The Arden Craft Shop Museum is home to many works of art by many different artists.  Over the next months we will be sharing works from our collection by female artists that were not able to be shown in our current exhibition.
 
We will start with works by Katherine "Kate" "Cookie" Dolmetsch Kelly.  Cookie was the artist and driving force behind Arden Craft Pottery.  The pieces produced were available at her shop at local stores, and annually at the Arden Fair seen below.

The illustrations on each piece are fun, brightly colored, and quirky.  While the drawings were done by Cookie, the laying on of colors were done by assistants who were hired throughout the Ardens. The museum has several works in our collection.  Overwhelmingly, the pieces in ACSM’s Collection are holiday or winter scenes.

​Recently, Barbara Macklem of the Arden Craft Shop Museum was able to chat with Cookie about Arden Craft.  Ms. Kelly noted that her first pottery wheel, a kick wheel, had originally belonged to Miriam Hetzel Donovan, the originator of Arden Pottery.  Cookie's pottery, with her imaginative designs and bright color palate, still evoke a carefree spirit and a joyful approach to life.

​On Thursday, November 30th, the Arden Craft Shop Museum lost one of its most caring supporters. James “Jamie” Jamison passed away peacefully at his home just outside of the Ardens. For many years, Jamie was the building manager of the Arden Craft Shop Museum. As a member of the Board of the Arden Craft Shop Museum, Inc., he ensured that that building stayed standing, and the tenants had their needs met. At the drop of a text message, Jamie would appear with a smile and a fix for anything that was broken. The ACSM Board and Committee will sincerely miss Jamie’s energy and enthusiasm for the museum and its tenants. We send our condolences to his family and friends, as Jamie was truly one of a kind.
 
- The Arden Craft Shop Museum, Inc. Board 

The new exhibition at the ACSM, Women Artists of the Ardens: 1900-1960, has so many photographs, pictures, parts, and papers, that it was hard to fit everything into the show!  The displays range from pottery to poems and from greeting cards to stained glass and it all represents work done by the women artists who have graced our community.  Their work shows examples of many different inspirations –nature, dance, music and so much more. The wide variety of their accomplishments present an amazing picture of the lives they lived and the community which nurtured them.  We are fortunate to have the record they left for us.  And equally as fortunate to live in a community still filled with practicing artists of all the artistic disciplines. We look forward to welcoming you.  Remember the museum is open Wednesdays from 7:30 pm to 9 pm and Sundays from 1 pm to 3 pm.

After a busy summer season, the ACSM is gearing up for the fall. We will be open with
special hours during the Arden Fair from 11 AM until 4 PM. You will be able to see the exhibition which was done for the Afternoon With Artist event on August 13 th . The first-ever celebration of poets associated with the Ardens drew a standing room crowd and featured local poets as well as a tribute to Walt Whitman – a great favorite of many of the
early residents of Arden.

The next important date for the ACSM is Sunday, September 24th . That will be the last day the Ardentown Centennial Exhibition, as well as the annual Shakespeare display, and the tribute to Connee McKinney will be on display. The gallery will then close to get ready for our annual October Exhibition.

Mark your calendars for Sunday October 15 th for the next exhibition opening. This years' show will feature many of the women artists and artisans who have made their home in the Ardens. They have left behind a legacy of both their expertise and their love of beauty and we are all the richer for it.

​Aaron Hamburger was a long time supporter and founder of the Arden Craft Shop Museum with his wife Sally who was a founding Mother of the Museum.  The Hamburgers moved to Arden in 1968 and raised 3 daughters here Marjorie, Amy, and Julianne, and welcomed an exchange student from New Zeeland, Jenny Carr, who was considered family.

​Aaron was very involved in the community life of Arden, specifically as the President of the Arden Club.  During his years as president Aaron would be heavily involved with the Arden Fair.  Enjoy these pictures of Aaron from his years of involvement with the museum, the Arden club, and other community events!  Be sure to visit the Arden Craft Shop Museum during the Fair! We will be open with special hours from 11 AM until 4 PM.  

We welcome our guests to a afternoon of spoken word art celebrating poetry in the Ardens on august 13th from 1 to 3 pm. The event will include a reading of selected poems and an historical exhibit of works by Arden poets, Marjorie Poinsette Jobson, Frank Stephens and Walt Whitman. A reading of selected verses of Whitman’s poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, will include a visit to the “Walt Whitman Lilacs Memorial” on the Village Green adjacent to the Arden Craft Shop Museum.
Light refreshments will be provided.
This event is free and open to the public.

Please see our Facebook Event for the most up to date information!

​The ACSM is delighted to welcome the Shakespeare Gild back to our building.  After two years of Gallery renovations, the Gild can once again use the Bernie Schwab Community Room for costumes and make-up.  And we are re-introducing our spot-light Shakespeare exhibition, as well as special open hours before each performance. 

​The Museum will be open one hour before each production for audience members to enjoy a look at a showcase of pieces related to Shakespeare productions in the Ardens.  We have put together items from our collections which show how the arts and crafts traditions of the Ardens have found their way into the performances of the Bard’s plays.  After you have saved your seats at the Field Theatre, we hope you will take the time before the show begins to visit the Museum.

The Arden Craft Shop Museum honors the life of long time Arden resident and museum friend, Connee McKinney, with a spot light exhibit, opening Sunday, March 19th.  

Connee long supported the museum through the gift of many different artifacts, including her design for the first t-shirt for the Arden Fair, as well as being an always friendly resource for the life of the community.

Our thoughts are with the family in this time.  Find the full obituary here.

The ACSM is very pleased to announce the return of our popular program Afternoon with the Artist on Sunday, March 26th.  We are delighted that Janet Williams will be the first artist in this new series of programs.  Janet grew up in the Ardens and has returned to live in the community.  She has studied at PAFA and holds degrees from both the University of Delaware and Philadelphia University. After working in many different media, Janet has returned to painting and has found inspiration in working outdoors.
 
Janet has said, “As a plein air painter my enjoyment comes from sorting out a cluster of trees, flowers or plants as they capture the light.”  We are excited to see what Janet will show and exhibit at the Museum.  The show will be open during our regular hours from 1-3 PM, Sunday, March 26th.

To see a sample of Janet's work please visit her website.

Janet is a member of the Arden Artisans Collective.

​See the Facebook event here.
 
The Past Has a Future in the Ardens.
 
Arden Craft Shop Museum, Open: Wednesdays 7:30 – 9 PM and Sundays from 1-3 PM.

​The exhibition celebrating the Ardentown Centennial is now open.  We are delighted to announce that that some new objects have been added to both the exhibition and the main display space at the Museum.  A wonderful handcrafted sign which once invited guests to that famous, or infamous, spot on the ground level of the Candlelight Theater is now on display.  We have also been able to rehang two stained glass windows originally in the Monastery.  In addition, a striking hand-carved sign celebrating the Museum is now also on display.  Be sure to stop in to see these great additions to the gallery.