Artisans

Hermes Festival of Crafts What: Want to see how the iconic Birkin or Kelly bag gets made? A weeklong exhibit and celebration of craftsmanship from the renowned French design house Hermes is the place to get a peek behind the scenes. The festival features demonstrations by the craftsmen and artisans who are the skill behind Hermes, which opened in Paris in 1837 as a maker of harnesses and saddles and today creates luxurious handbags, scarves, jewelry and other objects.

The fourth annual Spring Craft Fair and Community Festival at Liberty High School, Bartholow Road, Eldersburg, will be held Saturday, March 31, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $3, and ages 12 and under are free. Crafters, artisans and home-based businesses will be there to participate in this family-oriented, indoor event which features live music, exhibitions, concessions and face painting. Strollers are not permitted. Please contact Dana Coury with any questions at lhsband2017@gmail.com or call her at 585-203-4414.

Havre de Grace Main Street is seeking artisans and crafters for its annual festival, the Graw Days, to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 11. The Graw Days commemorate the construction of the Havre de Grace Racetrack, called "The Graw," which was started in 1912. The track was considered one of the best racing strips in the country and was the main training ground for owners who hoped to win the Kentucky Derby. The theme of the festival will be the Roaring Twenties, with emphasis on horse racing and horse-related items.

Enjoy the outdoors as you take a wildlife interpretive tram tour on the grounds of the Patuxent Wildlife Visitor Center during the Patuxent Wildlife Art Show and Sale Saturday, March 24, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 25, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 10901 Scarlet Tanager Loop. View the wildlife art of nearly 35 nationally recognized artists, artisans and craftors. Saturday includes the DC Environmental Film Festival world premier screening of "Endangered Hawaii," screening of "Anna, Emma and the Condors" and live birds of prey.

Get a jump on your holiday shopping at the Washington Craft Show this weekend at the Convention Center in D.C. Browse among the handmade furniture, baskets, ceramics, glassworks, jewelry, metalworks, woodworks, wearables and more, created by 180 artisans and craftspeople from 34 states. Among the group is self-taught artisan Jeanine Guncheon, who has made folk art furniture that comedians Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy have purchased. Crafters were selected from a pool of 1,000 applicants.

The genius of Irish artisans spanning three centuries -- at once sprightly, refined and heroic -- highlights "Irish Decorative Arts from the National Museum of Ireland," on display at the Walters Art Gallery through Oct. 28.The majority of the show's 82 pieces date from the 17th through the 19th centuries, a period in which Ireland's political fortunes waxed and waned as its government was gradually and implacably subsumed by the British crown. Nevertheless, Irish craftsmen of the era were at their zenith, producing many distinctive pieces of silver, ceramics, wooden furnishings, lace and glassware.

WASHINGTON -- Marie McDonald sat on a small stage in a corner of the traditional-arts tent with a lap full of fragrant leis created with roses, baby's breath, bougainvillea, carnations and other blooms. A National Heritage Award winner, she came from Hawaii to speak about her craft yesterday at America's Reunion on the Mall."All children born in Hawaii make one at least one time or another," she told her audience. "Pretty soon, the lei is part of their life. There is not an occasion that they don't use a lei to celebrate with."

The annual ACC Craft Fair has won a national reputation for showcasing the best work by the top artisans. Locally it has a reputation as the source for that spectacular jacket or piece of jewelry that marks an individualistic style.This year the fair is thematically divided: Art for the body will be anchored in Festival Hall, and home arts will be shown in the Convention Center at 1 W. Pratt St.Hand-crafted clothes survive the vagaries of fashion because their value lies not in the label but the time and care given to design and execution.

T he church officers decided the pew cushions had to go. That 1859 horsehair stuffing was getting no softer. Downtown Baltimore's First and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church is making substantial changes during a winter-long $1.5 million renovation. Come spring, the 248-year-old congregation will have air conditioning for the first time and a repainted interior, paid for largely with money raised by the congregation through pledges and donations. Removing the old seat pads was the easy part.

Carroll County's finest artisans will open their studios for public display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for the sixth annual Crafts Guild Studio Tour.Tour participants will be able to visit seven craft studios around the county and see 17 artisans demonstrate the skills that have earned them a niche in the craft and art worlds.Enjoy the countryside while traveling from studio to studio, each of which offers a different style of architecture and additional delights in the variety of flower, herb and vegetable gardens surrounding it.For the true aficionado and collector, this tour offers a complete selection of the artisans' work.

A decade ago, artisan Mark Melonas was piecing together a living teaching sculpture at the Baltimore School for the Arts, doing some freelance graphic design and staging exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. And he was fooling around with concrete. A friend was looking for a small sink for a tricky spot in a Canton rehab, and Melonas asked if he could give the project a try. "I actually made it in my Bolton Hill apartment, carrying bags of cement up the steps," said Melonas.

The Evergreen Museum and Library's Carriage House — 4545 N. Charles St. — hosts the Best Dressed Sale and Boutique to benefit patient care at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Nov. 11, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Nov. 13, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Includes new and gently used women's and men's upscale fashions, shoes, jewelry and accessories. Designer, vintage and estate items. Free admission. A preview party is Nov. 10, 4-8 p.m. Admission is $55 at the door, $45 in advance. Go to http://www.womensboard.jhmi.edu.

When browsing at Hutcraft in Historic Ellicott City, it's advised you walk slowly. With so many pretty whimsical items, it'd be easy to miss the one that strikes your fancy. It could be the curl-handled cup and saucer set from Vietnam, the Indonesian batik serving tray or the Peruvian knitted finger puppets. Ellicott City couple Vishal and Sheeba Cherian, owners of Hutcraft, have put together a shop featuring fair trade items -- those aimed at supporting producers and artisans in developing countries -- from more than 40 countries.

This just in. Pazo has added capacity for Thursday night's Stillwater Artisanal Ales beer dinner. Brewmaster Brian Strumke (pictured) is the special guest at a $79 per person, four-course dinner at Pazo . Strumke's travels and Stillwater have been the subjects of features stories on National Public Radio and in the Washington Post and Chicago Tribune. The dinner at Pazo, which will be preceded by passed hors d'oeuvres, includes shrimp poached with preserved orange and chili, octopus a la Planxa and herb- marinated, wood-grilled leg of lamb.

Growing up in Carroll County, Libby Cain always wanted to be an artist. She eventually became a school teacher, but after a long educational career ended, she pursued her childhood passion. And during the next five weeks, the fruits of her labor will be on display in her hometown of Taneytown. Cain is one of four artists whose work will be featured at an upcoming Taneytown History Museum exhibit, which opens Saturday. Sept. 10 and runs through Oct. 15. The actual museum site, at 24 E. Baltimore St,, is closed because of Taneytown's ongoing streetscape project, so the artists' work will be shown at the Taneytown branch of New Windsor State Bank, 222 E. Baltimore St., Taneytown.

No one gets to take the Woodlawn Vase home anymore. Jeanne Murray Vanderbilt made sure of that in 1953 after her husband's horse, Native Dancer, won the Preakness by a neck. She was not going to be responsible for the three-foot-tall, 30 pound solid sterling silver trophy the winning owner was entitled to keep until the next year's race. So she gave it back. The next year — and for the 56 years since — owners have been getting a one-third replica of the original, which sits gleaming in a case at the Baltimore Museum of Art . The perpetual trophy, appraised at more than $1 million, will have its coming out party on Saturday, escorted to its place of honor in the winner's circle by white-gloved members of Maryland's National Guard.

Kathy Beachler was a meticulous youngster who took pride in work that was letter-perfect. But one day her fourth-grade teacher sent home a report card with a C-plus, noting that the student took "liberties with her cursive, making it too creative and, therefore, illegible." Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Beachler was delighted that someone had recognized her work as creative. Today, the 33-year-old Patterson Park resident prints original works of art for a living, having founded a venture she named in part after her teacher's comments — Illegible Ink. Beachler is among more than 40 artists and crafters who will take part in the fourth annual Pile of Craft show, which features handmade items for sale, including stationery, apparel, jewelry, handbags, plush toys, ceramics, comic books and prints.

Over time, chairs, candlesticks, paintings and the like become attached to memories, which is probably why many of us have such a hard time letting things go. Family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation keep these memories alive. But heirloom-quality furniture can be hard to come by. Much of the furniture made today isn't built to last one generation, let alone several. Of course, there are exceptions. Specialty furnishings stores offer heirloom-quality goods, and interior designers can open up a world of possibilities.

Hermes Festival of Crafts What: Want to see how the iconic Birkin or Kelly bag gets made? A weeklong exhibit and celebration of craftsmanship from the renowned French design house Hermes is the place to get a peek behind the scenes. The festival features demonstrations by the craftsmen and artisans who are the skill behind Hermes, which opened in Paris in 1837 as a maker of harnesses and saddles and today creates luxurious handbags, scarves, jewelry and other objects.