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From YouTube: Rachel Saul - Society for Contemporary Craft
Description
Rachel Saul, Education Program Coordinator for the Society for Contemporary Craft talks about how Maker Arts are growing and thriving by connecting citizens with technology and creativity.
A
Good
afternoon,
I
am
Rachel
I'm.
The
education
coordinator
for
contemporary
craft
and
personally
I
see
the
maker
movement
as
a
revival
of
community
and
the
handmade.
It's
the
energy
of
the
movement.
That's
reconnecting
individuals
and
communities
to
their
cultural
heritage,
while
providing
artists
with
rich
opportunities
to
be
involved
in
this
process.
Pittsburgh's
maker
climate
is
a
what
is
alive
and
thriving.
It's
been
growing
exponentially
over
the
past
decade,
with
the
first
handmade
arcade
being
organized
in
2003.
A
In
the
past
year
alone,
I've
witnessed
the
maker
arts
involved
with
leaps
and
bounds
from
the
traditional
crafts
media,
such
as
woodworking,
metals,
textiles
and
ceramics
to
robotics,
electronics
and
technology
in
general.
The
maker
community
is
experimenting,
learning
and
contributing
to
almost
everything
around
us.
In
addition
to
exhibiting
their
artwork,
local
artists
are
teaching
both
formally
and
informally,
they're
connecting
to
their
neighborhoods
and
becoming
contributors
to
the
synergy
of
local
redevelopment.
A
beautiful
example
of
this
is
the
Millville
community
library.
The
space
incorporates
magnificent
metalwork
by
local
blacksmith,
Jeff
Blanchard.
A
The
library
stands
as
an
icon
for
positive
change
and
growth.
That
Millville
is
creating
for
itself,
unfortunately
fortunate
to
work
for
an
organization
that
has
a
long-standing
standing
reputation,
both
local
and
national,
for
connecting
artists
with
community.
The
Society
for
Contemporary
craft
has
been
in
connecting
these
makers
to
our
community
for
over
43
years,
and
we
actually
started
as
a
local
pop-up
store
in
Verona,
with
our
motto
of
cmake
by
we
offer
the
public
free
exhibitions
and
opportunities
work
within
our
studio
and
the
unique
workshops
that
we
offer
in
addition
to
contemporary
craft.
A
The
city
is
fortunate
to
have
other
arts
organizations
such
as
the
Pittsburgh
glass
tonight.
The
glass
center
is
a
premier
glass
facility
offering
opportunities
for
local
artists
and
residents
as
well
as
it
draws
visitors
from
all
over
the
nation.
Pittsburgh
has
many
guilds
that
support
our
artists
as
well,
for
instance,
the
craftsmen's
guild
or
the
fiber
arts
code
of
pittsburgh.
A
I'm
sure
that
many
of
you
remember
last
summer,
whenever
the
community
rallied
around
knit
the
bridge,
which
was
an
artist-led
if
the
yarn
bombed,
andy,
warhol
bridge
and
it
celebrated
Pittsburgh
is
a
city
of
bridges
and
arts.
This
brought
worldwide
recognition
not
only
to
their
project,
but
our
city.
The
maker
movement,
is
a
vehicle
for
many
things.
As
Lisa
mentioned,
it
teaches
our
children
to
explore
design
principles
and
delve
further
into
stem.
It
connects
our
neighborhoods
via
murals,
public
art
and
redevelopment
initiatives.
It
also
contributes
to
our
local
economy.
A
I
also
get
a
lot
of
requests
to
connect
artists
with
corporations
to
lead
professional
development
opportunities
where
they
utilize
stem
and
the
making
arts
people
visit
our
city
and
our
region
to
view
a
contemporary
work
made
by
our
artists
and
take
part
in
workshops
at
the
glass
center
contemporary
craft
and
other
creative
centers
artists
are
also
definitely
selling
their
work
in
retail
spaces,
such
as
our
store
and
pop-up
events
like
handmade
arcade
or
the
I
made
it
market.
The
maker
arts
certainly
don't
stop
with
visual
arts
or
technology.
A
We
have
a
wonderful,
culinary
maker
community
as
well
just
think
of
all
the
places
that
we
can
enjoy
a
locally
made
craft
beer,
beautiful,
cupcakes
or
indulge
in
a
meal
that
was
locally
grown
and
presented
to
us
on
a
handmade
plate
with
perfect
aesthetic
perfection
as
we
as
a
society.
Are
we
considering
the
notion
of
producing
objects
of
our
own
consumption?
We
again
open
the
door
to
the
innovation
that
comes
along
with
the
maker
arts,
many
maker
artists
source,
their
materials
locally
or
create
them
from
recycled
materials.
A
If
you
spend
an
afternoon
in
pittsburgh
center
for
creative,
you
reuse,
you'll,
leave
not
only
with
ideas,
but
also
the
material
to
go
home
and
make
it
yourself.
Pittsburgh
has
a
rich
history
of
makers.
If
we
consider
the
Industrial
Revolution
an
incredible
architecture
that
rose
around
the
country
as
a
result
of
our
steel
mills
and
glass
production,
we
have
been
a
community
makers
for
years.
We
pay
homage
to
this
past
as
we
flourish
in
the
do-it-yourself
movement
and
artists
become
the
conduit
for
this
progression.
A
To
show
an
example,
some
of
the
beautiful
work
that's
being
made
in
our
community
I
wore
these
earrings
today,
which
were
made
by
Sam
Skelton
Sam
is
our
current
studio,
apprentice'
contemporary
craft
and
she's
a
jeweler.
Her
work
carries
aesthetic
from
the
small
one
of
Akane
earrings
to
very
large-scale
sculptures
and
I've
also
brought
two
other
pieces
with
me
that
are
on
the
table.
The
first
is
a
handcrafted
small
sculpture
by
Sharon
Massey.
A
The
peace
comes
from
her
street
view,
series
which
is
very
true
to
Pittsburgh,
as
it's
made
from
steel
Sharon
is
studying
and
providing
us
a
response
to
the
density
of
architecture
that
arises
from
Rust
Belt
cities
and
industrial
cities
like
Pittsburgh
Sharon,
also
as
an
artist
that
teaches
within
our
programs
and
works
with
youth
in
our
community.
The
second
piece
I
have
here
is
a
ceramic
piece
by
Nicola.
Aquilano
Nicole
is
a
ceramic
artist
that
lives
in
Boston,
but
is
currently
doing
a
residency
with
a
contemporary
craft
for
the
summer.
A
Her
work
explores
her
surroundings,
as
she
inlays
clays
slip
and
does
drawings
of
buildings
and
architecture.
What
she's
going
to
be
doing
this
summer
is
actually
creating
work
that
is
specific
to
the
historic
Strip
District
and
shows
all
the
buildings
in
architecture
of
our
city
and
lastly,
an
artist
whose
work
I
don't
have
with
me
today
is
kitty.
Dammit
she's,
a
paper
maker
who
displays
her
work,
while
also
making
significant
contributions
to
the
maker
movement.
Katie's
materials
are
all-natural
and
recycled.
A
She
teaches
seniors
in
the
creative
aging
programming
to
turn
their
handmade
paper
into
greeting
cards,
as
well
as
she
works
at
a
symbol
to
teach
kids
to
disassemble.
Stuffed
animals
put
them
back
together
in
different
forms
and
make
their
own
new
creations
through
sewing.
The
artist
of
the
maker
movement
are
connected
to
their
community
and
our
city.
They
contribute
their
personal
time
and
their
resources
to
a
number
of
our
projects,
their
component
of
what
helps
this
movement
progress
I'm
very
happy
and
feel
fortunate
to
work
closely
with
a
lot
of
these
makers
and
I.