Philadelphia Young Playwrights

The Philadelphia Art Alliance would like to give a special thanks to everyone involved in the Philadelphia Young Playwrights.  This past Saturday, Feb. 23rd reading series turned out to be a great hit for everyone involved!

Kaza the Alien Spy by Zöe Levy-Dyer of Cedarbrook Middle School, and The Outsider by Brionna Mitchell of Overbrook Education Center were both directed by David Ingram and performed by undergraduate actors from the Temple University Department of Theater.

The event was hosted by Kevin Robinson (Board Host), Jaya Montague (Youth Council Host), and Caitlin Cieri (Alumni Host).

Here’s a couple of pictures of the event!

Sara’s set design for both plays

Sara explaining her design.

Jaya reading her poem she wrote for both of the plays.

The Taxonomy of Trash: An Analytical Approach to Garbage

Friday February 6, 2013 at 6 p.m.

Join the Art Alliance for a lecture and kick-starter launch party for the Taxonomy of Trash. Listen to Tim Eads and his team of artists talk about their inspirational journey through the celebration of garbage. Then join them for a drink at the launch party!

Funding will do 3 things:

First, the team is planning on building a pedal operated mobile laboratory that will have everything they need to collect garbage, examine material, take high-quality  photographs, and record sounds.

Funding will help them publish their book, which includes photographs of the      original found objects, a compilation of treated sound recordings, and a behind-  the-scenes documentary.

Lastly, it will also be used for the team’s exhibition at the Delaware Museum of Art. In late March, the team will be conducting their first mobile lab excursion in    Wilmington, Delaware. The collected trash will be on display in the exhibition.

The Tool At Hand

Opening Reception: Thursday February 7, 6-8 p.m.

Walk into the Art Alliance this month and be prepared to feast your eyes on sixteen different takes of craft using only one tool! This ongoing exhibition features the artist’s works of art, and the tools used to craft them, collectively with videos from their studios debuted at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Artist: Mark Lindquist
wood dowel, glue
Tool: Glue Dispenser

Destinations: Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR and Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in Texas

Molly Hatch: Reverie

February 7 to April 28, 2012

Opening Reception: Thursday February 7,6-9 p.m.

Come by the Art Alliance and observe Molly Hatch’s first solo exhibition! Drawing from 18^th and 19^th century plates from her family’s own collection, her new works are inspired by her “continued effort to claim the functional surface of the dinner plate as a painting surface.”

CaveCast 003: Talking Heads

Stream the Podcast Here
The CaveCast is a series of live podcast events at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. Each program is an hour-long conversation between host Brian Cassidy and his guests, local professional DJs, about the craft of DJing. Each conversation explores a particular theme, such as the 1980s, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago house, outlaw country, the history of Philly Dance Music, and psychedelic Christian rock. The conversation is punctuated by playing pertinent illustrative records throughout the hour. The program teaches audience members about musical genres in an entertaining way. It is followed by a demonstration and reception.

SoS One Day Left! Two Artists to Check Out:

Shop on the Square ends tomorrow!
@ Philadelphia Art Alliance
251 South 18th StPhiladelphia, PA 19103
noon-7pm

There’s still plenty of great handcrafted gifts to take home this holiday season!

Veru Designs

Verushka Stevens is a woman in love with life. VeruDesigns became one of the main triggers that guided her towards a very personal journey of self-discovery and self-love at a whole new level never experienced before.  Her polymer clay jewelry is vibrant and unique; providing a playful experience to the wearer.

She describes her pieces as “A celebration of all women, no matter your age, size, ethnicity, beliefs, and background.  My jewelry is meant to be a reminder of your own unique voice, unique soul, and the one-of-a-kind light each of us is mean to to shine into the world”

Stevens’ appreciation of life and the beautiful people that share this world with her are the catalysts for creating.  VeruDesigns is her celebration of every single woman in this world, and a way of sharing the knowing that “each woman’s uniqueness is not only where her true inner and outer beauty resides, but has a “one-of-a-kind” purpose that are meant to be fulfilled” in life.

Anthony Tammaro

Anthony Tammaro is a consistent and modern jewelry designer who knows how to combine contradictions, thereby creating new, revolutionary worlds. Even though his objects are made of nylon that is sintered by a computer-controlled laser – and therefore not realizable by using traditional working methods – they look very natural. Just like they had always been here, yet hidden away from our eyes.

Due to the combination of organic shapes, lace patterns, sparingly yet specifically applied paint and the use of soft and hard materials, Anthony Tammaro’s jewelry looks like the bizarre creatures from the depth of the sea, yet also resembles the strait-laced fashions of past times. But that is not all: it simultaneously looks obscene and mathematical, baroque and reduced, luscious and strict. However, all these contradictions do not create a chaotic coexistence, but a harmonic whole that sparks curiosity. One wants to touch the objects; are they light or heavy, cold or warm, rough or even slimy?

Worn around the neck, the objects feel alien and beautiful, they are transparent and –despite their size- surprisingly light and comfortable against the skin.

Shop on the Square Artist Spotlight: Brenda Quinn and Sam Shaw

Shop on the Square
Tuesday, December 4 through Sunday, December 9
251 South 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
noon to 7pm daily.

Brenda Quinn

The challenge of creating an object which functions aesthetically as well as physically has provided Brenda Quinn with unending inspiration.  The history of function is synonymous with the medium, and the close relationship between material and process is what initially captured her interest and continues to keep it in clay.  Her work is inspired by and is a nod to the broad history of decorative arts. 

“I create celebratory objects that are meant to be used in the daily rituals of our lives, providing a vehicle for human connection and contemplation.  Function and utility have therefore played important roles in defining my work.  The objects I create are the result of a careful balance between form, function, line, color, and visual texture.“

 

Shaw Jewelry

http://www.shawjewelry.com/

Shaw’s work  currently explores the form, texture and color, and relationships of natural beach stones  Sam Shaw often associates them with fossils and familiar gemstones to heighten the awareness of their common ancestry.

Coming of age on an island in Maine, Sam Shaw has always been attracted to the shapes and personalities of rocks along the shore. This fascination was enhanced by a degree in geology, and applied through a lifelong love of art. The combination of the visual appeal of these simple stones and an understanding of the natural forces that create them drives his curiosity and excitement when working with them.

“The urge to pick up beautiful, rounded pebbles is almost universal. Many people walk away from the beach with a hard, round memory in their pocket. It is my hope that my jewelry evokes such emotion.”

 

 

Shop on the Square is in Full Swing!

The Philadelphia Art Alliance is pleased to present “Shop on the Square”, a craft sale and auction featuring thoughtfully designed and expertly crafted jewelry, accessories, tableware, toys, and much more. This fundraising event includes an irresistible mix of established and emerging artists and designers, plus hands-on activities for the whole family.  Here are two vibrant local artists that have their work on sale this week:

Inspired by her grandmother in Kolkata, India, Harshita Lohia took to craft and arts at the early age of ten. Belonging to the sixth generation of the Chamong tea family, business skills came naturally to Harshita. Her early interest was making and selling cards and envelopes for weddings. At age thirteen her father gave her a set of paint brushes and a wide variety of paints and from that moment Harshita developed her serious interest in fine arts. At age fifteen she held her first solo exhibition in Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata followed by a solo exhibition in Singapore at seventeen. In 1997, Harshita traveled to Chicago for summer school at the Art Institute of Chicago and a year later enrolled into Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia. After finishing her BFA in textile design she went on to finish her Masters in Digital Printing from Philadelphia University. In 2005 Harshita created Harshita Designs to carry on her mission of creating wearable art and original accessories. Her collections represent her rich heritage and her sensitive way of blending east and west.

At Harshita Designs you will find uniquely designed wearable art for women and men, including scarves, shawls, handbags, jewelry, tunics and jackets. Each creation starts with thoughtfully created designs. Carefully chosen colors and final designs are then printed or embroidered to enhance the wearable piece of art. The inspiration for Harshita’s designs and colors comes from elements of nature, man made structures, symbols of Indian culture and simple geometrical figures and her choice of high quality material includes chiffon, crepe, georgette and charmeuse silk.

Gillian Pokalo is an artist from the Philadelphia area. Both her creative process and artwork address the issue of impermanence as reflected in deteriorating industrial landscapes, posing questions about past inhabitants and present conditions. Her process of working with photography, painting and printmaking is a reconstruction of that which has been deconstructed by time.

Her work is influenced by the sociological shift in the communities that originally were built around industry and the remnants of places that no longer exist. There is something hauntingly beautiful in the textures of an abandoned, derelict building, which evoke memories and pose questions about past inhabitants and present conditions.  She employs traditional and non-traditional printmaking techniques, including photography, silk screen, and gum bichromate. “The process of making a print intrigues me because it is that which remains when the plate or screen is removed. In this way, I think of the creative process as a reflection on the transience and impermanence of life.”

Shop on the Square
Tuesday, December 4 through Sunday, December 9
251 South 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
noon to 7pm daily.