Guest Lecturer: Ron Raiselis, Cooper

Mr. Ron Raiselis began his career as a cooper at Old Sturbridge Village from 1976 to 1985, where he worked under master cooper Lenny Julian.  While at OSV, Mr. Raiselis also trained in the Cabinet Shop.  While at OSV, he also trained others in both the cooper’s and cabinet shops, and completed curatorial department furniture conservation work. Since 1985, he has been the resident cooper at Strawbery Banke Museum and master cooper/sole proprietor of the R. P. Raiselis Cooperage.

Raiselis has produced a wide variety of reproduction (representing forms produced from the 17^th-19^th centuries) barrels, buckets, and other types of specialized containers for museums all over the country, including:

Monticello, Charolottesville,VA

Montpelier, VA

Jamestown Festival Park, Jamestown, VA

Historic St. Mary’s City, MD
Smithsonian American History Museum, Washington, DC

Old Fort Western, Augusta, ME

Colvin Run Mill, Fairfax, VA

Frontier Culture Museum, Staunton, VA

Fort Vancouver, WA

Sutter’s Fort, Sacramento, CA

Fort Ross, CA

Hyde Park, NY (FDR’s home)

Conner Prairie, Indianapolis, IN

Plimoth Plantation, MA
High Desert Museum, Bend OR

Harper’s Ferry National Historic Site, WV

Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY

Fort Snelling, Minn-St. Paul

Church of Latter Day Saints sites at Kirtland, OH and Palmyra, NY

Salem Maritime Museum, Salem MA (also the Friendship, where Ron has not only crafted barrels, but also several Quaker cannons and a repro. ship carpenter’s tool box complete with faux tools).

Mr. Raiselis is listed on the NH Traditional Arts and Folklife directory as a master of a traditional craft.  He has trained two apprentices in coopering (grant funded) through the Arts Council Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants.  

Suggestions for writing an exhibition review/critique

When writing your critique, assume your audience knows little to nothing about the subject you will be presenting.

^ Start with an introduction/overview – the who, what, where, when and WHY

            What is the overarching message the artist/curator/creator is trying to communicate?  Is it successful? Why or why not?

            How is the message conveyed? Objects, labels, panels, multimedia, manipulatives?

            What is the objective? Commemorative, celebratory, biography, oeuvre, community outreach

^ Consider the intended audience: families, adults, special interest groups, children, those with college or advanced degrees, etc.

^ Select a few key items to illustrate your points

^ Assess the layout & lighting, soundproofing. Is the atmosphere conducive to a solitary or shared experience? Was there a natural path through the material? Was the text readable, too short, too long?

^ Was there a dominant narrative voice or perceived bias or agenda?

^ Use examples to highlight methodology used from class lectures and your text books (what method is employed in telling the “story:” labor, economic, gender, craft, connoisseurship, political, etc.

^ Conclude with your assessment

Specifications

Single space

3-5 pages (undergrads)

5-7 pages (graduate students)

Minimum of three references to course texts and lectures

At least one illustration

Footnotes

Sample Exhibit Review from the Washington Post

E-mail

'Civil War,' touching on new aspects of technology

By Philip Kennicott

With Friday's opening of "Discovering the Civil War," the National Archives launches what will be a long and potentially transformative era of Civil War commemorations. As the nation prepares for a string of 150th anniversaries -- of every important battle, every political event, every proclamation...

Here is a good review to read for your critiques.  I will post specifics by end of the day. Feel free to get in touch with any questions.

New Hampshire Preservation Alliance: Old House and Barn Expo

This is a great event and a good way to meet practitioners in the historic preservation field.
www.nhpreservation.org

See also NHPA internship program on their website.

http://www.nhpreservation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=38:old-house-and-barn-expo&catid=2&Itemid=160

Object of the Week for February 22

What is it?

Dig Into the Past Photo Gallery

Thank you to Sheila Charles and Tara Vose for their lecture/workshop last week.  A few photos (objects courtesy Tara Vose):

Dutch tile with biblical reference to Kings

Object of the week returns...What is it?

What might this have been used for? What are its primary materials, composition? Possible date? Feel free to post comments to the blog...

Dig Into the Past: Researching Ceramics and Artifacts

15 February 2012

DIG INTO THE PAST

“It’s not what you find; it’s what you find out.”-David Hurst Thomas

“..Archaeology is not about things, it is about people.

 It is about understanding life in the past,

about understanding who we are and where we came from.”

From The Awful Truth About Archaeology by Lynne Sebastian, Society for American Archaeology, SAA Archaeological Record, Vol.3, No.2, p. 37

 Surviving artifacts tell a story – providing clues about culture, time period, resources in the environment, trade networks and other details. They reflect the individuals and culture associated with them - Native Americans, immigrants, early settlers, sea captains, tavern keepers, craftsmen, or merchants. What are the artifacts made of? Where were they made?  Who made them? These are some of the fundamental elements of scientific inquiry pertaining to artifact research that we will be discussing: 

^WHY IS THE PAST IMPORTANT?  

^OBSERVATION AND INFERENCE

^SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTEXT

^CHRONOLOGY

^CLASSIFYING/CATALOGUING BASED ON ARTIFACT ATTRIBUTES               

^ANALYSIS/CROSS-DATING/ANALOGIES             

^ INTERPRETATION            

^SHARING THE INFORMATION

Guest Lecturers:

Sheila Charles is an independent archaeologist and historian specializing in New England and Colonial history, environmental review, cultural resource management and archaeological education. She is Chief Archaeologist at Strawbery Banke Museum, President of the New Hampshire Archaeological Society and Co-coordinator of Project Archaeology. Charles holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Anthropology from California State University Northridge.

Over the last forty years, Charles has conducted archaeological research in projects across North America, from California, to Ohio, and the New England States. She has played an integral role as a principal investigator, historic sites archaeologist, historian, archaeological laboratory supervisor, and cultural resource manager and authored over seventy five archeological reports and articles. In addition, Charles teaching and outreach experiences include directing college and independent field schools and educational enrichment projects, teachers’ workshops, as well as lecturing and exhibit development. 

Tara Vose is Curator and Collections Manager at Strawbery Banke Museum, a position she has held since 2002.  Her MA. is in history from the Pennsylvania State University; she is ABD from the College of William and Mary, also in history and museum studies.  Prior to arriving at SBM, Tara interned in interpreter training and historic trades at Colonial Williamsburg, and was Curator of the History Media Center at the University of Delaware.

Through avocation and practice, Tara brings a wealth of knowledge regarding ceramics, furniture, historic textiles and all manner of needle arts to Strawbery Banke Museum and to Portsmouth area historic houses and institutions including the Portsmouth Athenaeum, the Warner House, and the Portsmouth Historic House Association. She is an active member of the China Students Club and serves as a juror for Early American Life Directory of Traditional Crafts.

UNH Museum Upcoming Exhibition Teaser

Embellishments: Constructing Victorian Detail

Follow the link below for further information:

http://zephyrs10.blogspot.com/2012/01/victorian-embellishments-teaser.html

The Material Culture of Early American Books - Professor Dane Morrison

In preparation for Professor Morrison's lecture "The Material Culture of Early American Books" this evening, or as a post lecture follow up, you may find this link and related analysis an intriguing topic for further research into print or book culture and its relationship to material culture methodology.




http://individual.utoronto.ca/klinauskas/objectstudy.html

Please welcome our guest lecturer, Professor Dane Morrison.

Dr. Dane Morrison is Professor of Early American History at Salem State University.  He holds the Ph.D. from Tufts University, an M.B.A. from Boston College and an M.A. from Salem State University.


Among his selected publications include: Hero or Coward? The Story of  General Fitz John Porter (Co-author, Portsmouth, NH. TheBlueTree, 2011); True Yankees: Americans, the South Seas, and the Discovery of National Identity (forthcoming, 2012); Encyclopedia of World History, Vol. 6: The First Global Age. Editor. San Francisco: ABC-CLIO (2011);  Salem: Place, Myth, and Memory. Dane A. Morrison and Nancy L. Schultz, eds. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2004; Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2005;  American Indian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues. Editor. New York: Peter Lang, 1997. 

Topics for Exhibition Critiques

**Choose two from list below for your analysis

PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM, SALEM, MA

http://www.pem.org/exhibitions/

Exhibitions:

^Shapeshifting: Transformations in Native American Art

^Written in the Waves: Shipboard Journals and Logbooks

(also see Freeport No.011)

Architecture:

^Gardner Pingree/Crowninshield Bentley House

MAINE HISOTRICAL SOCIETY, PORTLAND, ME

http://www.mainehistory.org/museum_overview.shtml

Exhibition:

^Dressing Up, Standing Out, Fitting In: Adornment & Identity in Maine, 1750-1950

Architecture:

^Longfellow House

MAINE STATE MUSEUM. AUGUSTA, ME.

http://www.mainestatemuseum.org/exhibits/at_home_in_maine/

Exhibition:

^At Home in Maine

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/embroideries-colonial-boston-1

Exhibition:

^Embroideries of Colonial Boston

NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

http://www.nhhistory.org/museum.html

Exhibitions:

^ Icons of History: Objects That Define New Hampshire

Undergraduate Research Opportunities, UNH

To: UNH and UNH-M Faculty

From: Paul Tsang, Faculty Director
Molly Doyle, Administrative Director
Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research

Please inform your students of the opportunities described below and especially encourage students who you think are prepared for this type of experience. The Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research funds research, scholarly and creative projects in all fields of study.

SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS (SURF):
Ten weeks of full-time research at UNH or another research site within the United States.

Application Deadline: March 1, 2012 for summer 2012
Fellowship: $3,500
Expense Award: $600 maximum
Eligibility: 3.0 cumulative GPA & at least sophomore status at time of application

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AWARDS: For academic year or summer research at UNH or another research site within the United States. (Research time commitment is flexible.)

Application Deadline: March 1, 2012 (for research spring, summer, or fall 2012)
Stipend Award: $1000 (if research is not for credit)
Expense Award: $600 maximum (for credit- or non-credit-bearing research)
Eligibility: 2.0 cumulative GPA

INCO 590: Student Research Experience 
1-4 credits (Credit/Fail). Entry-level, apprenticeship experience; designed to help students develop research skills and prepare for more advanced research. INCO 590 gives students the opportunity to assist faculty members in their scholarly, research, and teaching activities. Students enrolled in INCO 590 are eligible for up to $200 to support research expenses. (Registration follows add/drop period.)

INCO 790: Advanced Research Experience
1-4 credits (Graded). Advanced-level experience; designed for students who are conducting more advanced research and applying research skills they already have developed. INCO 790 gives students the opportunity to pursue an independent project in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Students enrolled in INCO 790 are eligible for up to $200 to support research expenses. (Registration follows add/drop period.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION on eligibility, application procedures, and/or guidelines:

Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research
Hood House 209
Phone: 862-4323
Website: http://unh.edu/undergrad-research 

Watch our video for a quick look at what we have to offer: http://www.unh.edu/ucm/hamel/