Touchstone Center for Crafts

Pennsylvania’s Premier Craft School

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Virtual Events Archive

Scroll Down to Watch Recordings of Previous Virtual Events Including More Artist Happy Hours…

This page is updated often, be sure to refresh your browser.


Touchstone’s Virtual Open House

WATCH ONLINE AT ANY TIME!

We’re bringing Touchstone to you!  Demonstrations, campus and studio tours, artist talks, exhibitions, and more!

Visit touchstoneopenhouse.org


Artist Happy Hour Series: Gerald A. Brown
Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Return of the Artist Happy Hour: Gerald Brown will be sharing about her work and involvement in many different arts organizations. Join in the conversation with Gerald and Stacy Larson as they talk about outreach within and beyond her community.

Gerald A. Brown is a Chicago Southside native, currently based in Philadelphia, PA. She received her BFA from Syracuse University, double emphasis in Sculpture and Ceramics. Gerald is a current member of the art collective Vox Populi, curating shows and special programming. In addition, she is a teaching artist assistant with The Clay Studio’s Clay Mobile outreach program, one of the Board of Directors at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts and co-founder of the Clay Siblings’ Project, a non-profit initiative providing free ceramic workshops around the country.

Be sure to check out her website at geraldbrownart.com
Instagram: @geraldbrownart
Photo credit: Jesse Defrancesco

Watch the recording…

Artist Statement

Creator of complex immersive installations, I use ceramic objects, found objects, sound and wall signage to execute my goals. Fundamental to my practice has been creating the sculptural ceramic forms and using the materiality of clay to communicate complex ideas, challenging the viewer physically and conceptually.

I use this methodology to execute my work about Descendants of Strange Fruit, an exploration of the current generation of offspring of the Strange Fruit Billie Holiday and Nina Simone sang about. I define this concept of Strange Fruit as a fruit-bearing plant, growing in a country deeply infected by Anti-Blackness. My work analyzes these biological American oddities and their placement in this country’s foundation. Implementing several researching methods, I map out the lifespan of the fruit and make diagrams that identify the fruits’ characteristics to reinterpret their symbolism using my own personal experiences. Primarily examining American constructs of Black Exceptionalism, Womanhood, and respectability, I identify several varietals of the Fruit and theorize their unique behaviors, such as Bloodbending and Shapeshifting.

I, then, commemorate the life of the descendants through the creation of sculptures and installations. Building abstract nonrepresentational fruit-like forms, I formulate a visual language of the Strange Fruits through a variation of postures and gestures. The forms are placed in mixed-media constructed installations to contextualize the fruit’s surroundings, exposing connections between the characteristics of the Fruit and the effects of the Strange Fruit disease. Navigating themes of joy, greed, nobility, trauma, and, ultimately, freedom, together, these forms and installations evoke aggressively interrogating questions of who are each of us in this Strange Fruit ecosystem and what does [our] harvest look like.


Touchstone Intern Artist Demonstrations

Tuesdays at 7:00 PM (Eastern); July and September
Throughout the summer, we’ll be checking in to the studios to see what our Interns are working on.

From Tuesday, September 1 
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Jessica Howerton

Jessica is a metalsmith who recently graduated from Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft. She gives a live demonstration from the Metals & Jewelry Studio.
Watch the recording

From Tuesday, September 8 
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Meghan Burke

Meghan Burke gives a live hanbuilding demonstration from the Ceramics Studio. Meg is a New Jersey transplant now living in Pittsburgh.
Watch the recording

From Tuesday, September 15 
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Julia Castor

Julia is a ceramic artist and a fine art painter from Bucks County, PA. In this demo, she demonstrates wheel throwing and painting on ceramics.
Watch the recording

From Tuesday, July 14
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Taylor Mezo

Ceramic artist, Taylor Mezo demonstrates jewelry making techniques using clay, different jewelry findings, and how to assemble the pieces once they’ve been fired.
Watch the recording

From Tuesday, July 21
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Taylor Fentz

Metalsmith, Taylor Fentz demonstrates some of the processes and techniques she uses to create unique one of a kind jewelry pieces.
Watch the recording

From Tuesday, July 28
7:00 PM (Eastern)

Makena Henriksen

Blacksmith, Makena Henriksen demonstrates forging a gate latch live from the Hart Moore Blacksmithing Studio.
Watch the recording


​If you would like to give to Touchstone in support of these programs, please consider a donation. Because of you, we’re able to continue the great work that we do. Click to Donate Now


Artist Happy Hour Series

Artist Happy Hour Series: Marlene True

Thursday, July 23 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Metalsmith, Marlene True will be joining us to share about her work and studio practice. Marlene is an obsessive collector of tin cans and other ephemera with the intent of repurposing. Marlene earned her MFA at East Carolina University and her BFA at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is the Executive Director of Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft in Columbia, NC.

Website: marlenetrue.com
Instagram: @marlenetrue

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Travis Townsend

Thursday, July 16 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Mixed media artist, Travis Townsend joins us to share about his work and studio practice. Travis draws, builds, rebuilds, paints, and tinkers upon wood and mixed media sculptures in his Lexington, Kentucky studio. His process-oriented works evolve from sketches and travel through many transformations before being cut apart, reassembled, and reworked (sometimes many years later).

Website: travistownsendart.com
Instagram: @travistownsendart

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Maia Leppo

Thursday, July 9 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

In this week’s Happy Hour, we sit down with Maia Leppo to talk about her work and studio practice. Maia is a jewelry artist who lives in Pittsburgh and works out of her studio at the Brew House Association on the Southside. She works mostly with steel and incorporates ceramics, found objects, and some unconventional materials in her work.

Website: maialeppo.com
Instagram: @maialeppo

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Kelly and Kyle Phelps

Thursday, June 25th at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Kelly and Kyle Phelps create high relief figurative ceramic narratives influenced by their blue-collar background. The use of the figure can be the perfect vehicle to talk about topics like race, class, politics, environment, religion, sexuality, gender, poverty, war, and other issues of our time.

The identical twin brothers grew up in a blue-collar/factory environment in Indiana where they were inspired by the working class. They work together to combine hand crafted figurative works with found objects from actual factory sites to create narratives that depict the everyday struggles of the common men and women who worked in various manufacturing plants, steel mills, and foundries.

Click to read more about Kelly and Kyle (from Ceramics Monthly, 2016)
Follow Kyle and Kelly on Instagram: @kelly_and_kyle_phelps

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Jordan LaMothe

Friday, June 19th at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Jordan LaMothe joins us from his shop in Hebron, NY to talk about his journey to becoming a bladesmith, his passion for making all manner of fine knives, daggers, and swords; from sturdy, utilitarian blades to luxury collector’s pieces.

Jordan currently holds the Journeyman Smith ranking in the American Bladesmith Society. He was a champion on The History Channel’s ‘Forged in Fire.’

Click to Learn More about Jordan
Follow Jordan on Instagram: @jordanlamotheblades

Due to technical difficulties, this recording will not be available.


Artist Happy Hour Series: Michael Nashef

Friday, June 12th at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Michael is a jewelry designer from Portage, MI. He is an instructor at Kalamazoo Institute of Art and also on Touchstone’s board of directors.

Click to Learn More about Michael

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Lindsay Ketterer Gates

Friday, May 29th at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Touchstone’s executive director, Lindsay Ketterer Gates, shares her work and talks about the wire looping technique. Lindsay is an arts administrator and studio artist whose work is exhibited internationally. She is on the board of the Fiber Artists Guild of Pittsburgh and vice president of the National Basketry Organization.

Click to Learn More about Lindsay

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Mark Arnold

Friday, May 22nd at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Mark is a studio potter born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, now living and working in North Carolina where he teaches at Elizabeth City State University.

Click to Learn More about Mark

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Jamie Bates Slone

Friday, May 15 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Jamie is a sculptor living in Norman, Oklahoma where she is also an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at the University of Oklahoma.

Click to Learn More about Jamie

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Taylor Robenalt

Friday, May 8 at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Taylor is a ceramic artist and educator living in Sarasota, Florida where she is an instructor at Ringling College of Art and Design.

Click to Learn More about Taylor

Watch the recording…


Artist Happy Hour Series: Travis Winters

Friday, May 1st at 7:00 PM (Eastern)

Touchstone’s Programs Manager, Travis Winters, offers a glimpse inside his home studio, see what he’s been working on, and hear him talk about themes and stories behind his work!

Click to Learn More about Travis

Watch the recording…

​If you would like to give to Touchstone in support of these programs, please consider a donation. Because of you, we’re able to continue the great work that we do. Click to Donate Now

 


Click for More Virtual Events Coming Up…


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Touchstone Center for Crafts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance excellence in the arts and crafts by educating and encouraging individuals to develop technical skills, good design, and innovative expression.


Touchstone Center for Crafts stands in solidarity with the Black community and condemns all acts of racism, discrimination, and senseless violence. We firmly believe that everyone has a right to dignity, respect, and equality without fear. As an organization, we commit to listen and learn and to grow. We will continue to work to empower people to use art as a means of expression, a way to build community, and a powerful voice for change.


2021 Registration Is Now Open!

Click Workshops to view offerings in each studio

NEW! Artist Residency Opportunities in 2021!

LEARN MORE


In light of the current COVID-19 concerns and need for social distancing, Touchstone’s staff is working a rotating mix of office hours and remote work until further notice. Office voicemail: 724-329-1370 will be checked daily. Staff members can be reached by email: info@touchstonecrafts.org.

Our offices and campus remain closed to the public. Please follow our social media: Facebook and Instagram, and check out our digital offerings on the Virtual Events page. Thank you for your patience as we take precautions for the health and safety of our staff and community.

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