Have you been published yet?

I assume that we're all familiar with Lark Crafts, right? The publisher of all things craft - the 500 series, the Lark Studio Series, the Masters Series, etc.


What I would like to point out is the current calls for submissions for upcoming 500 Series books, including 500 Teapots and 500 Lights. "Each book is juried by an expert, features informative introductory text, and showcases spectacular images of state-of-the-art work. The first entry in the series, 500 Teapots, was published in 2002. Since then, 35 books have followed, and new titles release each season. With an international roster of contributors that includes both established names and up-and-coming craftspeople, each volume spotlights the shared and divergent approaches taken by artists who are producing visionary work." - Lark Website


This is not an opportunity to be missed! I'm even submitting my teeny tiny warty teapots. So get off your butt and get published!

The Family Puppet Theater!

By Education Intern Samantha Braga

Jump start your creativity while celebrating your inner child. On Sunday, December 4th, Contemporary Craft is offering a workshop where you can construct your very own puppet theater with Pittsburgh’s Puppet Master Tom Sarver, the founder of the Tom Museum (now closed). The Tom Museum, in association with the Mattress Factory, was part performance piece, part installation. It broke down and displayed the processes of art making, turning the process into an art form itself. Sarver's work is fun and unaffected, drawing on the aspects of the Art Brut movement and Folk Art. 

In this day of enchantment, students will animate everyday and found objects to create miraculous puppets and miniature worlds of wonder. Tom Sarver's class will not only teach the basics of puppetry, but will bring the energy and spirit of the Tom Museum back to life. Bring a box or any other recycled container to transform into an extraordinary puppet theater. Whether it is just you, or you bring the whole family, this class will be great entertainment for all ages! 

Puppetry Archive Room at the Tom Museum

"Combining humor, social commentary and a low-tech aesthetic, Tom Sarver explores relationships between the art world and the everyday. From 1999 through 2008, Sarver was a core organizer of The Black Sheep Puppet Festival, a national festival of activist and experimental puppetry. In 2008, Tom created an installation piece at the Society for Contemporary Craft called Cooking with Sticks. He holds a B.F.A. from Tyler School of Art and an M.F.A. from Purchase College.  Sarver is currently working on a new puppetry initiative in Pittsburgh called Puppet Happening." 

Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear

based on a story by Ken Kesey

Tom Sarver Puppet Express at the American Shorts Reading Series

July 27th, 2006 at the Brewhouse

This class will bring Sarver's innovative world into your own and teach you how to look at the world as your own puppet theater!

Tom Sarver's Family Toy Puppet Theater

Sunday, December 4

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

$60 (per adult or for an adult with up to two children, additional

children $15 each)

$5 materials fee

For more information or to register

Email: thestudio@contemporarycraft.org

Phone: 412.261.7003 x25