Craft Your Own Redware Plate at Landis Valley Village
Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum is one of the most unique places in Lancaster County to visit and it provides those that make a trip to its grounds a rare glimpse into what life was like in the 18th and 19th centuries. With so many events, classes, demonstrations, exhibits, and living history reenactments, Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum is the perfect place to learn something new, have some fun, and celebrate a simpler way of life.
One of the signature traits of Lancaster County is the Pennsylvania Dutch community, the Amish, and the prevalent German heritage. It’s evident in the handiworks that are sold throughout the area, like decorative plates of Pennsylvania Redware, made by German potters from the 17th to 19th centuries. At Landis Valley, take an introductory course to redware with Denise Wilz, a Master Artisan in the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen that specializes in traditional American crafts and make your very own redware plate to take home as the perfect souvenir for your trip. The course includes a demonstration using a rolling pin, circle cutter, and mold to create a plate using two decorating techniques: sgraffito and slip-trailing. Consult the books with ideas or start from scratch and go with your own imagination. The course includes all materials, firing, and processing of one 7” plate. Tickets are $95 and the course is from 10AM-4PM on October 19th. Visit the Landis Valley Museum’s website for more details.
The Visitor Center Exhibit at Landis Valley Village is also displaying a two-year-long exhibit on the redware of the Pennsylvania Dutch titled “Thrown, Fired, and Glazed: The Redware Tradition from Pennsylvania and Beyond” running until December 2020 that shows in detail the craftsmanship created from the red clay soil of the central Pennsylvania region. Throughout the two years, the museum will be showing over 200 pieces that encompass the history of redware. In addition to many rare pieces, Landis Valley will also be exhibiting a rare 1880 SATOR plate (which the Pennsylvania Germans believed could extinguish fire without water) and significant pieces from the Barnes Foundation and Winterthur Museum that have never been seen by the public. For more information on the collection, visit the Landis Valley Museum’s website.
Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum
2451 Kissel Hill Road
Lancaster, PA 17601
717.569.0401
