Lecture – Architectural Ornamentation: How’d They Do That?

Thomas Ashworth will share his experience, methods of creating historic plaster architectural ornamentation, and completed restoration projects. He will provide insight into the care of our local historic buildings.  An accompanying architectural exhibit, “The Way Things Were: Texas Settlers and Their Buildings, 1860s-1930s,” an exhibition by Humanities Texas, will be staged in the McFaddin-Ward Carriage House.

Thomas Ashworth has over 30 years of experience in the architectural ornamentation and interior design industry. Ashworth partnered with his father, David, in 1991 to form Ashworth Design, a company specializing in the design, fabrication, and installation of plaster and composition ornamentation. Together, they worked primarily in upscale residential homes around the country. Ashworth has extensive experience in historic preservation. Semi-retired from the ornament industry since 2017, he now works as a project planner for the city of Beaumont, Texas. His responsibilities include the care of many of the historical downtown buildings, and Ashworth recently launched a new company named Ceiling Studios, committed to the manufacture of period coffered and tracery ceiling panels.