MESDA Fall "Saturday Seminars" to Feature Stoneware, Maps, More
July 20, 2009
Contact:
Karen Jarvis or Jeanne Sturiale
Annese Public Relations, Inc.
336-722-1921
Winston-Salem, N.C. – Beginning in September, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) at Old Salem Museums & Gardens will present its Saturday Seminar series, three one-day seminars designed for those interested in the study and collection of Southern decorative arts.
Each seminar in the series will focus on a particular area of interest and will include speaker presentations, object examination and collection study, in addition to time for participant interaction and discussion. The seminars will allow participants to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the antique objects they collect and study, and build relationships in the field of collecting and scholarship.
The first seminar, titled “Southern Stoneware,” will be held on Saturday, September 19, at MESDA in the Horton Museum Center at Old Salem, 924 S. Main St. Speakers include Quincy Scarborough, an independent scholar from Fayetteville, Suzanne Findlen Hood, Associate Curator of Ceramics and Glass at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; and Leonard Todd, an independent scholar from Edgefield, S.C.
The second seminar is on Saturday, October 17, and will also be at MESDA. Titled “Mapping the Early South,” it will focus on the ways that maps have shaped Southern history. Speakers include Margaret B. Pritchard, Curator of Maps, Prints and Wallpaper at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; and Michael McNamara, an independent Scholar from Williamsburg, Va.
The final seminar on Saturday, November 7, titled “Decorative Arts of the South Carolina Fall Line,” will be held “on the road” at the South Carolina State Museum, 301 Gervais St., Columbia, S.C. Seven speakers will address needlework, furniture, silver, pottery, paintings, and photographs produced within South Carolina's fall line region. This seminar is presented in cooperation with the member institutions of the South Carolina Fall Line Consortium.
Each seminar will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. Registration costs $55 for one seminar, $100 for two seminars, and $150 for three seminars. This cost includes all materials and lunch.
The 2009 Saturday Seminar series is supported by a generous donation from Brunk Auctions of Asheville. To register for any or all of the seminars, call MESDA at 336-721-7360 or email MESDAprograms@oldsalem.org. Additional information about MESDA can be found at www.mesda.org.
About MESDA
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) is the preeminent center for researching, collecting, and exhibiting decorative arts made and used by those living and working in the early South. MESDA is one of three museums at Old Salem Museums & Gardens. The Web site address is www.mesda.org.
About Old Salem
Old Salem Museums & Gardens is one of America’s most comprehensive history attractions. Its three museums — the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and The Toy Museum at Old Salem — engage visitors in an educational and memorable historical experience about those who lived and worked in the early South. The Web site address is www.oldsalem.org.
SEMINAR DESCRIPTIONS
SATURDAY, SEPT. 19: SOUTHERN STONEWARE
Location: MESDA, Old Salem Museums & Gardens
The Eighteenth-Century and Beyond: Salt-glazed Stoneware in the American South. Suzanne Findlen Hood, Associate Curator, Ceramics and Glass, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Webster Folk Potters of North Carolina. Quincy Scarborough, Independent Scholar, Fayetteville, North Carolina
The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter, Dave. Leonard Todd, Independent scholar, Edgefield, South Carolina
SATURDAY, OCT. 17: MAPPING THE EARLY SOUTH
Location: MESDA, Old Salem Museums & Gardens
Maps and Mapmakers of the Early South. Margaret B. Pritchard, Curator, Maps, Prints and Wallpaper, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Fry-Jefferson Map: Recent Findings. Henry G. Taliaferro, partner, Cohen & Taliaferro, New York
“A New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina”: The 1737 Moseley Manuscript Map. Michael McNamara, Independent Scholar, Williamsburg, Virginia
The Hoger Manuscript Map of Wachovia. Johanna M. Brown, Director of Collections and Curator of Moravian Decorative Arts, Old Salem Museums & Gardens
The Care, Handling, and Display of Antique Maps. Margaret B. Pritchard
SATURDAY, NOV. 7: DECORATIVE ARTS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA FALL LINE
Location: The South Carolina State Museum, Columbia, S.C.
Signatures in Silk: Refinement Amid Transition along the South Carolina Fall Line. Patricia Veasey, Independent Scholar, Clover, South Carolina
“From the Cradle to the Grave”: The Impact of New Jersey Cabinetmakers on Columbia, SC, 1830- 1875. John Sherrer, Director of Collections and Interpretation, The Historic Columbia Foundation
“Your Silver Must Always Be Real.” Rodger Stroup, Executive Director, South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Clay and Commerce: Ceramics Along the Fall Line. Jill Koverman, Curator of Collections, The McKissick Museum; Paul Matheny, Chief Curator of Art, The South Carolina State Museum
Memory Makers: Fall Line Artists and Photographers, 1740- 1940. Fritz Hamer, Chief Curator of History, The South Carolina State Museum; Alexis Thompson, Collections Manager, The Historic Columbia Foundation
