2nd Annual Academy of Mid-19th Century Life -Meet The Presenter: Robin Dorman

Meet the Presenter: Robin Dorman - The Magic of Music

I live and work on Mackinac Island, MI. I have been involved with reenacting for 15 years. My primary interests lie with the material culture of the mid 1800’s. Eventually I want to portray a white cooper who makes buckets, washtubs and other watertight items in use during the period.
Music has been a part of my life since I was little. Beginning at home, moving to the church environment, the school system and then adulthood, I have loved music and the emotions it can elicit from an audience. As an adult, I have performed vocally in many venues. While I have never had the discipline to learn how to play and instrument, I have great admiration for those who do.


To properly perform a piece, I try to imagine the desired emotions the writer wanted to express. Whether performing in front of hundreds or my soon to be wife at our wedding, I look into the faces of my audience to see if I have done justice to the music. I look forward to sharing with you the music of our period of interest to broaden our understanding of its influence.






The goals of the class are to strengthen your impression, introduce you to the prominent writers of the war years and to help you to know which songs are appropriate for the time. We will discuss three types of music, religious, contemporary and military/patriotic.
You will be given handouts and a CD of some of the songs we discuss to take away from the class. Make a list of the music you are familiar with through the hobby and bring it with you. We will put as many as we can into a proper timeline. Throughout the weekend at Hastings there are several opportunities to listen to and participate in performances of period music.

A bit of background:
The nineteenth century brought great upheaval to Western societies. Democratic ideals and the Industrial Revolution swept through Europe and changed the daily lives of citizens at all levels. One result of the Industrial Revolution was the creation of the middle class; this new economic strata consisted of a larger number of people with more expendable income and more leisure time than had ever existed before.

Struggles between the old world order and the new were the root causes of conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the Civil War. From New York, to London, to Vienna, the world was changing and the consequences can still be felt to this day. The lives of musicians, composers, and makers of musical instruments were greatly altered by these social changes. In earlier times, musicians were usually employed by either the church or the court and were merely servants to aristocratic circles. Composers wrote music for performances in these venues, and musical instrument makers produced instruments to be played by wealthy patrons or their servant musicians. With the rise of the middle class, more people wanted access to music performances and music education.

Music gained popularity in the intimate nineteenth-century parlor. At the time, home life was centered in the parlor, where children played and learned with adult supervision, and where the family entertained company. Musical performances for small groups of people became popular events, Music in the parlor was of a very different sort than in the concert hall. Solo performances and chamber music were popular, and included everything from operatic and orchestral transcriptions to sentimental love songs and ballads. In the United States, hymns and folk songs by composers like Stephen Foster supplemented the European repertoire. With the rise of the parlor as the center of family life, music education became increasingly important.

Please consider joining us for the 2nd Annual Academy of Mid-19th Century Life and increasing your knowledge of music of the period, plus more - special early bird registration is still available:

Cost for all four presentations: $25.00
Early Bird Special: $20.00 before June 4, 2011
Final registration date: July 1, 2011

Complete details available

Music gained popularity in the intimate nineteenth-century parlor. At the time, home life was centered in the parlor, where children played and learned with adult supervision, and where the family entertained company. Musical performances for small groups of people became popular events, Music in the parlor was of a very different sort than in the concert hall. Solo performances and chamber music were popular, and included everything from operatic and orchestral transcriptions to sentimental love songs and ballads. In the United States, hymns and folk songs by composers like Stephen Foster supplemented the European repertoire. With the rise of the parlor as the center of family life, music education became increasingly important.
Please consider joining us for the 2nd Annual Academy of Mid-19th Century Life and increasing your knowledge of music of the period, plus more - special early bird registration is still available:
Cost for all four presentations: $25.00Early Bird Special: $20.00 before June 4, 2011Final registration date: July 1, 2011

Mackinac Easter

A beautiful sunny day; it was even almost warm!

Grand Hotel opened on Friday and they hosted an egg hunt for the Island kids, 1200 eggs were hidden in the Tea Garden. Most contained candy but the special "golden eggs" had prizes like dessert at the Gatehouse or a day of swimming at the Esther Williams pool - it didn't take long for them all to be collected!

For those familiar with the Island and Grand, the man in the bunny suit is Bob the hotel historian.

The flowers are just starting to bloom, maybe spring will finally arrive!

Grindle Buttons

I seem to frequently end up with projects within projects within projects....

I'm stuck within one right now; just when I thought the end was in sight, I discovered the buttons I planned to use were just not "right" and neither were any others in my stash. So I'm currently creating a variant of grindle buttons, a needle lace technique.

I had made them previously for a silk vest and I've seen them used on original garments. They are formed over a mold of bone, wood or rag paper.

From a technique standpoint, they are related to Dorset buttons, which have a long history; button making was a cottage industry in the Dorset area of England dating back to at least 1650.

Initially the buttons were made from a disc of the horn of Dorset Sheep. The disk was covered with a piece of cloth and then overworked with a fine tracery of linen thread. The diameter of the buttons ranging from half an inch down to an unbelievable eighth of an inch.

During the early 1700's, the introduction of metal rings, which were cheaper and easier to use, transformed the industry.

In 1731, Blandford draper Robert Fisher opened a button “depot” at his shop, providing the cottagers with a central place to market their buttons, and other businessmen who needed buttons for their products could buy them in bulk. The buttons were sold at between eight-pence and three shillings a dozen, while the women workers averaged about two shillings a day for making six or seven dozen buttons.

While the pay was low, there were advantages: The women could work at home while tending to the needs of their families and weather was not the factor as with farm work, the only alternative. Wear and tear on clothing and shoes, and less physical fatigue, were other factors.

At the Great Exhibition in 1851, a Mr. John Ashton demonstrated a button making machine. It was a disaster for the cottage industry of Dorset, buttons could now be made at a fraction of the cost and at a far more rapid and reliable rate, all identical.

So here's the steps in making my grindle buttons:

1.) I found some domed wooden button molds in my workroom - that hole in the center is important - more later. The mold needs to covered with cloth, I picked some scraps that matched the thread I'd be using for the weaving.

I just did a running stitch around the edge of the fabric circle and snugged it up; it's important that the front be tight and smooth.

Then using perle cotton, I added the "spokes" that are used as the warp when weaving; I choose to have eight spokes. They need to be carefully spaced and stitched in place in the center - that's where the hole in mold is used. Once the molds are in place, the weaving starts; I used a backstitch. It's exciting to see the pattern begin to emerge!

It takes a long piece of thread, there's no way to invisibly add thread, so you need to start with all you need. These buttons have about 2 1/2 yards each, the black one up top has 9 yards of very fine silk thread.

The buttons can be sewn on using the fabric stub as a shank or a small buttonhole stitched loop can be added.

Here's a sneak peek at my project, I'll show more when/if it's ever finished!

April Showers...of Snow?

Help!!!
We've been attacked by rabid snow bunnies!


Okay, not really.
April snow is not really that unusual on Mackinac, but this storm was quite late; and we've been snow free for the most part for quite some time.



First snowmobile past the house: 7:30am.

"I TOLD you it was too early to migrate!"

Parked!

Very relaxing...

I really shouldn't complain, some places in the state ended up with over 9" overnight; we actually got of fairly lightly.

But here's the question: if April showers bring May flowers, what does April snow bring?

Bird Song

"Bird Song" is my entry in the April Art Bead Scene monthly challenge, and I decided to add an additional twist to the challenge: no seed beads!

Here's the inspiration piece:

Finches and Bamboo, is ink and color on silk and dates to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). It illustrates the suprarealistic style of flower-and-bird painting preferred by Huizong's Painting Academy. In such works, the artist displayed his intimate knowledge of the appearance and growth of plants and his ability to render accurately the movements of birds as they hop about or stand poised ready for flight.

The artist, Emperor Huizong (November 2, 1082 – June 4, 1135) was the eighth and one of the most famous emperors of the Song Dynasty of China, with a personal life spent amidst luxury, sophistication and art but ending in tragedy. Born Zhao Ji, he was the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong. In February 1100 his older half-brother Emperor Zhezong died without a surviving son, and Huizong succeeded him the next day as emperor. He reigned from 1100 to 1126. Huizong was famed for his promotion of Taoism. He was also a skilled poet, painter, calligrapher, and musician. He sponsored numerous artists at his court, and the catalogue of his imperial painting collection lists over 6,000 known paintings.

"Bird Song" is a mixed media piece, starting with a base I hand knit using two colors of silk thread. Using two threads resulted in a lovely random coloration effect and gave extra "heft" to the base. Leaves formed of triple layers of silk taffeta; they are intentionally random and frayed. Driftwood forms the branches for my birds to perch; the bird beads are hand cast pewter from mamacitabeadworks on Etsy.

The clasp is also formed of driftwood and highlights one of the lampwork glass beads from mattskiss99 also on Etsy.

This is a really different piece for me; working without my seed beads was very difficult - and no, the small red beads are not seed beads, being perfectly round, they're just small.

Available for purchase here.

Springtime on Mackinac

Look closely - you can still see just a bit of ice along the shore, but the signs of spring are starting to appear. The water near the main docks is crystal clear and just look at the brilliant colors:
This is the type of image I've been experimenting with on my 365 Project - realistic abstraction - giving the appearance of abstraction by how I choose to shoot, atypical angles, close up, etc. Taking things out of their normal context gives a whole new perspective.


The woods are starting to green up, just the mosses so far, but buds are beginning to appear on the trees.

No wildflowers just yet, but I spotted the first crocus this week:

The tulips have sprouted in front of Grand Hotel and these daffodils are reaching skyward:

The migrating wildlife is returning, this female merganser is being avidly courted by a bevy of males:

And the resident wildlife is becoming far more active too:

Everyday more seasonal employees arrive:

(Human ones too!)

There's "projects" going on everywhere - repairing, renewing, renovating. It's possible to bring over heavy equipment by special permit, but only for a very brief window of time; this time of year it's not so unusual to encounter a truck or front end loader, but they'll be gone again in just a few days.

One of the "big barns" is getting a new roof: it's greening up too!

Happy Spring!

2nd Annual Academy of Mid-19th Century Life

I'm very pleased to announce the Academy of Mid-19th Century Life's 2011 presentations:

July 15, 2011

12-5pm

Charlton Park, Hastings, MI

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Cost for all four presentations: $25.00

Early Bird Special: $20.00 before June 4, 2011

Final registration date: July 1, 2011

Clothing Makes the Man: Dressing the Male Civilian 101

Wearing a uniform limits the wardrobe decisions a soldier needs to make, while dressing as a civilian is all about the choices. But where to begin? We will discuss the basic garments that should be present in every man's wardrobe, good sources of patterns and fabrics, what to look for in an appropriately constructed ready-made garment, as well as what to avoid. Not every man was a soldier, but every soldier lived a portion of his life as a civilian - learn how to start dressing the part of a mid-19th century man.

Presented by Kelly Dorman

The Magic of Music

From shape note singing to minstrel shows, form parlors to church pews to patriotic pleas, the melodies and lyrics of music have inspired the hearts of Americans for generations. Bring an appreciative ear or a passionate voice and join us as we explore the songs and songwriters of the 1840's - 1860's.

Presented by Brenda Plakmeyer & Robin Dorman

You Weren't Born Yesterday

What are your earliest memories of your present life? who is the first president you remember, or first significant national event? Can you name some of these things for your Civil War era persona? Do you have one that needs "re-aged", or do you not know where to start? This session will explore the years prior to the Civil War and look at how those events may have affected the outlook of people in the mid-19th century, and thus give some depth to your first person character. Bring your ideas, for this is also a first person development workshop.

Presented by Tonya Woodbridge

Scribbling Spencerian

Sure you know how to write in cursive, but no one can read it. Take a lesson from the man who created his own form of writing, Platt Rogers Spencer. Begin to learn how to form letters using the Spencerian method and add another detail to your impression.

Presented by Sheri Giffin

Workshop sizes are limited, so send your registration soon!

Register by sending a check ($25.00 or $20.00 early bird special prior to June 4, 2011) made out to Sally VanderArk to 807 B Court Ave. Benton Harbor, MI 49085. Please include your name, address and email for confirmation notification.

Questions? Contact me via the "Contact Kelly HERE" button on the top left hand side of this blog.

Please consider joining us - you need not be attending the Charlton Park event to attend the Academy - this is a great opportunity to add to your knowledge of the civilian side of the Civil War era.

Perfectly Complementary - Presentations and Artifacts

The Ladies & Gentlemen of the 1860's conference has many highlights, but the displays of original garments and other artifacts rank very high in any list of those highlights.

The displays change each day of the conference and photos are most definitely allowed; I typically come home with between 800-1000 images each year. The owners of these treasures are very generous people, it's a lot of work to pack, haul, unload and display these items in such a manner so as to allow close examination - and most are quite willing to move an item to show whatever additional detail you may be interested seeing closer.

In the last couple years, many items have placards sharing specific details of each piece and any unusual elements of construction.

Here's a few things I've learned from these wonderful displays:

1.) Every year I encounter at least one garment made up in a fabric that I would never have chosen as appropriate for a mid-19th century garment.

For instance:

But look at this lovely dress for a young girl:

2.) While there are certainly many "standards" of style, there's almost always an exception and the creativity in remaking garments is endless, here's an 1860's "wrap" dress:

The owner believes it may have been reworked from an earlier fan front style.

3.) Extreme caution is needed when making assumptions about textiles from photographs, for instance, look at this very sheer dress with dots in the pattern:

But wait - those "dots" are actually part of a patterned stripe. I am always amazed at how different the fabric can look in a photograph of an overall garment versus a close up of the fabric itself. Add in the peculiar effects of period photography on various colors and it makes me think twice about any conclusions I might assume about a CDV.

Another example:

It would be easy to assume that this is an example of braidwork...

but it's actually printed.

In recent years, effort has been made to coordinate the displays with the presentations. Brian Koenig gave a wonderful presentation, A New Lease on Life: Second Hand, Remade and Altered Men's Clothing and a number of real life examples were available to scrutinize.

One of the most common reasons that clothing was altered was due to increased "girth", this vest has been sliced up the back and a large gusset inserted: From the front, no one would ever know!

This is an amazing example:

This was once a double breasted vest, the careful removal and repair of the old buttonholes is nearly invisible. The gorgeous floral design is also an alteration.

Sometimes originals aren't available for display, but high quality, well documented reproductions can educate also. This was the case for Colleen Formby's talk, Oh! How Full are the Hearts of All: Expressions of Patriotism. Colleen wore her patriotic apron, diadem and cockade.

On display was a large assortment of reproduction patriotic items, representing both sides of the conflict - these are the type of details that truly complete an impression.

I have a weakness for period children's clothing and was quite charmed by the many items displayed to complement Janine Whiteman's discussion, As Pleasingly as Your Means Will Permit: The Dress of Children.

I loved the bows on this dress:

And I couldn't help but laugh when Janine told us that she had found bits of the trim in the pocket - I can just picture the little girl - bored and picking at her dress. And imagine mama's face when she discovered the damage!

The pre-conference workshops are considered too, as shown by these period penwipers.

I never miss an opportunity to view originals - they all have something to teach us, even if it's only to reinforce knowledge we already hold, but I'm endless surprised at how often I learn something new and different.