supporting arts & crafts in the keystone state

Wanna submit your own handmade stops in a county or town or region of PA?  Just send links to nick@pacrafts.org. This one comes from Michael Dittman, a writer, professor, and photographer living in Northwestern Pennsylvania.  He is a contributor to The Savvy Grouse.

The Oil Heritage Region is an area in Northwestern Pennsylvania that includes Titusville, eastern Crawford County, and Venango County.  While a name like the Oil Heritage Region may conjure up images of abandoned Rust Belt refineries, there’s a vital arts and crafts scene supported largely by the Oil City Arts Revitalization project headed by Joann Wheeler.

1 – National Transit Building – Part of the Oil City Arts Revitalization project is the remaking of the historic Transit Building into a studio for visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, and fine artisans with open studios every second Saturday from noon to 5:00 pm. The building is also host to Arts in the Transit, a concert series on the second Friday of the month. 206-210 Seneca Street, Oil City.

2 –  Campbell Pottery Store & Gallery - Just north of Titusville (and, strictly speaking, not in the Oil Heritage Region, but too good to miss) is the Campbell Pottery Store & Gallery.  Bill Campbell has been elbow deep in clay for more than 25 years.  Today his is the largest art pottery gallery in Pennsylvania.  Walking into the gallery is to be overwhelmed by the color and crisp perfect shapes.  The gallery also sponsors annual glassblowing demonstrations with Herb Thomas, a Day Lily festival, and more.  25579 Plank Rd., Cambridge Springs, 814-734-8800

3 – Finally, at the southern edge of the Region is DiVani Chocolate.  I first went into this chocolatier’s retail storefront on a hillside just 50 yards off Foxburg’s Main Street on a whim and found an oasis of designer chocolate, chai tea, truffles, fudges, marshmallows, caramels, and seasonal specialties.  Now they have a branch at the Liberty Galleria (Liberty St, Franklin)  in my town which makes getting my fix a lot quicker. 22 N Palmer Ave, Foxburg, 888.763.4826

4 - Alice Walkowski is a metal clay artist working out of the Transit Building.  I hadn’t even heard of the medium before I dropped by her studio, but by the time I left, I had signed up for one of her workshops to create my own pathetic piece of jewelry.  Walkowski ’s work, however, shines with technique and narrative – each piece it seems has an extensive backstory which adds the charm of these, well, charms (and rings, and pendants).

Where would you go from here? Share your favorite handmade stops in the Oil Heritage region in the comment section below.

Next stop? Philly! Send in your favorite stops today.

Let’s get some fresh! Subtle, worn, and neutral fabrics and vintage images can be so fresh! stay tuned for more fresh {did someone say “fresh?”}

1. handmade denim cuff bracelet by bbbellezza $10

2. organic canvas fabric- LULU by daisyjanie  $64

3. vintage doily and button pillow by brandeye  $32

4. recycled OZARKelopes from vintage historical book by Sanguinaria  $12.50

Kate, along with her husband, bring together farm, food and design at The Steel Fork. They also design and create sculptural metalworks using recycled farm machinery – Gatski Metal. Kate is also the mother of two busy little children.

I’ve been feeling particularly scattered lately. I think its a combination of spring fever and planning out trips and adventures over the summer months. Clearly I need to make a list. If you need to make some lists too then here are some styling ways to store them.

Kim Blatt Woodturning, of Fleetwood.

vibrant color and flowers inducing a state of spring fever.

barefoot hippie print by stephanie corfee

paper collage print by 111 collage design

art quilt by andrus gardens quilt

all handmade in pennsylvania and found through the HiP flickr pool.

The most frequent question I get related to this blog is: Where can I find and buy handmade crafts at a brick and mortar store in my hometown?

Buying from a a brick and mortar does three things immediately:

1. You support your local community (3/50 Project for how it works)
2. You support your neighbor artist
3. It just feels good – and that’s important

To help everyone accomplish this task of handmade shopping nirvana, I’m pulling together a Google map of shops, galleries, museum stores, gift shops, consignment shops and everything in between that sell Pennsylvania-made art & craft in Pennsylvania.

I need your help. So what makes sense for inclusion on this handmade map? Only physical locations that sell Pennsylvania-made craft (no restaurants or coffee shops). Please leave your favorites below in the comments section or email me (nick@pacrafts.org) if you’re feeling particularly helpful. All I need is the name, street address and city.

If you want to help more closely on this project, shoot me an email. Setting up a Google Map is way easy and I can share it with a group of contributors. Happy shopping.

Editor’s Note: I made a few updates to this post. I added the links to the map, which wasn’t ready to show at the time of the original post.

Wanna submit your own handmade stops in a county or town or region of PA?  Just send links to nick@pacrafts.org. This one comes from Staci Egan of Contempo Jewelry Designs (find her on Facebook and Twitter).

1 – Surface Artist Cooperative currently features 7 women. When you go to the co-op, you can find jewelry, pottery, fused glass, paintings and greeting cards for purchase. But you might also walk into an infant photo shoot, an internet knowledge class or pottery being thrown. The space has so much energy and there is something new daily, you can’t expect anything less from 7 ladies :) Surface Artist Cooperative is an old barn style building near the historic town of Lemont. Each of the “stall” type spaces houses a different artist.

2 – The Art Alliance of Central PA serves students, artists, and the art-loving public in Centre County and beyond. Also in Lemont, the Art Alliance is a non-profit organization that provides the community with workshops, exhibits, camps, classes and so much more.

3 – The Creative Oasis is a six thousand square foot non-profit public studio offering art classes for children and adults. Centrally located in State College’s vibrant downtown, the downstairs gallery features artwork from dozens of local artists. The Creative Oasis is entirely staffed with volunteers dedicated to keeping art education affordable in the Centre Region.

4 – Tait Farm – In addition to Tait Farm’s sustainable and organic fruits and vegetables, the Harvest Shop also carries more than 50 regional artists. You can find gourmet treats including chocolate, cheeses, chutneys and breads. The Farm is quaint, the staff is always friendly and the Taits are genuinely passionate about great food and their community.

5 – The Gallery shop located in the historic village of Lemont and has been in business for 22 years. The Gallery Shop features original art and craft work from about 50 Central Pennsylvania Artists. Adjacent to the Art Alliance of Central Pennsylvania you will find fused glass, stained glass, jewelry, wearable art, pewter, pottery, painting, fiber, woodwork and much more.

Where would you go from here? Share your favorite handmade stops in State College in the comment section below.

The work of artist Brooke Hine (Philadelphia) stopped me in my tracks. Something so refreshing about it- I was particularly drawn to her Growth & Deterioration series.

As a ceramic artist, my work is influenced by qualities observed in nature: the negative space created by naked branches in winter, the path traced by insects in a hollow log, or fossils found in the ground.

Connection Between

Growth/Deterioration

These are a Few of my Favorite Things

Kate, along with her husband, bring together farm, food and design at The Steel Fork. They also design and create sculptural metalworks using recycled farm machinery – Gatski Metal. Kate is also the mother of two busy little children.

After the Buyers Market of American Craft, I’ve had a renewed eye for glass.  The section devoted to glass is huge. When I started working for the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, my first day on the job was attending the Buyers Market. What a crazy first day. And what an amazing introduction to the craft community. I both thought I was in over my head and in art heaven.

Glass has a way of grabbing your attention. Maybe its the shine or the colors or the patterns and texture. It demands your eye. Here are a few choice works from Pennsylvania glassblowers.

Christine Kaiser is showing in booth #1707 at the American Craft Council show in Baltimore this weekend.