Join the Museum for our fourth installment in the Crafting History series on Tuesday, October 17, at 6 p.m. to learn about the history of ceramic crafts and make a pinch pot!
This program will be held at Illinois Art Station (101 E. Vernon Ave. Normal, IL 61761) due to their unique facility capabilities. As a result, this installation of Crafting History will be available in person only. Seeing as this is a relatively new programming series, we are constantly reevaluating and trying new ways to provide accessible, high quality experiences for all. We will be seeking input from participants after the event to determine the best way to offer future iterations of this program. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Maria Mears.
Pre-registration for this event is required. Please register at https://bit.ly/PinchPots.
There is a small supply fee of $5 for Museum members and $7 for non-members. Your completed pinch pots will be available for pick-up from Illinois Art Station one week after the event.
Crafting History is a series of accessible, interactive programming that allows adult learners a hands-on history experience, led by the Museum's Director of Adult Education, Dr. Maria Mears, and a local expert, taking crafts from the past and recreating them for use today.
All the crafts we focus on have some historical context and an element of sustainability. In the past, people found alternative uses for things no longer needed or got creative with different methods of making various products, but in the age of mass production, that has fallen to the wayside. We hope to combat hyperconsumerism with a historical understanding of crafts that take great skill and artistry but were often relegated to "women's home-keeping tasks".
We offer new Crafting History programming every other month, on the third Tuesday.
Photo Caption: Miss Elizabeth Shea, art instructor at Raymond School, puts the finishing touches on a ceramic creation at the recreation studio, formerly located at 214 N. Madison St. in Bloomington. This photo from March 1940 has been preserved and digitized by the McLean County Museum of History as a part of our Pantagraph Negatives Collection. To learn more about how we're saving y(our) history, click here.