Meet Self-Taught Leather Artisan Diane Louise Paul

Diane Louise Paul is a self-taught leather Artisan. A state-juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, she has met the League's high craft making standards. Her mastery of the craft, heritage techniques, and workmanship has earned her a spot 11 years in a row as one of the top craftsmen doing pre-Civil War heritage "museum quality" work, as judged by Early American Life Magazine's panel of experts.  Diane's interest in making leather crafts evolved from her love of horses and antiques. 

Diane Louise Paul is from North Hampton, New Hampshire and is listed in Early American Life Magazine’s Traditional American Crafts Directory Listing of artists.  She is a member of the Early American Folk Arts & Facebook group.

Rick and Denise Pratt Demonstrate Their Art of Making Willow Twig Mirrors on YouTube

Catch this YouTube video where Rick and Denise Pratt demonstrate how they create their beautiful willow twig mirrors!

Meet Willow Furnishing Makers Rick and Denise Pratt

Rick and Denise Pratt use a traditional and contemporary blend of willow furnishings for your home and garden.  They incorporate hand-chosen fabrics and individually mixed paints for a unique and functional piece of art.

Rick and Denise Pratt are from Wooster, Ohio. Denise Pratt is a member of the Early American Folk Arts & Trades Facebook group.

These Artists Collaborate on Pinterest. Follow All the Action!

One of the many special things about the American Craftsmen Show is its artist's investment in making it the best show for traditional and handmade arts and crafts. The American Craftsmen Show artists are also one social media savvy group. The Show artists have created a collaborative Pinterest board where they collectively pin images of their work. What teamwork! If you want to learn more about the American Craftsmen Show artists and their work, don't forget to follow their Pinterest Board.

Meet Whimisical Designer Deborah Hartwick

The work of Deborah Hartwick is whimsically designed, sewn art pincushions and emerys using the same blend of color and texture that evoke the antique sewing pieces of the past. Her artwork is made using natural fabrics like cotton and wool and then a dyeing and over dyeing technique, finally and stuffed with sawdust and emery powder.

Deborah Hartwick is a member of the Early American Folk Arts & Trades Facebook group.

Meet "Little People" Woodcarver Donnie Rogers

Self-taught, Virginia artist Donnie Rogers has been wood carving for about 25 years. He and his wife, Deborah, design unique one of a kind rattles, scenes and small figures everyone has come to know and love as the "Little People."  Donnie hand carves using only a hatchet, a hand drill, rasps, xacto knives and various carving blades.  His woodcarvings are at once primitive yet sophisticated.

Meet Intuitive Visual Artist/Sculptor Deborah Rogers

Each piece of Deborah Roger's work begins as a drawing/blueprint as her unfired clay warps and shrinks.  Altered and fabricated objects are made in advance, incorporating them as the clay is hand built.   Washes of acrylic, layers of colored pencil, dyes, ink, drawings and commentary are added to the surface. The narrative story, as important as the 3-D piece, marry to convey a message as a whole. Surfaces are preserved with paste wax.  Deborah considers herself an Intuitive Visual Artist/Sculptor.  In her words, "the eyes will see strange things that the mind will alter.

Deborah Rogers is a member of the Early American Folk Arts & Trades Facebook group.

Did You Miss Your Favorite American Craftsmen Show Artists on Facebook? Visit Them On Instagram!

Don't worry if you missed the art of your favorite American Craftsmen Show artist on the Show's Facebook page. Many of the photos from this blog and the American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield Facebook page will become available on Instagram! Don't forget to visit to "Like" and comment on your favorite images! 

Meet Traditional Painter Dan Coble

Dan Coble is a traditionally inspired painter.  His interpretations of Pennsylvania German designs, New England grain painting and other early American decorated furniture, frames and accessories, reflect his love for the history and art of the 18th and 19th century.

Dan Coble is from Wabash, Indiana and is included in Early American Life Magazine's Traditional American Crafts Directory Listing of artists.  He is a member of the Early American Folk Arts & Trades Facebook group.

Meet Pottery Makers Tom and Carole Bognar

The oldest form of pottery is that made from gourds. Tom and Carole Bognar have given a new look to this age old type of pottery by creating many different styles of functional and decorative gourd items. Pitchers, canisters, vases and a variety of baskets and bowls.  In creating their work Tom and Carole Bognar use various types of mediums such as watercolor, carving, wood burning, paint, dyes, pen and ink.   As every gourd is unique, each piece of gourd pottery is one of a kind.

Meet Self-Taught Weaver Barbara Dull

Barbara Dull is a self-taught weaver with over thirty years of experience. She works with luscious colors of hand dyed yarns and touchable textures of handspun fibers. Her designs are threaded onto a floor loom, where she weaves and finishes each original piece by hand. These one-of-a-kind and limited editions include shawls, scarves, ruanas and throws. Each piece is elegant in design, easy to care for and sensuous to wear.

American Craftsmen Show Accessible by Mass Transit

The American Craftsmen Show, located at the historic Lounsbury House in Ridgefield, Connecticut, is approximately 61 miles from New York City. New Yorkers and Westchester County residents can get to the Show by Metro North.  There are two Metro North options:

Take the Metro North to the Branchville Station on the Danbury Line (54 Miles from Grand Central Station)

Take the Metro North to the Katonah Station (41 miles from Grand Central Station) on the Harlem Line

 

Once you arrive at your Metro North station, please contact the following taxi services to bring you to the Lounsbury House at 315 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT:

Breakfast Is Served at the American Craftsmen Show!

Isn’t it nicer to meet and chat with America’s top traditional and handmade artists over breakfast and a cup of coffee or tea? You can do this because the American Craftsmen Show will be serving breakfast from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, November 7th.  To make this even “sweeter”, breakfast is free with admission! Breakfast is provided by the Lounsbury House, home of the American Craftsmen Show.

Please visit the American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield Facebook page for the latest on this breakfast event. While you are there please remember to “Like” this page so that

Don’t Forget to Visit the American Craftsmen Show In Ridgefield Facebook Page

On Facebook? Don’t Forget to Visit the American Craftsmen Show In Ridgefield Facebook Page.  As you receive up-to-date information about the American Craftsmen Show and its artists on the American Craftsmen Show blog, please remember to also visit the American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield Facebook page.
The American Craftsmen Show Facebook page features photos and information uploaded by the

Trivia Question: What Do 12 American Craftsmen Show Artists Have in Common?

Early American Life Magazine's Directory of Traditional American Crafts is the showcase of artisans working in traditional techniques, materials, and style who have been selected as the best in America by a jury of museum curators, scholars, and other experts. The Directory of Traditional American Crafts is an honor bestowed on a handful of artisans who work in traditional media, styles, and crafts. In addition the Directory is also a buying guide. It presents a selection of the best historically informed handwork in America today. The Directory helps collectors select the best furniture, pottery, ironwork, decorative objects, and more for period-correct decorating, collecting, or movie-making.

Ridgefield: A Center for the Arts in Connecticut

The American Craftsmen Show is right at home in Ridgefield, one of Connecticut’s centers for culture and the arts. If you are making a weekend trip to Ridgefield for the American Craftsmen Show, you may want to visit the following arts and cultural venues:

Keeler Tavern Museum

If are coming to the American Craftsmen Show because you love traditional American arts, you may want to drop by the Keeler Tavern Museum which is furnished with period pieces reflecting its residents’ lifestyles from the early 18th to early 20th

American Craftsmen Show is Social Media Savvy!

The American Craftsmen Show is happy to announce its new social media campaign to get out the word about the 2015 show.  There will now be many ways for folk art lovers of the finest handmade arts and crafts to find out more about the American Craftsmen Show and connect and develop relationships with its artists.

The americancraftsmenshow.com blog has all of the latest information about the American Craftsmen Show and allows you to meet the artists through regular posts.

The American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield Facebook Fan Page allows you to post messages about the Show, see Show updates and posts made by the artists. Please remember to “Like” the American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield Facebook Fan page, as well as invite your followers to “like” it so that you and your followers can receive an invitation to attend the American Craftsmen Show.

Sandy Malamed Featured at the American Folk Art Museum to Celebrate its New Infinite Variety Catalog

American Craftsmen Show artist Sandy Malamed applique quilts will be featured in the American Folk Art Museum’s store to help celebrate the release of its catalog Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts. The book offers an opulent presentation of more than 650 red and white quilts with inspiring craftsmanship and composition, a history of red and white quilts, rare perspectives on the exhibition, and a pattern index. In 2011, the American Folk Art Museum dramatically

Greg Shooner Covers Early American Life Magazine to Explain Redware

American Craftsmen Show artist Greg Shooner was featured for the cover story for the April 2015 issue of Early American Life Magazine. Both Greg and Mary Spellmire-Shooner were listed by Early American Life Magazine in 2014 for their American Redware.   In “Slab-Formed Redware” Greg stated in this article “Many 19^th-Century potters supplemented the work turned on their wheels with earthenware made by molds.  We have all seen redware dishes and their familiar “wavy line” decoration. Learning how these were – and are still – being made will help you understand both antique and modern molded redware pottery.  Greg explains both the history, techniques and process used to create redware, as well as the use of slip to decorate redware and the techniques to create sgraffito.

Traditional Painter Dan Coble in the News!

The following press release appeared in KPC Media Group Inc. publications on August 11, 2015 regarding noted traditional painter and American Craftsmen Show artist Dan Coble.

Steuben artisan listed in nationwide directory

ANGOLA — Local artisan Dan Coble won the highest award in this year’s Directory of Traditional American Crafts, and the work is showcased in the August issue of

Meet the Historic Lounsbury House

The American Craftsmen Show is returning to the stunning Lounsbury House in historic Ridgefield, CT for a second year. When I attended last year’s show I could not help but notice how the house’s beauty was such a complimentary setting for the beautiful artwork on display instead of the institutional settings of many other art shows.

There may be a few things about the history of Lounsbury House that might surprise you. Built in 1896 by Phineas C. Lounsbury, a former governor of Connecticut, The Lounsbury House

6 Interesting Things About Historic Ridgefield You Might Not Know

While visiting this year’s American Craftsmen Show you may want to explore historic Ridgefield. While you are visiting the finest art show for traditional and handmade arts and crafts, you will also be visiting part of American history. Here are 6 interesting things about Ridgefield’s history you may not be aware of:

Ridgefield was first settled by English colonists from Norwalk and Milford in 1708, when a group of settlers purchased land from Chief Catoonah (also known as Chief Katonah) of the Ramapo tribe.

Who Is Your Favorite 2015 American Craftsmen Show Artisan?

I wish I could tell you mine, but there are too many wonderful artists to choose from.  If you love fine traditional and handmade arts and crafts, it will be tough to decide who you will want to talk to first. The American Craftsmen Show is the perfect place to meet and develop relationships with the finest traditional and handmade artists and craftsmen today.

The 2015 American Craftsmen Show is pleased to announce that the following fine artisans will be returning to this year’s show: Carole Bognar

American Craftsmen Show Returns to Lounsbury House on November 7th and 8th

The American Craftsmen Show has announced its return to the Lounsbury House in historic Ridgefield, Conncticut for its second year of presenting the very best of traditional handmade American Arts and Crafts.

Many of last year’s artists will be returning for the 2015 show. This includes Greg Schooner- recently profiled on the cover of Early American Life Magazine, Dan and Marlene Coble - noted for their painted furniture and Sandy Malamed whose applique quilts were recently on display at the American Folks Art Museum’s Fab Folk

SAVE THE DATES

2015 American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield Dates Announced

We hope you will mark your calendars for our next American Craftsmen Show in Ridgefield.

NOVEMBER 7TH & 8TH 2015