CRAFT-TASTIC: An Exhibition and Sale of the Handmade

November 14, 2014 – January 3, 2015

Free opening reception and all-age hands-on craft workshop:

Friday, November 14, 6:30-8:00PM

15% Member Discount Sale: December 2 – December 6, 2014

Set aside some time this holiday season to enjoy the vibrant world of handmade objects. As well as a treat for the eyes, Pelham Art Center’s annual exhibition Craft-Tastic is also your creative alternative to chain store holiday shopping, featuring unique functional, wearable and decorative crafts. These lovingly crafted handmade pieces, created by 21 local, national and international craft artists, represent a range of scale, techniques, materials and prices. A silk screened print, a sculptural wall piece, or a handmade quilt could be the perfect house gift for someone – or for your own home. Sport a one-of-a-kind hat created by a local milliner or a signature piece of jewelry at your next holiday party. In response to holiday demand, the show will open early this year and run from November 14, 2014 through January 3, 2015. Don’t miss the opening reception and free all-ages hands-on craft workshop on Friday, November 14 from 6:30-8:00pm. Bring the family! And for one week only, Pelham Art Center members receive a 15% discount on all Craft-Tastic gallery sales during a special Members’ Holiday Sale, December 2-6. Anyone can become a member of Pelham Art Center at any time.

This year’s Craft-Tastic explores the idea of craft as social activism. A new generation of craft artists, referred to as the DIY (Do It Yourself) Craft Movement, are embracing traditional crafts such as crochet and embroidery to introduce a nostalgic irony and address traditional gender roles in their work. Artist Nathan Vincent crochets delicate doilies with images of grenades, pipes and moustaches. The embroidery hoops of Sarah Grange such as Vintage Straight Razor or the hunting trophy Floral Deer also contrast traditional feminine crafts with masculine imagery.

This act of playful transformation can be seen most directly in Maureen McCourt’s sculptures where she carefully selects tools such as ladders and saws and covers them with fabric pompoms crafting them into a soft explosion of color. Laura Petrovich-Cheney also softens a hard material by referencing traditional American patchwork designs to create her sculptural wall quilts upcycled from salvaged wood from Hurricane Sandy. This practice of creating art objects from previously used and discarded materials addresses environmental concerns from recycling to climate change.

Our purchasing power as consumers might be one of the most important aspects of the exhibition. Supporting artists by buying one-of-a-kind objects rather than the mass produced helps keep this living tradition of Craft alive. Remember this as you relish a hot cup of tea in your hand-made mug by potters Klya Toomey or Mike Helke, or wear a distinctive pair of quilled paper earrings by Risa’s Pieces Jewelry.

Craft-Tastic is curated by Gail Heidel, the Gallery and Public Program Manager at Pelham Art Center.

Artists: Amanda Browder (NY), Priscilla Dobler (WA), Kathryn Fenstermaker (TN), MaryLouise Gladstone, MLV Designs (NY), Sarah Grange (NY), Mike Helke (WI), Hee Sook Kim (PA), Coral Lambert (NY), Ashley Landon (NY), Loop of the Loom (NY), Hanga Mathe- Babelfish (Hungary), Maureen McCourt (NY), Leigh Taylor Mickelson (NY), Sana Musasama (NY), Laura Petrovich-Cheney (NJ), Risa’s Pieces Jewelry (NY), Susan Saas (NY), Chris Stain (NY), Kyla Toomey (MA), Nathan Vincent (NY)

Related Programming

Free Art Sewing Workshop at Pelham Art Center
October 26, 2014, 1-6PM
Come Help Sew the Fabric Installation Piece Triumvirate! By Artist Amanda Browder

Be part of creating a large-scale fabric installation that will hang from Pelham Art Center’s façade for several months! The public sewing workshop is open to individuals of all ages who will share in the construction of Triumvirate! The multi-colored site-specific fabric installation will hang on the arch of the Pelham Art Center, in Pelham, NY. Children under 10 should be accompanied by an adult.

Triumvirate!
November 14, 2014 – January 3, 2015

Using fabrics and sewing time donated by the residents of Pelham and surrounding areas, Triumvirate! will be a visual statement that buildings are not separate from the democratic life and spirit of the community. The piece, referencing the rectangular building, will be constructed from a collaborative community effort: donated fabric and assembly in sewing day workshops to which the public is invited to participate. The immutable scale of the building is dramatized by the scale and independence of the design’s triangles as well as the dimensional ambiguity of the fabric. The design creates a “shock of the new” with both color and form. As a collective we will rejoice in how something as small as a piece of discarded fabric can be rebuilt into an energetic architectural installation.

The Storefront Project: POM! POM! Pelham by Maureen McCourt
November 14, 2014 – January 3, 2015

POM! POM! Pelham is a soft and colorful installation created from objects found or purchased in Pelham that investigates notions of potential. The Storefront Project is located directly across the street from Pelham Art Center at 156 5th Avenue, Pelham, NY.

The Storefront is generously being provided free of charge by: Annie’s Nail & Spa, Open 7 days a week, 914-738-8888, 914-738-2221, 158 5th Avenue, Pelham, NY 10803.

About Pelham Art Center

Pelham Art Center’s mission is to provide the public with a place, the resources and the opportunity to see, study, and experience the arts in a community setting. Currently serving more than 16,000 adults and children in Westchester County and parts of the Bronx by offering high-quality free and affordable art programs year round, Pelham Art Center is committed to the belief that the public’s access to and participation in the arts strengthens communities and fosters lifelong engagement in the arts.

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Pelham Art Center 155 Fifth Avenue Pelham, NY 10803 914-738-2525 [email protected]

Hours: Tuesday–Friday, 10–5pm; Saturday, 10–4pm

Directions: Located 5 blocks from the Hutchinson Parkway exit 12 and 2 blocks from the Metro North Pelham stop

These events and programs are made possible, in part, by the ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County Government. Pelham Art Center also receives funding from: New York State Council on the Arts, A State Agency; Westchester Jewish Community Services; hibu; Nurses Network of America; Town of Pelham; New Rochelle Campership Fund; Bistro Rollin; Robin’s Art+Giving; Nycon; Junior League of Pelham, Prospect Hill Lunchtime Enrichment; Strypemonde Foundation; Mark Link Insurance; Broadway Electric, Owen Berkowitz; Members; and Annual Fund Donors.