brings ancient techniques to modern work

6/28/2021

Xuena Pu began her fashion journey in China as an apprentice of sewing and pattern-making at a small garment factory. Yet her fashion roots run even deeper, as she learned and practiced ancient weaving techniques in her early childhood with her grandma.

As a sustainable fashion designer who now lives in Powell, she says she has a strong mission to preserve the cultural heritage in textile art.

“I hope to share these traditional ancient techniques with the next generation,” Pu says.

Currently, Pu is exploring various ancient weaving techniques, creating examples and combining them all to create a database.

“My goal is to incorporate more intricate processes into new designs to produce modern pieces that we can identify with today while reminiscing about our history,” she said.

Pu will be one of four Ohio-based designers featured in an intimate runway show Sept. 18 called, “Fashion of Our Times. The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio event will also include designers Tracy Powell, Celeste Malvar-Stewart and Dom Susi. The show will include designs inspired by these four, as well as a panel discussion for them to share their inspiration, vision and other behind-the-scenes details leading up to creating their collections.

A Magna Cum Laude graduate from Columbus College of Art and Design, Pu will also teach a headband workshop at DACO Oct. 17 where she will instruct learners 14 and older on how to crochet their own headband using their new skills.

“I will teach some basic skills of crochet and macrame,” she said. “This class is ideal for those who are interested in crochet.”

While the pandemic put on hold or changed how many fashion shows, classes and other events were held, Pu says she took advantage of the opportunity to have more time to evaluate her designs, think about long-term goals, and focus on what she wanted to be and where she wanted to go.

“Pursuing and finding the true meaning and power of fashion design, and the process of art creation, has guided me during this special time period,” she said.

Taking a moment of reflection can sometimes have a greater impact on one’s life than expected, she says. She recalls one moment, in particular, from years ago that changed the direction of her career.

“I was inspired by an article that was talking about fashion designers and fashion school,” Pu says. “This article reminded me about the fashion dream I once had in my life. I made up my mind to chase my dream and started to prepare my portfolio for the application to a fashion school. Looking back, I appreciate the author who wrote the article that helped me reshape my life.”

“Fashion of Our Times” will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 18. Cost is $65 for the general public and $60 for members. Member pre-sale begins July 8, followed by general admission Aug. at decartsohio.org.

Designer Emily Rinehardt brings Sketch Class to DACO

6/14/2021

Fashion designer Emily Rinehardt remembers how intimidated she was when she learned to sketch.

Last weekend, she shared her techniques in the hopes that others may feel a little more comfortable with trying their hand at the craft and seeing their visions come to life. Through her Fashion Sketch Class, held on June 13 at DACO, Rinehardt explored the basics of sketching - drawing stylized figures, proportions and how to render garments.

“I think what is so fun about this type of illustration is that it can be very stylized,” she says. “Everyone has their own illustration style. There is more room to be creative with what you want your style to be.”

Even though there are guidelines, Rinehardt says that the creativity individuals bring to sketching makes it fun and easier to learn.

A Kent State Fashion School 2018 graduate, Rinehardt interned with fashion and textile designer Celeste Malvar-Stewart, who is teaching a “Farm to Fashion Nuno Scarf” workshop Aug. 14 at DACO.

“When I interned with her, I got a passion for sustainable fashion,” Rinehardt said. “She was so inspiring to be around.”

After graduating, Rinehardt worked as an assistant designer at La Senza, an intimate wear retail company, before co-founding a sustainable upcycling company in Columbus called Salvaged Apparel Co.

“Our mission is to upcycle clothing, redesign and reuse apparel, and to keep clothing out of the landfill,” she said. “We had our first collection in August 2020.”

Although her passion for sustainable clothing plays out in her company, she still embraces and practices her first passion, fashion illustration.

“Fashion illustration is so important because it’s the first step in the design process,” Rinehardt said. “I like to start with it because it’s the most emotional way to communicate what your design is, for yourself or a client.”

Rinehardt says she’s excited to work with DACO and those who share her passion. She recently visited DACO to see the “Distinctly Paramount” exhibition.

“The construction of those garments are so cool and I’d love to try to incorporate some kind of costume sketches into my class,” she said.