Rob's blog

Felted hat Frog Hollow Artisan Donna Wilson tells of her life and craft...

When my husband and I decided to settle on an old Vermont hill farm 37 years ago, I picked sheep to raise because they were a versatile farm animal, and of a size that I felt I could manage. I had always liked animals and as a young girl fantasized about running a rescue house for stray dogs. As I got older, I trained to be a teacher, but I realized that what I wanted to do more was raise plants and animals. While I was running a small preschool, a friend gave us a Montadale sheep and an Angora goat. The goat was old, and we did not have her bred. Although I now use mohair (the "wool" from angora goats) iin the wool blend yarn for my hats, I buy the mohair, locally, if I can find it. At the beginning, we kept the ewe lambs from each year's lambing and built up our flock, eventually to about sixty ewes, although now we have cut back to about twenty.

Long Trail along the Monroe Skyline by Marilyn Ruseckas

Frog Hollow’s February exhibit “Interpreting the Trail” features Frog Hollow artisan creations inspired by the legendary Vermont Long Trail. The following is Marilyn Ruseckas’ adventurous narrative on how she gathered the materials needed to create her pastel drawing contribution to the show. It should be noted that in addition to being a talented Pastel artist Marilyn is also a world champion, record holding female mountain biker ranked first in the world for her age group…

Monkton Sheep by Lynn Rupe

Every year, Frog Hollow receives dozens of applications from Vermonters wishing to become artisan members. The jurying of new members is essential to the growth of the gallery. As a result of this system, our numbers have grown from a handful of area artisans to a statewide representation of hundreds. The constant goal being to represent the best and most original work created in Vermont.

I have been working with shibori techniques for about three years. I really enjoy the physical aspect of manipulating the fabric. I also love the resulting designs that speak to me of the endless variety of pattern and color found in the natural world. I see butterfly wings, autumn grasses, bird feathers and also images of the earth from high in the sky.

Light Suite by Sabra Field

Like many of the other exhibitors at Frog Hollow, I’ve employed assistants in an atelier system over the years. I’ve had a succession of colleagues who have faithfully replicated my work from the blocks and proofs I created. On the larger more demanding titles we have worked together as a more efficient way of dividing labor. Assistants have done their best to adhere to the proofs and maintain a high standard of accuracy. Of course there were variations in impressions and I expect you have learned, as I did, that there is a huge difference between a slight deviation and a second. I decided long ago not to sell seconds. My goal was that my original thought and my craftsmanship in block cutting and registration be transmitted to the viewer without any distraction. Hand pulled editions vary from impression to impression; it is hard not to rank them by quality.

On March 14th, 2011 the Flynn Center for the Arts, Burlington City Arts (BCA), and the South End Arts and Business Association (SEABA), cooperatively presented a one day workshop "The Business of Art" at Contois (City Hall) Auditorium in Burlington, Vermont. As a representative of Frog Hollow I was asked to participate in a panel discussion in one of the sections focused on "To Market." The following is the speech I gave as an opening to discussion.

-Rob Hunter
Gallery Director
Frog Hollow

Frog Hollow is a 40 year old organization and is distinguished with the honor of being the first state craft center in the nation. We were founded in 1971 with the goal of increasing the exposure of Vermont professional crafts people as well as to provide an educational resource for all ages in all aspects of craft and craft appreciation.

In the spring of 1956 I received orders to ship out to Europe for a 2 and a half-year tour of duty as a US Army Signals Corps photographer stationed in downtown Paris. What luck!

I was a hick from Vermont with a university education. Paris became my graduate school. There I learned about a foreign culture, urban life, art, architecture, music, beauty, fashion, sex, fine food and of course wine. My interest in wine is what led me to take a train to Bordeaux and spend my leave in nearby Margaux, photographing the vendange, or wine harvest, in one of the most famous wine growing regions in the world.