An Artistic Journey

The Enfield Shaker Museum - Museum Store

It is not a secret - after my first teaching trip to Enfield, NH, staying in the Great Shaker Dwelling House (also known as: The Enfield Shaker Museum), I have become increasingly interested in the Shaker culture, history, and lifestyle. Since doing a little research for my first Shaker teaching design, my interest in "all things Shaker" has grown tremendously. Several years ago, my quest for knowledge started at the public library (surprisingly, I did find a few titles)...but over time, I have built quite a collection of informative Shaker books. My favorite titles on the subject are related to Shaker art, drawings, furniture, and style...and most are "table-style" books. On my recent visit to the Enfield Shaker Museum, I picked up a few more books to ship home - now I know I could have found these beautiful hardcover books at a discounted price (or even used copies), but I purchased new books from the extensive collection in the Museum Store - I am happy to support the museum and the artists and writers of these historical books....after all, they provide me with hours of enjoyment and tons of inspiration for future designs.

The first book I selected to purchase and ship home was A Shaker Sister's Drawings: Wild Plants Illustrated by Cora Helena Sarle. The history behind this book is quite interesting...
In the 1880's, Cora Helena Sarle (a young woman at Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire) was considered too frail to take part in the rigorous daily duties of the working Shaker Sisters - with her talent for art, the spiritual leader of the community (Elder Henry Clay Blinn), suggested that she use her gift for the good of the communal family. At his suggestion, she began her task of recording all the wild plants, herbs, and flowers around the village - she filled two notebooks with more than 180 exquisite (and accurate) color illustrations (watercolor drawings)....and each drawing is complemented by growing conditions of the wild and cultivated plants. This is a beautiful book featuring Helena's intricate botanical watercolor drawings...is is not necessarily a book to be "read", but a book to "savor"...

The second book I added to my ever-growing collection is Seen and Received: The Shakers' Private Art (The Gift Drawing Collection of Hancock Shaker Village) by Sharon Duane Koomler. This book highlights a collection of twenty-five gift drawings from the Hancock Shaker Village - these notable drawings are of exceptional quality, range and scale...and the images in this collection are representative of the wide spectrum of works created by Shaker artists. This comprehensive catalog contains concise biographies...complete, literal transcriptions of the text in each drawing...and full-color illustrations of all twenty-five of the Hancock Shaker Village drawings. As I study and explore this publication and the wonderful color images, I continue to be amazed - although, at first glance, each drawing tends to look symmetrical, I have found most of the detailed drawings to be a well-balanced blend of symmetry and asymmetry. Many are filed with "spirit writing", texts, and verse...and also include intricate geometric patterns, cryptic characters, traditional motifs and dramatic use of color. For an artist, these works are a definitely feast for the eyes...and I am truly inspired by each and every work...

Looking through both of these books, I find myself excited to design my next class project for the New England Stitcher's Retreat ...inspiration is sometimes found where I least expect it...
I hope you will make a little time to cultivate your special interests and take an artistic journey...

“Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark. The pleasure they give is steady, unorgastic, reliable, deep and long-lasting.” - Dr. Germaine Greer