A Documented Life: Connecting the Past to Present through the photographs of a Roycrofter
- by Drew Jensen

​My great-grandfather, Terence Denz, lived his entire life in East Aurora, NY. Born in 1891, he was raised with his brother and two sisters on the outskirts of town. In a time when farm labor was the most common way to earn a living in rural America, the Roycrofters afforded him a rare opportunity to work in a new industry with the rise of the Roycroft Print Shop. The son of a contract painter, he understood a hard day’s work and what it provided.

Sometime between 1906-1910, he began working at the Roycroft Print Shop, and by 1910, he had earned himself a position as a Pressman. He continued his work there until March of 1918 when he enlisted in WWI. After nearly a year overseas, he returned from Brest, France, in February 1919. Upon his arrival home, his skills, hard work, and reliability earned him a letter from the Roycroft requesting his return to work as a Pressman in the Print Shop.

There he would work for nearly 20 years, until the close of the Print Shop in 1938 when the Roycrofters filed for bankruptcy. And though the details aren’t clear, when Samuel Guard purchased the Roycroft Campus, he reopened it with the help of former shop workers. My great-grandfather was one of those workers, continuing his tenure at the Print Shop until 1941 when Sam Guard, too, filed for bankruptcy, closing the shop for good.

My great-grandfather didn’t take his skills to another print shop after the close of the Roycroft. As far as I know, he never used his lifetime of printing skills and knowledge again. He closed that chapter in his life and moved on. By the beginning of 1942, he was employed at Bell Aircraft as an assemblyman, helping prepare the US for another World War. A World War that, at the spry age of 50, he honorably enlisted in. My great-grandfather passed away in 1968 at the age of 77. Through the personal effects he left behind and the stories told by his children and grandchildren, I never got the impression that, beyond providing for his family, he thought his work would hold any value after he was gone, let alone leave a legacy. A legacy his great-grandson would strive to uphold 50 years after his passing.

Having digitized my film negatives in college, I was tasked by my family with scanning and protecting these glass plates. A process that would profoundly impact the direction of my life, ultimately leading to the pursuit of a dream I never thought was possible. My great-grandfather’s life is an inspiration to me. His skills as a Pressman were appreciated and valued, and his longevity at the Roycroft Print Shop was admirable. In truth, I probably have a romanticized view of the man, at least when it comes to him as a Roycroft Artisan. He was a Roycrofter, and his skill set was a greatly valued asset to the Roycroft Print Shop. I have gleaned from his personal effects that his career at the Print Shop was dictated more by the circumstances of the time than an internal drive to be a part of something revolutionary or creative. I would consider him a skilled and knowledgeable tradesman by modern standards. The Roycroft uniquely positioned itself with a foundation based on the Arts and Crafts values of hand-crafted and the use of modern technology to share its work with the world. It’s easy to forget today that the Roycroft Print Shop was a modern outfit at the time, requiring skilled labor to function—the skilled work of its Roycrofters.

Although his work in the Print Shop was the driving force behind my infatuation with my great-grandfather, the most inspiring thing didn’t come from his work there. It came from the glass negatives we found of his family, his town, and his place of work. The documentation of the people, places, and things he valued enough to capture on his bulky 4x5 field camera, his documented life.

In 2022 I fulfilled an aspiration of mine to become a Roycrofter like my great-grandfather. To earn the distinction of Roycroft Artisan and the right to adorn my photographic work with the “RR.” To carry on the legacy my great-grandfather left me. To document the world around me as a Roycrofter, with HEAD, HEART, and HAND.

The images shown throughout this article, taken by my great-grandfather, are the inspiration for the direction I intend to take my photographic work in the coming years. Shifting back to analog photography, the version of this medium that I fell in love with nearly 20 years ago. With several 35mm and 120mm film cameras, I have begun to curate a body of work documenting the people, places, moments, and experiences I value. A series I call “A Documented Life.”

To the right are a handful of recent images included in this series.

In time, I will introduce even older photographic processes, like dry plate (silver gelatin) and wet plate (collodion) photography, into my work as I regain my knowledge and experience with film. Though time-consuming and labor-intensive, these forms of photography produce stunningly beautiful images and represent the type of photography my great-grandfather used to document his life.

I’m excited to share this evolution with those who wish to follow my work. For current imagery and ongoing projects, you can find me on social media and my website (linked below).

Drew Jensen
Roycroft Renaissance Photographer

Website - drewjensenphotography.com
Instagram - DrewJensenPhoto

“Photographs hold great power. They connect the past with the present. They tell stories and teleport viewers to places they’ve never been. Photographs bring about associations unknown, speaking to each viewer individually. Photographs are magic.”
                                                                    - Drew Jensen

Trinidad State College is proud to present Julie Leidel as our visiting artist lecturer on Thursday, April 6th, 2023 from 5:30 - 6:30pm. Leidel will be presenting her work and process on the TSC Campus with her lecture entitled "An Artist's Journey: Revitalizing Art Nouveau in the American West." This event will be housed in the TCRM Room, in the Boyd Building located at 500 Park St, Trinidad CO 81082. Please refer to the attached map for this location. As you come into the Boyd building from Park Street, the TCRM room is the first room on the left.
​
https://trinidadstate.edu/event/arts.html

10" x 20" Art Deco Owl by Julie Leidel. Artwork and words (illuminated verse) by Julie Leidel, 2023. Frame by Rob Bennett.​

My amazing daughter Abby wrote this
​in her 7th grade English class:

Empty Hands
I come to fight you with
only empty hands

Grasping at the hope that
You will show me mercy
As I have done for you

Take my hands
And there will be no bloodshed
No lives shall be lost
No mothers will cry out over
The death of a child

Take my hands and
Watch as the wars fade away

Watch with me as a man
Spares the life of another
For there is light in his soul

If we all fight with empty hands
The world might know peace

So let go of
Your guns
Your blades
Your bombs
Your bullets

Empty your hands

Do not fight each other
Fight the darkness
That tries to consume us

For we are all fragmented pieces

When we come together
We are whole


To say her profound wisdom at the tender age of 13 inspires me, would be a huge understatement. With her words, I created a new painting based on this detail from my pre-existing Buena Vista artwork.

The feeling of helplessness is not something I deal well with, so we are finding a way to give back, to fight the darkness together. 100% of the profits from the sale of this artwork will go to benefit the Ukrainian humanitarian efforts from this devastating war. 

I will be donating all the funds to these three organizations:

UNICEF: Children of Ukraine
Doctors Without Borders
flexport.org

Hold onto the light.
Help us fight with empty hands.

We have expanded this effort, and have postcards with the artwork and poem, and stickers of the artwork that we can supply to local schools and organizations to help children feel involved in a way they too can help.
​
#ukrainestrong
#sunflowers
#julieleidel
#thebungalowcraft

​

It's not often you get to experience a day, and know it's one you'll never forget. Today was one of those days for me.

I had the pleasure to visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, MO today. This ship and all it's cargo was one of hundreds of steamboats in the 1800s that sunk in the Missouri River. It is the world's biggest and most complete pre civil war time capsule ever to be uncovered! This steamboat hit a tree snag in 1856 and went down in 15 minutes, in 15 feet of water. All 121 passengers survived. Time took the Arabia and it's 220 tons of cargo away as the river changed it's course over the next 135 years. In 1988, 5 adventurous men set forth to uncover it, buried 45-70 feet deep in a cornfield. Yes, it was buried below a cornfield.

One of those men was Jerry Mackey. I had the museum to myself, and only one man was there as it opened. Turns out, it was Jerry. He proceeded to give me a personal tour of the massive collection that they are still preserving for over 2 hours today! To hear the tale from Jerry made me feel like I was somehow connected to the steamboat, and to the discovery myself. We walked room after room together as he regaled me with the triumph and tragedy of the Arabia, and his fellow partners. This dear man is so knowledgeable, he's probably forgotten more than I'll ever know. His wisdom and curiosity are unmatched. He knows the intimate details of all the items aboard, and has been a devoted researcher over the 30 years since they painstakingly pulled up the cargo. Their discovery has literally rewritten our collective knowledge of the 1850s in America, filling gaps with stories big and small. To see two story lines unfold; the story of the frontier and the steamboat searchers made history and the American spirit come alive in me in a way I never thought possible.

Not one piece of the collection has been sold or is in private ownership. The partnership of the five men vowed to keep it all together as one time capsule to share with the world. It cost them 1.5 million to recover the steamboat, and they made their money back in ten years of museum visitors. Talk about vision!
Jerry reminds me of both of my grandfathers somehow combined in one. I was hanging on each word, each story. I wanted to stay all day. I wanted to be part of their team!

I knew I would be seeing this amazing collection as I made my way to Asheville, and I listened to Surviving Savanna by Patti Callihan which is also about a steamboat from the mid 1800s and it's modern day recovery. To be immersed in this brave period of American history (and the historical preservation and seeking) over these 20 hours in the last two days has given me such a beautiful perspective on perseverance, resilience, and tenacity.

Adventure is out there. I feel the heaviness of the last two years wash away as I drive East to my beloved art show and family reunion with my fellow artisans, craftsmen, and collectors.

I could talk for hours about these photos below, but instead, I encourage each of you to come find this museum and walk it's 1856 rooms of artifacts for yourself. You will be transported back in time through the hope of the American West. Many of the items were brand new. Dishes never used, hats and shoes never worn, prefab homes never built. In many cases the last hands to touch them were their makers.... That is a powerful story for this maker, at least.
​
1856.com
#arabiasteamboatmuseum

I am presenting this year for the Preservation Pasadena: Craftsman to Modern show. I am part of the Artist Talks on Friday, November 12th at 6pm Pacific (7pm Mountain). You can buy individual tickets for just the parts you want to see ($18) or you can buy the full 10-day virtual pass. ($180)

The city of Pasadena, CA is home to some of the most notable examples of architect-designed properties from Craftsman style to Modern and everything in between. Explore architectural style and design from over five decades and learn the connections and differences that illustrate how architecture changed through time.

Join us from the comfort of your own home for this years fall education event - a virtual 10-day celebration of preservation, history and architecture including lectures, panel discussions, self-guided tours, conversations with artists and collectors and more.

Nov. 5-14, 2021 Virtual Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/preservation-pasadena-craftsman-to-modern-tickets-188611460957?aff=ticketeblast​

Kitty Turgeon, original RALA member, former owner of the Roycroft Inn and Roycroft Gift Shop. Print by Laura Wilder, RALA Artist. ​

September 23, 2021
by Rick Ohler, Columnist
East Aurora Advertiser

Roycroft.
​
Nothing, with the possible exception of Vidler’s or Fisher-Price, says East Aurora like Roycroft. We all
recognize the name, but an understanding of the entirety of Roycroft—the Roycroft Inn, the campus, the Roycrofters-at-Large Association, the Roycroft philosophy—and its reach can elude even the most long-lived East Auroran or ardent student of Roycroft.

Today, a century and a quarter after Elbert Hubbard began following his ever-expanding dream on South Grove Street, the result of those dreams, Roycroft, along with its considerable legacy, continues to exist, albeit in several related iterations. When the public conjures an image of Roycroft, it may well be the Roycroft Inn on the east side of the street. Now 26 years into its renaissance, the inn, under the capable care of innkeeper Dan Garvey, stands proudly rehabilitated, recalling the days when the world beat a path to East Aurora to get a look at that Hubbard fellow. Even with the most modern amenities, the inn remains an embodiment of the 19th-century Arts & Crafts Movement, nurtured by John Ruskin and William Morris in England and brought to East Aurora by Hubbard.

For others, the draw is the Roycroft Campus on the west side of South Grove, which, under the forward-thinking leadership of Roycroft Campus Corporation (RCC) executive director Curt Maranto, has seen extensive renovations of both buildings and purpose. The extraordinary architecture and pastoral grounds have a magnetic effect on visitors, and Maranto and staff work to reward newcomers’ and veterans’ fascination with a visitor center whose exhibits present a comprehensive look into the history and legacy of Roycroft. The RCC offers tours, ongoing classes and programs and events like the Roycroft Campus
Fall Festival, occurring October 2-3. The Roycroft Copper Shop on the campus now sells an array of original artwork, crafts and tasteful gifts. This summer, Erie County chose the Roycroft Great Lawn as the site of several culturally oriented bicentennial events.

Behind the visitor center, Roycroft Antiques, run by the Dylewski brothers, maintains another sector of the Roycroft legacy by offering, among many other items, Roycroft artifacts and publications.

The least visible, but perhaps most historically significant puzzle piece in the perpetuation of the Roycroft legacy is the Roycrofters-at-Large Association, known as RALA (ralaweb.com). Many RALA members are artisans who follow the Hubbard and Arts & Crafts tradition of employing “Head, Heart & Hand” in producing fine art and crafts in 10 juried categories: clay, fiber/fabric, glass, leather, metal/jewelry, painting/printing, paper/book arts, photography, sculpture and wood. Each artisan is juried by his or her RALA peers, and, upon acceptance, is granted permission to use the double-R (Roycroft Renaissance) trademark on his or her work. RALA artisans generally host two shows a year: one on the last weekend of June at the Classic Rink and the other on the first weekend in December at the Main Street School cafeteria. RALA, with a membership of artisans as well as 150 Roycroft enthusiasts from all walks of life, also sponsors and organizes the Roycroft Chamber Music Festival at St. Matthias’ Episcopal Church, as well as a series of benefit concerts at their official headquarters, the Roycroft Artisans’ Schoolhouse Gallery at 1054 Olean Road. (See the story here.)  The gallery is open to the public daily and exclusively features the works of RALA artisans.

However, RALA’s influence on the present-day legacy goes so much farther than their impressive coterie of artisans. In fact, you could argue that without RALA, especially during their beginning years in the volatile and uncertain 1980s, Roycroft, as we know it today, might not exist. Let’s go back to the beginning.

RALA originated in 1976 at an event in the Roycroft Chapel at the corner of Main and South Grove. It was a “mini-convention,” says early RALA member and past president, Robert Rust. “It was the time of the national bicentennial, around Elbert’s birthday. Some of the people there were artist Rix Jennings and his sisters, Nancy Hubbard Brady, Linda Falkowski, Roycroft Inn owner Kitty Turgeon, Jack Mayne, Andy Bergman and Onda and Chet Dylewski. There was a groundswell of enthusiasm when everyone realized that there were so many Roycroft aficionados out there, not just in East Aurora, but worldwide. The first of the RALA Roycroft conventions began in 1977 with what became the annual dinner at the inn, which was still a Turgeon restaurant. We published a little paper, then ran the event with craftspeople and antique dealers out on the campus. RALA attracted a wide range of people: merchants like Denny Webb from the Dress Shop, Grace Meibohm from Meibohm Fine Art, knitter Kay Monier Williams and the Dylewskis, who had opened their antique business a few years before; historians like Charlie Hamilton, author of As Bees in Honey Drown, the love story of Elbert and Alice Moore Hubbard; and folks with no real tie to Elbert Hubbard except love for what he had created here. It became clear that RALA could be the non-profit force behind keeping the history alive.” Their love of Roycroft spread.

“We also had lectures, and for two years we were involved in the traveling Roycroft exhibit, which brought together loaned Roycroft artifacts for showings at the Burchfield Center in Buffalo, Dartmouth College and other stops. In 1980, the Roycroft gained more recognition with an exhibit called the Arts & Crafts Movement in New York State that had significant RALA involvement. We put out a quarterly newsletter. Rix Jennings designed the new double-R mark. We put some exhibits at the county fair, Kitty and I were giving talks. The energy surrounding Hubbard and Roycroft was palpable.”

As the conventions became a part of the Roycrofters’ and the village’s schedule, the crafts arm of RALA began to develop. Beloved jeweler, the late Al Sleeper and woodworker, the late Tom Harris, plus a few of the early artisans, initiated a jury system to ensure a standard for quality of craftsmanship across the categories. Artisans applying for the right to use the double-R mark for one year, subject to annual renewal, were, and continue to be, juried in five categories: high quality of hand craftsmanship, excellence in design, continuous artistic growth, originality of expression and professional recognition. RALA artisans are nationally known.

Contrast this enthusiasm with what was happening on both sides of Grove Street. In the 1980s, Cornell Cooperative Extension owned the massive Roycroft Print Shop; there was no Roycroft presence there. The Power House—the Visitors’ Center today—was privately owned and housed a law office, a dentistry practice, two apartments and even a church at one point. It would be a total loss after a 1997 fire. The Roycroft Antiques, formerly Hubbard’s furniture shop, had experienced a terrible fire that destroyed the third story, although potters and woodworkers continued to create in the lower level. The gift shop remained open, although it was in need of repairs. At the inn, the venerable institution was nearing the end of an 80-year run as it faltered and was closed in 1988. It was during these times that Turgeon and Rust, bolstered by the continuing love for and interest in all things Roycroft, managed to get National Historic Landmark status for the entire campus.

As RALA soldiered on, holding shows on the campus, attracting artisans and hosting the chamber music festival, the community and lovers of Roycroft took notice. With the inn in the hands of the Landmark Society of Western New York, secure but deteriorating, the Roycroft Revitalization Corporation (RRC) set about raising money to restore the building and reopen it as a hotel and restaurant. RALA was a supporter of and donor to that campaign, which, with the help of the Margaret Wendt Foundation, resulted in the 1995 reopening of the inn. Today, both the hotel and restaurant are flourishing. Success on the east side of the street created interest in the west side, and soon, the RCC was born. Leveraging grants and developing a donor and supporter base, the RCC has been able to buy the Print Shop from Cornell and reimagine it as art space including a functioning printing shop with Roycroft-era presses. The RCC has rebuilt and restored the Power House, repaired and rehabilitated the Copper Shop and restored the original Great Lawn, where a potholed parking lot had stood.

Now, is there a danger in giving RALA too much credit for the continued viability of Roycroft in East Aurora and beyond? Certainly. It takes a village to make that work. But is there likewise a problem in not valuing their contribution highly enough? Absolutely. I and many others have said often that if Kitty Turgeon, Bob Rust and the RALA organization they were so much a part of had not kept the Roycroft fires burning in the dark days of the 1980s and ‘90s, the inn might have fallen in upon itself and the campus might be a collage of privately owned buildings.

There is, of course, a question that comes up when the subject of RALA and the RCC arises: Why doesn’t RALA have a presence on the campus these days? Why is their June show at the rink, when for so many years it was on the campus, coinciding with East Aurora Art Society’s show at the Middle School and the combined antiques and Arts & Craftsmen Guild craft show on the campus? The answer is complex, but the reasons are hardly as nefarious as many might assume. It comes down, in part, to revenue streams. Both RALA and the RCC need to raise funds, and staging their shows separately benefits RALA, which has few other sources of revenue. The move to the rink has been expensive, thus the $5 admission, but it has given artisans a dry, covered, level surface with plenty of parking, which the new Great Lawn did not offer. Most years, a shuttle takes festival-goers between Grove and Riley Streets, offering attendees easy
access to all venues.

As for having the ongoing campus presence many see as ideal, Master Artisan, former RALA president and founder of the Schoolhouse Concert Series Ben Little said, “The majority of RALA artisans are not full-time; they have other jobs. They work from their homes, and they can’t afford to pay rent on the campus for studios. Most of the crafts involved are not spectator sports where they could accommodate visitors watching them work.” Besides, a newer guild, the Arts & Craftsmen Guild, was founded on the campus.

Don’t forget that the Appian Way, though; the path of engraved, memorial bricks between the inn and the Copper Shop, is a RALA installation.

It was Little, along with RCC board member Rita Markle, who really got the ball rolling as far as the reuniting of the two groups with their concert series, which began in 2020. With Covid keeping people outside and apart, they organized an outdoor concert at their Schoolhouse Gallery with all proceeds being split evenly between the RCC and RALA.

In preparation for this story, I spoke with new RALA president Peter Potter, past presidents Little, Rust and Thomas Pafk as well as director Maranto. All were of one mind when it came to the opportunities for the two organizations to be more cooperative. All agreed that the uniqueness of Roycroft demands it. In fact, I ran into Potter at Borderland over the weekend and he spoke of a recent meeting with his RCC counterpart Markle, in which more cooperative ventures were discussed.
​
It might have been Little who said, “No one else in the country has a Roycroft. Everyone needs to know how special this is,” but each of my interviewees said words to that effect. At 45, RALA is poised to do more outreach, to be more accessible to the public, but always maintain their commitment to head, heart & hand that their early 20th century forebears embraced.

This past weekend, I was in Golden, Colorado for the Foothills Fine Arts Festival that was organized by the Foothills Art Center. This show is in it's 3rd year, and is in full blossom. Golden is a great community for art and artists. Hassan Najjar, the Executive Director, along with his team, Eriq Hochuli, Anna Schoen, Sherry McEachran, Cecile Forsberg, Maura Adamson, and Ainsley Carson and many wonderful dedicated volunteers (one of which is my close and personal friend, Nikki Nienhuis) have impressed upon me what teamwork really means. They love art to it's core, they love the artists that create, and they have fostered growth in big and beautiful ways for their amazing festival. 

Located in the heart of downtown Golden, this show is a highlight for any career-artist. It seemed all of Golden and the metro area of Denver came out to see and celebrate the arts. I had many visitors from out of state too. This show gave me the opportunity to connect with hundreds of people and embark on deep and powerful conversations through my artwork.

I bonded with cancer survivors, widowers, and nature lovers. Bringing positive messaging, mother nature, and the memory of time and place to folks through my art is the meaning in my life. To see that we are all part of the same system-the same air and planet-is beautiful, and to come out of the pandemic with shared gratitude for just simply being able to gather again and enjoy the presence and stories of others is the greatest collective gift we can receive.

I was awarded "Best of Colorado" by Foothills Art Center at this festival, and it means so very much to me to receive positive feedback from a jury of professional artists. It's quite humbling. I've discovered over the last 15 years of making that there is something timeless about the way art can connect to the human spirit. I'm just honored to be part of that flow.

The other "best" part of this festival was that I was surrounded by 3 of my best friends; fellow artists Nikki Nienhuis, Gina Barry, and Jenny Goring. Each of us were set up next to, and across from one another. I got to watch them each in action, and see the thrill of all of us dreaming for years about where our art could take us.

It may not seem like a lot to the casual art buyer, but each and every purchase you make from an artist, displaying and selling a bit of who they are, is profound. We all are grateful for the sincere connection YOU have with our artwork. Thanks for inviting us in.

I've known about the Roycroft Artisans for decades, and in the early 2000s, I told myself "One day, I hope to be one of them." That day came in 2016 when I was accepted by a jury of Master Roycroft Artisans to join this amazing organization. It will always be one of my happiest  artistic moments. Becoming a Roycrofter meant the world to me as an artist. To me, it signified that I was truly part of the Arts & Crafts Revival and renaissance movement that has now been alive and strong for longer than the original Arts & Crafts Movement (1880-1920). Last month in April of 2021, I was accepted as a Roycroft Renaissance Master Artisan. Words can't express my gratitude adequately enough. I am proud to learn from my peers, to connect with so many amazing artists all over the U.S., and to carry on in the footsteps of the artisans that came before us.

WHAT IS THE ROYCROFT?
At the turn of the century, the Roycroft Shops in East Aurora, New York (1895-1938), became one of the leading centers in the U.S. for the production of Arts and Crafts goods–books, leatherwork, metalwork, and furniture. The designs of the Roycrofters were influenced by a host of sources, including the work of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Workshops, the Wiener Werkstätte (notably in the graphic and metalwork designs of Karl Kipp and Dard Hunter), and French Art Nouveau.

The artistic appeal of Roycroft creations made them very popular, but it was also the business acumen and highly charismatic personality of its founder, Elbert Hubbard, which made Roycroft one of the most successful enterprises of the Arts and Crafts era. In the midst of a successful career with the Larkin Soap Company in Buffalo, in 1893 he abandoned his position to study at Harvard and dedicate himself to writing. In the following year he made a trip to England and Ireland during which Hubbard claimed to have met and been greatly influenced by William Morris, founder of the Kelmscott Press, and patriarch of the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Inspired by the ideals of Morris and the beautifully crafted publications of Kelmscott, Hubbard returned to East Aurora where he established the Roycroft Printing Shop in 1895. With his extraordinary aptitude for marketing and self-promotion, the press began garnering national attention for its publications–The Philistine, The Fra, and series of illuminated books and pamphlets, including the politically charged “A Message to Garcia” (1899). Mounting success enabled him to extend the Roycroft campus to thirteen additional buildings over the next ten years, hosting a bindery, leather, furniture, and metalwork shops, and a stained-glass studio, as well as staff housing and an inn for an increasing number of personnel and visitors.

Hubbard’s inspirational leadership eventually attracted nearly 500 craftspeople to his utopian arts community. Roycroft itself became a critical gathering place for contemporary artists, craftsmen, authors, and philosophers of the time.

The original Roycroft mark (the Single R) was trademarked by Elbert Hubbard in 1906. It's inspiration came from a orb and line rising sky-wards, a symbol used in the middle ages by monks in their illuminated manuscripts meaning "The best I can do, dedicated to God" The R stood for Roycroft which symbolized "The Royal Craft" for their high-quality handcrafted works. Suddenly in 1915, Hubbard and his wife died in the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Roycroft Shops were carried on by their son Bert Hubbard, but it entered into a period of decline during the Great Depression, and finally closed in 1938.* 

Bruce Johnson over at the Arts & Crafts Collector has put together a great guide to dating the Roycroft Shopmarks that were in use from 1906 to 1928.

For further reading, this blog post by The Craftsman Bungalow has some great information, and wonderful video clips from a very well-done PBS documentary entitled, Elbert Hubbard: An American Original.

Almost 40 years passed, and the campus and Roycroft name lay in wait for a revival.
​
The ROYCROFT RENAISSANCE
In 1976 a group of East Aurora historians, artists and residents with a common interest in the Roycroft Campus and the philosophy of Elbert Hubbard set in motion a plan to preserve those ideals which had made the campus a center of the Arts and Crafts Movement. After several meetings and energetic discussion the Roycrofters-at-Large Association (RALA) was formed. Rixford Jennings innovated the design to incorporate two back-to-back R's signifying the Roycroft Renaissance for the Roycrofters-At-Large Association (shown to the left). When you see the RR mark on a piece of work, be assured it was made to the highest standards with the ideals of using “Head, Heart, and Hand” just as the original mark did.

To become a Roycroft Renaissance artisan, an artist must submit original artwork to a jury of Roycroft Master Artisans. Only artisans whose work exemplifies the following criteria are awarded the use of the RR mark:

- High quality hand-craftsmanship
- Excellence in design
- Continuing artistic growth
- Originality of expression
- Professional recognition

An artisan must be juried in annually to demonstrate continued excellence and growth. After five years, if the work is shown to be exceptional, the jury may elect to elevate the artist to Master Artisan status. 

Today the non-profit organization is still actively working to keep alive the history and philosophy of Roycroft through special events centered on and around the Roycroft Artisans, the Roycroft Chamber Music Fest, and the Roycroft Campus. Through the efforts of Kitty Turgeon, Robert Rust and the RALA organization, the Roycroft Campus became a National Historic Landmark. If you make it to East Aurora, New York, a stay at the historic Roycroft Inn and a visit to The Copper Shop Gallery, and the Schoolhouse Gallery are a must!
​
I was asked in December of 2020 to join the RALA board, and I am thrilled to be part of this organization not only as an artisan, but also as a board member, helping to serve our artists and communities.

LINKS TO THE LIVING ROYCROFT ARTISANS
RALA includes over 70 artisans that are working today, so Elbert Hubbard's dream is alive and well in the 21st Century. Visit www.ralaweb.com to view links to each artisan and see thumbnails of their work. I also have a list of every artisan and their website (or email) listed under my Arts & Crafts Links page that includes over 450 links to everything Arts & Crafts from antiques & conferences, to contemporary artisans working in the style today.

Many of us Roycrofters have our artistic creations in the historic Schoolhouse Gallery - 1054 Olean Road, East Aurora, NY. Master Roycroft Artisans Ben Little and Thomas Pafk graciously run this gallery for the good of all of the artisans, collectively. Here's a great article that was published recently about the Schoolhouse Gallery.

RALA is always looking for more art lovers to join as a member-at-large, so if you love this movement and want to support our artisans, please learn more at www.ralaweb.com. For $50 a year, you can join at the Patron Level, where you will receive a hand-made limited-edition item from a Roycrofter each year when you renew your membership. In June 2021, Roycroft Renaissance Artisan John Monk will be making beautiful hand-hammered tree ornaments inspired by Dard Hunter’s rose motif as the patron gift.


*Adapted from the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) Website, Kevin Tucker, 2011.

Mountain Air
SOLD​

Grueby Dance
HOLD - Sale Pending​

Mica Series: Earth
For Sale on my Website​

Greene: Style
For Sale on my Website​

Nouveau Floral Series
SOLD​

Fire Sky
SOLD​

Ruskin Fine Art
For Sale on my Website​

Greene Meets Wright​
For Sale on my Website​

Mica Light Series
For Sale on my Website​

Nouveau to Deco
HOLD - Sale Pending​

Koi Pond
SOLD​

Nouveau Floral Series
SOLD​

GPI Layers
SOLD​

Heintz Series
For Sale on my Website​

Craftsman Lines
SOLD​

Mountain Lakes are some of my favorite landscapes to paint. The peaks rise up out of the water, and the evening sky is changing by the second. Those summer evenings when the sky calls out it's brilliance for just a moment, yes they are magical.

Introducing "Vignette Mountain Lake" gouache on illustration board. Prints are available in 6 sizes, as matted prints, metal, or canvas. I really love it with a double matting, white and black.

This painting is part of a bigger whole. This original painting was a commission and featured her grandchildren roasting marshmallows on their property on Lake Chelan in Washington. The photo showcased the most beautiful sunset, and creating this sky is one of my top 10 favorite moments while painting. Where pink meets orange, that's the stuff of  magic in my book.

By not adding text to this painting it can become any mountain lake around the nation. Notable Colorado lakes that this could represent are: 
Lake City, Lake Loveland, Lake Dillon, Chatfield Reservoir, Lake Granby, Horsetooth Reservoir, Lake San Cristobal, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Boulder Reservoir, Boyd Lake, Sloans Lake, Bear Creek Lake

Options and framing available:
https://www.thebungalowcraft.com/store/c212/MountainLake
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#julieleidel
#thebungalowcraft
#ColoradoMountainLakes

 The night sky is so full of possibilities, energy and light.

In 1925, Edwin Hubble had a theory that the universe was growing. Scientists have been able to prove that the universe is expanding  in all directions, and has been since the beginning, or the Big Bang.

"Something" doesn't come from "nothing". Everything has a source, just as our planet and each of us has an origin story. So does the universe, even if we don't know exactly how to quantify that in scientific terms today. The creator can't be "in" the creation, they have to be separate from it.

For me personally, science is the vehicle for ever-growing understanding of God's creation. Like little puzzle pieces that are being revealed along the way, science sheds light on the Devine.

For believers like me, God (or your personal Higher Power) brings hope and light to a sometimes extremely hard world. I have found that this saying is one of my favorites, especially in difficult times. "God's Promises are Like the Stars; The Darker The Night, The Brighter They Shine."

You can't see the stars when the sun is out. You can't know what light is unless you have experienced darkness. We can learn so much from the difficult times in our lives. Suffering can lead to great discovery, if we are open to it. That's part of my faith, which is at the core of who I am.

This painting has a familiar feel to some of my work, but it is a departure in the sense that so much of the story is told through dots. I didn't set out to with this goal in mind per say, but upon finishing it, the resemblance to some of Vance Kirkland's paintings is striking to me. He used acrylic, and had a lift that would hover him over his canvas laid flat beneath him in his Colorado art studio. Kirkland would use a variety of dowels to dip into his paint to get perfect circles. I used the end of a few different paint brushes to get a similar feel.

Vance Kirkland (1904-1981) is a nationally renowned artist and if you are heading through Denver, Colorado you really shouldn't miss the Kirkland Museum. It's got a remarkable collection of Vance's work and his original art studio. The curator, Hugh Grant has amassed an incredible world-class collection of international decorative artwork from the 1870s through the 1960s. Kirkland Museum is in the top 5 museums around the world for decorative art, especially intriguing for me are the salon style rooms of  the Arts and Crafts Movement: Aesthetic, Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Glasgow Style, and Wiener Werkstatte.

I was honored to be chosen as the artist for the commemorative grand opening poster for the Kirkland Museum in 2017.
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I recognize that my art is inspired by so many facets of my personal experiences. Each puzzle of our own lives comes together to be recalled at a later date, and with new perspective. This human experience sometimes feels like the garden hose is turned on full blast. There are so many things to learn, so many ways to expand who we are, and so many connections we can make to one another.

We most certainly won't see the puzzle completed before our time on earth is complete, but I'll be trying to grab as many pieces as I can, and I hope to enjoy the experience with a full heart along the way.

​Bookplate by Walter Crane. Even for private use, Crane’s design philosophy combined socialist aesthetics and symbols with conventions of children’s literature. The plate refers to its creator (and the book’s owner) in three different registers. The first showing “Walter Crane” printed across the top of the image. The leading “W” appears in two forms; first, roughly formed by four paintbrushes and then below on the artist’s palette from which the brushes emerge. The central illustration, depicts Crane as his animal alter-ego; a crane. His socialistic philosophy of integrating art and life and of creating work that is consistent with one’s identity is well defined in his bookplate.

Every book lover knows that a book loaned often becomes a book lost. Sharing your treasured books can often be a losing business. So, how can you gently remind the borrower it’s your property, with hope to see it once again? Enter center stage, the innovation of the bookplate.

A bookplate is also known as an ex libris in reference to the Latin inscription meaning “from the books of…” The earliest known example dates back to 1450, the same year as the birth of printing from movable type. Many early bookplates were designed to safeguard the books of barons and nobles. Because of this they were adorned with coats of arms and other indicators of inherited prestige. This was the case through the 18th century. The Victorians with their love of gathering “beautiful things” realized as early as 1875 that bookplates were collectable. In his 1880 publication on bookplate collecting, John Byrne Leicester Warren recognized four distinct styles in early British bookplate design: early armorial, Jacobean (including Restoration, Queen Anne, and early Georgian), Chippendale (rococo), and wreath and ribbon (Victorian).

The 19th century saw the rise of the middle class. Scholars, professionals, and other educated individuals became interested in bookplates and commissioned works in a pictorial vein. These drew from classical and symbolist iconography and were heavily influenced by The Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1891 a few British bookplate collectors met in London to establish the Ex Libris Society and by the end of that first year, it had grown to more than 300 members. The Society began publishing the Journal of the Ex Libris Society and it was published through 1909 with 18 volumes in all. As the collecting of bookplates from previous generations was gaining popularity, the demand for new bookplates also grew. Interest in bookplates reached its peak around the turn of the century but began to decline with the onset of the First World War. Over the next 100 years, interest has come and gone, but for me at least, the height of the art of the bookplate is directly linked to the European Arts & Crafts era.  Today there are some 50 ‘national’ bookplate societies that gather world-wide every two years.

Celebrated artists like Walter Crane, Aubrey Beardsley, Robert Anning Bell, Jesse M. King, Gordon Craig, and C.F.A. Voysey created beautiful works of art, knowing that they would only be seen by a select few. It the bookplate is one of the most intimate forms of personal art during this era. Art for Art’s sake, a treasure to be hidden away in a book somehow becomes more romantic to me, than art meant to be on display for all. Personal art, originally meant only for high society, now acknowledged the social principles put forth by John Ruskin and William Morris; no matter your station in life, you deserve to enjoy refinement and objects of beauty.

Many of the artists of the time saw bookplate design as a new artistic challenge. To reduce the artwork to such a small size and to create with only a limited color palate, or even just in black and white, gave way to graphic design. Simple line contour had to speak volumes. Shape had to be distinct enough to allow instant recognition. In response to these artistic challenges we can see the birthplace of the modern logo.
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And art wasn’t just made from oil or egg tempura anymore. Ink was king! Early innovation in the artistic printing press was akin to adding a snare drum to the band for the first time. Such rich and bold notes had not previously been heard, and could be shocking to the ears. Even today, there is fine art--leave room for the Grand Canyon--and then illustration, including typography. In the 1990s, I received Cs in some of my painting classes at Colorado State University because I wasn’t “painterly” enough. One memorable professor said my work just wasn’t “cooked in” yet. I’ve always been drawn to sharp, defined line work and expressively bold shape. Creating a visual gut-punch of emotion with fewer details always wins in my book. Simplicity of design can be seen as the very foundation of refinement. Oh how I would love to transport back in time to dine with the bookplate artists of the Arts & Crafts Era and hear if they too experienced the inferred or even at times outright scowl from the fine art world. Art should always be personal. These artisans took the time to create small, concentrated drawings that delight to this day like humble lyrics to a whispered song. Next time you are shopping for old books, take the time to open their front covers. You never know what delicious details may be in store for you there.  You may even feel the previous owner looking on, hoping to get their beloved book back. They took the time to mark it, after all.

This article was written by Julie Leidel for the Colorado Arts and Crafts Society.

Virtual art shows are great in 2020. Here's an interview I did with Jerry from Applewood Arts Festival. We cover my artwork, process, and the meaning behind my work:

Watch The Interview