Artisan Ancestors

What would you do if you found out that your ancestors were slaveholders who owned one of the most talented folk potters in South Carolina? When Leonard Todd found himself in this situation, he committed himself to a six-year journey of discovery about the Life and work of an enslaved artisan named Dave.  In this […]

In this episode, I talk with Curt  Witcher, the Senior Manager for Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His work includes leading The Genealogy Center, which is a world-class research center for family and local history research.In this interview, Curt and I discuss general research strategies in using the […]

In this episode I talk with Brandt Zipp a young pottery scholar, who grew up around antique American stoneware in his family’s  antique auction business, The Crocker Farm, Inc. Zipp shares his research findings, as well as his techniques for discovering important information about free African American artisans working in New York, prior to 1850. […]

In this episode we talk with Sherrie Davidson a quilt research, who recently completed her book, the [amazon_link id=”1551097680″ target=”_blank” ]Quilts of Prince Edward Island[/amazon_link]. We talk with her about the quilt survey and subsequent archival research she did to trace the origins and development of this traditional art. She shares how she tracked down […]

In this episode Jon Kay talks with Laurel Horton a folklorist and quilt and textile researcher.  Horton has studied and made quilts since 1975. She recently published the book Mary Black’s Quilts: Memory and Meaning in Everyday Life, which blends historical and genealogical methods with a behavioral approach to material culture studies. She also discusses […]

In this episode, Jon Kay interviews Jennifer Core the folklorist and a founding researcher of the Tennessee Sampler Survey, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Tennessee’s needlework heritage. Jennifer’s research includes documenting Tennessee samplers made prior to 1900 and as of May 2010, she and her research partner  Janet Hasson have located 215 […]

In this episode we talk with  historic preservationist John Staicer, who helped save the last 19th century saddletree factory in the United States. John not only helped place this vernacular treasure of Madison, Indiana  on the National Register Historic District, but he and several other professionals and volunteers worked to maintain the site as much […]

In this podcast, I talk with Ralph Lee Smith, who is an authority on the history of Appalachian or mountain dulcimer’s history. For nearly four decades he has research this distinctly American Instrument and its European antecedents. He is the author of two books on the topic: The Story of the Dulcimer and Appalachian Dulcimer […]

In this episode we talk with folklorist Joey Brackner, the manager of the Alabama Arts Council’s Folklife Program and the Director of the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture. He co-produced “Unbroken Tradition” a documentary on Alabama folk potter, Jerry Brown, which Brackner produced with Appalshop. A native of Fairfield, Alabama, he recently authored Alabama Folk […]

In this episode we meet with historical archaeologist Mike Strezewski and talk about his excavation of the Harmonist kiln site in New Harmony, Indiana. We will also meet with Tom Wintczak, a redware potter who made  plates, strainers and pitchers, inspired from the broken shards and pieces from the excavation site. We also will learn […]

Welcome to the pilot episode of Artisan Ancestors. I think we have an interesting program for you today. In our feature segment,  I will be talking with Geoff Davis, a third generation ukulele player, and discuss how he discovered and researched Indiana’s lost history of ukulele building tradition. Also, in today’s program we will hear […]