Vintage high school shop art projects collected in Minnesota. Some of these are included in the recent book Vintage Life, published by Janine Vangool of UPPERCASE as part of her Encyclopedia of Inspiration series. If you are not familiar with her wonderful magazine and other publications, please check them out!
Vintage wood shop project NFS
Vintage wood shop project NFS
Vintage wood shop project NFS
Vintage woodshop project NFS
Vintage woodshop project NFS
Vintage woodshop project NFS
Vintage wood shop project NFS
Vintage wood shop project NFS
Load in the basket, push down the head, comes out under the tail!
Vintage wood shop project NFS
Tail folds flat when not in use!
I found my dad’s high school yearbook from 1943 and was intrigued by these prints that were bound in. I thought they were screen prints, but then saw this show, Drop Dead Gorgeous, on Minnesota Center for Book Art’s site and learned about a French stenciling technique called pochoir that was used at the turn of the century to reproduce work by various fine artists like Picasso and Matisse. I learned more about it from a virtual demo by Kitty Maryatt, and think these might have been done in a similar but less sophisticated way. Scroll down for more imagery from the book.
They are printed on a heavy manila-colored stock, very different from the rest of the pages. Each one has an essay letterpress printed on the back. Apparently the students produced these in the printshop at the high school.
The cover was pretty simple compared to the previous year’s
The artwork is credited to the students on the title page and there is a reference to stencil cutting on a picture inside
Brown Publishing did the printing
Indianapolis Engraving did the photos
The theme, Education for Life, was anti-Nazi (it was 1943) and a whole spread was given over to this book written by George Ziemer about Nazi youth.
I love the typography in the ads
This section features work I admire by friends. If you are interested in anything, inquire on the contact page and I’ll put you in touch with the artist.
This recent acquisition was painted by a former printmaking student of mine– @bebe_ch0ux was a senior in high school at the time. They used the “Zorn” palette, attributed to the Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920). It consists of only 4 colors: yellow ochre, ivory black, vermillion and lead white. It now hangs above my computer on a wall slowly filling with work that reminds me to persist!
@bebe_ch0ux
Oil on board, April 2021
Frank DeMars
St. Paul, MN
Frank had a long career as a jeweler and when I was working as an art director I hired him many times to illustrate projects for me. Now he paints these charming small watercolors and will even do custom requests, like house portraits.
5” x 5” watercolor, ask for pricing on contact page
5” x 5” watercolor, ask for pricing on contact page
5” x 5” watercolor, ask for pricing on contact page
4” x 4” watercolor, ask for pricing on contact page
3” x 5” watercolor, ask for pricing on contact page
3” x 3” watercolor, ask for price on contact page
3" x 5" watercolor, ask for price on contact page
5" x 10" watercolor, ask for price on contact page
Richard Egan, St. Paul, MN
Richard is a lawyer by trade, with no formal art training, yet does these colorful collage over-paintings that have a real quality about them. There are lots more to chose from and he does take custom orders.
Mixed media, acrylic and vintage photo print on board, 2005
Photo/mixed media/acrylic on board, 2005 NFS
Sorry, this one is mine. I especially love how the figure is cropped.
Mixed media acrylic and photo on canvas, framed, 2006
This one is big! Ask for measurements.
Mixed media, acrylic and vintage photo print, 2005 NFS
This one is mine, too. Love the colors!
Mixed media, acrylic and vintage photo print, 2005
Gail Greengard, Rio Rancho, NM
Gail is an accomplished quilter and always has projects going–her newest one is amazing! This piece was just acquired by the City of Albuquerque, but you can see other things she has for sale at LoteriaGaleria.com.
Pieced quilt, Silk, 96” wide x 56” deep, 2020
Vintage Red Wing art pottery and dinnerware. Produced in the town of Red Wing, Minnesota through 1967. Many collectors value the early stoneware made by this company, but I like the mid-century work, some of which was hand-painted and designed by women. There is an active collector’s society with chapters all over the midwest.
This pattern was made around 1965. All the designs were hand-painted and there were many different dinnerware lines produced through the years, reflecting the design trends of the times.
This is the Magnolia pattern on the Concord shape, one of their most popular patterns.
Divided plate-NFS
Deviled egg dish-NFS
Designed by Charles Murphy for Red Wing
Charles Murphy for Red Wing
For Red Wing Pottery, Shape number M1629 -NFS
This almost complete grouping was collected by a dear friend and is no longer together. This line was designed by Belle Kogan for Red Wing Pottery and first released in 1950. There are 3 decorative designs that mix and match on various-shaped vases and console bowls. All are glazed in a beautiful metallic color called Mica Bronze and lined in a chartreuse green called Citron. See close ups below.
These vases have the “Desert Flower” pattern.
These vases have the “Bird of Paradise” pattern.
These vases have the “Shell Ginger” pattern. There are more pieces below that use this pattern as well, and all are meant to mix and match.
These candelabra hold two tapers each and are meant to be used with a console bowl as a centerpiece.
These are called window box planters. The one on the left is Shell Ginger and the other is Desert Flower and 13” long.
These were meant to hold fruit or serve snacks or just look nice on the sideboard. The shapes are fantastic!
These are designed to blend with any of the 3 patterns.
