Living Heritage Podcast Ep033 Student Internships and Textile Heritage with Stephanie Micikyan

Stephanie Micikyan is a graduate of the University of Ottawa with a BA in History, and of Fleming College’s Museum Management and Curatorship Graduate Certificate program. She has worked as an intern with The Rooms history division in St. John’s, working on a textiles-based project, and is the Intangible Cultural Heritage Intern with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, working on the Grey Sock Project, inspired by the First World War-era Women’s Patriotic Association. We talk about internships and Fleming College’s certificate program, the work of archiving and preserving textiles, work to safeguard traditional knitting skills, and her recent research on the life and work of Anna Templeton, a craft pioneer in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Memory Store: Well it's not a burial place...

This week’s Memory Store video is a clip of Elisabeth Laverty from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Elisabeth describes the cathedral’s weekly organ concerts and the daily summertime tea in the crypt.  You can check out an organ concert on Wednesdays or enjoy some home baked goods in the crypt during the summer time!

Watch the video below or click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL.

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Exploring Industrial Chic - an interview with Mike Barneveld of Square Peg Designs

I spent the last two days at the Willowbank School for Restoration Arts, in Queenston, Ontario, teaching the Heritage Conservation Program students about the world of intangible cultural heritage. It was my second year at Willowbank, and it is always a great deal of fun introducing new people to ICH, and demonstrating the link between living traditions and heritage conservation.

For the second year, I was also able to conduct a demonstration interview with one of the artisans associated with the school. This year, it was with Mike Barneveld of Square Peg Designs, an alumnus of the program.

Square Peg Designs is a small, Niagara-based company which creates one-of-a-kind furniture and accessories with an “industrial chic” feel using vintage and reclaimed materials.  I sat down with Mike in front of the students, and we chatted about his work trajectory, the establishment of his business, what he learned from the Willowbank program, his creative aesthetic and process, and the business side of his art.

Listen in below, or click here to download the interview in various audio formats.

- photos courtesy www.squarepegdesigns.ca

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Last Year's Youth Heritage Forum

Today's photo was taken at last year's Youth Heritage Forum by Jeremy Harnum. This is a member of the First Nations Eastern Owl Women's Drum Circle. The group was part of last year's opening ceremony and are back again this year!

Saturday March 19th is the 2nd Annual Youth Heritage Forum in St. John's. This year, the forum is focusing on heritage skills, networking, and mentorship. There will be mentors established in different fields such as archaeology, folklore, archives, and much more!

Youth will have the opportunity to ask the mentors questions, network with fellow youth in the heritage field, and take part in exciting events like the heritage skills competition.

Visit www.youthheritagenl.wordpress.com for more information and updates about the forum and register today!

As Good as New!

Last week, the darning workshop took place at the A.C. Hunter Children's Library at the Arts and Culture Centre! We had twenty-two eager and excited participants who learned to mend holes in knitted garments with Christine LeGrow. Shirley Scott was there and she gave some great tips to participants on how to knit and care for knitted socks so they are everlasting!

I was lucky enough to see some darning egg/mushrooms - and even a radiator knob - that have been used to darn socks:

          

             Left - Elizabeth's darning egg -
       a nice modern example
               Right - Rebecca Jeffery's darning egg which
          belongs to her father, Gary. c.1930 from
       Southern Ontario!

Glenna Jamieson-English's darning mushroom!
See the orange? We used them to darn!

After some show and tell, Christine got down to business and taught everyone how to darn. My favourite example was how she compared darning to weaving like some of us were taught in school. By the end of the workshop, everyone got the hang of it and holes began to be mended!

It was a fun filled, exciting, and educational evening. Everyone who attended will certainly be using their new skill to mend socks, hats, trigger mitts, and sweaters for years to come, keeping everything looking as good as new! **Stay tuned - I will be posting darning instructions from Christine for those who missed the workshop soon**

Thank you to everyone who attended, Christine LeGrow, Shirley Scott, the City of St. John's, Susan Prior, the NL Public Libraries, and all those who promoted this event making this workshop a great success!

Missed this workshop? We have a knit-along happening in March!

Living Heritage Podcast Ep031 A Life in Public Folklore, with Peggy Bulger

Peggy A. Bulger retired in 2011 as the second director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, where she served from 1999. A native of New York State, she holds a B.A. in fine arts from the State University of New York at Albany, an M.A. in folk studies from Western Kentucky University, and a Ph.D. in folklore and folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. A folklorist, consultant, and producer, Bulger has been documenting folklife and developing and managing folklife programs for more than forty years. We talk about her life, her fascinating work, and her thoughts on where public folklore is going today. Recorded on 7 August 2015.

Photo: Dale Jarvis and Peggy Bulger, 2013

What traditions are at risk in your community?

Last week I promised to unveil a new ICH project. Here it is:

Back in 2008 and 2013 we asked community members, organizations and groups interested in NL heritage and culture to share their thoughts on the needs of communities in safeguarding local intangible cultural heritage. Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, this living heritage is everything from the Christmas mummering traditions to, depending on where you're from in the province, flummies, tiffins or toutons!

One of the common threads in these past reports was a concern for the traditions, skills and knowledges that are at risk of being lost. We hear you! So, in the spirit of safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador we came up with a short survey (3-5 minutes) based on what people have identified as at risk. Help us identify the intangible cultural heritage that is at risk in your community! We want to hear from you!

The survey will be open to everyone beginning February 17th until March 24th at 5:00pm. The report will be made available to the public when the project is complete.

To take the survey, please visit the ICH Risk link on the main page of the blog.

If you have any questions contact:

Meghan Mills
meghan@heritagefoundation.ca
1 888 739 1892 ext 5.

Workshop Feb 24th - Using Craft to Tell a Story

An exciting and instructive session for museums, heritage sites and craft makers, this session will offer insight into how craft can tell a cultural story and how makers and visitor destination sites can make use of craft to enhance the visitor’s experience.

Join Keynote speakers Joanne Kaar from Caithness, Scotland and Pam Hall from St. John's at the Manuels River Interpretation Centre on Wednesday, February 24.

Presentations will be followed by panel comprised of local experts in storytelling and the craft industry. The panel will explore ways in which Newfoundland and Labrador craft makers, artists and designers are using craft to tell their stories.

This is a collaborative project between the Craft Council Of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Intangible Cultural Heritage office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Your fee of $50 + HST includes lunch!

Click here for more information

Click here to register

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Eggs and mushrooms

In the spirit of darning, here are two darning tools sent to us from Karlie King and Eileen Murphy!

Karlie King's darning mushroom

Eileen Murphy's darning egg

Eileen writes, "This was passed on to me from my mother' s cousin. Many feet continued to be warm and snug because this was used to mend the wear and tear."

Thank you Karlie and Eileen for these great photos!

We are still looking for photos and stories about darning tools! Do not hesitate to e-mail me stephanie@heritagefoundation.ca

By the way, did I mention the traditional darning workshop is tonight? You still have time to register!



Join instructor Christine LeGrow tonight, Tuesday, February 16 between 6:15 pm-8:15 pm, at the A.C. Hunter Children's Library at the Arts & Culture Centre, 125 Allandale Road to learn traditional darning techniques.

Participants will be required to bring:

• Socks that need darning
• Scraps of equivalent yarn
• Darning needle
• Scissors
• Optional: Darning egg

Hope to see you there!