Wissler
The Work of Prindle and Richard Wissler
Frog Hollow Craft Gallery January-February 2018
Wissler The Work of Prindle and Richard Wissler January-February 2018 Frog Hollow Gallery Burlington, VT
Frog Hollow Craft Association Inc FROG HOLLOW IS DEDICATED TO THE EXPOSURE AND APPRECIATION OF VERMONT FINE ART AND CRAFT. THROUGH SALES, EXHIBITIONS, AND EDUCATION, IT EXISTS TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY, AND TO PROMOTE THE AWARENESS OF THE ESSENTIAL IMPORTANCE OF THE HANDCRAFTED.
Staff Rob Hunter
Frog Hollow Craft Association Board of Directors Carol MacDonald- President Lynne Bond - Vice President Rachel Morton - Secretary Eileen Blackwood - Treasurer Susan Raber Bray
Frog Hollow Gallery Board of Directors Liz Lawrence - President Cody McKibben Kevin Ruelle - Secretary
***Prices listed in this catalogue apply to the listed works only during the duration of the exhibit and are subject to change.
Executive Director
Founder Allen Johnson
Cover images: 3 Monster Cookie Jar by Richard Wissler Abstract Village by Prindle Wissler
The Wisslers The first time I met Richard Wissler was in 2010. New to my job, I had been tasked with creating a history of Frog Hollow exhibit as part of the Vermont-wide State of Craft event which took place that year. One name continued to come up again and again as I did my research... Dick Wissler. The concept for the show was to display work by key individuals from Frog Hollows history. Knowing that Dick had been instrumental in the formation of Frog Hollow in the early 1970's I reached out to him and he invited me over to his home. A log cabin set back in the woods, Dick's home is a physical manifestation of the artist himself. Everywhere you turn is an example into his creative spirit. Reel to reel audio tape spools nest above a computer surrounded by Dicks signature clay and metal creatures. The ceiling beams are lined with his “Dancing Maidens” kinetic energy mobiles while around the corner is a work station covered with corn husk hats and experimental bells. The shear amount of creativity and visual stimulation leaves you breathless the moment you enter the door. And then there is Dick himself, a bundle of energy and excitement. Chuckling away as he tells stories about his time as the creative mind behind Frog Hollow he abruptly shifts gears and explains the physics needed to engineer curved moldings for oversized windows. Spinning in his chair he next pulls up a funny picture he doctored from the internet and then plays a song he composed for answering machines in the eighties. “Dick, this is a great, but lets talk about the show. Can I put some of your clay work in it?” “Nah, Let's put some of my bicycles in it instead...I'm more into them right now.” “bicycles?” Moving to a cabinet around the corner Dick began to pull out small, intensely detailed miniature replica bicycles. Made from wire, resin, PVC and who knows what else, Dick explained that each one took approximately 190 hours to make from start to finish. “I think these will work well.”
I left and mounted the show, having tentative contact with Dick over the following years. In 2012 Dick's mother Prindle passed away at the age of 99. She was a well know artist in the greater Middlebury area. She had helped Dick purchase the old Rogers & Wells building that would eventually become the initial Frog Hollow site. Still producing paintings after being declared legally blind, Prindle had been every bit the character her son was. In 2016 Frog Hollow began its VT PBS series The Frog Hollow Green Mountain Artisans. The concept of an episode focused on the original artists of Frog Hollow came to mind and so, once more, I trekked out to Dick's cabin in the woods, this time with camera in hand. It was here that Dick introduced me to his mothers work. I was familiar with her talents, she had designed the original Frog Hollow logo back in 1971, but upstairs in a spare room leaned hundreds of works with no final destination yet decided on. The impact of these works under one roof was a hard one to shake and the need to exhibit them together seemed an obvious conclusion. Subsequent interviews and conversations only strengthened this opinion. This show is the culmination of these visits. An interesting view into the life's work of two generations of exploration. A fascinating observation of the impact of one generation on the next and how it can transcend both mediums, age and gender. These works document time as well as approach and inspiration while remaining strongly linked by both subject matter and perspective. Rob Hunter Executive Director Frog Hollow
Original Frog Hollow logo by Prindle Wissler
Works By Richard Wissler
Richard Wissler Large Lidded Urn c. 1973 Stoneware Clay 17” x 13” $375
Richard Wissler
Three Monster Cookie Jar (Purple) c. 1975 Stoneware Clay 14” x 13” x 8” $375
Richard Wissler Lidded Jar c.1975 Stoneware Clay 14” x 13” x 8” $225
Detail - On
Richard Wissler Bob the Lamp c.1975 Stoneware Clay, Oak 10” x 9” x 9” $225
Richard Wissler
Candle-bearing Personages c.1975 Stoneware Clay 8” x 6” x 6” $225 ea.
Richard Wissler
Lidded Jar w/ Medallions c.1975 Stoneware Clay 12” x 11” x 10” $225
Richard Wissler Round Brown Pot c.1976 Stoneware Clay 11” x 10” x 10” $225
'
Richard Wissler Medallion Bowl c.1972 Stoneware Clay 8.5” x 11” x 11” $225
Richard Wissler Decorated Pitcher Pot c.1973 Stoneware Clay 10” x 7” x 8” $275
Richard Wissler
Three Monster Cookie Jar (White) c. 1975 Stoneware Clay 14” x 13” x 8” $375
Detail A
Richard Wissler
AL-BERT, the Schizphrenic Dog Food Repository c. 1972 Stoneware Clay 30” x 24” x 12” $1950
Detail B
Richard Wissler
Chicken Bell c. 1975 Brass 4” x 3.5” x 3.5” Courtesy of The Waskowmium, Burlington, VT
Richard Wissler
Cribbage Box c. 1985 Birdseye Maple and Mexican Rosewood 2.5” x 4” x 5” (closed) .5” x 4” x 13” (open) $400 ea.
Richard Wissler
Chinese Checkers c. 1986 Black Walnut and Mahogany 3” x 14” x 14” (w/ drawer closed) $325
Richard Wissler
VW Bug c. 1981 Steel Wire, Springs, Bolts, Washers, 5” x 9” x 5” $450
Richard Wissler
Loretta Practicing Her French Horn From the Dancing Maidens Series c. 2002 Copper, Wire, Bells 4” x 3.5” x 3.5” $175
Richard Wissler
Tubbo Wheelbarrow and Spade c. 1995 Copper, Wood, Rubber 2.5” x 7” x 3.5” $375
Richard Wissler
Grassbastard Lawn Mower with Gas Can c. 1995 Copper, Wire, Rubber, Screen, Wood 6” x 6” x 3” $800
Richard Wissler
Bike c. 2009 Copper, Rubber, PVC, Wire 10” x 6” x 3” $3285
Richard Wissler
Tricycle c. 2009 Copper, Rubber, PVC, Wire 5” x 6” x 4” $1860
Works by Prindle Wissler
Prindle Wissler Addison 1941 Gouache 15.5� x 21" $600
Prindle Wissler
Its a Big World Out There Oil 22� x 14" $1200
Prindle Wissler Abstract Village Oil 33� x 25" $1200
Prindle Wissler
You Name It C 1990 Watercolor, Pen and Ink 16� x 22.5" $950
Prindle Wissler
Seemingly Sinister but Harmless c. 1990 Pen and Ink, Acrylic 25� x 19" $800
Prindle Wissler
Yellow Abstract c. 1959 Watercolor, Pen and Ink 18� x 12" $850
Prindle Wissler Blue “Night Flowers” 1958 Watercolor, Gouache 18” x 12" $1200
Prindle Wissler
Squared, Angled and Stripes 2009 Pen and Ink 14.5� x 10.5" $250
Prindle Wissler
Whither Art Thou c.1985 Pen and Ink, Watercolor 15.5� x 21" $1100
Prindle Wissler Untitled c.1978 Watercolor and Ink 12� x 19" $425
Prindle Wissler Untitled c.1978 Watercolor and Ink 11� x 18" $425
Prindle Wissler Untitled c.1973 Ink and Gouache 18� x 27" $1200
Prindle Wissler Green Figures Collage 16� x 22" $600
Prindle Wissler Untitled c.1968 Watercolor 18� x 12" $650
Prindle Wissler Untitled c.1980 Watercolor 14� x 22" $600
Prindle Wissler Merchants Row c1980 Handcolored Print 14� x 22" $300
Prindle Wissler Just Messing Around 2009 Collage 20� x 12" $550
Prindle Wissler Buildings #1 Gouache 13.5� x 30" $850
Artist Bios
Richard Wissler
Richard Wissler is the son of two educators, one an artist who taught elementary school, the other a lifelong educator who headed the physics department at Middlebury College. Raised in a creative environment where he was encouraged to explore, Richard went on to attend Knox College where he discovered ceramics and dedicated his college years to the craft. In 1970 he dropped out of a masters of Fine Art program at the University of Montana in Missoula stating “I had learned all I was going to at a school and it was time I began putting it into practice.� Returning to his hometown of Middlebury Richard, with the help of his parents Prindle and Ben, purchased the old Rogers & Wells building on Frog Alley and opened a studio. He soon caught the eye of Frog Hollow founder Allen Johnson who purchased the building from Richard and hired him on to develop the concept of a Craft Center in the space, becoming the organizations first resident crafts person. Richard remained at Frog Hollow for several years before leaving to explore other interests and mediums. This exhibit showcases the work, humor, attention to detail and unique vision seen in Richards work produced over a fifty year period. Richard chose to create fantastical creatures as well as functional items embracing the philosophy of his childhood environment which promoted the notion of using one's imagination.
Prindle Wissler
Prindle Wissler was a life-long artist and teacher who studied art at Skidmore College and Columbia University but was a lifetime learner, making discoveries and messes, as she would say, right up to the time of her death in 2011 at the age of 99. Prindle taught in New Hampshire after college but settled in Middlebury when she married her husband, Ben, who taught physics at Middlebury College while she taught art at the Mary Hogan Elementary School. Regardless of being classified as legally blind in her later years, Wissler continued to create work, simply adapting her technique by working very close to her paper, making abstract drawings. That spirit, sense of fearlessness toward experimentation and love for what she did, says a lot about the woman and a lot about the body of work she created. The collection of work Prindle left behind reflects a lifetime of learning and experimenting, resulting in pieces which show a great range of artistic styles, mediums, and influences. This exhibit speaks to the variety seen in her work, but also to her incredible sense of humor and fun. Prindle chose not to create realistic representations in her art and she didn't teach that either. She taught and lived the notion of using one's imagination.
A special thank you to Dostie Brothers Frame Shop for their support and assistance in creating this exhibit.
308 Pine St #101 Kilburn & Gates Building Burlington, VT 05401 802.660.9005 www.dostiebrosframeshop.com
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