Greater Pottstown Foundation Funds Free Spring Programs At ArtFusion 19464

Pottstown, PA – Applications are now being accepted for three free spring programs for kids and teens at ArtFusion 19464. These programs are generously sponsored by The Greater Pottstown Foundation. In Art Academy, students ages 8 to 12 will explore different mediums from drawing to recycled art. Clay Academy gives each 8 to 12 year old student the opportunity to create pottery using hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques. Older students ages 13 to 17 can participate in Teen Clay Studio. This programs gives each student the opportunity to design and create amazing self-directed projects in clay.

The application deadline for these programs is February 17, 2017. Applications can be downloaded at artfusion19464.org/classes/scholarshipsprograms/. Interested parents can also stop by 254 E. High St. to pick up a paper copy.  Spaces will be filled on a first come, first served basis. While ArtFusion 19464 encourages everyone who is interested to apply, those students who qualify for free or reduced lunch and those who have not attended a free program at ArtFusion 19464 before will be given priority.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown. The school offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. ArtFusion 19464’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.  The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 am-5 pm and Saturday 10 am-3 pm. Classes do run outside of gallery hours.

Art And The Environment Featured In New Educational Exhibit At ArtFusion 19464

resourced-hakun.jpg artwork by Bob Hakun

POTTSTOWN, PA – ArtFusion 19464 is proud to announce the opening of the latest in their series of educational exhibits. As part of their effort to live their mission of making the arts accessible to everyone in their community, ArtFusion 19464 curates a special exhibit each year with an educational focus. They choose topics they believe they can teach about through art. Past topics have included the civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, and women’s history. This year the focus will be on art and the environment with a show called Reclaim. Art featured in this show will be created from recycled, upcycled and salvaged items. The artists have been challenged to reclaim the definition of art, to show that creativity and imagination can expand a view of art as only paint and canvas. Reclaim will run in the main gallery from October 8 through November 19.

During every educational exhibit, ArtFusion 19464 offers free field trips to local schools. Each field trip is tailored to the age of the students and is a fun, interactive learning experience.  Students who visit during Reclaim will learn important facts about the environment, recycling and the newest inventions in the fight to tame this country’s trash. They will also have an opportunity to create a piece of recycled art themselves. In keeping with the theme, students will engage in a discussion about environmental issues and how individual and group actions affect the health and well-being of the planet. Teachers and group leaders interested in scheduling a field trip can call 610-326-2506 or emailinfo@artfusion19464.org.

resourced-siemel.jpg artwork by Dora Siemel,

ArtFusion 19464 invites the public to a private, catered opening reception for Reclaim on Friday, October 7 from 6-8pm. Sponsored by Advantage Insurance, the event features a catered menu created by @107. Individual tickets are $20, interested community members can help an ArtFusion 19464 student to attend this event for free with a $30 student sponsorship ticket. All proceeds help fund the free field trip program.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown. The school offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. ArtFusion’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.  The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. The gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

These Artists In War-Ravaged Damascus Have Broken A Guinness World Record

Editor’s Note:  This is very inspiring and there are many pictures you can view when you click on the link below.  Love how people triumph over adversity!

Six Syrian artists have set a 2014 Guinness World Record. Using scraps from the streets of war-ravaged Damascus, in January they built the largest mural made from recycled material, beautifying the area outside a primary school in Syria’s capital.

It took Syrian artist Moaffak Makhoul and his team six months to complete the mural in the upscale Al Mazzeh area of Damascus. Guinness announced the win on Facebook on March 26.

The team used scrap objects like broken mirrors, bicycle wheels, and aluminum cans to construct the mural, measuring 7,749.98 feet across.

Read more/see pictures: http://www.buzzfeed.com/miriamberger/these-artists-in-war-ravaged-damascus-have-broken-a-guinness

Trashy Art Returns To ArtFusion

ReSourced3.jpg butterfly sculpture by Juanita Gaspari, made from recycled wire and handpainted paper

POTTSTOWN, PA – The latest show at ArtFusion helps prove true the old adage that “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Titled ReSourced, the show will be an amazing display of creative reuse. Local artists have created work from recycled, upcycled and salvaged items. Visitors to ArtFusion will be delighted by the wide range of pieces on display, from functional clothing to gorgeous free-standing sculptures.

Each visitor will also have a chance to contribute to a fun public art project. Throughout the show, which runs from March 21 through May 3, visitors will have a chance to add to a large scale, recycled weaving project. The weaving will be created from plastic bags, paper, VCR tapes, and more. The piece can be seen as it grows in the front window of the ArtFusion gallery.

Participating artists are: Alita Abruzzzese, Lisbeth Bucci, Robyn Burckhardt, Tom Carroll, Arline Christ, Maggie Creshkoff, James M. Enders, Juanita A. Gaspari, Robert Hakun, Heidi Hammel, Joe Hoover, Millie Lea, Dora Siemel, Carla Schaeffer, Teresa Shields, Donna Steck-McMahon, and Julie Tonnessen.

There will be an opening reception for ReSourced on Friday, March 21 from 6-8pm. All receptions are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. A $100 Best in Show prize, sponsored by the NARI-BIE Green Team, will be presented at 6:30pm.

In conjunction with this show, ArtFusion is offering free field trips to local schools. Over 550 children have currently signed up for a fun, interactive experience. Students will learn about and discuss recycling, why it is important to the future of our planet, and how artists create with objects other people throw away. Each student will also create their own unique piece of recycled art. This show will help teach local children the importance of caring for our planet and will inspire them to look at the world–and how people create art–in a whole new way.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown. The school offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. ArtFusion’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.  The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. The gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

Dora Siemel Wins Best in Show Honors At Gallery On High’s “Re-Creative” Art Show

Pottstown, PA  –  Local Artist Wins Best In Show

Artist Dora Siemel received Best in Show honors for her piece, Buy More Stuff!, at a reception at the Gallery on High, Saturday, April 14.  Dora and 19 other local artists participated in Re-Creative, a recycled art show.  Entries in this show had to be created from recycled, upcycled or salvaged materials.

The $100 prize was sponsored by the National Association of Remodelers-Building Industries Exchange (NARI-BIE) Green Team.  Green Team member Christine Elliott awarded the prize.  The Green Team judges had the following to say about the winning entry:

Buy New Stuff!. . . stood out to the judges as a lively piece of art, steeped in the nostalgia of quality American manufacturing, while poking fun at our current culture which thrives on poorly made goods and constant consumerism.  While strong social messages are observed within this piece, it also stands alone as an artistic historic tribute.  The artful arrangement of materials from consumer products is delightful and the reclaimed nature of the materials strictly followed the theme of the show.  The reverse form inherent in the newspaper type elements used added an intriguing, reflective symbolism to this piece.  The piece takes us on a journey into our past, as it prods us to seriously consider our future.

Re-Creative runs through April 21.  Guests can view the exhibit during regular gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 4:30pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm.  The Gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

The Gallery School of Pottstown is a 501c3 non-profit community art school and gallery.  The School offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages.  The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence.  The Gallery on High hosts rotating shows featuring local artists.  The Gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.

The Gallery School of Pottstown

@Gallery on High

254 E. High Street

Pottstown, PA  19464

610-326-2506

www.galleryonhigh.org

Local Artists Celebrate Recycled Art

The Gallery on High will host a reception on April 14 to celebrate their spring show Re-Creative.  The reception will last from noon until 2pm and light refreshments will be served. At 1:30 pm, a Best in Show prize will be awarded.  This $100 prize is generously sponsored by the Building Industries Exchange of Pottstown and Vicinity’s Green Team. All Gallery receptions are free and open to the public.
 
Entries in this show had to be created from recycled, upcycled or salvaged materials.  The artists created an incredible array of work.  The recycled origins of some pieces are immediately apparent, while other pieces have a more subtle message.  The theme of Re-Creative is wonderfully invoked in this show, as the artists each took something that is normally overlooked, thrown out or dismissed
and reimagined that item.
 
Participating artists include: Robyn Burckhardt, Jann Everett DeChristopher, Natalie Cyphers, Susan Ploppert, Christine Burnley, Millie Lea, Gail Ann Herring, Sara Benowitz, Dora Siemel, Bob Hakun, Jon Parker, Joe Hoover, Danielle D’Aries, Florence Mano, Lisbeth Bucci, Donna Steck-McMahon, Maggie Creshkoff, Sue Eyet, Norah Cannon and Julie Tonnessen.
 
Re-Creative runs from March 17 to April 21.  Guests can view the exhibit during regular gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 4:30pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm.  The Gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.
 
The Gallery School of Pottstown is a 501c3 non-profit community art school and gallery.  The School offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages.  The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence.  The Gallery on High hosts rotating shows featuring local artists.  The Gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.

The Gallery School of Pottstown
@Gallery on High
254 E. High St.
Pottstown, PA 19464
610-326-2506
www.galleryonhigh.org