Monday, June 22, 2015

A Busy Week for Volunteers!

A huge thank you goes out to all of the Graycliff volunteers who helped out at several special events this past week.

First, Graycliff had a table at Food Truck Tuesday in Larkin Square.  Thanks to Al Kelley and Mary Wilde for representing Graycliff:


On Wed., Graycliff volunteers staffed a table at Starry Night in the (Botanical) Gardens.  Thanks to the Procknals (Jerry & Karen), Mary Wilde, and Nancy McNaughton!
 
 
Last, but not least, several volunteers helped out with Graycliff's Summer Solstice event.  Many thanks to Barbara Abbatoy, the Solowskis (Dave & Gail), Jim Alves, Gerry Przybylski, and Denise O'Shei.  Not pictured - volunteer Ed Qualey who ably assisted attendees finding spots to park their vehicles.
 
 
Graycliff volunteers are the best!  We couldn't do it without you.
 

 

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Graycliff Docent News



1) Graycliff Volunteers enjoyed a visit to the Graycliff Collection at the UB Archives yesterday, Saturday, June 13th, 2015.  If you weren't able to make it, here are a few photos to enjoy:


UB Archivist Amy Vilz with Tom Browne, Jerry Wahlenmayer, Doug Smith and Phyllis Spears

UB Archives with Archivist Amy Vilz, and Graycliffians Doug Smith, Phyllis Spears, Sheila Flint, Kathy Mehltretter, George Struebel, looking at Graycliff materials.





2) HOW TO BECOME A MASTER DOCENT


For those docents wondering what it takes to become a Master Docent, the following guidelines have recently been offered. If you have any questions or comments, if you are on the blog click on comments and add your thoughts/questions. If you are reading this on email, I don't believe you can do a comment there, you will need to go to the article in the actual blog.

HOW TO BECOME A GRAYCLIFF MASTER DOCENT 
For those who have already been certified (or are in training) to become a Graycliff Docent, the next question is usually: How Do I Become a Master Docent?

First, what is a Graycliff Master Docent?
  A Graycliff Master Docent demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of the career of Frank Lloyd Wright, Graycliff as an example of Organic Architecture, the Martin Family and the Graycliff Conservancy's restoration endeavors. Graycliff Master Docents are expected to show a commitment to Graycliff, to focus on visitors interests and needs (including the ability to meet time constraints of tours,) encourage membership and volunteerism among visitors, and to take the initiative to learn more related to Wright's work and life, his relationship to the Martins, the Martins’ life and times and to Graycliff’s restoration endeavors.

   Docents are invited to become a Master Docent, based on the following minimum requirements, and if you meet tthese minimum requirements, contact us at Interested in Becoming a Master Docent

1) Service for a minimum of two years as a Graycliff Docent

2) Giving a minimum of nine tours per year

3) Take a training tour about the historic landscape.

4) Joining the Graycliff Volunteer Blog

5) Having no complaints from visitors, to be able to meet tour time constraints, reliability, and willingness to encourage membership and volunteerism among visitors.



  Additionally, Graycliff expects that Master Docents will undertake on-going self-study, which includes such things as: 

     1) Attending the annual Graycliff lecture series

     2) Attending lectures related to architecture and landscape architecture offered elsewhere

     3) Visits to other architectural sites, both local and national
                     a. Especially those by Wright
                     b. Or with landscapes by Ellen Biddle Shipman

     4) Attending Graycliff restoration updates
                      a. Usually given at Spring Clean Up, Annual Meeting and Volunteer Dinner and other times

      5) Attending other Graycliff talks and lectures
                    a. Additional talks and lectures are often given during the off season
                    b. Sometimes feature experts in the field, such as authors of reports, etc.

     6) Additional readings about Wright and related subjects

     7) Researching and giving talks and lectures themselves about a related topic, to Graycliff volunteers

Naturally, not everyone can do all of the self-study things listed above, based on their availability here in WNY, and their commitments to family, friends, work and the like. However, it’s expected that Master Docents will do at least some of these things each year.

ONCE YOU BECOME A GRAYCLIFF MASTER DOCENT

To maintain your status as a Graycliff Master Docent, you must do the following:

     1) Give a minimum of nine tours per year (unless excused due to illness or other acceptable extenuating circumstance)

     2) Give Basic as well as In-Depth tours

     3) Be current on Graycliff restoration and research, as reported in talks and printed materials for this purpose

     4) Read the Graycliff Volunteer Blog
             a. Contribute to the Graycliff Volunteer Blog, with info and photos on other Wright sites, interesting info you read about Wright, etc etc. and comments

     5) Have no complaints from visitors

     6) Be able to meet tour time constraints

    7) Be reliable for tours

    8) Encourage membership and volunteerism among visitors

    9) Continuing self-study as noted above.

Friday, June 5, 2015

FLW Offspring on the Lake

     About a year ago a lot of us noticed a new home going up the lakeshore in Wanakah,  It looked like an FLW design to the point that our intrepid Admin Assistant, Shannon Lyons, stated that it looked like Graycliff and the Darwin Martin House got together and produced a baby.  The house at 5190 Lakeshore Rd., opposite the Wanakah Country Club, clearly has many pieces of the designs of both homes.  It has the same L shaped design with the garage and house that Graycliff does.  Then you realize that the covered front entrance is a version of Graycliff's "porte cochere."   The longer you look at the house, the more similarities you notice to the point of realizing it had to be deliberate.

     After a year of thinking about it, I reached out to the owners to see if they would be willing to chat with me about their home and allow me to snap some photos of the property.  David Frech and Joe Marks were very gracious to allow me the opportunity to do so.  They were as happy to show off and explain their home as I was in learning about it from them.

     It turns out they had owned and lived in another house on the property for a number of years and were thinking of remodeling it to make it their dream house.  At some point, it dawned on them that it made more sense to demolish the house instead and start fresh to get exactly what they wanted.  They were both Frank Lloyd Wright fans and felt his homes offered a feel-good level of comfort that they wanted for their own home.  They were taken with the prairie style concept and had both visited the Darwin Martin House and Graycliff several times as well as read extensively on FLW creations.  They knew what they wanted and found an architect, Gary Shaffer, who was willing to work with them to incorporate their design ideas and they had plenty.  The house was built by Phillip Vogt Construction.  Building the house financially put their retirement so far off into the future that they might have to live as long as Wright did to be able to retire but they wanted it done "Wright". 

     They had originally envisioned a second floor over the garage with a small apartment that they could live in while the original house was being demolished and new one built (think Foster House.)  However, the Town of Hamburg was only willing to allow them to do that if they removed the kitchen from the apartment after the house was built.  Hamburg would not allow two separate living units on the same piece of property.  Joe and David did not like the idea of having to destroy something they had just built, so they made other plans for housing instead of staying on the property during demolition and construction. The house has many FLW themed features from the side porch swiped from the Barton house to the wall of windows and doors facing the lake duplicating Graycliff's living room.  The fireplace in the living room was one David had seen in photos of another Wright design that he liked and had it duplicated here.  The entry into the home has the same lowered ceiling line (compress and release) that we have at Graycliff and like Graycliff, that line continues into the rest of the house via a wood molding.  They even found square recessed lighting fixtures and requested that they be installed on the diagonal so that they mimicked the diamond recessed lighting fixtures at Graycliff.

     The hipped roof (red, of course) with a large overhang matches numerous Wright designs as well as Graycliff and the Martin House.  The windows are positioned to appear as Wright's cornered windows and arranged in a band across the second floor.  The Roman bricks used are like those on the Martin House and they even had the bricklayers rake the mortar on the bricks as Wright had done.

     The first floor is very much an open concept which shouts Wright.  Even the white countertops pay homage to the ceramic glass countertops used in both Graycliff and the Martin house.  The simple built-in design to the kitchen cabinetry honors Wright's use of the same  in many of his homes.  David and Joe utilized everything that they admired in Wright's prairie and arts and crafts designs to make their house their own while still giving clear credit to Wright for the initial concepts.

     If you look at the structure of the driveway, you will notice a circular design in the concrete in front of the house to reproduce the feeling of Graycliff's  circular drive.  When I told them jokingly that it needed a pond in front, they seriously informed me that they intend to put one there.

They have done a marvelous job of building their home Wright-like.  I told them I would help them train docents and then they could charge for tours and maybe get to retire a bit earlier.  The house is gorgeous and I can't thank David and Joe enough for sharing it with me for an afternoon.  It is fascinating to see Wright design in a modern newly built house.  Below are photos  to help explain why I am so taken with this house


Front of house showing windows, roof, porte cochere, side porch, circular drive.



 The diamond shaped recessed lights.
 The back of the wrap-a-around porch
 Rear of the house
 More diamond shaped lights
 Garage and porte cochere
 Porte cochere
 Not from local houses, but still Wright fireplace design
 Compress and release line from the back, looking through front entrance
 The view out to the lake; solid band of doors and windows
Dining area with Wright inspired furnishing although of Roycroft design.
Living room to kitchen with dining area beyond


Great house, great owners, really nice guys.  May they live long enough to really enjoy the wonder that they have helped create in this home.  It is a masterpiece.

George Struebel