The Magic of Slate - Author's talk with Judy Buswick
Sunday, September 21, 2014
*Note: This event will take place at the Pember Library, behind the Slate Valley Museum
2pm - Free
The Magic of Slate is presented in conjunction with the Slate Valley Museum’s Slate as Muse National Art Exhibition which runs from June 6 to November 7, 2014. Nineteen artists from throughout the U.S. offer innovative reflections on slate not only in sculpture, but also in painting, photography and mixed media.
When Massachusetts writers Judy and the late Ted Buswick started researching how ordinary slate was used in artwork, they found more than they’d expected. Years ago, Judy painted on slate roofing shingles and the couple had admired beautifully carved slate gravestones near their home. But who knew that international artists were using slate to make jewelry, wall friezes in the European Union Council Building, outdoor figures of stacked slate, or land art installed from Australia to Scotland?
The Buswicks’ book titled Slate of Hand: Stone for Fine Art & Folk Art includes works handcrafted by quarrymen in Maine, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and North Wales, as well as the fine arts of celebrity sculptors Richard Long, Andy Goldsworthy, and Phillip King as well as world-renowned memorial stonecarver Nicholas Benson.
Judy Buswick's The Magic of Slate presentation on Sept. 21 will include images of slate art from around the world in a Power Point presentation, as will some actual examples collected by the Buswicks.
Ted and Judy spent three years interviewing artists who live in the slate quarrying areas in Wales, Cornwall, Canada, and eastern seaboard states from Maine to Virginia. Research continued with museum curators at Barbara Hepworth’s home and studio in St Ives (Cornwall) and Isamu Noguchi’s Garden Museum in Long Island City. Then Scotland’s Andy Goldsworthy opened his impressive “Roof” exhibit of domed Virginia slate at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
The Buswicks couldn’t have been happier. “We had a wonderful time meeting artists, but also learning about quarrying in Wales, Maine, New York/Vermont, and Pennsylvania,” says Judy Buswick, the lead writer. “We saw creativity at its best.”
“We know people expect there’s not much to talk about when slate is the topic,” said Ted Buswick; “but the art work we found goes from wafer thin to monumental in size, spans a range of color, and presents both polished surfaces and riven textures.” Whether museum installations or decorations on a hearth, slate has inspired artists around the globe.
"Since our slate book came out late in 2007, we have followed the works of the artists in the book and found many new ones," says Judy. "We traveled to Blaenau Ffestiniog in the mountains of Wales to find artist Howard Bowcott’s new tribute to the Welsh slate industry near the train station on the edge of the city.”
Attendees to the Magic of Slate presentation at the Pember will also want to see the Slate as Muse exhibition at the Slate Valley Museum, as Nicholas Benson, featured in the Buswick's book, created a work of art especially for the Slate as Muse exhibition. The Slate Valley Museum will be specially open this Sunday from 2-5pm so attendees can walk from the Pember to the Slate Valley Museum and see the exhibition! ($5 admission to the Slate Valley Museum).
Pember Library
33 W Main St, Granville, NY
518-642-2525
Sunday, September 21, 2014
*Note: This event will take place at the Pember Library, behind the Slate Valley Museum
2pm - Free
The Magic of Slate is presented in conjunction with the Slate Valley Museum’s Slate as Muse National Art Exhibition which runs from June 6 to November 7, 2014. Nineteen artists from throughout the U.S. offer innovative reflections on slate not only in sculpture, but also in painting, photography and mixed media.
When Massachusetts writers Judy and the late Ted Buswick started researching how ordinary slate was used in artwork, they found more than they’d expected. Years ago, Judy painted on slate roofing shingles and the couple had admired beautifully carved slate gravestones near their home. But who knew that international artists were using slate to make jewelry, wall friezes in the European Union Council Building, outdoor figures of stacked slate, or land art installed from Australia to Scotland?
The Buswicks’ book titled Slate of Hand: Stone for Fine Art & Folk Art includes works handcrafted by quarrymen in Maine, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and North Wales, as well as the fine arts of celebrity sculptors Richard Long, Andy Goldsworthy, and Phillip King as well as world-renowned memorial stonecarver Nicholas Benson.
Judy Buswick's The Magic of Slate presentation on Sept. 21 will include images of slate art from around the world in a Power Point presentation, as will some actual examples collected by the Buswicks.
Ted and Judy spent three years interviewing artists who live in the slate quarrying areas in Wales, Cornwall, Canada, and eastern seaboard states from Maine to Virginia. Research continued with museum curators at Barbara Hepworth’s home and studio in St Ives (Cornwall) and Isamu Noguchi’s Garden Museum in Long Island City. Then Scotland’s Andy Goldsworthy opened his impressive “Roof” exhibit of domed Virginia slate at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
The Buswicks couldn’t have been happier. “We had a wonderful time meeting artists, but also learning about quarrying in Wales, Maine, New York/Vermont, and Pennsylvania,” says Judy Buswick, the lead writer. “We saw creativity at its best.”
“We know people expect there’s not much to talk about when slate is the topic,” said Ted Buswick; “but the art work we found goes from wafer thin to monumental in size, spans a range of color, and presents both polished surfaces and riven textures.” Whether museum installations or decorations on a hearth, slate has inspired artists around the globe.
"Since our slate book came out late in 2007, we have followed the works of the artists in the book and found many new ones," says Judy. "We traveled to Blaenau Ffestiniog in the mountains of Wales to find artist Howard Bowcott’s new tribute to the Welsh slate industry near the train station on the edge of the city.”
Attendees to the Magic of Slate presentation at the Pember will also want to see the Slate as Muse exhibition at the Slate Valley Museum, as Nicholas Benson, featured in the Buswick's book, created a work of art especially for the Slate as Muse exhibition. The Slate Valley Museum will be specially open this Sunday from 2-5pm so attendees can walk from the Pember to the Slate Valley Museum and see the exhibition! ($5 admission to the Slate Valley Museum).
Pember Library
33 W Main St, Granville, NY
518-642-2525
This project is made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council.
