Pennsylvania German Fraktur children's workshop
The Monroe County Historical Association has announced a presentation and hands-on workshop teaching children about Pennsylvania German Fraktur from 1 to 4 p.m. May 6 at Northampton Community College's Monroe Campus, Kapp Hall, Room 128, in Tannersville.
Candace Kintzer Perry, curator of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, Pennsburg, will give a presentation on the historical and cultural significance of Pennsylvania German Fraktur, which will include a "Show and Tell" component.
Rachel Yoder, artist and children's author, will lead a hands-on workshop in which children create their own Fraktur using paper and watercolor paint.
Pennsylvania German Fraktur (frok-tur) is an art form that originated in Germany as a practice of record keeping in the 1750s, and came to America with German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pennsylvania German Fraktur is featured in a variety of religious and secular works, including birth and baptismal records, marriage certificates, family registers, poems, children's alphabet books, hymns and prayer books. Its images often include birds, hearts and floral images.
Kintzer Perry's recent exhibition, "Children and Faith in Pennsylvania German Culture," discusses fraktur's role in educating children. She has also published an article in the Journal of the Pennsylvania German Society in 2013 that explores the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center's Fraktur collection.
Yoder's artwork has been exhibited at Tyler School of Art, Kutztown University and The Hex Factory gallery. She has been featured in Deitsch, Side Arts and reviewed in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her artistic style seeks to contemporize Pennsylvania German Fraktur and make it accessible to a younger audience. Yoder is the author and illustrator of "Penny Olive," a bilingual children's book.
The presentation and workshop are free, but due to limited space, reservations are required. The event is open to children and accompanying parents or guardians.
For additional information or to make a reservation, contact the Monroe County Historical Association office at 570-421-7703 or email info@monroehistorical.org.
