CAZENOVIA — Stone Quarry Art Park (SQAP) and the Friends of the Cazenovia Public Library are inviting the public to the SQAP Art Barn on Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1 for a book sale featuring selections from the Dorothy Riester Library.
The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., concurrently with the Cazenovia Art Trail, and will include books on art, architecture, nature, and travel, as well as some vinyl records.
Now in its 11th year, the Cazenovia Art Trail is a self-guided tour of artist studios that offers the public the unique opportunity to meet artists in their working environments, or at a local “art hub,” and view their artwork.
Painter Jenna Paulsen will be using SQAP for her stop on the Art Trail and will have her nature-inspired work on display throughout the sale.
The book sale represents an opportunity for SQAP to share the library of Dorothy Riester (1916-2017) with the community.
Riester, who was a ceramicist, sculptor, author, and preservation activist, founded SQAP in 1991 with her husband, Robert.
Today, the park continues Riester’s legacy by supporting artists through its visiting artist program, sharing art with the public on its grounds, and stewarding the Dorothy Riester House and Studio (Hilltop House and Studio), the distinctive A-frame home that the Riesters designed and built with help from local contractors from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.
In 2014, Hilltop House and Studio, along with the Riesters’ original 23-acre property, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a highly intact example of a mid-twentieth-century modern house and artist studio.
The house’s library contained over 3,000 books on various topics.
“Dorothy designed her home to bring the outdoors in,” said SQAP CEO Emily Zaengle in an Aug. 18 press release announcing the book sale. “We want to maintain that character of the home while also using the shelf space to share Dorothy’s artwork, her story, and the park’s history. In the interest of making these books accessible to the public and protecting them from mildew and moisture, the board of directors at Stone Quarry Art Park made the difficult decision to move a portion of this collection out of the Hilltop House. We’re so grateful to Elisha Davies and the Friends of the Cazenovia Public Library for partnering with us to host a book sale. We’re excited to hold this sale on the Cazenovia Art Trail weekend and encourage art enthusiasts to stop by Stone Quarry as they visit artist studios in and around Cazenovia.”
SQAP is undertaking multiple preservation projects at Hilltop House and Studio to make the home accessible and open to the public.
The work is funded in part by the New York State Council on the Arts, the Central New York Community Foundation, CNY Arts, The Gorman Foundation, The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation, The John Ben Snow Foundation and Memorial Trust, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, and the Preservation League of New York State.
According to Zaengle, roofing work and the “Plant Room” preservation will begin this fall. A large portion of the projects are expected to be completed over the next three years.
A selection of approximately 200 to 300 books from the Dorothy Riester Library will remain in the house for visitors to look through and will be part of rotating exhibitions in the home.
The collection was curated by local artist Patti Christakos.
“Patti [knew] Dorothy personally for several years,” said Zaengle. “Patti was also a part of Stone Quarry’s early history, both as one of its first employees and then later as a board member and supporter. This combined knowledge of Dorothy, Stone Quarry, and art history guided Patti’s decision-making in curating a selection of books that will help Stone Quarry tell Dorothy’s story while positioning her work within 20th-century art movements. Patti also saved books with personal inscriptions and notes.”
SQAP priced the items included in the book sale and plans to share the sale proceeds with the Friends and the Cazenovia Art Trail.
“What better way to celebrate and honor Dorothy and her long-standing history than to bring together these three organizations and utilize funds raised at the book sale to support future arts and literacy programming in the Cazenovia community?” said Zaengle in the Aug. 18 press release. “This sale shares Dorothy’s brilliant book collection with the public and will better ensure the longevity and usefulness of these books well into the future.”
According to Cazenovia Public Library Director Elisha Davies, the library staff and the Friends are great admirers of SQAP and are eager to offer their bookselling assistance.
“Over the past few decades, our Friends have demonstrated their ability to value and sell books at our summer book sales, online, and at Carriage Barn Books,” Davies said. “When SQAP made the decision to rehome a portion of Dorothy’s library, it seemed a natural collaboration and way to support our community partner.”
SQAP is located at 3883 Stone Quarry Rd., Cazenovia. Learn more at sqhap.org.
For more information on the Friends and Carriage Barn Books, visit cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.
To learn more about the Cazenovia Art Trail, visit art-trail.org.
