The Annual Bungalow Fair
Arts & Crafts Lectures
|
Bruce Smith
Duncan Irwin House, Pasadena/
Photo: Alexander Vertikoff.
|
The iconic Gamble House in Pasadena celebrates a century in 1908. In recognition of this milestone, a major exhibition, A New and Native Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene, opens at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California on October 18 and will be on display through January 4, 2009. The comprehensive exhibit of 160 works, many from private or institutional lenders and never before seen by the public, pays tribute to the defining work of the Greene brothers and their legacy within the American Arts and Crafts Movement. As a teaser to encourage Arts and Crafts lovers to visit southern California or the three additional venues for this exhibit, Historic Seattle presents two lectures that cover Greene and Greene past and present.
The California Vision of Greene & Greene Bruce Smith
Saturday, September 27, 11:30 am
Tickets: $8 members with pre-registration, $10 day of event
Coming to Southern California in the autumn of 1893, Charles and Henry Greene encountered a land holding not just the remnants of native Indian culture, but the rancheros and haciendas, the old adobes and Spanish missions of the recent Spanish and Mexican years of rule. They came to a coastline soon to abound with Japanese and Chinese curio stores, and Japanese-inspired gardens and teahouses. In January of 1894, they started their architectural practice in Pasadena, set at the base of “ America’s Swiss Alps” where a funicular train ride took visitors to a mountain chalet looking out upon the Mediterranean-like Southlands, replete with olive and orange groves. This lecture explores the Greene brothers’ interest in these different manifestations of California, and how it came to define their architecture and interior decorative arts – a style that paid reverence to these diverse elements and has ultimately became part of what defines California.
Bruce Smith researches and writes about turn-of-the-century design and architecture, especially as it relates to the Arts and Crafts movement. He has authored the soon-to-be-released Greene & Greene and the Duncan-Irwin House: Developing a California Style, as well as Greene and Greene Masterworks, and two of the eleven essays in A 'New and Native' Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene, published in conjunction with the centennial exhibition of The Gamble House. Also, he has written three books with his wife, Yoshiko Yamamoto: The Beautiful Necessity: Decorating with Arts and Crafts, Arts and Crafts Ideals, and The Japanese Bath. Book signing follows lecture.
 |
Benjamin Moore and Jennie Nash
Book Cover.The Last Beach Bungalow by Jennie Nash
|
Author Jennie Nash, whose novel,
The Last Beach Bungalow, is a poignant tale about a woman who falls in love with a colorful lived-in bungalow, will present a dynamic talk about color and creativity. Ms. Nash, an instructor at the UCLA Extension Writing Program, will offer an in-depth look at the creative process that will inspire anyone who has ever felt the urge to put words on a page, paint on a wall, or flowers in a vase. In conjunction with Ms. Nash's presentation, Doty Horn, Director of Color for Benjamin Moore Paint, will discuss the historic trends in Arts & Crafts paint colors and schemes and will advise audience members on how to bring both authenticity and personal style to an Arts & Crafts home. All audience members will receive a free signed copy of
The Last Beach Bungalow and handouts from Benjamin Moore.
The Last Beach Bungalow is the story of April Newton, a breast cancer survivor who falls in love with an intact Craftsman bungalow. The house represents everything April is missing in her life - comfort, completeness, survival. Though April's quest for the house takes some surprising twists and turns, her love for it will help put back together the pieces of her heart. Jennie Nash is the author of three books of narrative non-fiction, including
The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming: And Other Lessons I Learned From Breast Cancer. The Last Beach Bungalow is her first novel.
Saturday, September 27,3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Free with admission to the Bungalow Fair
 |
Darrell Peart
Desk designed in the Greene and
Greene style by Darrell Peart
|
While most people associate Greene and Greene with their southern California work, There are also some local connection, including: a house designed by them that was built in Vancouver, BC (now demolished); an extant Greene and Greene style house built in Portland by architect A. Francis Brown, who had worked for the Greene Brothers (rumor has it that Charles Greene visited the building site); and the Hall brothers who did much of the fine work for the architects’ residences also did work in Seattle.
The local revival of interest in the work of the Greene Brothers is expressed in buildings designed or built by local architects and contractors and furniture designed by local craftspeople. Darrell Peart, a long-time exhibitor at the Bungalow Fair, will showcase these connections and the work being produced in our region. He is a furniture maker of custom furniture in the style of Greene and Greene and the author of Greene & Greene: Design Elements for the Workshop.
Sunday, September 28, 11:30 am
Tickets: $8 members; $10 general public; $5 students
 |
Lawrence Kreisman
Book cover: The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest |
For those who missed the publication launch presentation that preceded the 10th Annual Bungalow Fair last year, here’s a second chance. Lawrence Kreisman describes the role played by the Pacific Northwest in the broader national Arts and Crafts movement based on three years of research with co-author Glenn Mason that has resulted in an extraordinary new book published by Timber Press. Two major exhibitions—the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland (1905) and the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle (1909) inspired the growth of regional Arts & Crafts societies and schools. Businesses and individuals capitalized on the movement to introduce new products. Distributors assured that the work of the most significant American companies was shown and promoted in local department stores, galleries, and shops. In this presentation, the author describes the rich legacy of regional architecture, furniture, metalwork, stained glass, ceramics and crafts, printing, photography, and other aspects of the movement in Washington and Oregon. Lawrence Kreisman, Program Director of Historic Seattle, is the author of many books on regional architecture and historic preservation and over 300 design articles and cover stories for Pacific Northwest, the magazine of the Seattle Times.
Sunday, September 28, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Cost: Free with admission to the Bungalow Fair
To purchase tickets to individual lectures, click on the name of the lecture.
