Well Loved

Love, by Cydwoq

With Valentine's Day approaching, Director of Exhibition's, Kate Lydon, shared with me one of her most loved possessions. Her boots. Even though she can no longer wear them - at least not in the winter - she still holds onto them. Admiring the the well-worn, hand-crafted leather boots, Kate tells me that she has worn them every day for at least two years. Hoping to have them repaired, we are sending images to the maker to see if it is even possible.

Up-Cycla!

Come watch cut paper artist Kathryn Carr create an original sign for the newest Craft-O-Tron! The Craft-O-Tron is a recycled cigarette machine that is being refurbished to dispense hand made crafts for only $5!

Visitors can also help decorate the machine and get a sneak peak at some of it's treasures.

This version, the Up-Cycla will feature hand made items crafted from recycled materials. It will be Unveiled at our For the Love of Craft event on February 10 from at 6:30.

Check out this article in Pop City to learn more!

For the Love of Craft - Re-Post

This is reposted from the PCC blog because they said it SO well!

Location: Society for Contemporary Craft {2100 Smallman Street}
Date: Thursday, Feb. 10,  2011
Time: 5:30-8 p.m.
Cost: No admission price. There may be a small fee for charm making.

It’s time to break out the scissors, glue and glitter because the Pittsburgh Craft Collective and I Made It! Market are teaming up with the Society for Contemporary Craft (SCC) For the Love of Craft.

Enjoy a social evening of hands-on paper crafts including make your own Valentine’s Day card, and goodie bag, create a faux diamond ring with a pattern from SCC exhibiting artist Sarah Kate Burgess, -or- for a small fee {$10}, the SCC is offering charm making in their Store!

We’ll have conversation, of course, and snacks, and you can even discover just the right words to tell your honey you love ‘em by piping them onto a sweet sugar cookie!

Come and create with us on Thursday, February 10 from 5:30 – 8:00 pm at the SCC in the Strip.

Craft's New Consciousness

We got a two-page review in American Craft Magazine! Yay! Download it on our website.

Community Service Project: Knit and Crochet Trail Markers!

Come help out and hang out at SCC on November 20th from 10 am - 2 pm for this community service project because it is going to be awesome!

SCC is partnering with artist Alicia Kachmar, the Mount Washington Community Development Corporation, and Knit One for a Knit and Crochet Meet-Up in SCC’s main galleries to benefit the Knit Trail Markers Project.

This project offers a unique opportunity for Pittsburgher’s to participate in community service for the city’s newest Regional Park. Knitters and crocheters of all skill levels are welcome to participate in making biodegradable trails markers in red, yellow, and blue. Artist Alicia Kachmar will be on hand to provide instruction and assistance to visitors. For more information visit the Facebook Page!

This event it sponsored in part by Knit One, “A Closely Knit Community.”

Living a Crafted Life

By Sharon Massey, SCC Store Manager

In October I went with a few other SCC staff members to the “Crafting a Nation” conference in Washington, DC.  It was great to be immersed in craft dialogue for two full days, and there were a range of topics that have been on my mind since returning home to Pittsburgh. 

One of the panel discussions was titled Living the Crafted Life, which is something I have been trying to do for several years without even realizing it, and now I want to try and make an effort to continue.  Jane Milosch, one of the panelists and a former curator of the Renwick Gallery, mentioned that for every 3 commercially-made items we buy (such as clothing and jewelry), we could buy one artist-made object. We can adorn ourselves with unique, high-quality items, rather than cheaply-made, widely-available things.  

Bryan Peterson, Shaman Brooch, found metal, copper, mixed media

As a jeweler, I already practice this with my jewelry, and I am lucky to have acquired a nice collection of jewelry over the years.  Sure, I could have bought a lot more objects at a cheaper price, but I’m sure most of it would have broken or gone out of style by now.  Instead, I get to take pleasure every morning in choosing a unique piece of jewelry made by a real person, someone who in most cases I have met and whose work will never go out of style.  At some point I can decide to either give this jewelry to a friend or family member, or donate it to a museum collection, but either way I’m not contributing to the cycle of wasteful consumption that our society has begun to take for granted.

Martina Lantin

I practice this idea in other aspects of my life, for example, almost all of my dishes, cups, and mugs are artist-made.  Most of it doesn’t match, but I prefer it that way, because I know each piece was made with care by an individual, and each piece has a story.  I think my soup tastes better out of the ceramic bowl made by a former student, it is more fun to make a martini using my handmade wooden olive fork, and my evening tea is more enjoyable in the mug I bought from an exhibition in NC. 

I bet I get a lot more compliments on my handmade recycled leather handbag than anyone gets for their trendy Coach bag.  Where is that Coach bag going to be in 2 years anyway?  If you care enough to buy things based on commercial labeling, you probably also feel like you have to keep up with the latest trends, subscribing to the cycle of continually purchasing and discarding objects, a victim of style obsolescence.  

Wendy Stevens

The Living a Crafted Life conversation gave me validation for the path I am choosing, and while I have surrounded myself with craft mostly for the pleasure of owning and using handmade objects, this dialogue reinforced the environmental and ethical reasons for living a crafted life.  If you’re reading this blog you probably already agree with me, but I wish that this idea would find popularity with mainstream Americans.  It could significantly change our economy, as well as our environmental impact, and as a bonus, everything would look a lot more aesthetically appealing! 

I plan to continue to live a crafted life, and I’m going to try and make improvements, such as buying more handmade clothing.  For now, I’m educating by example, but I would like to figure out a way to tell more people about the joy of living a crafted life.

One last reminder, I swear!

This Weekend!! Finally, it's here!

HANDMADE NATION Comes to Pittsburgh! Saturday, November 6, 2010, 2pm $8

The documentary film Handmade Nation will be screening at the Harris Theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Presented as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival, Handmade Nation explores the rise of D.I.Y. and the new wave of art, craft, and design. Tickets for this screening are only $8 and include a post-film reception with Director Faythe Levine at SCC's main gallery.

Supported in part by Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Handmade Arcade!

 

Handmade Arcade will be held in Spring 2011!

If you are a Pittsburgher you probably look forward to doing a lot of your holiday shopping at the Handmade Arcade, typically held in November or December. Sadly, this event has been postponed until Spring of 2011. Don't fret! They have a new website that provides a great list of upcoming craft fairs and great places to shop handmade around town!

And don't forget to check back to find out when and where Handmade Arcade will be held in 2011!

Embracing the DIY Movement

Check out this interview I did for the American Craft Magazine Blog!

DIY Review in the Pittsburgh Tribune!

We got a review in the Pittsburgh Trib! Check it out!

Two RE-POSTs featuring New Works by Kate Mac Dowell

I wanted to re-post these blogs that I found on Hi Fructose Magazine and My Love for You is a Stampede of Horses. These blogs highlight some of the newest work by ceramic artist Kate MacDowell, who is currently being featured in DIY: A Revolution in Handicraft at the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh.

Hi Fructose Magazine Blog: New Works by Kate MacDowell Written by Ken    Friday, 08 October 2010 19:06

'Badgered' Since we last saw sculptor Kate MacDowell back in Hi-Fructose Vol. 15, the artist, well regarded for her worldly travels, has been busy working on a couple exhibitions, all opening this month.  With pieces now on view at Art London with bo-lee gallery, Showoff Paris with Galerie Vanessa Quang and the compelling-looking 'Animal Instinct: Allegory, Allusion, and Anthropomorphism' at the John Michael Koehler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  MacDowell recently sent us a first-look at a few of the pieces that will be on display throughout this month, view them here on Hi-Fructose. 'Stillborn' 'Locusts' 'Taste' RE-Post from My Love For You Is A Stampede Of Horses October 11, 2010: New Work: Kate MacDowell. I noticed one of my favorite sculptors, Kate MacDowell had new work on the Hi-Fructose blog on Friday. I asked her to share with us some of her newer work as well. As always, Kate was as helpful and kind as ever not only sending over newer work but sharing with us her current installation "Clay Pigeons". Inspired in part by target shooting and the mass extinction of passenger pigeons. And some shots from a few different angles of her new works: Entangled. Entangled (back). Entangled. (top) Only You Can Prevent. Only You Can Prevent (side).

National Sewing Month

Did you know that September is National Sewing Month?! Apparently this special designation came into being in 1982 with a decree by President Ronald Reagan. 

September is a time to empower the home sewer in all of us, a time to appreciate the hand-stiched, and the money saved by doing it yourself. Now is a time to look at those bare windows and say ENOUGH! A time to take that bag of good will clothing and cut, baste, applique and edge yourself a new something. And don't limit yourself to sewing, there is a whole world of needlecraft out there. 

The DIY and Alternative Craft fiber scenes have been going strong for quite a while. From craft fairs, to stitch and bitch circles, folks love to use fiber. Over the past few years it has become plain that many of these alternative makers are moving into the Studio Craft realm. Employing a variety of media and techiques suc as embroidery, cross stitching, latch hook, and other needlecraft's, these makers are exploring contemporary art practice the is socially engaged.  Their works reflect contemporary issues of globalization and the environment and explore personal questions of identity and sexuality. 

Two makers that particularly exemplify this are Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching and Julie Jackson of Subversive  Cross Stitch. Sublime Stitching was founded by Austin-based artist Jenny Hart in response to what she considered an overabundance of outdated embroidery patters and complex instructions. Instead of waiting for the craft industry to produce something new, Hart took the bull by the horns and created her own patterns and all-in-one non-traditional embroidery kits. 

For Julie Jackson, Subversive Cross Stitch began as a form of anger management. Pairing traditional, decorative cross-stitch imagery of flowers, hearts, bunnies and birds with phrases such as "Get Lost!" and "Life Sucks, The You Die." Jackson's kits allow crafters to take a more sarcastic, unconventional approach to an otherwise traditional craft. 

Feast for the Eyes!

By  Laurel Coniglio, SCC Volunteer

Watch the tourists at the Penn Mac cheese counter on a Saturday morning. It seems that everyone knows that The Strip is Pittsburgh’s place to eat well, including us neighborhood folk who love good food. As often as possible, I come down and shop for groceries, get a hot sauce slathered vegetarian burrito at Reyna’s, and head into Enrico Biscotti for a sweet treat.  

And the food fun doesn’t stop when I come in to work at the Society for Contemporary Craft. You see, we take our position at the end of the historic Produce Terminal building very seriously, and we have dedicated an entire gallery space, EAT, to art about food.

The Produce Terminal was the heart of Pittsburgh’s wholesale produce marketplace and now that the Pittsburgh Public Market has revived that history to some extent it is befitting that we use this space to feature artists who focus on food in their work, connecting our artistic community with the neighborhood’s historical purpose.

The first time I walked into the SCC I noticed that they had a nice kitchenette in the gallery next to the office. Unfortunately, it looked as if they had a raging Friday-afternoon staff party and had neglected to bring the garbage bins out.There were beer bottles and soda bottles everywhere, as well as pizza boxes, Chinese takeout, and a half-eaten box of Hostess chocolate doughnuts. Looks like they had fun, I thought to myself, but as I leaned in closer I saw that all of the “trash” in the kitchen was actually handmade! 

All of the bottles, which looked like plastic, were painstakingly blown out of bright green glass, down to the hand-drawn product labels with perfectly minute lettering. The entire space, filled with an artist’s comment on what we consider garbage, was thought out to the tiniest detail, in flame-worked glass, paper, and cardboard. This installation, titled The United State of America: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Crappiness, highlighted the work of internationally recognized local glass artist Matt Eskuche and addressed issues of individual wastefulness and irresponsibility.

The current EAT gallery exhibition, Stuffed Full, is in conjunction with the new main exhibition, DIY: A Revolution in Handicrafts. Featuring the work of California artist Lauren Venell of Sweet Meats, visitors will come to find a glass front, refrigerated case filled with meat...plush meat, that is. Lauren uses 100% recycled fleece and dyeing ingredients to created stuffed meat pillows such as pork chops, bacon, ham-bone and steak. In this installation the labeling and pricing of the products is done according the actual total cost of the meat being represented, including the environmental, human health, and other hidden costs associated with manufacturing and agriculture.  

While retaining a sense of humor that draws in the viewer, these installations are serious comments on issues such as food safety and security, consumerism and consumption, and human’s relationship to nature and agriculture.

It's only 3:30 and we're ready!

Wow, getting ready for an art opening is always hectic. From labels, to touch-up paint, lighting and signage, there are a million things to remember! We have a very organized system for approaching all these task that we call a Punch List.

Punch List

We were lucky enough to have participating artist Allyson Mitchell in town all week as she built her installation, Hungry Purse. 

The show looks great, it's always such a relief. Hope to see you there. The opening is from 5:30 - 8pm in our location at 2100 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh PA 15222.

Fun Times

What do these things have in common?

Come up with the correct answer and get a free DIY: A Revolution in Handicraft brochure at the opening!

DIY: A Revolution in Handicrafts, Opening September 10

Things are in full swing right now at SCC as we prepare for the opening of our newest exhibition, DIY: A Revolution in Handicrafts. I am up to my shoulders with boxes full of art for the show. 

This major exhibition includes works by 15 contemporary artists from the US, Canada, and England and explores issues relating to politics, environmentalism, community and a redefining of a producer/consumer relationship. It will be presented in the main galleries, SCC’s alternative exhibition space EAT: An Art Space About Food, the Studio, and the Store so that visitors can see the art, buy the art, and make the art!

This is a super exciting show not only because it focuses on the awesome DIY movement, but also because its uniqueness. What makes it unique? Well, first because there have not been many exhibitions focused on DIY, and particularly not at nationally recognized fine art and craft venues, like SCC. And second, because it will be open for quite a long while - 7 months to be exact. There are several reasons why it extends so long, but most importantly is this. We are entering our 40^th year anniversary - 40 years of being on the cutting edge of craft. SCC was founded in 1971 by Elizabeth Rockwell Raphael as The Store for Arts and Crafts and People-Made Things. Raphael recognized the need to broaden opportunities for craft artists to show their work to a wider audience and believed that young artists working with traditional craft materials were exploring and developing new directions in contemporary art.  On the eve of SCC’s 40^th anniversary, the organization still holds true to her original intentions, which are exemplified through DIY: A Revolution in Handicrafts.  

Evolving out of the need for cost-saving lifestyles, DIY (or “Do It Yourself”) emerged in the US as a concept in the 1950s, took root as a definitive subculture in urban centers during the 1970s and could be identified as an international movement by the 1990s. DIY and indie-craft has evolved and matured over the past decade with little crossover into or support from the established craft world.  While still at the margins of the mainstream contemporary craft field, DIY represents a young audience, new energy, and a potential future direction for the field. An essential element of this movement is its association with social and political commentary, while at the same time emphasizing the development of strong, local communities, and environmentally responsible living.

DIY: A Revolution in Handicrafts brings together an institution-wide effort to showcase the DIY movement. To complement the exhibition, the Store highlights the work of DIY artists who are changing the producer/consumer dynamic through affordable, one-of-a-kind and limited edition items that emphasize the connection between maker and buyer.  In the Studio, SCC’s 4,000 square foot educational facility, hands on workshops and programs are planned to enhance visitors’ enjoyment of making and connect them with the materials and issues participating artists are exploring through their work. In conjunction with the exhibition, SCC in partnership with Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Three Rivers Film Festival, (November 6-20, 2010), is presenting a screening of the film Handmade Nation at the Harris Theater on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 2 pm. Handmade Nation documents the new wave of art, craft, and design through the interviews of artists, crafters, curators, and designers working within this movement. A “Meet the Artist” reception and book signing at SCC with filmmaker Faythe Levine, a prominent figure in the DIY craft movement, immediately follows the Saturday afternoon screening.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be blogging about a number of the artists in the show! Here is a sneak preview:

One of four artists in the show working with ceramics, artist Ehren Tool, a former US Marine and Gulf War veteran, creates installations of cups decorated with a variety of pressed molds and imagery such as military metals, bombs and babies. His work deals with the uneasy relationship between military and civilian cultures, raising awareness of war to make people think about it as more than a concept. Tool has been known to refuse payment for and simply give away hundreds of his cups -seeing his work as successful when others begin to think about war and its devastating effects on individuals, communities, and countries.     

Society for Contemporary Craft