PERRYSBURG – Jennifer Frantz, Perrysburg, Ohio won the highest award as a traditional artisan in this
year’s Directory of Traditional American Crafts, and her handcrafted floorcloths is showcased in the
latest issue of Early American Life magazine.
She ranks top in her field, according to a panel of national experts convened by the magazine.
The experts-curators from the American Folk Art Museum, Canterbury Shaker Village, George Washington’s
Mount Vernon, Heritage Center of Lancaster County, Kent State University, Old Sturbridge Village,
Shelburne Museum, Southern Highland Guild, and Strawbery Banke Museum as well as antiques dealers,
independent scholars, and professional instructors-selected the top craftspeople working with
traditional tools and techniques for the magazine’s 24th annual Directory of Traditional American
Crafts.
Frantz’s handcrafted floorcloths showed mastery of the art form, heritage techniques, and workmanship,
according to the judges.
The Directory of Traditional American Crafts is a special listing that appears in the August 2009 issue
of Early American Life, a national magazine focusing on architecture, decorative arts, period style, and
social history from colonial times through the mid-19th Century.
The Directory has been used for the past two decades by curators at living history museums, owners of
traditional homes, and motion picture producers for finding artisans to make period-appropriate
furnishings and accessories for displays, collections, and use.
"The judges look for authentic design and workmanship, whether the piece is a faithful reproduction
or the artisan’s interpretation of period style," said Tess Rosch, publisher of Early American
Life. "Scholarship, as well as use of period tools and techniques, is particularly valued in this
competition."
One goal of the Directory is to help preserve traditional handcrafts, part of our culture that is rapidly
being lost in the digital age.
Many of these skills were passed down from master to apprentice for hundreds of years, but now few new
people choose to learn and master them. "If our traditional arts are lost, we have forgotten a part
of who we are as Americans," Rosch said.
The August issue of Early American Life, on newsstands June 23, lists all artisans selected for the
Directory as well as contact information for those wanting to own their work.
On the Net:
www.EarlyAmericanLife.com.