Thanks to all who participated and attended the 2008 convention of the American Art Pottery Association!

A review of the convention events and photos will be posted soon.....

(AAPA registered members have access to initial convention coverage posted in the "Members Only Section" )

 Convention Itinerary

Wednesday, April 23rd

10:00am - 3:30pm Early Tour of Historic Philadelphia and Reading Market Terminal to include: the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Elfreth's Alley (established 1702 and the oldest continuously inhabited street in the country), the Second Bank of the United States and its impressive portrait gallery, the Curtis Building featuring the Tiffany mosaic "The Dream Garden", and a visit to Philadelphia's own Reading Terminal Farmers Market.

6:00pm Cocktail Reception and 7:15pm Dinner Banquet featuring guest keynote speaker, David Rago.  A longtime member and former Board member of the American Art Pottery Association, Daivd is a specialist in American and European 20th Century decorative arts and furnishings with over 35 years of experience.  As a leader in his field, David has authored numerous published articles and several books, and is the publisher of two nationally distributed magazines, Style 1900 and Modernism.  Often recognized as an appraiser on The Antiques Roadshow, David is also visible as a conference lecturer and as an active auctioneer at the Rago Arts and Auction Center throughout the year.

 

Thursday, April 24th

9:00am - 5:30pm The Bus Tour will feature the life and work of Henry Chapman Mercer as we visit The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, The Mercer Museum, and his home Fonthill.

A reknown ceramist and archaeologist, Mercer's 60+ acre estate holds an eclectic collection of thousands of tiles and various other artifacts that are mortar set into the ceilings, walls and floors of his 19,000-square-foot castle (Fonthill).  Unlike anything you've ever seen before, Cottage Living magazine called Fonthill "perhaps the best house tour in the Country." For more information on Fonthill, please refer to the January/February 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Art Pottery Association.

The Mercer Museum was built by Mercer to house his collection of 40,000 artifacts giving recognition to the tools and people that built the United States.  The museum's exhibits include tools, ceramics, tiles, textiles, clothing, iron stoves, prints and drawings.

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is still in operation and considered a working museum.  Tour guests will see many of the original tools, kilns, and molds that date back to the early 1900's, as welll as see current potters at work making tiles and mosaics.  There is a gift shop where purchases can be made.

 

Friday, April 25th

9:00am - 10:00am Seminar: "Henry C. Mercer's Moravian Pottery and Tile Works", by Vance Kohler, Curator of the Moravian Tile Works.

10:30am - 11:30am Seminar: "Art Pottery in the Age of Tiffany, 1880-1930", by Ulysses Dietz, Curator of Decorative Arts at the Newark Museum.