By Catherine J. Barrier
The 2010 Moravian Tile Festival is all about tiles and tile making. “It’s a specific show; it’s not a craft show, but a tile show,” says long-time curator Vance Koehler. “Any profits benefit the educational programs and go to conservation of the site and/or to collection enrichment. There’s a display in the building for interpretation.”
The Festival, held at the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, at 130 Swamp Road (Route 313) in Doylestown, offers visitors a rich display of decorative tiles, history about tile making, insight into the site’s founder, Henry Chapman Mercer—and his (architectural) preferences, and a better understanding of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Sponsored by the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation, which owns and operates the site, this year’s event takes place on Saturday, May 15 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Sunday, May 16 (10 a.m.-4 p.m.).
“This year, there will be 40 booths—and an even larger number of ceramic artists and tile dealers,” says Koehler. These tile makers will display their contemporary and historic tiles, including rare historic handcrafted tiles.
Henry Chapman Mercer, a major proponent of the Arts and Crafts Movement in America, founded the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in 1898. By that time, he had already graduated from Harvard, studied law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1880-1881; he never practiced law), and traveled through France and Germany (1881-1889), where he garnered much of his knowledge of tile making. Finding the effects of industrialism aesthetically displeasing, Mercer favored simple forms and traditional craftsmanship. Known for his ancient tool making, ceramic tile creations, and engineering, Mercer was also a designer of three distinctive poured-concrete structures: Fonthill, his Bucks County residence (made with reinforced concrete), the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, a unique and fascinating building in and of itself, and the Mercer Museum, which inspired Henry Ford’s own museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Some of Mercer’s tiles are used in several very famous buildings. A series of 400 of his mosaic images are set in the floor of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg and tell the story of the Commonwealth’s history from prehistoric times. His tiles also appear in Rockefeller’s New York estate, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and the Casino in Monte Carlo.
The international Arts and Crafts Movement began in Britain in the 1860’s. Artist/writer William Morris, inspired by John Ruskin’s writings, started the movement, which became popular there circa 1880-1910. A movement which valued expressing a thing’s inherent beauty, avoiding ornate detail, and deliberately leaving something slightly unfinished, the Arts and Crafts movement influenced creative ideas in architecture, domestic design, and decorative arts (e.g., tiles, wallpaper, textiles, furniture, stained glass). In America, the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society began in October 1897, and the movement soon began affecting American decorative arts, furniture, and architecture—in the latter, such things as the bungalow housing style and Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Prairie School” buildings.
Artists of the Arts and Crafts style believed art had a moral purpose. They sought simple but bold forms, medieval designs, and patterns inspired by flora and fauna. They believed ornamentation should be appropriate to what it was embellishing and that the inherent qualities of the materials used should be preserved and highlighted, that is, that a “truth to materials” should be achieved. This reactive movement pitted itself against many of the emerging industrialized styles.The Moravian Tile Works offers several educational programs to those wishing to develop their artistic talents. An apprenticeship is offered to ceramists wanting to explore tile making, and a volunteer internship is made available for those desiring to train in plaster mold making. There are also beginning classes in tile and mosaic making and 3-day intensive workshops for those with some experience in ceramics.
“In this economy, people aren’t selling homes as often but renovating them,” says Koehler. “They seek out artists to do work on their fireplaces, to do kitchen renovation projects. Many artists not only sell their tiles at the show but get commissions as a result.”
If one’s in the market for tiles—or an education in tile making—the festival may be an ideal event to attend. A $6.00 donation is suggested for adults 18 and over. There is ample free parking on the premises. Food and refreshments will be available. No dogs are allowed. (215-345-6722; mptw@co.bucks.pa.us).
© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier. All rights reserved.
