Crisp Museum hosts Putz Houses workshop

As part of SEMO’s Show Me Day open house on Oct. 5, the Crisp Museum hosted artists Jeanna Nance and Jeff Martin, who taught prospective students and their families how to build Putz Houses.

According to The History of the Putz Village by Pete Oehman, the word “putz” is German for placing objects together to make a scene, stemming from the German word “putzen,” which means to decorate. Oehman explained that the original Putz houses started simply, made from things around the house or inside.

“The original putzes started with family members, mostly the children, going out in late autumn to collect stones, moss, ferns, lichens, and twigs. The large stones were used as mountains, small branches of cedar and pine for trees. In later years, pieces of tinfoil were used to represent a waterfall, a mirror was used as a lake,” Oehman said.

Artist Jeanna Nance said that the tradition of these houses started in Germany, and as they immigrated, they brought the tradition.

“They’re German Putz Houses, and the ‘putz’ means to tinker around with something. They started by doing little Christmas villages, and as they moved here as immigrants, they brought their talent and their tools with them. It started to die out after World War II, and now they’re coming back as a craft or a hobby kind of thing,” Nance said.

The Putz house workshop was one of many activities at SEMO’s Show Me Day open house.

Dean of the Holland College of Arts and Media Rhonda Weller-Stilson said the tours featured opportunities to meet with faculty and tour the facilities, as well as some activities to engage prospective students.

“The showcase is an opportunity for families to come and bring prospective students to meet with faculty and to take tours of all of our spaces in the college, and to do some fun activities as well. Today they’re painting pumpkins and can listen to music from one of our faculty members. It’s just kind of a taste of our college,” Weller-Stilson said.

The activities provided at the showcase aimed to give visitors a memorable, hands-on experience while getting a sense of the campus atmosphere.

Crisp Museum features similar workshops frequently, including a Halloween decor night on Oct. 12 and 13 and a sewing workshop on Oct. 15.

For more information on upcoming events, visit their website.