More details about the Jane Sauer extravaganza event in October! Jane comes to us from New Mexico, where she owns and runs the Jane Sauer gallery – a destination point for collectors of art from around the world. The gallery exists to present the work of local and international artists who have mastered a variety of media.
Saturday, October 1st
Gilcrease Museum
“Living With Craft” Lecture and Cocktail Reception
4-7PM, Free and Open to the Public
This event will give the public an opportunity to learn all about fine craft – its definition, how modern artists are interpreting craft materials, and craft’s relationship to fine art. Jane has a unique perspective on this given her lengthy history and breadth of experience in the art world.
This talk will appeal to fine craft newcomers as well as collectors wanting to learn from Jane’s expertise in the field. The talk, “Living With Craft” will do just that – help those new to craft and those seasoned craft aficianados find new ways to appreciate fine craft in their daily lives.
Sunday, October 2nd
Philbrook Museum
Brunch and Conversation with Jane
12:00 – 1:30 PM, Brady Craft Alliance members only
On Sunday, Jane Sauer will dive into her experiences in the art world both as an artist and a gallerist in Santa Fe. This intimate conversation will give BCA members a fresh perspective on both sides of the art world. Attendees may even have a chance to tour behind the scenes at Philbrook….check back often for more details!
The BCA is very proud to announce that we are bringing the renowed Santa Fe gallerist Jane Sauer to Tulsa this fall!
Details will be forthcoming, but in the meantime – mark your calendars for October 1st and 2nd.
October 1st, 2011 – Lecture and Cocktail Reception at the Gilcrease Museum, from 4-8 PM. Free and open to the public.
October 2nd, 2011 - Brunch with Jane Sauer at the Philbrook Museum. Brady Craft Alliance members.
It can be difficult to define art as well as craft, and even more difficult to distinguish between the two (partially because the lines are blurry). But here’s a good definition we found recently:
“Art and craft, you realize, can in no way be separate from each other. Art is the concept, or mental image of the artist, craft is the making of that concept or image. This applies to any process or medium where an artist is imposing ideas upon materials for a given end.” – Dick Beasley
Of course, there are so many defintions out there…and we are always looking for new ones!
We’ve fixed a few details from the “If These Walls Could Talk” article from our most recent newsletter – see below for the corrected version.
If These Walls Could Talk : A Brief History of the Mathews Warehouse
By Caroline Benediktson
On July 14, 2011, Brady Craft Alliance was officially offered space in the Mathews Building by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. BCA will have 3600 square feet in the westernmost section of the building built in 1958. Kinslow, Keith & Todd, Inc. is designing a plan to include gallery space, a gift store, offices for staff and storage for BCA, and a shared catering kitchen. Neighboring tenants will include the University of Tulsa, Gilcrease Museum and Philbrook Museum. Plans for the historic rehabilitation of the four buildings are being reviewed by the Oklahoma preservation office and the National Park Service. The buildings are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as contributing resources to the proposed Brady Historic District.
The Mathews Building is the most recent name for the four Tulsa Paper Company buildings. Long before Kimberly-Clark came to Tulsa, the Tulsa Paper Company was a wholesale distributor of paper goods – sacks, wrapping paper and toilet paper – on Brady Street. Tulsa Paper Company built the four commercial warehouses on Brady Street in 1922, 1927,1928, and 1958 directly north of the current Tulsa City Hall. The four brick buildings were built separately and were eventually linked together as the Tulsa Paper Company grew.
From 1919 to 1963, Tulsa Paper Company was part of an area of town dedicated primarily to commercial industry and oil. Industries supporting the oil industry were located in the Brady area including the Robinson Packer Company, oil and gas well manufacturers of swadge nipples, swabs and packers for “every know purpose”, and Mack International Motor Truck Corporation providing motor truck parts and accessories. Workers and salesmen could sleep and play in close proximity to their work in local housing and recreational facilities. Most of the historic hotels are gone and the Regal Hotel located in the upper two floors of the Robinson Packer Building is currently being converted into apartments
Interestingly, Tulsa Paper Company never owned the land beneath the buildings. The land was sold to Charles Page in 1918. Page transferred the land to his Sand Springs Railway Company in 1930, and then to the Sand Springs Home. The Sand Springs Home at the time was an orphanage founded by Page to fulfill a promise to his mother made after his father died to “take care of you, and I’m going to take care of other widows, and orphans too.” He built the orphanage west of Tulsa and the city of Sand Springs was built around the home. Today the Home provides residential care for 20 children who cannot live at their homes due to family problems. The Family Village houses single mothers and their children in duplex-style housing. The George Kaiser Family Foundation obtained the land and buildings in 2007.
For all of those on our mailing list, you should have received our brand new, first edition newsletter sometime today (July 18th, 2011). It details our future gallery in the western section of the Mathews Warehouse in the Brady Arts District, our call for resumes for the Executive Director, and an overview of Margaret Roach-Wheeler’s style show. Plus, two longer articles on “What is Fine Craft?” and “If These Walls Could Talk: A History of the Mathews Warehouse” both written by our very own Board member, Caroline Benediktson.
If you would like to join the BCA mailing list, please send your information to myra@bradycraftalliance.org. And look for another installment of the quarterly newsletter this October!
The Associated Press recently came out with an article detailing the copyright issues that craft artists may encounter. The author, Amy Lorentzen, says that “Crafters may not realize such work is protected and theft occurs often.”
You can read the article here.
As we have previously announced, the BCA will be moving in to our own gallery space Fall 2012! We are so lucky to have the opportunity to move into the western section of the Mathews Warehouse space in the Brady Arts District. We will have some fantastically artistic neighbors, including the AHHA, the Arts & Humanities Council Hardesty Arts Center.
See below for the “before” pictures of our space…..
View of the space, looking east (our space is on the north side of the building)
View of the space, looking west
The Brady Craft Alliance sponsored an award at this year’s FiberWorks event to recognize ”Excellence in Contemporary Craft.”
This year’s award went to Marilyn Artus for her pieces “After All Those Years it Still Left Her Empty” and “She Knew She Would Never Forget.” Marilyn is known for her embroidered collages that explore “what it means to be a woman…aspect[s] of the female persona.”
Juror Jane Dunnewold, Marilyn Artus’ work
Congratulations to Marilyn on her wonderful work!
Seeking: Full Time Executive Director, Non-profit Arts Organization
Minimum Education: Bachelor’s Degree
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Available beginning October 1, 2011
Deadline: Screening of applications will begin September, 2011, and will continue until the position is filled.
Responsibilities: The Executive Director must have experience in arts administration and will be responsible for operations of the organization on a daily basis. He/she will report directly to the Board of Directors and be required to support and promote its Mission.
He/she will manage the opening of a new gallery space for the Brady Craft Alliance, including a Gift Shop. He/She will help procure exhibitions for this space and oversee the installation, publicity, and events that surround such exhibitions (including public and educational programs.)
He/She will cultivate key relationships with area arts communities and have a familiarity with non-profit governance. Grant writing and involvement in fundraising events are expected with a focus on securing corporate and major donor funds.
The Executive Director will be required to manage the budget with responsibilities such as filing legal reports, monitoring cash flow, and acquiring and maintaining revenue streams. He/She will hire staff, supervise volunteers, and supervise the Gift Shop.
The Executive Director must have strong leadership and communication skills. Experience in the non-profit industry is desirable but not required.
Mission: Brady Craft Alliance is a young non-profit arts organization whose mission is to Encourage the Art of Craft. Our goal is to create a craft community that will facilitate partnerships with artists, collectors, curators, museums and educators alike and furnish educational opportunities for public awareness of contemporary fine craft.
Background: BCA is a non-profit community arts organization inspired by an historic arts district developing just north of downtown Tulsa. The Brady Arts District is home to galleries, restaurants, museums, the University of Tulsa and the Tulsa Visual Arts Center. It will feature a central park for art events as well as family enjoyment; lofts and studios for artists. It is becoming a destination for all ages and is helping to urbanize our downtown.
The Brady Craft Alliance is proud to be a part of this development as it champions the traditions of fine handiwork in Oklahoma as expressed in contemporary craft.
Application: Please submit to:
Myra Block
Brady Craft Alliance
427 S. Boston, #711
Tulsa, OK 74103
myra@bradycraftalliance.org
The BCA put on a fiber workshop for the Bishop Kelley Summer Class on Wednesday, June 15th 2011. The students came to see the FiberWorks show at Living Arts and then worked with our very own Jan Hawks to create “Fiber Sculptural Forms.”
Jan Hawks and students with their final pieces
Crochet techniques at work
