• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

[Cancelled] Led by Ramon Townsend of Colonial Bindery, Exton, Pa, participants will learn this traditional paper art first developed by the Persians in the 15th century. Marbling is the art of floating and designing watercolors on a base fluid then permanently transferring the design to paper. Participants will be instructed in preparing the paper to accept the paint; mixing the colors for marbling; creating the base fluid; floating the colors on the base, then designing them; and transferring the

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

Led by Ramon Townsend of Colonial Bindery, Exton, PA, participants will take home a blank book they create in the workshop, using the methods that were employed from about the first century through the mid 19th century. They will hand sew the book sections (called signatures); secure the hard covers; add a leather or cloth spine, and decorative paper, to the covers; and lay down the endpapers. Students will also be provided step-by-step written instructions they can take home.

Workshop instructor

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

The workshop will focus on the sgraffito technique used by area nineteenth century Pennsylvania German potters to make expressive designs in their folk art pottery. Sgraffito means to “scratch” and workshop participants will draw a design of their choosing in a damp clay coating on a redware plate. You can choose a traditional Pennsylvania German design or create your own design for a special occasion gift.

The class will be led by redware potter Denise Wilz, a professional potter who researches

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

Pat Wilson-Schmid Oil Painting Classes

Do you dream in technicolor? Do colors excite you? Do your grandchildren need to put your art work on their refrigerator door?  Come join an oil painting class at MHEP on Tuesday evenings. All skills levels are invited. Painting is mostly a learned activity. Bring your own materials and several photographs and let’s play. A list of suggested materials will be provided.

Join along with Pat as she guides each student on their very own journey to

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

This workshop will be led by textile artist Ann Hermes.

Plush template embroidery (also called stump work and tufted wool embroidery) is a method used to create plush designs. It is done by stitching with wool yarn over a template. The yarn is cut in a strategic way to release the template, then trimmed, brushed and sculpted to give stars, hearts, flowers, and other fanciful designs.

This embroidery technique was done by women in southeastern Pennsylvania and other regions of the US

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

Paint a document box and square frame

This class features folk painting in the Pa German style of hand printing and combing. Using water based glazes in traditional colors learn the many ways utilitarian everyday items were embellished in days past.

Participants will learn to grain paint a softwood 10 x 10 mirror and frame and a 4”x5”x8 document box. A dark glaze is applied over yellow paint. Then while the glaze is wet a spontaneous texture is created using the traditional

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

Fraktur Drawing Workshop at the Mennonite Heritage Center

The Mennonite Heritage Center, 565 Yoder Road, Harleysville, announces a Fraktur Drawing Working scheduled for Saturday, November 6.  Fraktur was created by Pennsylvania Germans during the eighteenth through the mid nineteenth centuries and features calligraphic text decorated with colorful birds, hearts and flowers.  The tradition has its roots in the illuminated manuscripts of medieval Europe but evolved into a distinctive part of the local Pennsylvania German culture. Today, those who appreciate this colorful

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• Venue: Mennonite Heritage Center
• Categories: Workshop

Learn to fancy paint in the age old styles of combing and graining with water based glazes. 5 frames will be completed after practice boards help guide design choices.

This class features folk painting in the Pa German style of hand printing and combing. Using water based glazes in traditional colors learn the many ways utilitarian everyday items were embellished in days past.

In the 18th century, country cabinetmakers grain painted utilitarian objects to imitate the grain of wood. Softwoods were false

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