Creole Master Craftsmen

September 26, 2014 by Charlie London

Master Plasterer Jeff Poree, NOMCG President Jonn Hankins, Master Blacksmith Darryl Reeves.
Master Plasterer Jeff Poree, NOMCG President Jonn Hankins, Master Blacksmith Darryl Reeves.

Reviving the Tradition of the Creole Master CRAFTSMEN

By Sharon Litwin at nolavie.com

Master Plasterer Jeff Poree, NOMCG President Jonn Hankins, Master Blacksmith Darryl Reeves.

Over a decade ago when Jonn Hankins worked at the New Orleans Museum of Art, he helped to organize an extraordinary exhibition called Raised to the Trades: Creole Building Arts of New Orleans. Its focus was on the craftsmen and artisan families who were the original builders of so many of this city’s magnificent houses. But more than that, it was an eloquent and poignant look at those still working in the building trades.

As the years have gone by, the number of skilled master craftsman has gotten smaller and smaller. For Jonn, who moved on from NOMA to a number of other positions around the city, it is a worry since he has never lost his admiration for the skill of those few master craftsmen remaining. So he has created the New Orleans Master Crafts Guild in order to pass along the knowledge of New Orleans’ still-living artisans. Its beginnings are modest and small.

“We’re going to start with the two trades most identifiably related to New Orleans: ironwork and plastering,” he says. “There is generation upon generation of expertise still existing. And, more importantly, they are both the most threatened.”

Master Blacksmith Darryl Reeves. Photo: Rush Jagoe
Master Blacksmith Darryl Reeves. Photo: Rush Jagoe

But who really needs these old-fashioned trades in this day and age anyway? After all, the construction needs of many of today’s houses, modest or McMansions, can be met through the vast and affordable inventories of this country’s big box home-building stores.

Jonn says there definitely is still a need for individual craftsmen and artisans here. For, he explains, unlike other older communities with historic areas in defined compact sections – Charleston and Savannah, for example –  we are blessed with an extraordinary number of centuries-old properties throughout the entire Crescent City.

“As long as they are around there will always be a need for ironwork repair, as well as outdoor columns and ceiling medallions,” he says. “So the most important thing is to bring in younger people not yet in those trades and to develop more skills in those already in the trades so they can become masters. We need to have a trained community who know how to maintain our housing stock.”

And, he adds, this trained community can also become the hub for an industry that can be exported. Not only are there other cities in need of such craftsmen skills, there are other countries, too. Take the case of a young Englishman who had not only discovered the joys of living in New Orleans, but had also expanded on his own skills as an historic building’s craftsman by observing that was occurring here. He was recently wooed back to his homeland to work on restoring a 17th century manor house there.

In the coming months, NolaVie will focus on the skills and philosophies of our city’s remaining revered master craftsmen. In the meantime, for more information on the New Orleans Master Crafts Guild and its soon-to-be incubation center in the 7th Ward Community Center on the site of the former Corpus Christi School, contact [email protected].

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: art, bayou st john, craft, craftsmen, creole, Darryl Reeves, faubourg st john, iron, Jeff Poree, Jonn Hankins, New Orleans, plaster, sculpture, work

Bayou Boogaloo

May 15, 2013 by Charlie London


Sculpture taking shape. Lightning struck tree on Bayou St. John being transformed into local landmark. iPhone photo taken by Charlie Lonodn at 6:15 a.m. on May 14, 2013.

sculpture-2013may14-0600-CL

You can thank the Mothership Foundation which is the force behind the Bayou Boogaloo for contacting artist Martin Miller who made this happen. Jared Zeller is the Director.

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The old dead oak on Bayou St. John is being transformed into a local landmark. Look for seagulls to be part of the sculpture soon!

bayou-sculpture-2013may11

This sculpture by Martin Miller is a project of the Mothership Foundation which produces the Bayou Boogaloo. Jared Zeller is the Director.

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Work on the sculpture produced a lot of cut up oak logs and branches free for the taking!

Click on the photos by Charlie London for a larger view.

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below by Doug MacCash

Friday’s endless rain didn’t help artist Marlin Miller. Miller, a Florida wood sculptor has begun carving a dead oak tree on Bayou St. John near Orleans Avenue. As of noon Saturday (May 11) Miller had transformed one branch of the tree into a flying egret. He plans to carve more birds, plus a few musical instruments into the tree in time for Bayou Boogaloo, which takes place May 17 to 19. Bad weather tightens his already tight schedule.

Though Miller and I had never met, I knew some of his work. Those wooden wildlife totems along the coast road leading to the Ohr-O’keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi are Miller’s. Since Hurricane Katrina, he’s specialized in chain sawing dead coastal trees into monumental statues.

Standing in the soupy grass beside the bayou, Miller said his art was part of a campaign, sponsored by Bayou Boogaloo, to restore the trees along the historic waterway. Miller said that his 30- ft. tree had been killed by lightening strike during Hurricane Isaac. As I left, Miller used a mechanical man lift to elevate himself into the lower limbs. The sound of a chainsaw rattled in the bayou breeze.

Stay tuned for project updates.

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/05/sculptor_martin_miller_transfo.html

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Chain saw artist Marlin Miller transforms tree for Bayou Boogaloo, New Orleans
Doug MacCash, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on May 13, 2013 at 11:34 AM, updated May 13, 2013 at 1:13 PM

I have a certain criteria and this tree right here just absolutely capped every one of my criteria — Marlin Miller

Wood chips flew like sparks as sculptor Marlin Miller used the tip of his roaring chain saw to carve feathers into the wings of an oaken seagull. As he worked, Miller stood in the basket of a yellow spiderlike mechanical lift – the sort of thing used to change street lamp bulbs. The coarse saw dust from his carving fell at least 30 feet before it settled on the damp grass beside Bayou St. John. On Sunday afternoon (May 12), Miller, who lives in Florida, had less than a week to finish his oak tree sculpture in time for the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo, a neighborhood festival that takes place May 17-19.

Miller, wearing mirror glasses, hazard orange work pants and a T-shirt advertising the chain saw company that sponsors him, said he was born into an artistic family. His mother, grandfather and great-grandfather were painters, he said. But he was drawn to sculpture.

“I was always, like, three-dimensional,” he said. “I messed around with clay and wire sculpture and I got involved with wood and I just kept taking it to a higher and higher and bigger level. It’s what moves me.”

Miller said he has a thriving career selling portable wooden sculptures from several galleries, but producing monumental carvings from trees that remain deeply rooted in the earth is his passion. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he said, he has had plenty of opportunities to transform trees killed by the storm and flood into sculpture. Anyone who’s traveled U.S. 90 through Biloxi, Miss., has seen his works rising from the median.

The tree Miller is carving on Bayou St. John did not die in 2005. It had survived the wind and water of Katrina, only to be killed by lightning during Hurricane Isaac in 2012. Money raised during the upcoming Bayou Boogaloo celebration will be used to plant more replacement oaks around the somewhat bare south end of the bayou – a few young trees already are in place. Calling in Miller to produce a carving from the remaining dead tree is meant to focus attention on the replanting.

“I get offers from all over the country many times a year,” he said. “I’m unfortunately not able to do most of the those projects. But I have a certain criteria and this tree right here just absolutely capped every one of my criteria. It’s got to be a big tree. It’s got to be an oak or a hard wood. It has to be on a public piece of property in a highly visual area, and the last thing it has to have is, it’s got to have some emotion. That’s this tree perfectly described.”

The emotion of the tree had to do with the history of the area in the distant and more recent past, Miller said. He had been told that almost 300 years ago, the bayou was the entryway for the French founders of New Orleans. He had been told that small boats used to move supplies along the waterway. He had been told that a helicopter had crashed not far from the tree during the 2005 flood evacuation. All true. Someone will certainly mention that the tree is a witness to the splendor of Mardi Gras Indians, who gather in its shadow for annual parades.

Miller said that other chain saw artists might have chosen to lop the large branches off of the top of the tree at the start of the project, using the massive trunk alone as raw material for a totem-like carving, but he wanted to “keep this sculpture looking like a tree.” To take advantage of the relatively narrow branches, he chose to carve delicate birds in flight.

“I decided to leave the branches (in place) and put in a lot of the birds that are indigenous to this area, the seagulls, the herons and the cranes and egrets, and a pelican. I think I might be able to sneak a little owl in there somewhere. And if I have time, I’m actually going to try to incorporate a school of trout in the base of the trunk.”

Miller said he had been told that the ecosystem of the bayou was changing since it had been better opened to Lake Pontchartrain, which raised the salt content of the water, possibly allowing trout to ply the waters.

Miller, whose face is perpetually coated in feathery wood residue, said the chain saw company that sponsors him covers his expenses, and he donates the art-making for free. The old oak, he said, is almost as hard as rock. He has 100 spare chain saw chains. His first day of work, Friday (May 10), had been completely rained out. He said he was blessed with a cool breeze and an overcast sky on the second day, as he stripped the tree of small branches. By Sunday, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds, promising hot work ahead. The process is a labor of love.

“This is way too much work for money,” he said. “You have to have something way more powerful than money behind you to climb up a tree, 35 feet, and deal with these conditions.”

High in the branches of the tree, Miller petted the splintery surface of a diving gull as he explained that the coarse chain saw carving was only the beginning. Later, he would return to each bird, burning the carved lines with a torch to produce dramatic shadows. Then he would use a wood grinder to smooth the carving and brighten the surface of his enormous sculpture. He planned to varnish the entire tree and to treat the base with termite repellant to lengthen the life of the sculpture.

As Miller descended in the mechanical lift, a man appeared on the far side of the bayou, shouting and gesturing enthusiastically in his direction. When the man got close enough to be heard, he announced that he, too, was a chain saw operator, who had worked on construction sites across the city. The shouted conversation wasn’t about art; it was about the bond between chain saw aficionados everywhere.

Lots of people pass by the tree to offer Miller encouragement. Many, Miller said, recount their storm, flood and recovery experiences. Most probably appreciate Miller’s efforts to give the old oak a few more years.

“It makes me feel really good as an artist that maybe we can stick something out here that maybe people can reflect on.”

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/05/chain_saw_artist_marlin_miller.html?fb_action_ids=10151615242019841&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: bayou, bayou oak, bayou st john, best neighborhood in New Orleans, faubourg st john, New Orleans, new orleans best neighborhood, oak, sculpture

Peggy Bishop at Jazz Fest

January 28, 2012 by Charlie London

Faubourg St. John Neighbor Peggy Bishop
to Show Work at Jazz Fest


First Weekend April 27, 28, 29, 2012
Hours of Operation 11AM – 7PM Daily

Faubourg St. John neighbor Peggy Bishop would like to announce that her work will be available in the Contemporary Crafts area during the first week of Jazz Fest. And, she has a corner booth!

The Contemporary Crafts area at Jazz Fest presents work by both Louisiana and the nation’s most talented contemporary artists. It features original, handcrafted, one-of-a-kind designs and accepts applicants from all crafts media and disciplines.

Filed Under: More Great Posts! Tagged With: art, bayou st john, bishop, contemporary, crafts, faubourg st john, fsjna, jazz fest, New Orleans, peggy, peggy bishop, sculpture

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