Penny Sanford Porcelains: Hitting News Stands Today...

Update: As of 5/16/07, the NSDAR has completely sold out of the Liberty Bell Brooch. You can still order a Liberty Bell Brooch from the studio: 1-866-894-5558.

A writeup about one of my porcelain designs and one of Gordon's photographs appears in the latest issue of a national magazine hot off the presses!

Awhile back, I was asked to sculpt and make a Liberty Bell brooch for a three year fund-raising project of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (of which I am proud to be a member).

We already subscribe to this excellent, award-winning magazine, and I am right now being quite distracted by the cover and the article it foreshadows. Intriguing!

Hopefully my copy will arrive in the mail early next week so I can read about those beautiful, but uncomfortable looking shoes from the early years of our country's history!

The folks at American Spirit magazine graciously sent the cover image and image of the article (second photo). They also sent the text so that I could post it here and on our website.

(The following was published in the American Spirit magazine, May/June 2007, page 8. Copyright 2007, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, www.dar.org/magazine

Symbol of Progress
by Emily McMackin

"Priceless information will be saved for future generations, thanks to the President General’s project, “Preserving Our Patriotic Heritage,” which aims to scan and digitize the National Society’s ancestral records, source documents and genealogical reports.

"Prospective DAR members will also find it easier to research and document their lineage through an electronic index of names and records of patriots, their children and their grandchildren. The project has raised $3.2 million to fulfill these goals.

"One of the project’s sales items has been the porcelain Liberty Bell brooches, handcrafted by Penny Sanford Fikes, a member of the Thomas Rodney Chapter, Winona, Miss. The brooch, which sells for $25, replicates the Liberty Bell down to its famous crack and slippery elm yoke and even incorporates an unfurled American flag into its three-dimensional design. It can also be worn as a pendant.

“It’s a conversation starter,” Mrs. Sanford Fikes says. “Everyone who sees the crack knows what it is. And in that way, it continues to speak about liberty and freedom, even though we don’t hear the bell ring.”

"Mrs. Sanford Fikes fires her porcelain at a temperature above the usual 95 degrees to give the brooch a “white chocolate” luster. Its design is equally meticulous—while planning it, she collected photos of the bell from different angles and read voraciously about its history.

"Mrs. Sanford Fikes also made the Memorial Continental Hall ornament several years ago, as well as ornaments and brooches to benefit DAR projects in Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana.

"As an outgoing National Division Vice Chairman of the Genealogical Records Committee, the cause of this project is close to her heart.

'“The DAR has a fortune in genealogical information,” Sanford Fikes says. “Thankfully, it also has the vision to push forward by digitizing it.”

~~"Order your Liberty Bell brooch by~~ ~~calling the DAR store toll-free at (888) 673–2732.~~ Find more information about the brooch and its artist at www.pennysanford.com."
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Wow, thanks, Emily, for such a well-written article! I am deeply grateful for the opportunities DAR has given my mother and me to participate in some valuable historic preservation, genealogical preservation and genealogical research projects over the years.

I like the way the publisher, Hammock Publishing, describes this very interesting magazine. Here is the source of this quote, but I don't think they will mind if I excerpt it here:

"Steeped in a century-old publishing tradition, American Spirit is the new and official magazine of one of the best-known and most celebrated women's organizations in America, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

"American Spirit captures the inspiration of the past and the renewal of national pride that continues to sweep the country. People, places, food, crafts, furniture, art and lifestyles from the nation's earliest days are presented in a contemporary and colorful design. Each issue captures today's growing fascination with historic preservation, travel, genealogy, patriotism, education, collectibles and Americana."

(Note: We fire the porcelain above 2600 degrees Farenheit. That was a typo in the article, but I needed to post the article here as it is printed in the magazine.)

Update: As of 5/16/07, the NSDAR has completely sold out of the Liberty Bell Brooch. This piece is still available through the studio: 1-888-894-5558.