Well-Crafted with Head, Heart and Hand

When you plan your visit to the Burchfield Penney Art Center between now and March of 2013, you would be remiss if you did not spend some time in the Well Crafted exhibition. This exhibition offers a glance into the Arts & Crafts world and features works by many original and contemporary Roycroft Artisans. However, you may be thinking - what does “Well-Crafted” even mean? The Oxford Dictionary defines Well-Crafted as ‘skillfully constructed.’ Although this is an accurate description of the contents of the Well-Crafted exhibit, these unique and hand-crafted pieces were born out of a greater set of ideals. Set forth within the European Arts & Crafts Movement by John Ruskin and William Morris, were concepts of artistic and societal reform; rejecting the machine and mass production, merging beauty and utility, and returning to the ways of hand-craft. These craftsmen ideals became quite popular in Progressive America as well, especially in a quaint village called East Aurora, just outside of Buffalo, New York.

In East Aurora, Elbert Hubbard became a leader in the American Arts & Crafts movement with his artisan community on the Roycroft Campus. Although a large emphasis was placed on printing, Roycroft artisans worked with other mediums including copper, leather and wood. Over the years, Roycroft employed several skilled artisans including W. W. Denslow, Dard Hunter, and Karl Kipp (who’s work is part of the Well-Crafted exhibit) and became a world-renowned destination for the Arts & Crafts. In many ways, Hubbard embodied the ideals of Ruskin and Morris contributing greatly to the Movement in America. Today, the Roycroft Campus is undergoing restoration and the craftsmen ideals are still alive and flourishing.

With all of this in mind, stepping into the Well Crafted exhibit is like having one foot in the past and one in the present. The progression of craft and ideals is evident in the artwork; you gain a greater understanding of what it means to be ‘well-crafted’ when surrounded by so many organic and beautiful pieces. A sense of peace and calm emanates throughout the gallery and it becomes clear that Roycroft is a unique and unparalleled embodiment of Arts & Crafts ideals. In a moment of admiration of these works and what they represent, the words of Elbert Hubbard may come to mind – “Art is not a thing, it is a way of life.”

Amizetta Haj, Museum Studies graduate student at Buffalo State College, reflects on the Well-Crafted exhibit at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Amizetta is a student in Kathy Gaye Shiroki’s Art Education Foundation in Museum Education class at Buffalo State College.