Ceramicist Sarah Pike recently led local workshops organized by the PA Guild of Craftsmen. Photo by Margaret Seidenberg-Ellis
Six years ago, Toby Bouder watched a YouTube video on woodturning and thought it looked like fun. He quickly got hooked.
“I’ve been happily immersed in creating works of art on my lathe ever since,” he said.
Bouder so embraced his new avocation that he’s now president of the Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, based in Millersburg.
Statewide, the guild has been around since 1944, one of the first guilds to follow a recommendation of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to find ways to transfer wartime skills to peacetime work. It has grown to a point that it’s now the seventh-largest craft guild in the United States.
The guild may be best known for its three fine craft fairs each year. The fall and spring fairs are held at Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. In July, the group holds a fair at the Chase Center on the riverfront in Wilmington, Del. Attendees for these fairs come from all over the country.
However, according to Executive Director Rebecca Dewitt, the guild offers much more.
“The PGC has changed a lot since the early days of craft shows,” said “We’ve diversified in order to better support our members.”
The 1,200-plus-member organization now offers retail and educational opportunities, in addition to craft fairs. Members work in a wide variety of media, including wood, fiber, glass, pottery, jewelry and photography, to name a few.
The guild’s Lancaster headquarters includes retail gallery space for members to display and sell their art, three classrooms for workshops and an administrative office.
“We offer three levels of education in our workshop programs,” DeWitt said. “Anyone can start as an absolute beginner or take advantage of programs geared more towards the intermediate craftsperson or someone looking to learn a new technique.”
The guild also has a formalized program for members to become master artisans. Interested members may apply to a standards committee that meets four times a year. They’re invited to join a committee of their peers for a review of their works and receive feedback from the committee as they are considered.
One program that is becoming popular is the monthly “Craft On Tap” held at the Lancaster center. This consists of a two-hour demonstration by one of the PGC’s master artisans, then a question-and-answer period. Sponsored by Wacker Brewery in downtown Lancaster, these monthly events offer a social way to learn about crafts.
Looking forward, DeWitt said she would like to re-launch the guild’s “Emerging Artist” program. The program is a way to showcase and pass along the skills and expertise of members to a new generation of crafts people. It involves mentorship and professional development opportunities for artists new to the craft world, whether just out of college or taking up a new skill later in life.
Another goal is to expand the guild’s presence in Harrisburg, DeWitt said.
In October, the guild held a demonstration at the Millworks, then, last month, participated in a two-day festival at the State Museum of Pennsylvania. This month, the guild will conduct a demonstration at the museum for 3rd in the Burg. Member works are also featured for sale at the museum’s gift shop.
Retired from the U.S. Postal Service, Bouder credits the guild for newfound purpose and social opportunities. It also has helped him gain marketing knowledge and exposed him to other types of art forms.
He said that he has averaged 10 to 12 shows annually over the past few years, but now intends to lighten that load and just do the bigger shows. He will continue to sell his work through art galleries and looks to expand in that area, he said.
“Ever since I started as a wood turner, I have made what I wanted to make,” Bouder said. “For 35 years, I was told what to do at work. Now I have the freedom to do what I want, and I love it.”
The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen is located at 335 N. Queen St., Lancaster. The guild will participate in a demonstration on Dec. 15, noon to 1 p.m., during this month’s 3rd in the Burg at the PA State Museum, 300 North St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-431-8706 or visit www.pacrafts.org.
