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Bob Stocksdale and Kay Sekimachi papers

Archives of American Art

Object Details

Creator
Stocksdale, Bob, 1913-2003
Names
Central Utah Relocation Center
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America
Tanforan Assembly Center (San Bruno, Calif.)
War Relocation Authority
Anderson, Norman
Collingwood, Peter, 1922-2008
Larsen, Jack Lenor
Maloof, Alfreda Ward
Maloof, Sam
Merrill, Forrest L.
Okubo, Miné, 1912-2001
Shawcroft, Barbara
Stocksdale, Bob, 1913-2003
Former owner
Stocksdale, Kay Sekimachi
Names
Stocksdale, Kay Sekimachi
Turner, Tran
Uchida, Yoshiko
Occupation
Fiber artists -- California
Topic
Textile design
Women artists
Asian American art
Asian American artists
Japanese American art
Japanese American artists
Asian American fiber artists
Asian American educators
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945
Woodwork
Textile crafts
Fiberwork
Provenance
The Bob Stocksdale and Kay Sekimachi papers were donated in 2003, 2004, and 2015 by Kay Sekimachi Stocksdale as part of the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Creator
Stocksdale, Bob, 1913-2003
See more items in
Bob Stocksdale and Kay Sekimachi papers
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool
Summary
The papers of woodturner Bob Stocksdale and fiber artist Kay Sekimachi measure 19.5 linear feet and 0.125 GB and date from circa 1900 to 2015. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, professional files, exhibition files, project files, personal business records, printed and digital material, scrapbooks, photographic material, and artwork. Of note are records from Sekimachi's forced internment during World War II at Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1944.
Biographical / Historical
Bob Stocksdale (1913-2003) was a woodturner active in California. He was known for bowls he formed from rare types of wood. Kay Sekimachi (1926- ) is a Japanese-American fiber artist and educator also active in California. She began her career in weaving on and off the loom and was part of the New Basketry movement. Born in Indiana, Bob Stocksdale began his interest in carving by whittling with a pocket knife. Later, he created his own lathe with a washing machine motor and turned items such as baseball bats. During World War II, he was a conscientious objector and worked at various camps performing forestry work. It was in one of the camps that he turned his first bowl on a lathe. After the war, Stocksdale settled in the Bay Area of California where he established his own woodturning shop in his basement. He concentrated on making bowls out of rare woods. His work has been recognized throughout the world and in 1998, he received the American Association of Woodturners Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2003, he received the James Renwick Alliance Masters of the Medium Award. Kay Sekimachi was born in San Francisco, California in 1926. As a high school student, she was forcibly interned through Executive Order 9066 issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which incarcerated approximately 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-American citizens during World War II. Along with her mother and siblings, Kay lived at Tanforan Assembly Center and later moved to Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. She continued her schooling at Topaz and after 1944, was resettled in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduating from high school, Kay Sekimachi enrolled at the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts where she learned the craft of weaving under Trude Guermonprez and Jack Lenor Larsen. Her early works were tapestries and garments. She later used her weaving techniques as part of the New Basketry movement to create baskets and boxes out of fibers. Also an educator, Kay taught weaving at San Francisco Community College. She received the American Craft Council Gold Medal for Consummate Craftsmanship in 2002. After the dissolution of his first marriage through which he had two children, son Kim and daughter Joy Stocksdale, Bob married Kay Sekimachi in 1972. The two had been acquainted for many years as they were both craft artists living in the Bay Area. Although they married later in life, Kay and Bob travelled the world and exhibited their art together in many exhibitions including Marriage in Form and Loom and Lathe. Bob Stocksdale died in Oakland, California in 2003. Kay Sekimachi continues to exhibit her work and lives in Berkeley, California.
Extent
19.5 Linear feet
0.125 Gigabytes
Date
circa 1900-2015
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.stockbob
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Interviews
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Citation
Bob Stocksdale and Kay Sekimachi papers, circa 1900-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 11 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1920-2003 (1.5 linear feet; Box 1-2) Series 2: Correspondence, 1943-2014 (7.6 linear feet; Box 2-10) Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1960s-2008 (0.2 linear feet; Box 10) Series 4: Professional Files, 1950s-2011 (1.1 linear feet; Box 10-11, 22) Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1951-2015 (2.9 linear feet; Box 11-14, ER01; 0.125 GB) Series 6: Project Files, circa 1900-2004 (0.3 linear feet; Box 14) Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1970s-2010 (0.7 linear feet; Box 14-15) Series 8: Printed Material, 1943-2011 (2.3 linear feet; Box 15-17, 22) Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1937-1946 (0.9 linear feet; Box 17, 21) Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1950-2001 (0.9 linear feet; Box 18) Series 11: Artwork, 1942-circa 1970 (1.1 linear feet; Box 18-20, 22-23)
Processing Information
The collection was fully merged, processed, and described by Jayna Josefson in 2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2020 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Rights
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Genre/Form
Interviews
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Scope and Contents
The papers of woodturner Bob Stocksdale and fiber artist Kay Sekimachi measure 19.5 linear feet and 0.125 GB and date from circa 1900 to 2015. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, professional files, exhibition files, project files, personal business records, printed and digital material, scrapbooks, photographic material, and artwork. Of note are records from Sekimachi's forced internment during World War II at Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz War Relocation Center from 1942 to 1944. The bulk of biographical materials are from Kay Sekimachi with some originating from her time spent in forced internment at Topaz and Tanforan camps. These records include identification cards, War Relocation Authority printed materials, and school records. Also found are awards, resumes, and blank stationery. Some materials are from Stocksdale's 85th birthday and memorial service. Letters and extensive greeting cards are from friends, family, and professional acquaintances. Correspondents include Norman Anderson, Peter Collingwood, Jack Lenor Larsen, Sam and Alfreda Maloof, Forrest L. Merrill, Miné Okubo, Barbara Shawcroft, and others. Writings and notes are scattered and include two interviews with Kay Sekimachi, hanging instructions, and notes. Writings by others are by Jack Lenor Larsen, Tran Turner, and Yoshiko Uchida. Sekimachi's and Stocksdale's professional activities are documented through files relating to their participation at conferences, awards ceremonies, and lectures. Also found are fiber samples, order forms for materials and equipment, and notes on techniques and design by Kay Sekimachi. Exhibition records include extensive documentation on Marriage in Form, In the Realm of Nature, and Loom and Lathe as well as files for various solo and group exhibitions for both Sekimachi and Stocksdale. Gallery and institution files include material on multiple or unnamed exhibitions. Exhibiton documentation may include correspondence, writings, proposals, printed material, financial and loan records, condition reports, and photographs. Project files contain material for proposed book projects, a retrospective, and portfolio, by and about Sekimachi and Stocksdale. Also found are three commissions files for works by Sekimachi. A proposed retrospective on the work of Bob Stocksdale by Kay Sekimachi includes a digital sound recording of recollections. Personal business records include sales books, purchase records for works of art by others, appraisals, contracts, consignment receipts, and insurance records. Published books, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, magazines, and newsletters are found within printed materials. Of note is a publication by the San Francisco Chronicle entitled "This World" which features illustrations by Miné Okubo. Four scrapbooks compiled by Kay Sekimachi date from 1937 to 1944. Most of the scrapbooks contain printed material from magazines and other sources with images such as children, valentines, food, birds, clothing, and may include scattered sketches and notes by Sekimachi. One scrapbook dates from the end of Sekimachi's internment at Topaz and relocation to Cincinnati, Ohio. This scrapbook includes sketches and printed materials concerning local and global events. Loose material found in this series was likely meant to be pasted into a new or the forth scrapbook. These materials include relocation information, Japanese-American publications, maps, clippings, sketches, and printed programs. The bulk of photographic materials consist of slides of various vacation locations and homes and date from the 1960s to the 1980s. Also found are scattered portraits of Kay Sekimachi and Bob Stocksdale, as well as a photo of Miné Okubo with Roy Leeper and Cecil Thompson. Artworks are largely by Kay Sekimachi and include watercolor and pencil sketches as well as designs for fabrics and a weaving portfolio. Watercolor and pencil sketches are of Tanforan Assembly Center and date from circa 1942.
Restrictions
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of original audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art are an oral history interview of Bob Stocksdale conducted February 16-March 21, 2001, by Signe Mayfield and an oral history interview of Kay Sekimachi [Stocksdale] conducted July 26-August 6, 2001, by Suzanne Baizerman. Both interviews were conducted in Berkeley, California, during the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1507724413933-1507724414004-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d7db1c3a-95bc-44e4-92d5-382fb539e654

In the Collection

Pages

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  • First Names Only, J

  • Reports and Projects from Burbank Junior High

  • Craft: Today USA, American Craft Museum

  • Correspondence, General

  • Royalty Reports

  • Fantastic Fibers, 2003, Yeiser Art Center (Paducah, Kentucky)

  • Kaneko, Jun

  • Austin, Carole

  • Weaving Portfolio

  • Santal, Mimi

  • Shibumi Gallery

  • Writings and Notes from Topaz High School

  • Wood Turning in North America Since 1930, Yale University

  • Snyderman Gallery

  • Dusenbury, Mary

  • First Names Only, Illegible, or Unsigned

  • Lønning, Karl

  • Sketches, Notes

  • General

  • E

  • Telos Portfolio Collection: Kay Sekimachi, Writings by Others, Excerpts

  • England

  • Pohlmann, Albrecht

  • First Names Only, R

  • James Renwick Alliance, Master of the Medium

  • O

  • Museum of Contemporary Craft

  • Designs for Fabrics

  • Correspondence, Ron Roszkiewicz

  • Gallery and Institution Files

  • DuBois, Emily

  • First Names Only, P

  • Yearbook from Burbank Junior High School

  • Bob Stocksdale - Eighty-Eight Turnings: from the Collection of Forrest Merrill, Museum of Craft and Folk Art

  • Wall, Miguel Peck

  • Miscellaneous and Unidentifed

  • Scrapbook 1

  • First Names Only, O

  • GOLD - American Craft Council Gold Medalists: 1994-2010, American Craft Council

  • Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifty Currents, 1900-1970, de Young Museum

  • Wayne, June

  • First Names Only, E

  • Art Works Downtown

  • Stationery, Sekimachi Handprints

  • Lederer, Hanni

  • Torige, Anne

  • Programs, Art and Music

  • Stock Certificate

  • Techniques, Process and Designs

  • Sales Book, Bob Stocksdale

  • American Craft Council

  • Welte, Sigrid

  • Larsen, Jack Lenor

  • Leong, Po Shun

  • First Names Only, D

  • Fiberworks--The Americans and Japan, National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto, Japan)

  • Baskets Now: USA, Arkansas Art Center

  • Others

  • Awards, Ribbons

  • Naturally Baskets, Cornell Gallery (Atlanta, Georgia)

  • Retrospective on Bob Stocksdale by Kay Sekimachi, Memorabilia and Clippings

  • Designs, General

  • Besser, Sanford

  • International Turned Objects Show (ITOS), International Sculpture Center (Washington, D.C.)

  • Okubo, Miné

  • Designs, General

  • Photographic Material

  • Conference, Wood Art Collectors' Conference

  • Side by Side, Contemporary Fine Art (Tokyo, Japan)

  • Iwata, Kiyomi

  • Solberg, Ramona

  • The Art of Basketry by Karl Lønning

  • Across the Grain, Wood Turning Center, Yale University

  • Techniques, Process, and Designs

  • Craft and Folk Art Museum

  • Folk Art for the Soul, Museum of Craft and Folk art

  • California Contemporary Craft, Falkirk Cultural Center (San Rafael, California)

  • Maloof Foundation, Flax Bowls

  • Magazines and Periodicals

  • Maru Family

  • Weaving Portfolio

  • First Names Only, B

  • Bob Stocksdale - Eighty-Eight Turnings: from the Collection of Forrest Merrill, Museum of Craft and Folk Art

  • Printed Material, Clippings

  • Weaving

  • Schuman, Dr. M. C.

  • Mount Lassen Weavers Club

  • First Names Only, C

  • First Names Only, J

  • Painter, Hal

  • Works of Art, Exhibitions by Keiko Kobayashi

  • Espenet, Arthur

  • Women's Caucus for Art

  • Scrapbook 2

  • Lucas-Andreae, Augusta

  • First Names Only, F

  • Pro-Art Gallery

  • History of Topaz Internment Camp, Printout of Website

  • Greeting and Holiday Cards

  • 21st Annual Artistry in Wood, Sonoma County Museum

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Okubo, Miné
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