An issue of the Society’s newsletter, transcribed from the original.
(8 pages, 1.2 MB)
the full-resolution scan, 18 MB, for close research
Page 1 — WORLD CRAFTS COUNCIL TENTH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE
Canadian Leathercraft
Volume XXII No. 4 Summer 1974 (August)
WORLD CRAFTS COUNCIL
TENTH ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE AND SIXTH
BIENNIAL MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY was held in Toronto, Canada, June 9 - 15, 1974 at York University
ITS PURPOSE - to deal with the human condition of the craftsman in our time and the time ahead.
The CONFERENCE was attended by some 1200 - 1400 members, from 60 - 70 countries, most of whom "lived in" for the duration of the Conference.
Several Master craftsmen were carefully selected and brought together here, to provide the broadest geographical economic and cultural representation on a world level.
Each Continent was assigned one full half-day session, with the hope of finding ways in which the craftsmen of the future may look forward to an enriched existence.
The day-time hours were given to demonstrations, slide showings and specialized meetings.
The evening "SPECIAL EVENTS" included a Welcome Party on the Monday evening:
A private reception and gala preview of the First World Crafts Exhibition at the Ontario Science Centre:
Cont'd
All material published in "Canadian Leathercraft" is the property of the Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft, and may not be reprinted in any form without permission of the Society.
Editorial Committee:
Pres. Helen Wheaton, FCSCL, 100 Grand Ave., London N6C 1L7
V. Pres. Mrs. May Corbett, ACSCL, 10 Highland Ave, Barrie
V. Pres. Mrs. B. Reynolds, ACSCL, 500 Parkinson, Woodstock
Co-ordinating Editor, Joy Hutcheson, R.R. 4, Ingersoll
Committee Member, Hilda Darbyshire, FCSCL, Woodstock
the address list is printed one name to a line, not run together
Page 2
A barbecued steak dinner at Pioneer Village:
A special viewing of the Contemporary Indian Craft Exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum:
On the final evening, a State Dinner hosted by the Government of the Province of Ontario in honor of the 10th Anniversary of the World Crafts Council.
The Conference was attended by local craftsmen from all crafts. Leathercraftsmen who attended were Fred Brown, Irva Ford, Viola Harris, Anne Hook, Jessie Little, Carol McLean, Beula Reynolds, Olivia Smith, Dorothy Stanton and Helen Wheaton.
The CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS was represented by Paul Bennett, Viola Harris, Verna Fogarty and Dorothy Arnold.
Only one craftsman, our own Daphne Lingwood, gave a demonstration in leather. Unfortunately, the space allotted to her was most inadequate - her demonstration was superb.
Beyond this, the demonstrations which we attended were of our own choosing. I was fascinated to find that of the many disciplines being shown, while a few of us attended metalcraft and pottery sessions, I met leathercrafters most often in the demonstrations involving THREADS (sometimes called FIBRES), i.e. Weaving and its off-shoots, such as off-loom weaving, finger weaving, braidings, sprang and particularly batiks.
The last morning was North American Day - we had received in our kits, each a sweat shirt, LARGE size, which we were to decorate and WEAR, and we did! This was truly a common denominator! And the results were also truly out of this world, and certainly not into any other world, I should hope!
We had also received a card entitling us to attend a session in a craft other than our own. I was slated for BASKETRY, but due to a confusion in following the arrows I never did find the location, so in desperation, I asked if I might attach myself to a group making copper wire bracelets - a first for me - and I achieved a start on my first and only wire bracelet. When I had done enough inches - like about three - to know that I could carry on with it and at least have something to show for the morning, I moved on for another try at finding the basketry. Still unable to locate it, lo and behold! more THREADS, this time, new to me, SPRANG sprung up before me, with our own Marie Aiken of Gravenhurst as instructor. Supplied with the material and instructions, I was too late for the lesson. Nothing daunted, I took it home, hopefully to work it out at what is jokingly known as my leisure. This is a knotless netting technique from the Bronze Age (says the
[Four readings: "to find the of the many disciplines" is "to find that of the many disciplines"; "potterysessions" is two words; "sometimes called FIPRES" is FIBRES; and "decorate end WEAR" is "decorate and WEAR", the same a-for-e confusion noted on page 1. The page number at the foot is "2.", not "26".]
Page 3 — C.N.E. — CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS
instruction sheet) - the warp forms the interlacement - there is no weft. If this sounds confusing, I have made my point! Weeks later, with a now rather the-worse-for—wear warp, and with another determined leathercraftsman-cum-weaver urging me on, it finally fell into place - I made it! Now, two of us have a new skill! Perhaps this illustrates what the Conference was really all about - craftsmen working together and going to achieve something outside of their previous experience.
The WORLD CRAFTS. CONFERENCE CANADA 1974 is excellently written up in the August issue of CRAFT ONTARIO, which goes out to all O.C.F. members. The catalogue IN PRAISE OF HANDS (included in the WCC kit); the film of the same name, produced by the National Film Board, and the Canadian Selection - the works of the 12 Canadian craftsmen whose works are in the First World Crafts Exhibition, are discussed, and illustrations are included.
The June-July issue of CRAFT DIMENSIONS carries a very fine selection of illustrations from the FIRST WORLD CRAFTS EXHIBITION.
Both of these magazines are very well worth your attention.
Anne Hook
The foot of this page is a sketch plate of the three Canadian Guild of Crafts prizes at the 1974 C.N.E., each drawing captioned with its donor, prize and winner. The same three awards are printed in full, with the items, at the foot of page 7 of this issue, where the first is titled "Best Leather Entry" rather than "Best in Show".
C.N.E. — CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS
Tandy Leather Co. — Decorated Leather — Daphne Lingwood
C.S.C.L. — Best Functional Design — Rex Lingwood
F. W. Woolworth Award — Best in Show — Anne Hook
Page 4 — LEATHER '74
LEATHER '74
If the success of an Exhibition can be judged by the quality of craftsmanship, the variety and number of entries, the good attendance at the Opening and the complimentary remarks, then our Exhibition at Forest Hill Library, Learning Resources Centre, Toronto, from June 3rd to June 29th, was indeed a worthwhile undertaking.
For Leather '74, ninety-two articles were entered by thirty-three people, of these,68 pieces were accepted for the show by a jury from the Council of Fellows.
President Helen Wheaton was master of ceremonies at the opening of our Exhibition on June 8th and Mr. Robert Secord from the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services very ably Opened the show. He was introduced by Exhibition Chairman, Irva Ford and thanked by Mr. Fred Brown. In spite of the extreme heat that evening, the attendance was excellent. Refreshments were served with cheese, crackers and home-made cookies provided by out of town branches, the Toronto group provided table service, coffee, flowers, etc.
The judges, Mr. Robert Muma, master craftsman, and a Fellow of C.S.C.L., and Mr. Paul Bennett, Executive Director of the Canadian Guild of Crafts(Ontario) selected the prize winning articles. At the Opening, each judge made some comments on the leather work and presented awards. Our two vice-presidents, May Corbett and Beula Reynolds awarded the other two prizes.
The awards were as follows;
| Canadian Guild of Crafts(Ontario) for best leather article | Itsuko Yasui | BOOK COVER |
| Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft for most original entry | Daphne Lingwood | PURSE |
| Executive Council of C.S.C.L. for best functional design | Anne Hook | LAMINATED JAR |
| Memorial Award (Anonymous Donor) | Irva Ford | COVERED BOTTLE |
HONORABLE MENTION
| Clara Cavanagh | COMBINATION PURSE AND TOTE BAG |
| Daphne Lingwood | LEATHER NECKLACE "SEA SCALLOP" |
| Rex Lingwood | LEATHER SHOULDER BAG |
| Jessie Little | WALLET - LINES GEOMETRIC |
| David Trotter | PENDANT |
| Paul Williams | SUEDE CHESS SET (FOAM FILLED) |
[The awards are printed with each award’s own name standing above the purpose it is given for, and the winner and the article beside them. Under Honorable Mention, Clara Cavanagh’s piece is a "COMBINATION PURSE AND TOTE BAG".]
Page 5
Our sincere thanks goes to the Canadian Guild of Crafts for their generous donation of a $50.00 award and to the anonymous doner of the Memorial award of $25.00, C.S.C.L. also gave a prize of $35.00, and the other $25.00 prize was donated by the members of the C.S.C.L. Executive.
Cur Society has acquired seven new members as a result of our Exhibition. There were many more craftsmen who made inquiries and requested application forms but failed to send the entries. However, they now know about C.S.C.L. and in wo cases there is a possibility of new Branches being formed.
Only four articles were sold. This low number of sales was probably due to two factors, namely; most articles were not for sale and we were not able to man the show daily for the duration of the exhibition.
Since Leather '74 took place in June while the World Crafts Conference was in progress, many visitors from far and wide visited our show and comments were favourable and encouraging. Mrs. Helen Judkins from Pointe Claire, Quebec quoted, " I visited your leather show and was much impressed by the variety and high standard of craftsmanship. She requested that many of the articles be sent to Pointe Claire Cultural Centre for an exhibition which may be viewed until October 26th.
Another visitor, Mrs. Page, from Thorncliffe Library, Toronto asked to have our work for an exhibition at the Library in July. We are grateful to Anne Hook and Olivia Smith who set up the display in the Thorncliffe Library.
My committee, too, is worthy of praise for faithful attendane at meetings held in Hamilton and Toronto and for very efficiently carrying out the duties involved. The publicity was excellent, invitations artistic, entry forms well presented, invitations addressed, entries judged, packed and transported, programmes printed, work displayed and cases transported from and to Woodstock. Thanks is also due to the non-committee members who arrived to help set up the display, to the Branches who provided refreshments and to the Toronto Branch who arranged the Buffet.
In the past, the variety and quality of exhibits has improved noticeably with each exhibition, so we now anticipate a still greater show in March 1976.
Irva Ford
Exhibitions Chairman
[Three things are printed as they stand and are left alone: "doner" for donor, "in wo cases", and Mrs. Judkins’s quotation, which the page opens and never closes. The page number at the foot is "5.".]
Page 6
LEATHER '74
Itsuko Yasui — Best in Show
Anne Hook — Best Functional
Daphne Lingwood — Most Original
Irva Ford — Memorial Award
[This page is a sketch plate of four "Leather '74" prize pieces, each captioned with a maker’s name and award: a book cover, "Itsuko Yasui — Best in Show"; a stack of laminated squares, "Anne Hook — Best Functional"; a necklace of large leather links, "Daphne Lingwood — Most Original"; and a faceted covered bottle, "Irva Ford — Memorial Award". The registry's own entry for Daphne Lingwood's Most Original prize (sourced from p4) names the item as a Purse, not a necklace; the discrepancy between that item and this sketch is unresolved and flagged, not corrected here.]
Page 7 — LEATHERCRAFT PRIZE LIST
ARTS and CRAFTS *
for men and women
CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION
August 14-September 2, 1974
LEATHERCRAFT PRIZE LIST:
#217 (1) Clara Cavanagh — wallet; (2) Dave Elliott — pen stand
#218 (1) Jessie Little — book cover; (2) Joan Carroll — ring binder; (3) Clara Cavanagh — box
#219 (1) Clara Cavanagh — note book; (2) Reta Dewit — photo album; (3) Dave Elliott — purse
#220 (1) Jessie Little — wallet, CHATELAINE AWARD; (2) A. Morris — purse; (3) Jim Wallace — purse
#221 (1) Clara Cavanagh — purse-tote; (2) Reta Dewit — purse; (3) Olivia Smith — tray
#222 (1) Josephine Beaugage — collar
#223 (1) Margaret Monteith — brooch & earrings; (2) Joan Carroll — brooch & earrings; (3) Mrs. J. Baker — brooch & earrings
* formerly "Women's Division", re-named this year.
CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS
Best Leather Entry $100.00, donor F. W. Woolworth Co. Ltd. — Anne Hook, Jar with lid
Best functional design in leather $50.00, donor Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft — Rex Lingwood, Belt
Prize for decorated leather $50.00, donor Tandy Leather Co. of Canada Ltd. — Daphne Lingwood, Pendant
[The typewritten prize list gives 18 named placings across classes #217–#223 of the 1974 Canadian National Exhibition leathercraft competition, a class renamed this year from "Women’s Division"; page 8 is a sketch plate of the first-place entries. The columns run together if the page is read straight across, and are set out here as printed. The Canadian Guild of Crafts awards at the foot — Anne Hook, Rex Lingwood and Daphne Lingwood (Pendant) — are not page 4’s Leather ’74 awards printed a second time: this page’s own heading dates its competition 14 August–2 September at the Canadian National Exhibition, three months after Leather ’74’s June exhibition at Forest Hill Library, and the two accounts name different judges, different pieces and different prize donors throughout.]
Page 8 — C.N.E. ARTS & CRAFTS COMPETITIONS
C.N.E. ARTS & CRAFTS COMPETITIONS (Women's Division)
Sketches of the first-place entries listed on p7, hand-lettered, each captioned with its entry number and winner:
#217 — wallet monogrammed "C E C" — Clara Cavanagh
#218 — book cover, reed/grass design — Jessie Little
#219 — book cover, oval pattern — Clara Cavanagh
#220 — wallet, wave-line design, CHATELAINE AWARD — Jessie Little
#221 — handbag — Clara Cavanagh
#223 — flower brooch and earrings — Margaret Monteith
#222 — fringed, floral-appliquéd poncho collar — Josephine Beaugage
[Page headed "8." at the top. All seven names and entry numbers are set out here matching the winners marked "(1)" in the p7 prize list; read as isolated fragments the page otherwise gives "#213", "JESSE WTTLE JOSEPHINE BEAUGAG".]
