History 101
Form Meets Function A HISTORY OF ARTS & CRAFTS IN CHESTERFIELD ARTICLE AIMEE PELLET | PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED
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hen we think about small farming communities a hundred years or more ago, fine art isn’t usually what comes to mind. Chesterfield was like many communities throughout the country, as well as pioneer communities throughout the West. Fine art was probably not a part of their daily lives. However, this doesn’t mean that people weren’t interested in surrounding themselves with beautiful things or in creating expressive art themselves. Even rural Victorians often had a few small items such as figurines or fancy clocks to put on display. Pioneers often transported meaningful items with them for hundreds of miles using great care.The economic and geographic realities were that except for these limited, cherished pieces most things of beauty had to be made and usually served a purpose as well – a combination of form and function. One form of folk art that seems to hearken back to the heart of Americana perhaps more than any other is quilting. A single quilt would need to be planned well in advance, usually pieced together by hand with scraps of cotton fabric and then more hours would be spent going back to add the intricate quilting stitches. While certainly some women sewed entire quilts by themselves, the task was often so daunting that large groups of women would come together to work on one quilt stretched on large racks. And, of course, this gave a great excuse for socializing. Sometimes these were town groups and other times they were church affiliated. My great-grandmother was part of a quilting group at St. John’s United Church of Christ on Olive Blvd. Other types of needlework became their own art form. Embroidery and crocheting were popular pastimes, but almost always with practicality in mind. We have many pillowcases that my great-grandmother embroidered with decorative patterns. Then she would painstakingly crochet the open edges with very 24
Chesterfield Lifestyle | March 2015
fine threads. Families didn’t have the vast selection of household goods readily available as we do today. Local dry goods stores carried a limited stock. If one could afford purchases from popular catalog stores such as Sears & Roebuck, they did not have the speedy shipping options we are accustomed to today. When we think of lacy, crocheted doilies - if we think of them at all - we imagine a primarily decorative item. But more often these were utilized for more functional purposes such as protecting furniture--tables or the arms and back of a sofa for example--as people did not live in the disposable society we do today. In a time more divided by gender roles, men, too, were involved in folk arts. Leather tooling was popular and men often made intricate bridles and other tack for their livestock. Horses and other livestock were expensive and valuable property for a household, equivalent to an automobile today. People took great pride in making them look attractive. Woodcarving was also a popular art form. Men with great skill might carve intricate pieces for decoration, but more practically they may carve furnishings or games and toys for their children. They might also cane the seats of kitchen chairs, a method used to refurbish a worn chair seat to extend its usefulness. And, of course, many other items were handmade for the children of a family. Manufactured dolls, with porcelain heads and fine clothing were something that only the wealthy could afford prior to the industrial revolution. By the turn of the century, factory-made dolls were more commonplace, but were still not something children received in abundance. If a girl had one store-purchased doll, they were to consider themselves lucky. Chances are any other dolls in a little girl’s family would be made from leftover rags or corn husks, which were usually in abundant supply. Cornhusk dolls were made by soaking the cornhusks in water and twisting them into a doll shape. The corn silk was used