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.

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.

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.

As the ground emerged from the snow yesterday, I found myself peeking around for green. I know mom, it’s too early. I just can’t help myself. Nosing around outside brought to mind the thrill of treasure hunting.  Whether you’re clicking or stomping– this phrase by artists of the same name says it best “something’s hiding in here.”

1. The Victoria- Clutch, Wallet On the Go by Momotrees $35

2. Wood Ring- Zebra Wood by Somethingshidinghere $60

3. Wherever the Boy Went, the Rabbit Went Too- recycled wood collaged humble house by gigglepotamus $25

4. Morningsong- Cameo and Amazonite Necklace by wildplum $17

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.

Passionately detailed ceramics by Mariko Swisher, Lancaster.

These new Tribal LEFTZ (pronounced le-ft-e’s) toys stopped me in my online tracks.  Whoa! They’re perfect for building a Utopian civilization, catching a tasty fish or discovering the mysteries of fire. Look how cute they are. You will absolutely love them. Plus they’re made right outside of Reading. The etsy shop explains:

LEFTZ are plush softies made with upcycled material from yard sales, thrift shops, or family. These eco friendly plushies are stuffed with recycled plastic shopping bags and are unique in their own way.

Aren’t they great? I want the whole tribe. Where to find LEFTZ by ArtTales (Mary Casher)?

• LEFTZ on Flickr
• LEFTZ on Etsy
• ArtTales blog

Work by Angela Davidson (Philly).