Sep. 11, 2018
Tribute to Betty Curry
We were sad to learn that Betty Curry died recently. Mrs. Curry and her late husband Roger Curry were widely recognized as keepers of an Ozark white oak basket making tradition. Both Mr. and Mrs. Curry inherited the tradition from long lines of ancestors (Gibsons of Arkansas in his family and Missouri Derryberrys in hers).* Photo credit: Fieldworker Jeanette Lowry (on behalf of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center–MFAP’s precursor) took the photo below at the Curry home workshop in July 1986 for archival purposes. Mrs. Curry carried on the tradition until fairly recently, according to a 2015 article by …
May 17, 2018
Then & Now: Deb Swanegan
Welcome back to Stories from the Field and the latest post in our Show Me Folk blog. The blog is our dedicated space for staff, student workers, traditional artists, cultural experts, consultants, and community scholars to share photo essays on an array of topics in Missouri’s traditional arts and folklife. By now, our blog followers know that the Missouri Folk Arts Program added a new component to the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 2016. With Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys, MFAP seeks to showcase and document previous apprentices who ultimately achieved master artist status in TAAP. In each of the first three years…
April 19, 2018
Tribute to Joseph Frank Patrickus II
We at the Missouri Folk Arts Program were incredibly sad to learn that Joseph Frank Patrickus, II (Joe) died on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. Joe was an old friend of the Missouri Folk Arts Program, even before it was called the Missouri Folk Arts Program. He was an early participant in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, where he taught apprentices Joseph F. Patrickus, III and Franklin Holler in 1987, the third year of the program. Joe went on to teach more apprentices, including his daughter Kate, between 1989 and 2007. The Missouri Folk Arts Program…
April 9, 2018
Folk Arts @ the Capitol, April 10, 2018
Dec. 27, 2017
Then & Now: John P. Williams
We’re happy to launch our fourth Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys video! Please visit our Missouri Folk Arts Program YouTube channel to watch Folk Arts Director Lisa Higgins interview master fiddler John P. Williams, Jr. In April 2016 at the Missouri Folk Arts Program office, John Williams of Madison, Mo. shared his experiences as an apprentice in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program to the late Pete McMahan in the 1990s. In this photo by Dana Everts-Boehm, Pete McMahan teaches apprentice John P. Williams, Jr. a few tunes. Almost two decades later, John took on his own apprentice, Bob Cathey. Since the…
Nov. 28, 2017
Then & Now: Gladys Caines Coggswell
We’re happy to launch our third Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys video! Visit our Missouri Folk Arts Program YouTube channel to watch. In May 2017 at the St. Louis Storytelling Festival, Missouri Folk Arts Program director Lisa L. Higgins interviewed Dr. Gladys Caines Coggswell, another previous apprentice who ultimately became a master artist in Missouri’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Dr. Coggswell was first an apprentice to the late St. Louis jazz and blues vocalist Mae Wheeler in 1998. Later, Coggswell went on to lead storytelling apprenticeships seven times. Our thanks to the…
Oct. 25, 2017
Then & Now: Mike Massey
We’re happy to launch our second Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys video at the Missouri Folk Arts Program YouTube channel, where we are posting occasional videos from the field. In November 2016, Jackson Medel filmed Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys with master saddlemaker and leather carver Mike Massey, who was interviewed by our Folk Arts Specialist Debbie Bailey at Mizzou North in Columbia, Mo. Check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AANsQnri9g Before the annual Smithsonian Museum Day, Bailey took time to interview Mr. Massey about his experiences as an apprentice with Martin Bergin. Massey also tells about his…
Oct. 3, 2017
Ozarks Alive: H.K. Silvey
When fiddler H.K. Silvey was a boy in rural Ozark County, a down-the-road town seemed nearly as far away as the moon. Enjoy this blog post and photos from Kaitlynn McConnell’s Ozarks Alive. You’ll learn not only how H.K. Silvey came to be such a fine fiddler but how he made a living in the aerospace industry before returning home to Theodosia: http://www.ozarksalive.com/h-k-silvey-ozarks-fiddler-made-moon/…
Sep. 29, 2017
Missouri Life: Martin Bergin
“I get as much satisfaction from the last saddle I made as from the first saddle I put together,” he says. “When the day comes when that’s not the case, I’ll shut down my shop, pack up my dog, and go ’possum hunting.” A feature story and photographs by Eddie O’Neill about master saddlemaker and cowboy poet Martin Bergin for Missouri Life Magazine. Read the full story here: http://www.missourilife.com/life/art/martin-bergin/
Sep. 18, 2017
Then & Now: Loretta Washington
We’re happy to announce that we’ve launched a Missouri Folk Arts Program YouTube channel, one where we will post occasional videos from the field. In May 2016, Jackson Medel filmed Then and Now: Apprentice Journeys with storyteller Loretta Washington at The Stage at KDHX in St. Louis, Mo. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUFkWomr7IA During the annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival, MFAP director Lisa Higgins interviewed Ms. Washington about her experiences as an apprentice of Gladys Caines Coggswell, as well as about Washington’s own experiences when she reached master artist status and led her own apprenticeships. We hope you…