Artisans Educational and Training Services

Stanley's Mini-Series Debut was Wednesday February 9th in Part IV

"Slavery and the Making of America"

SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA is a four-part series documenting the history of American slavery from its beginnings in the British colonies to its end in the Southern states and the years of post-Civil War Reconstruction. Drawing on a wealth of recent scholarship, it looks at slavery as an integral part of a developing nation, challenging the long held notion that slavery was exclusively a Southern enterprise. At the same time, by focusing on the remarkable stories of individual slaves, it offers new perspectives on the slave experience and testifies to the active role that Africans and African Americans took in surviving their bondage and shaping their own lives.

New Presentation!

"The History of Early American Furniture"

Now available online in our Historic Speaking Section

Stan October 11th, 2003 posted in the New Jersey State Senate Chamber in character for a film documentary.

Artisans of the Valley offers educational, reenactment, and speaking services using our own tailored presentations or customized to your requirements. Services extend to schools, public and private organizations, clubs, museums, newspapers, media production companies, and other groups interested in woodworking and historical subjects.

Master Craftsman Stanley D. Saperstein often speaks at local historic and educational organizations on a vast variety of topics ranging from revolution and civil war battles and impressions to woodworking to folk art and literature.

Stan has a Masters in Education, along side extensive experience as a period craftsman, including the last formal seven-year apprenticeship given by the Grinnell family; he now has over 28 years as a Master of his own shop. Artisans, as a business, has now transferred to son Eric, allowing him to focus on less physically intensive endeavors such as education.

An, avid historian and reenactor, he portrays a US Sharpshooter, Timothy Murphy, an Artillery Artificer, and multiple other roles including appropriate uniforms, and costumes. His folk art presentations include demonstrations of carving, whittling, story telling, and folk art restoration. Each is an animated routine, some similar in nature to a character in a renaissance fair that refuses to acknowledge you unless you speak in period dialect; entertaining to say the least!

Artisans current affiliations include Howell Living Historical Farms, the Swan Foundation, & the Sons of Union Civil War Veterans, and Camp Olden Civil War Museum and Round Table. He provided a folk-art lecture series for the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, and multiple classes in woodworking for various adult school programs. Not only does he provide educational services, Artisans provides artifact conservation services to each of these organizations including lessons for curators.

The Delta Queen Steamboat

Stanley's new novel entitled "Sharpshooters" is now in print! Check out the forward and first chapter online now! He will be available for lectures and speaking engagements focusing on his novel and a variety of other topics. Please check our Presentations page for details.

Please watch for updates to this section including details on the woodcarving class curriculums. We plan to update The Concise History of Period furniture, including additional details, photos and drawings, and moving it to this dedicated educational section. Other plans include additional historic and woodworking reference materials.

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