One of the best parts of my job at Poor Richard’s Art is working with different artist every day. When I met Myron I knew it was going to take some salesmen ship on my part to encourage him to be part of the Poor Richard’s Art adventure! It took Myron a few visits to our shop before he allowed us to show his work…it was worth the wait! In Myron’s past life he was a programmer for IBM and worked on NASA Apollo projects, so imagine me interviewing this craftsmen of Mission Style Furniture and we start talking programs, inventory control, and what type of projects he could help us on! Myron also brought with him Mark Rademacher of Leaf Shadows. You know you are on right track when Mission comes together with beautiful pottery!
If you are interested in meeting a wonderful artist, great friend to Poor Richard’s Art, and his incredible wife Jan… then come down to the Twilight Walk on November 16th from 4 to 8.
Myron Williams
Indian Creek
Artist’s Statement and Process Description
I began serious woodworking in the early 1970′s as a cabinet maker. My business was started when we purchased a home that needed new kitchen cabinets. As word-of-mouth spread, it wasn’t long before I began building cabinetry for other clients. Indian Creek Wood Products was established in January of 1978.
As time passed, cabinetry became less of a challenge and my interest turned to furniture. After entering just a few craft shows, business improved to the point where it was no longer necessary to market in that venue. There was more work than I could manage with the orders coming from commissions. In earlier years of the business, I would build any style, any size and out of whatever wood the customer desired. Before long it became impractical and I realized that I needed to specialize in both the style of furniture and the types of wood offered to customers. Storage of raw materials had become a real problem.
Around 1995, I became very interested in the revival of Mission furniture which was taking place. I took several trips to learn more about the style and origins of this uniquely American furniture. I liked everything I saw and especially the rich history behind the Arts and Crafts furniture of people like Gustav Stickley. I became a collector and have been building only Mission furniture and accessories ever since. This wonderful furniture originated earlier in the 20th century in an effort to simplify life in the home. This seems to me to be a goal still worthy of pursuit today.
To begin with, I built Mission Furniture from white oak and cherry, but eventually eliminated cherry as an option. Today, I build only from fine quarter-sawn white oak lumber. Furniture and accessories from my shop have been sold in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arkansas. and on the Internet. I continue to sell commissioned furniture, accessories and custom framing through galleries and by appointment. I build exclusively in the Mission style.
The simplicity of decor in Mission style houses led me to combine my interest in pastel painting with mission framing. I enjoy painting pastel landscapes and complimenting them with handmade, quarter-sawn white oak frames. This beautiful wood brings out the best in landscape painting. It has also been a real treat to frame some of Mark Rademacher’s pottery Leaf Shadow tile.
I am very careful to follow the proportions and construction techniques used in the original Mission furniture. This includes mortise/tenon joinery and quadrilinear post construction. Samples of various pieces of my furniture are available for viewing by appointment.
Some of my most popular accessories have been the unique mission style clocks and lamps. The mantle clocks are hand crafted in the Stickley-style. Each clock has an open face (no glass) in keeping with the Arts and Crafts tradition.
All of my furniture and accessories are carefully finished in a highly perfected 5-step process. The finish is available in three different stain colors selected to match traditional Mission furniture.
Mark Rademacher
Leaf Shadows: Pit-Fired Pottery
Artist’s Statement and Process Description
There are many variations of the pit-fire process. I employ a variety of techniques in my version of the process.
My work is fundamentally wheel-thrown and I work with both red and white low fire earthenware. On particular pieces, I will manipulate the form to accommodate the later addition of elements such as wood, copper wire, bone, and beads.
I work in a two-day cycle: the first day, I throw the pots (either 6 or 8 smaller pots or 3 large pots). The following day, I assemble and decorate. The large pots are formed from two separately thrown sections that are joined together when they are slightly wetter than the “leather hard” stage.
The decoration process begins when the forms are firm enough to resist deforming when I imbed leaves in the surface. This is the most creative and rewarding part of my work. I am continually intrigued by the simple act of rolling leaves into a damp clay surface in a never-ending variety of patterns and relationships. Very often, the form or shape of the pot will suggest a particular variety of leaf or leaf pattern. After another brief drying period, a copper oxide stain is brushed or sprayed over the decorated pots. Occasionally, instead of the copper oxide stain, I will brush on a contrasting clay slip (a thin mixture of clay and water). Before the stain or slip is completely dry, the leaves are carefully removed from the surface of the pots.
When the pieces are bone dry, I kiln fire them in a gas-fired kiln to the maturing temperature of the clay body.
After the kiln firing, the pieces are carefully packed into a converted stock watering tank (my “pit”) with a variety of combustible materials, which may include straw, wood chips, sawdust, and shredded paper. A fire is started on top using household paper waste, wood scraps, and dead branches from the woods around my studio. After the fire has burned down to coals, the stock tank kiln is covered with a sheet of tin and allowed to smoke and smolder until all of the fuel is consumed. This usually takes from 24-36 hours. When the tin is cool to the touch, the cover is removed with great anticipation. The results are always interesting.
The interactions between leaf shapes, patterns, and textures; the subtle color shifts produced by the copper glaze chemistry and the heat and smoke of the pit fire combine to create the defining features of my pottery. These integral processes are wedded to my classical vases and jars to produce one-of-a-kind pieces.
