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Home Page"TUESDAYS AT THE CAPITOL" FEATURES ARTISTS DURING APRIL
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., MARCH 21, 2008 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is partnering with the Missouri Folk Arts Program to sponsor "Tuesdays at the Capitol" in April. This annual event brings Missouri's best traditional artists to do hands-on demonstrations. On three Tuesdays in April, demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Missouri State Museum History Hall located on the first floor of the State Capitol in Jefferson City.
On April 15, Gloria Penning, Hermann, and her apprentice Vicki Penning will demonstrate the intricate art of "Kunstricke" or German art lace knitting. Penning learned this art from her mother more than 60 years ago. She is well known among art lace knitters and has published several books of lace patterns that she inherited from her mother and others uncovered through her own research.
On April 22, Daniel Suarez and his apprentice Raul Martinez, both from Sedalia, will demonstrate how to play the Venezuelan "cuatro," a four-stringed acoustic instrument and play some of their favorite Venezuelan traditional tunes. Suarez has performed with such artists as Alejandro Fernandez and SIKUS and recorded with Jesus Florido and Alfredo Reyna.
On April 29, luthier and bluegrass musician Bernard Allen from Naylor, and his apprentice Danyel Nobles from Poplar Bluff, will demonstrate how to make handmade fiddles and display a variety of completed instruments, materials and tools used in stringed instrument making. Years ago, Allen learned traditional Ozark joinery from James Price, also from Naylor, and now applies his love of hand tool methods to the art of instrument making.
The artists who perform and demonstrate during these programs are present participants in the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, which pairs master folk artists with apprentices to pass traditions on to the next generation. The Missouri Folk Arts Program and the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program are funded by the Missouri Arts Council and administered by the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The Missouri Folk Arts Program was established in 1984 and builds cross-cultural understanding by documenting, conserving and presenting Missouri's living folk arts and folk life in collaboration with Missouri's citizens.
For more information, contact the Missouri State Museum at 573-751-2854, the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or Deborah Bailey at the Missouri Folk Arts Program at 573-882-3653 or go to http://maa.missouri.edu/mfap/. For information on state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
