What's new at Artistic Roots?

Work by Barbara McAlister

New Members: Dick Batchelder, owner of Harmony in Wood from Bristol, and Barbara McAlister, owner of The McAlister Collection in Canaan, were voted into the gallery this month. Dick, who does spectacular woodturning, was a member of Village Artists of Ashland for many years, and served two terms as that group's president. Barbara, widely known for her whimsical hand-painted wood carvings, was a member of the Cardigan Mt. Co-Op in Canaan and sells her work at several locations, including the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT. Dick and Barbara are both also juried members of the highly-respected League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.  

New Look: Four times each year, the gallery, is given a brand new look. Last month, all forty-five juried local artisans moved to different locations and brought in exciting new work. Thousands of original, locally-crafted works of art in dozens of media including woodworking, fiber arts, metal smithing, painting, drawing, photography, mosaics, paper, glass, jewelry, pottery, prints, carvings, sculpture, decorative painting, and more. Members, who each work one day a month in the gallery, often demonstrate their mediums in the AR class room that is handicap accessible. The two large display windows in front of the gallery have also just been redone.     

Work by Dick Batchelder

New Classes:  The winter class schedule includes sessions for people of all ages, levels and abilities. Classes are being offered in oil painting with Cam Sinclair, watercolor painting with Cheryl Johnson, multi-plate printing with Alma Grand, and portrait drawing with Carol Phenix. Patti Burlingame will present jewelry making and felted scarf classes, while Lynn Haust will offer two workshops in kiln-fired glass.  More classes are being added to the schedule all the time. Check the AR website www.artisticroots.com for current offerings. In addition to classes, AR also offers Art Parties that are fun sessions in various mediums available for birthdays, friends' nights out, family gatherings, corporate functions, and more.

 

New Director: Monique MacIntosh of Campton has been selected to replace Cheryl Johnson as Executive Director of Artistic Roots. Monique, who joined the group in August specializes in recycled paper bead jewelry.  She has a professional background in communication and administration, and recent education in global sustainability.  She hopes to use that knowledge to help the co-op achieve its mission and become successful, green and a positive force in the community.   

Want to know more? Click on www.artisticroots.com, call us at  (603) 536-2750 or stop by the gallery!

Eric Johnson--Now a member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen

We are so pleased to announce that Eric has recently successfully juried into the respected League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.  This long standing group has established a reputation for excellence among its members, so it is with great pleasure that we have achieved this association.

If you aren't familiar with The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen or its members, you might enjoy reading more about it here. 

Also, our first class session has begun.  Two enthusiastic students are building a classic cherry side table that will be ready well before Christmas.  We are working on the class schedule for the New Year and have created an email list just for those specifically interested in woodworking classes, so if this interests you or someone you know, please email or call  so that we can inform you of the classes to be offered.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone that joined us for our Open House the first weekend of November.  The lovely company and beautiful weather combined to make a great event!  We appreciate each one that took their time to come, visit, explore the world of heirloom quality furniture, and meet us & our guest artists, Cheryl & Joyce! 

Without our customers there would be one less small business in America!

Until next time,

Eric & Debbie Johnson
http://www.ericjohnsonsfurniture.com/
Email:  info@ericjohnsonsfurniture.com
(603)726-4980
Campton, NH

Business After Hours, November 16th

Join us this Wednesday, November 16th as we host Plymouth Regional Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours.

Mix and mingle with many of our artists while touring our spacious shop and classroom. The perfect chance to start your Holiday Shopping!

5:00 - 7:00pm

Wednesday, November 16th.

Find out more about Business after Hours and other Chamber Events @ http://www.plymouthnh.org/inner.php/Chamber+Events/Business+After+Hours/

Fresh from the Kiln...

Milk Bottles are back in stock at Artistic Roots

Come in to pick out your favorite or order @

http://www.etsy.com/shop/maryober

 

and skip the shipping when you pick it up at Artistic Roots.

Robbin Adams at Red Gate Farm

Robbin Adams, Printmaker, member of Artistic Roots in Plymouth, NH is featured in this upcoming Printmakers show at the Red Gate Gallery in Plymouth, NH:

 

Opening Reception

Friday Evening, November 4th

5-8 pm

 

A portion of all Sales

Will Go to Support

Pemi-Baker Literacy

See you There!

Woodworking Classes--Eric Johnson's Furniture

I am pleased to announce that if you are in the Central New Hampshire area on weekends and are interested in learning woodworking, that I am now offering classes. 

In this first class session we will be constructing an 18" cherry side table.  We will cover tool usage, wood movement, mortise and tenon joinery, tapering legs and finishing techniques.  When the class is over, you will be able to take your table home--just in time to enjoy for the holidays--or even give as a gift.

This class will cover three weekends beginning Saturday,  November 12. 

Cost of the class is $325, including materials.

Call or email for more information, exact dates & times, & specific questions.  I am limiting the class size to 3, once it is full, I will be happy to put you on a waiting list and let you know about future classes.

Until next time,


Eric
Email: info@ericjohnsonsfurniture.com
http://www.ericjohnsonsfurniture.com/
(603)726-4980

Adjustable Shelf Supports--Eric Johnson's Furniture

Hello again,

Here is the blog that I have been meaning to write the past couple of weeks--the exciting world of adjustable shelf supports!

You all have seen them.  Simple little metal clips that have a round post on one end and a flat surface on the other.  You push the round post into a hole in each corner of the case and viola', adjustable shelf support.

When I started getting serious about building reproduction furniture, I quickly realized that this wasn’t acceptable. I looked for other ideas--preferably antique ideas.  I found a bookcase that was build in the early 1800’s that had a type of saw tooth cut into a board that was attached to the case sides.  There where four of them.  Two facing each other--front to back--on one side and a matching set on the other side.  In between was another board that fit into the saw tooth.  The shelf fit onto this board and then was adjusted to the desired spacing. 

Here was my answer; however, it looked quite time consuming to build.  In a fit of clarity, I happened upon the solution.  Now I am sure I did not invent this idea, but I did come up with it on my own. 

My solution is to take a board that is about a 1 ½” thick (you can glue two boards together if you would like) and about 3 ¼” wide by however long I need.  I then start about 6” from the bottom and drill a ¾” hole in the center of the board every 1 ½” along the length.  I use a paddle bit or a fostner bit in my drill press.  Don’t use a hand held drill for this.  Once I have this done, I can then re-saw it on my table saw and cut them in half through the center of the holes. I now have four individual pieces.  Before I cut them apart, I label them A,A B,B, as you can see in the drawing.  I then attach them to the case with A,A facing each other on one side and B,B on the other.  In between I make a 5/8” thick board to fit as a shelf support.  You can see this in the picture.

I have been making this type of shelf support for about 10 years and I am really happy with it.  It’s elegant, quick, works flawlessly and fits the style of furniture I build.  This is a small detail in the whole scheme of the piece but I feel it is an important detail in separating a custom furniture maker from a factory.  This type of adjustable shelf support will last 250 years as opposed to the factory way described earlier. 

If you would like to see a video demonstration of this or some of my other techniques, leave some feedback or send an email and I will think about working on some of those.

Until next week,

Eric
http://www.ericjohnsonsfurniture.com/
Email: info@ericjohnsonsfurniture.com
603-726-4980
Campton, NH  03223