Collins Unbound

Curated by Puget Sound student Chloe Brew, this exhibit explores the history and ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, which originated in Great Britain with designer and artist William Morris. This exhibit connects current artistic practice in Tacoma with the movement. Featured prominently in the exhibit is the work of the Arts and Crafts Press run by Yoshiko Yamamoto and Bruce Smith. Located in Tacoma, this modern day press embraces the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement. Also featured are a number of local women artists whose work exemplifies the ideals of fine craftsmanship. Collins Memorial Library, LINK Exhibit Area.

Exhibit Inspiration

In the summer of 2019, Puget Sound student Chloe Brew received a summer research grant from the University to study the Arts & Crafts movement and to seek historical connections with the Puget Sound region. She also focused on contemporary artists, with a special emphasis on the Arts & Crafts Press in Tacoma. This exhibit represents the outcome of her project which involved research in the Collins Memorial Archives & Special Collections, visits to studios, and examination of publications. Chloe has created an interdisciplinary exhibit that offers opportunities for the viewer to make connections between past and present.

The exhibit consists of three sections:

Section One: In the first two cases and the flat cases, are materials associated with the founder of the Arts & Crafts movement, William Morris. Also included are publications and artifacts that reflect the influence of Morris on artists of the period, as well as contemporary examples that provide a glimpse into the widespread influence of Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement.

Section Two: The middle cases as well as banners and the wall case highlight the work of the Arts & Crafts Press in Tacoma which is run by Yoshiko Yamamoto and Bruce Smith. Both artists are influenced by Morris as evidenced in their collection of historical materials and Yoshiko’s most recent linocut of Kelmscott Manor, the home of Morris.

Section Three: The final two cases showcase the work of several Tacoma artists. Chloe conducted interviews with the artists and connects their artistic practices to Arts & Crafts ideals. All the artists demonstrate craftsmanship at its finest. Represented are Chandler O’Leary, Taylor Cox, Gabrielle Cooksey, Jessica Spring and Suzanne Moore.

We invite you to make your own connections to the past and present as you browse this wonderful exhibit.

JANUARY

• January 20 – May 29, 2020:  The Magician and Two-Dimensional Ed.
  Collins Library, Side Gallery. The Magician (2013) is an epic graphic novel, a bookmaking tour de force, a mesmerizing art object, and the completion of over a decade-long obsession of author Chris Byrne. This enigmatic box of wonders houses a dozen separate publications, printed and hand bound using a variety of techniques.
  

FEBRUARY

• February 5 – May 17: Art Exhibit: “Craftsmanship at its Finest: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Modern Day Tacoma”. Collins Memorial Library, LINK Exhibit Area. Curated by Puget Sound student Chloe Brew, this exhibit explores the history and ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, which originated in Great Britain with designer and artist William Morris. This exhibit connects current artistic practice in Tacoma with the movement. Featured prominently in the exhibit is the work of the Arts and Crafts Press run by Yoshiko Yamamoto and Bruce Smith. Located in Tacoma, this modern day press embraces the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement. Also featured are a number of local women artists whose work exemplifies the ideals of fine craftmanship.
  

MARCH

• March 5:  The Arts & Crafts Press:  A personal insight by artist Yoshiko Yamamoto. 4:00–5:00pm, Archives Seminar Room, 2nd Floor Collins Library.
  Located in Tacoma, Washington, the Arts & Press produces outstanding letterpress, multi-color and linoleum block prints in a modern interpretation of the Arts & Crafts aesthetic. Yoshiko was a featured artist on the PBS Series Craft in America and her work is currently on display at the Collins Library as part of the exhibit:  Arts & Crafts in Tacoma:  Craftsmanship at Its Finest.  She is the co-owner of the Press and the coauthor of several books about the Arts & Crafts Movement.  Yoshiko will share insights into her process, inspiration, and her latest project, an illustrated edition of one of William Morris’s most iconic works: News from Nowhere. Learn more by visiting: https://artsandcraftspress.com/
• CANCELLED  (To be Rescheduled): March 12: Stitching a Living – The WPA Sewing Rooms:  Local artist and historian  Nancy Brones will share her journey of research and discovery associated with the creation of her book, 4:00–5:00pm, Archives Seminar Room, 2nd Floor Collins Library.
  During the Great Depression of the 1930s, sewing rooms, established by President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the Works Progress Administration  Women’s and Professional Projects Division became life sustaining work for women.  The sewing rooms became the backbone of the division. The sewing rooms were the largest employer in the New Deal–56% of all women working for the WPA were employed in the sewing room projects.  Sewing rooms were the largest non-construction project in the WPA, accounting for more than 7% of the total WPA activity.   The WPA and the sewing rooms were disbanded in 1943, ending a successful and popular program that gave women not only the means to provide for themselves and their families, but also skills, camaraderie, and a sense of self-worth.
  Nancy’s extensive research about women and the impact of the sewing rooms has been beautifully translated to her stitched fabric book filled with embroidery floss, silk and metallic threads and vintage quilt pieces.

APRIL

• CANCELLED: April 27: Erin Zona, Women’s Studio Workshop will be showing books, 2:00–3:30pm, Archives Seminar Room, 2nd Floor Collins Library.
  Collins Library welcomes Erin Zona, Artistic Director at Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York. Erin received her M.F.A. from The Rhode Island School of Design in 2009 and a BFA from The Kansas City Art Institute in 2002. Erin will be showing recent artists’ books created by artists affiliated with the workshop.

JUNE

• CANCELLED: June 5 – July 29: Puget Sound Book Artists’ 10th Anniversary Exhibit, featuring Artists with Unique and Original Books.
• CANCELLED: August 2020 – January 2021 (specific dates to be announced): Rising Together: An Exhibition of Zines, Artists’ Books and Broadsides with a Social Conscience. https://www.collegebookart.org/Rising-Together-TravelingExhibit

Fall 2019 Events