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

Arriving In Ocean City...

The Lankford Hotel - Salty Yarns

I returned home late last night from my first trip to Ocean City, MD...I was teaching for Salty Yarns at their Ocean City Stitcher's Jamboree. I arrived in Maryland last Thursday night for my stay at the Lankford Hotel on the Ocean City Boardwalk (and home to Salty Yarns). Friday morning I woke up early and was ready to do a little exploring - after stepping out on the balcony outside my room for a few photographs, I headed down to walk the boardwalk to see the area....I walked to one end of the boardwalk and back (about three miles)...and took a little walk on the beach (where I was greeted by an adorable seagull). After a leisurely walk and a cup of hot tea, I met some of my needlework friends in the hotel lobby to go out to breakfast and take in an exhibit at the Julia A. Purnell Museum in Snow Hill, MD.

The view from the balcony outside my hotel room...

My first walk on the Ocean City Boardwalk...

A seagull that came up to greet me on the beach...

Angela, Joy, and Ramona (retreat attendees/stitching friends) were kind enough to invite me along to see some of the area. We ate breakfast at a place called Peppers Tavern...and it was delicious - I had a BLT breakfast sandwich (basically a BLT on an English muffin) and it was fabulous. We then headed to the museum in Snow Hill, MD. 

Here is a little information about the Julia A. Purnell Museum....

Julia was born in Snow Hill, Maryland in 1843. She married William H. Purnell, a storekeeper, in 1869 and had two sons. She created many types of needle art throughout her life, including quilts, cross-stitch and embroidery - then at the age of 85, she began embroidering scenes of homes, churches, and gardens in Snow Hill. Her works won the New York and Philadelphia Hobby Shows, and took the Grand Prize at the Wicomico Farm and Home Show - she became well known and in 1941 she was inducted into the National Hobby Hall of Fame.  Julia's son (William) was proud of her work and in 1942 he joined his mother in founding the Julia A. Purnell Museum. The museum housed many of Julia's works, her tools, and memorabilia from her long life. Julia Purnell died 2 months after her 100th birthday, in December 1943. The museum continued to grow as William added artifacts to the collection. He sought donations from the townspeople who gladly gave their old tools, toys, machines, cooking utensils, clothing, books, and curios - along with the stories behind them. William continued to accept donations until 1957 when he gifted the museum to the Town of Snow Hill. The museum is now no longer a tribute to one woman's art, but had a repository for the memories of the entire town. Today, the museum collection has over 10,000 artifacts, with about 20% on display at any given time - temporary exhibits are displayed each season in order to tell the abundance of heritage stories...

A photo of Julia and a display of her work...

A couple pieces of Julia's embroidery.

Crewel Embroidery by Julia A. Purnell

I loved this bicycle on display...
"Penny Farthing" Bicycle Circa 1880

Interesting "superfine sewing needles" that were 3"- 4" in length. (1914)

Mary Davis Sampler - dated with her birth of  March 22, 1803

Interesting display of early medicines, doctor and dentist tools, and signs
with healing instructions - a favorite:
Bleeding of the nose: Steep a linen rag in vinegar, burn it, and blow smoke
up the nose with a quill. (Click on photo to enlarge and read more)....

After touring the museum we continued on our journey...when seeing a sign for the town of Girdletree, we knew we had to visit...little did we know there wasn't much to see in Girdletree - we did stop at their post office (it was closed) and checked-in on Facebook at the Girdletree Volunteer Fire Department (the only place to check-in)...and then were on our way again. Next stop - historic downtown Berlin, MD (where the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie "Runaway Bride" was filmed)....a quaint area with antiques and shopping...and a tea room. We stopped in an adorable shop called TaDa (it was wonderful!)...checked out a few antique shops...and made our way to the Main Street Enchanted Tea Room for a late lunch. I loved this cozy little tea room....and as soon as I looked in the window I knew I had to step inside. We decided to stay for tea and lunch...lunch was a fabulous apple squash soup, chicken salad and/or ham sandwiches, choice of scone and tea. I had a cranberry orange scone (scrumptious) with Autumn Cranberry tea - it was yummy - and I loved my teacup with a little cottage scene. Sherry Gamble, the owner, was quite accommodating - she let me take an abundance of photos and shared lots of stories with us....it was an enjoyable visit.

It was then back to the Lankford Hotel for the event dinner, reception, and stitching...more on the event and the area tomorrow - for now I must get some sleep, as I leave for New Hampshire on Thursday...I have to get refueled for the next retreat...