Ed  and  Mary  Scheier  Mid-­Century  Modern  

Potters    The   Piscataqua   Decorative  Arts   Society’s   2013   season  will   commence   on   April   30th  with   the   lecture   given   by   Mel  Bobick   titled   “Ed   and   Mary  Scheier,   New   Hampshire   Mid-­Century  Modern  Potters”.     The  program   will   be   held   at   the  Tyco   Center   in   the   Strawbery  Banke   Museum,   starting   at  5:30  pm,  and  will  be  preceded    by  refreshments  at  5.      

 A   chance   meeting   in   1937   through   the   federal   Works   Progress  

Administration  led  Mary  Goldsmith  and  Edwin  Scheier  to  begin  a  seven-­‐decade  long  partnership  that  would  place  them  in  the  forefront  of  the  American  Studio  Pottery  Movement.   Married   within   the   year,   the   couple   began   studying   Southern   pottery  tradition,   opening   their   own   studio   in   Glade   Spring,   Virginia.   Almost   immediately  their  pottery  won  acclaim.  In  1940  David  R.  Campbell,  director  of  the  League  of  New  Hampshire  Craftsmen,  was  instrumental  in  recruiting  the  Scheiers  to  join  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  New  Hampshire  at  Durham,  Ed  as  a  ceramics  teacher  and  Mary  as  an  Artist-­‐in-­‐Residence.  Working  there  until  1968,  the  Scheiers  produced  what  are  recognized   as   some  of   the   finest   pieces   of  American   ceramics   of   the   20th   century.  The  lightness  and  elegance  of  Mary’s  thrown  forms  combined  with  Ed’s  glazes  and  fluid   lines   of   decoration   have   earned   their   pottery   a   place   in   major   museum  collections  across  the  country.    

Mel   Bobick   knew   the   Scheiers   personally   and   lives   in  what  was   once   their  home,  a  house  designed  by  David  Campbell.  He  will  share  stories  and  insights   into  their  work  provide  commentary  on  the  documentary  film  ”Four  Hands,  One  Heart”  exploring  the  Scheiers  career  (Ken  Browne  Production  &  Currier  Gallery  of  Art  Film)  And   present   examples   of   the   Scheier’s   pottery.   Mr.   Bobick,   a   professor   at   the  University  of  New  Hampshire   for  over  47  years,   taught   the  hugely  popular  Arts   in  Society  course,  which  focused  on  the  meaning  and  value  of  art  to  society.        

     The  cost  to  the  general  public  is  $10.00;  members  are  free.    #####  Strawbery   Banke   Museum   is   located   at   14   Hancock   Street,   Portsmouth,   New  Hampshire.    #####  The  Piscataqua  Decorative  Arts  Society   is  a  non-­‐profit  organization  with  a  mission  to  promote  original  historical  research  resulting  in  publication.  The  primary  focus  is  on   the   greater   Piscataqua   region   of   New   Hampshire   and   Maine   with   connecting  links  to  Massachusetts  and  beyond.  For  more  information,  check  the  web  site  (  www.pdasociety.org)