Full 2009 Schedule Registration information

 

Primitive Painting on a Fire Board, with Gay Held
Wednesday, August 12, to Friday August 14: 9 A.M.–1 P.M.
Member $225; Nonmember $275

Known as “chimney boards” in Europe in the eighteenth century, this household decoration extended the old English custom of placing a large container of greenery on an unused hearth. “Vases are furniture for a chimneypiece, bough pots for a hearth.”

By the first quarter of the nineteenth century, fireboards with floral designs were being supplied by the same traveling artists who were also painting and stenciling the walls and floors of American homes throughout New England and the Ohio River valley. Traveling artists not only portrayed the urn with flower motif, but were keen to replicate the design motif best suited for the home’s interior décor. Landscapes were common as well as views of cities that were often based on contemporary engravings of the time.

The function of this device was to conceal the fireplace chamber when not in use, to prevent drafts from the chimney, to keep soot from blowing onto rugs and furniture, and even to prevent the possibility of birds entering a room. These decorated boards were in service before the invention of the fire damper, which became the new functional means to close a chimney flue. By the mid to late nineteenth century, with the growing improvement and use of the woodburning stove, the need for the fire boards decreased and slowly they have been retired to the realm of decorative objects.

The class will execute a design interpretation based on a mixture of historical examples, using the dominant floral and vase theme. Options will be available for both border motifs and the center urn design. Designs will be supplied but student may personalize their project. The painting will be with acrylic paints along with distress techniques. Board size is roughly 25” by 32” and is constructed from old wooden shutters.

All materials provided. Maximum class size: 8

GAY HELD is a lifelong summer resident of Nantucket. She studied and majored in Fine Art and has continued her artistic endeavors over these past thirty five years. She is currently working in oil painting and is represented by galleries in Chicago and Nantucket. She has maintained a strong interest in the decorative arts over the years and continues to explore and refine her interest in American decorative arts.