Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 9, 2009
Arthur J. “Pete” Ballard was the speaker at Giles County Historical Society’s Quarterly Meeting on Sunday, September 13th.
A native of West Virginia, Ballard has had a fascinating career in the arts and traveled extensively including stays in Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, and China where he taught English as a second language. He later taught at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, North Carolina. While in Winston-Salem, he was asked to curate and conserve the costume collection of the Reynolda House Museum, former home of the R. J. Reynolds family. Ballard’s expertise in museum costume curation and conservation came from his work with the costume collections of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Museum of American Art in Winston Salem, and many other museums in the southeast as well as his experiences working with the late Stella Blum, curator of the costume institute for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The topic of Ballard’s presentation to the Historical Society came from his period of museum work in North Carolina. He showed slides and discussed the costume restoration of a wedding gown that survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The Pennsylvania flood caused by a dam burst killed 2,209 people and flattened the town. What was left, including the wedding gown, was covered in mud. The gown provides a fascinating example of the loving and painstaking work required to restore and intricate costume and its fragile fabric. Ballard also showed slides of other costumes that he worked with over the years.
During his career in the museum profession, Ballard amassed quite a collection of leftover fabric scraps from completed conservation projects. The scraps became the inspiration for the next phase of Ballard’s career of making fashion dolls that are extensively researched, authentic examples of period fashions from the 18th century through the early 20th century. The dolls have been donated to museums across the United States including the Giles County Historical Society where they populate the Andrew Johnston House. At the conclusion of his presentation, Ballard showed slides of some of the over 200 fashion dolls he has created.
Visit the Andrew Johnston House to see our collection of fashion dolls created by Pete Ballard, a true artist and recent recipient of the Arts and Historical Letters Award from the West Virginia History and Archives Commission. He is shown with the Martha Washington doll he donated to the Giles County Historical Society in 2007.
Arthur J. “Pete” Ballard was the speaker at Giles County Historical Society’s Quarterly Meeting on Sunday, September 13th.
A native of West Virginia, Ballard has had a fascinating career in the arts and traveled extensively including stays in Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, and China where he taught English as a second language. He later taught at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, North Carolina. While in Winston-Salem, he was asked to curate and conserve the costume collection of the Reynolda House Museum, former home of the R. J. Reynolds family. Ballard’s expertise in museum costume curation and conservation came from his work with the costume collections of the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Museum of American Art in Winston Salem, and many other museums in the southeast as well as his experiences working with the late Stella Blum, curator of the costume institute for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The topic of Ballard’s presentation to the Historical Society came from his period of museum work in North Carolina. He showed slides and discussed the costume restoration of a wedding gown that survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889. The Pennsylvania flood caused by a dam burst killed 2,209 people and flattened the town. What was left, including the wedding gown, was covered in mud. The gown provides a fascinating example of the loving and painstaking work required to restore and intricate costume and its fragile fabric. Ballard also showed slides of other costumes that he worked with over the years.
During his career in the museum profession, Ballard amassed quite a collection of leftover fabric scraps from completed conservation projects. The scraps became the inspiration for the next phase of Ballard’s career of making fashion dolls that are extensively researched, authentic examples of period fashions from the 18th century through the early 20th century. The dolls have been donated to museums across the United States including the Giles County Historical Society where they populate the Andrew Johnston House. At the conclusion of his presentation, Ballard showed slides of some of the over 200 fashion dolls he has created.
Visit the Andrew Johnston House to see our collection of fashion dolls created by Pete Ballard, a true artist and recent recipient of the Arts and Historical Letters Award from the West Virginia History and Archives Commission. He is shown with the Martha Washington doll he donated to the Giles County Historical Society in 2007.
Hello,
ReplyDeletePete Ballard was probably the best teacher I ever had...way back at the NC School of the Arts. I would so love to touch base with him if you could direct me.
- Michael Penny
jalalabad308@yahoo.com