OUR LAST HURRAH!!

The two pictures above are the last classes that Tom and I took at Williamsburg; the last Guild Study Program that we have attended and it was a little more than six years ago. We are big lovers of those study programs and I am trying to figure out a way to get back in the groove. I was told that Peter Kendall started the programs when he was President of the Guild. He has taken classes and taught others and the Study Programs rate highly in mine and Tom's opinions. We have never attended the Guild School which is held in Maine each June, but I have heard great reviews on that program and can only say that my experience with Guild programs has been very positive. Hopefully, one day we will attend another in Williamsburg or in one of the other cites where the Study Programs are held.

The picture of a firestand was done by Tom in a Mark Murphy class. It is supposed to hold the other needlepoint that I have started, but not finished. One day that will hopefully adorn a fireplace in the Thornhill or some other house.

The pictured project was a class I took from Peter Kendall in which we built a reproduction of the parlour in the Peyton Randolph House at Williamsburg. Peter had everything cut out for us so there was not much saw work and when the wall panels had to be trimmed, I enlisted Tom to handle that and make sure that the trims were done correctly. We did have some minor saw work to do and also some mitering of trim.When the room was completed, I had a good time furnishing it. Tom and I were married in France and in 2003 we made a return trip...a trip down memory lane, if you will. When in the city of Chateauroux where we had lived, we went into a gift shop and Tom saw an interesting desk. He took a picture of that piece and when we got home he made a miniature version. That desk sits on the right side of the Peyton Randolph parlour. Tom did not make the small, round table to the right of the fireplace, and the firescreen stand was made by Roger Gutheil and it holds the not too perfect needlepoint that I did in Annelle Ferguson's class a few years earlier. The small table on the left side of the room was made by Tom and it has two of the Ference Albert shrub glassses sitting on the top. Mr. Albert's glass work is superb. The table in the middle of the room is a variation of one of the tables that Tom made in a Carol Hardy class in VT. The chairs in the room are of course, House of Miniatures kits. Last, the andirons in the fireplace were purchased by me at Poupee Tendress in Paris and I understand that the shop is closed now....a shame as there were some wonderful miniatures there. One final note, the tulips on the table were made one fine afternoon when my friend, Debbe was visiting. She and I made the tulips and my closing thought is to say that mini time with Debbe or with Study Program classes is fun time. I hope to repeat those activities soon!!!

TWO GUILD STUDY PROGRAMS IN ONE YEAR!!

The same year that we built the Dubois Grocer we discovered that there would be another Guild Study Progam in the fall of that year and it would be at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT. Tom had heard of Carol Hardy and the wonderful furniture that she made and she would be one of the teachers at Shelburne, teaching a butterfly table circa 1750-1780. At the same time I found a class taught by Allison Ashby and Steve Jedd in which the foyer of the Stencil House would be recreated. A miniature class with a group of Guild members is always a wonderful experience and the one that year at Shelburne was almost over the top. The location proved to be a very appealing one in that Miami summers are not always pleasant and September in New England seemed far more appealing. As it turned out, that particular Study Program was one of our all time favorites for the classes, the company and the extrcurricular activities. Saturday night on a Guild weekend is always special, but that year, we were taken to the Trapp Family Lodge, yes Trapp as in the Sound Of Music family Trapp. One of Maria's granddaughters treated us to a songfest after dinner and it was absolutely wonderful. It seems that she was the only one in the family to carry on the tradition. Back to the projects, a few pictures first before I comment.

Tom's butterfly table is lovely. I can't even imagine trying to make one. It has the tiniest hinges installed on something called a 'Rule Joint' and a swing out leg for the full table top to be open. Most of what I just wrote is Greek to me, but the table is wonderful.

The class that I took from Ashby and Jedd was one of my all time favorite classes...did I say that already? I learned so many things in that class and so enjoyed making the roombox. The first thing that I will comment on is the furniture in the room.....I used two pieces made by Tom in previous Guild Study Program classes. The table on the left side was done in his class with George and Sally Hoffman. The double child's chair on the right was done in a Mark Murphy class. The fireplace was part of the learning in my class at Shelburne and I should state that there was a lot to do in the class; so much so that most of the work was completed after we got home. We learned the techniques for the fireplace while in class, but did not actually do the construction until later. The bricks were cut to form the walls and after that was done the fireplace was weathered with oil paints. It was a fun project and we learned a lot for future use.

I also loved doing the stencil work. I had never thought that I could do a stencil, but this class taught me how to do a proper stenciling job. I should point out that there are 15 different designs and a total of 27 different stencils. I cannot imagine the amount of work that was done by the teachers in order to prepare for this class. It is safe to say the the class was wonderful!! When all the walls were completed, there was more distressing and then stain was applied to the case which houses the foyer project. The Shelburne Museum was terrific and it is safe to say that I would hope to journey there again one day, perhaps to another Guild Program.

GUILD PROGRAM # 3 AND # 4

On our third trip to Williamsburg I took a class from Annelle Ferguson and the project was to do a miniature firestand in 48 square silk gauze. I was not the best student in the class, by far and even though I switched to 40 count gauze, I still did not have sufficient magnification to do a proper job on the needlepoint. Annelle was a most patient teacher, but my old eyes just could not succeed on this project in class. However, as I have been determined to finish all projects, I did get the needepoint finished at home when I had better magnification. My project has never been seen by Annelle except perhaps in a photo. It does have mistakes, but it is finished and although it is not perfect, I do display it in another room done at a later time in Williamsburg. I was resolved to make another needlepoint and make sure there were no mistakes, but sadly, time has not permitted that as yet, but the desire to accomplish it is always on my mind. I should add that the stand was made by Roger Gutheil.

Tom, per his usual, took a class in furniture making, with Mark Murphy. He did a lovely tea table which I am proud to display. In our fourth trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Tom took another class from Mark in which he made a child's double high chair. It is quite intricate and another lovely piece.

My 4th class was taught by Peter Kendall and it was more construction than I had previously attempted in classes. We were given the materials and instructions to construct the facade of one of the buildings in Williamsburg, the Dubois Grocer. The finished facade was designed to hang on the wall, however there is a rather interesting Part II to the Dubois Grocer project which I will discuss a bit later. For now some pictures of the previously discussed projects.

MORE GUILD STUDY PROGRAMS

For a number of years our January had a Williamsburg Study Program on the schedule. For the second program that we attended, I took another class from Therese Bahl and Tom took a class from Bill Robertson. A study program usually begins on Saturday morning and ends about noon on Monday. The two and a half days are spent in class with other miniaturists working on the class project. Sometimes the project is more involved and does not get completed until one is at home. I am pleased to state that both Tom and I have finished every one of our projects and are proud to have been involved with such talented teachers. My painting class with Therese involved the painting of a small scene on a fireplace as well as completing a fireboard known as the Sutton Fireboard which came from the Phelps house in MA and is now housed in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. The roombox was made by Roger Gutheil. Most miniaturists know that Bill Robertson is affiliated with the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum where much of his work is on display. He is a genius and what he achieves is amazing. One can only marvel at his talent. Tom built a miniature version of a spice chest, a piece also in the Williamsburg collection. There are 15 drawers in the tiny chest and every one of them opens. Some of you may know that Bill Robertson uses a jewelers saw to cut the dovetails in the sides of his pieces. Thus a student must learn to use the jewelers saw as well....not always easy!!

WORKSHOPS AT MINI SHOWS

All miniaturists owe themselves the chance to attend a few miniature shows and visits to miniature shops. Mail order is wonderful, but going into a shop geared just for the hobby or attending a show where artisans display and sell their work is a real treat. I also want to point out that many miniature shows are preceeded by a day of workshops and there are usually many talented people to teach classes in many areas of interest. Tom loves to make furniture so in all the classes that we have attended, he has taken some type of furniture construction. I tend to choose the prettier side of the hobby so my choices for classes are painting, flower making, some needlework and some construction projects. There is such a wealth of learning available so I hope that all who enjoy this hobby will avail themselves of a class or more because the information gained is often priceless. As usual, I have a few pictures to show some of the projects that Tom and I have done. In the last picture is a table that Tom did in a Tom Bishop workshop and on the table are two projects that I did at two Bishop show workshops with Mary McGrath. The furniture pictures are ones that Tom has done in classes taught by Pam and Pete Boorum. The flower pictures are ones that I have done; the first one is a window box done in a class with Marie Petrik and the next two are flowers from classes with Sandra Wall Rubin. All of the above named are wonderful artisans (and some fellows) and it was our pleasure to take classes from them.

WE MOVE IN NEW DIRECTIONS

Some years ago, probably at least 20,I met a mini friend on the computer. In those days we were on Prodigy....does anyone remember that? I discovered that Debbe was very much into miniatures and we became very good friends on the computer. Later we actually met and that became almost a yearly ritual. We managed two delightful trips to Maine when Debbe moved there and she was always anxious to get out of the snow in winter so Florida was her retreat in the bad weather. Debbe was very much into the Guild (IGMA) and she told us about the Guild Study Programs, especially those in Colonial Williamsburg. Tom and I decided to try a Study Program and the first class we took was in Williamsburg. The winter programs are held over theML King holiday in January so it makes a nice break for us as we might even see a bit of snow while away from Miami. The programs run over a weekend and there is plenty to do when one is not in class. Usually, a student will not finish the project, but one will have all that is required to finish the project at home. The first year I took a class from Therese Bahl, a remarkable artist whose work I much admire. My project that first time was to reproduce a picture of George and Martha Washington. All projects are copies of a piece or work which exists in the Williamsburg collection. The picture of George and Martha was actually finished in class so in the extra time, Therese had frames for us to paint and she showed us various techniques for antiquing and distressing the frames.

Tom's class that year was with George and Sally Hoffman and he constructed a small table. The Guild programs were great at encouraging Tom's love of furniture building as that was what he took in all of the programs that we attended. Tom learned that first year that he was not as adept at staining/finishing furniture so he concetrated on that when he returned home from class. We found that taking classes was a marvellous way to enhance our knowledge in our hobby and wondered why we had not pursued classes earlier.