This Weekend in Literary Pittsburgh

There's a lot coming up in Literary Pittsburgh this long weekend. Thursday morning, a new pop up bookstore opens for four days (9am-9pm). Named Clowder & Pack, the store will be located in the back of Cats & Dogs Coffeehouse at 4059  Penn Avenue, and proceeds will benefit Assemble.

Thursday night at 8:00pm, a four-man lineup of readers (poet GM Holder from Portland Oregon and locals Mike Knapps, Mark Mattern, and Robert Walicki) ends this season at The New Yinzer Presents reading series at ModernFormations. Read more at the TNY Presents blog.
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Friday night I'll be reading prose at the pop up bookstore with poet Lori Jakiela. (7:00pm) Check out the Clowder & Pack blog to find out about more talks and teach-ins that will be held there this weekend, including writing workshops and a book binding class.

Sunday night, one of Pittsburgh's newest reading series, Strange Animals, features one of Pittsburgh's newest small presses, Hyacinth Girl Press. Hambone's in Lawrenceville will host readers Juliet Cook, Sarah Kain Gutowski, Deena November, and Niina Pollari, followed by an Open Mic. 7:00pm.

Monday night, Garfield Artworks welcomes Soft Skull Press founder, Sander Hicks, into Pittsburgh as he tours the country with his newest book, Slingshot to the Juggernaut. Pittsburgh readers include Artnoose, Vince Eirene, & Joseph Flatley. 8:00pm.

GRRL Talk

Guest post by Kate Bechak



Emily Laychak wears her heart on her sleeve, sticks paintings on the wall and sculptures on the floor, and creates the distinct impression that she once drew a deep breath and then didn't exhale until a great golden aura filtered out of her pores and crystallized around her. In short, she's an inspirational person to meet. She's currently curating the show GRRLS GRRLS GRRLS! with work by Stephanie Woods and others, previously mentioned in this blog as part of Unblurred. The show will run at Garfield Artworks until August 29th, and her band Rock Rifle will open for Jessica Hopper and Katie Stelmanis this Friday at 6:30. I interviewed her via email:

What is your biggest challenge as an artist?

Money! And this is coming from an artist who works primarily with garbage, literally. Most of my materials are free. If you want to live under a roof and eat, you have to work, but being an artist is a fulltime job in itself. It takes a lot of time and energy to make art and organize shows, but one doesn't necessarily make money. I took off work a lot in the month leading up to the show-- and I have done that before, getting ready for shows, because I have needed the time to work on them -- and the consequence is being poor.
I do have a job in art, at Pittsburgh Children's Museum, but minimum wage requires you to work pretty much fulltime to live, and if you're working full time, you have no time to make your own art. Either you chose to have time for your creative self and barely make rent, or you live financially comfortably and exhaustedly watch television after work until bedtime. But that’s not a challenge specific to artists though, is it? That’s the challenge all people face as people: what are we living for?

Has working at the children’s museum affected what you think about artistic development?

Working at the children's museum is an eye-opening experience because I see firsthand how hard adults have to work to be creative and how often they stifle the natural creativity of their offspring. Children are a big influence in my art because we intuitively create -- we just see things, that’s all, and have ideas. I watch parents tell their kids what colors to pick for a project, for example, or even encourage their kids to copy from another kid's ideas. It’s pretty crazy. Kids do not need help to be creative, it’s really raw.

How well do you think our educational system arms artists with the tools they need to develop their work?

Art and creativity are underappreciated. When budgets are cut, what’s the first to go? My little brother’s elementary school doesn’t have art and music classes anymore! Of course they maintain gym classes and sports teams. This makes sense because what will the working adults watch on TV if we aren't training our children to be football players?

What is it about girls?

Well, girls aren't being trained for the NFL-- but I'm just using football as an example to illustrate a bigger point. Girls are disadvantaged all over the place. The history we learn in school is dangerously misleading, it leaves out many people who have contributed a great deal and keeps a whole lot of people from believing in their potential in every subject.

Do you see an intersection between your work as a fine artist and as a musical performer?

I make art and music because I have ideas. That is really all there is to it. I see things, hear things and then make them new things. I think that everyone could do this in one way or another if they were encouraged to, but they are not, and they lose it. I consider myself monumentally blessed to have this freedom. I want everyone to have this, whatever form their own ideas come in, to have the freedom to make them real and to share with other people. I especially want this for girls because girls are the most oppressed people there are, throughout all places and time.

Anyway, it’s really scary to share ideas because no one is asking for them. Of course, no one even knows about your ideas except for you, so why would they want them? But wouldn't it be great if a girl, instead of needing a diamond or cute shoes, if she needed her very own song, that she personally wrote, to sing?

August Unblurred

Good news! A few of the venues on Penn Ave are extending their regular gallery hours. Modern Formations has had gallery hours practically since its inception. Artica, who opened a year ago, has regular hours. Joining them this month is Most Wanted Fine Arts. That's a lot of action in two short blocks. The Pittsburgh Glass Center, which sits on the border of the Penn Ave corridor, has regular hours, too. So-ooo, it's nice to know that you can catch shows during the month instead of just on first Fridays!

Currently, Most Wanted Fine Arts has a photography group show with Kimberly Metcho, Jason Furda and Chris Sauer (from left to right below; click on thumbnails for a larger image).



Modern Formations is exhibiting --

“The Mr. Gerald Scoops Show” by Thad Dachille, portrays his imaginary cartoons coming to life. These new works, completed over the last year, continue to represent his interest in rendering imaginary cartoons with strange and sometimes vulgar personalities. More information on their site

The following work, Excited, is pretty representative of the works in the exhibit. Mr. Dachille has a great installation/assembly work in the back room. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a clear shot during the opening reception.



Artica is exhibiting --

AHA-Moments By Christine, a one-woman exhibition featuring the work of ARTica Gallery Director, Christine McCray-Bethea, who will showcase quirky, funky but always friendly salvage and fiber art from her African(American) Mask and Religion-at-glance series as well as her quilts and works on paper. More information here

Two samples of Ms. Bethea's engaging salvage work (click on thumbnails for details images) --



Really, these are worth going to see. Artica is an eclectic blend of art and collectibles, so be prepared to spend some time poking around!Ms. Bethea consistently exhibits work from local artistsat Artica in addition to her feature. You never know what you will run into.

This was an August Unblurred, so several artists studios as well as other venues typically open were not exhibiting this month. With tha said, I was pleasantly surprised to see the works in all of the venues. Again, most venues are only open for Unblurred, but most are happy to make an appoingment with you.

Garfield Artworks is exhibiting --

GRRLS GRRLS GRRLS!

A collaborative installation presented by Emily Laychak, Stephanie Woods and girlfriends, expressing a visual commentary on the state of girlhood. More information on their site

I really like the above work. Unfortunately, i cannot credit the artist since I couldn't locate an identifying tag. If it helps at all, Once I was wheeless, but then I found my wheels, was posted in proximity to this grouping. These very whimsical works were among the best at Garfield Artworks.

Imagebox had a great show this month, featuring another salvage artist, Robert Pfister. His work is very urban decay with all of the textures and color associated with the deterioration of abandoned metal (click on thumbnails for detailed images).



All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. The Penn Ave venues are really putting on some good exhibits. Hopefully we'll see more galleries and venues with regular gallery hours.

Jefferson Presents this Friday

Jefferson Presents...7th Anniversary
(#76)Friday 02/23/07, 8:00PM;
$5, $4 Students;

Garfield Artworks,
4931 Penn Ave.

Tons of great stuff-- so much that I couldn't cut and paste it in right.
Get your info here:

Last Call for Penn Ave.

Hopefully, my blog is not read by too many people other than artists, and some other marginal "art folks" here in Pittsburgh. If you are not one of them please ignore this post!!

So now, to the rest of you..... Please, Please, Please, if you are a sincere artist or gallerist-- buy your building on Penn in Garfield ASAP. And I mean f---n now.

People who have read my "talking to birds" ( more talking ) ( and more talking ) rants and my boiling frog flashbacks, might have some idea why I am here and my obsession with the idea that artist's need to take control of thier lives and own stakes in thier creative communities. Well one very important and wonderfully located place in Pittsburgh is having a last call or at least the signs of one are there.

This was an area of Pittsburgh that was and still is pretty raw, pretty poor and pretty rough. It was also, to anyone who looked at a map damn well located. One space there, Garfield Artworks has been shining a light here since the eighties as an exhibition and performance space. Then, sometime later; the idea of "saving" the area with art and artists seemed to gather steam.

I think that a lot of money was tossed around in grants with the idea of getting artists to move into the area. Honestly, a lot of the stuff that was written shows a gross attempt to use a few "creative" types to create a gentrification wave. But still as a whole , the idea was wise and logical in that the area already had a lot of artists, was well located in relation to Oakland and the colleges and was "artist" cheap. It was also severly depressed with many vacant buildings and a bad crime issue. Also, that artists were encouraged to buy into a nieghborhood was something very great.

The Pittsburgh Glass Center opened there a few years back making it home to some of the best Glass studio facilities in America. Even so, for many years, it seemed like very slow going attracting artists and almost all the other investors and businesses steered clear. The few positive things seemed very alone.

Well, on Sept 1, I will be going to the opening of Carolyn's Studio/exhibit space on Penn and from what I can see, the last call is coming soon. In the last few months a number of spaces have finally opened and the paint cans are out for several more. Most of these things are artist owned buildings and projects so they have nice shot at sustainablity. But, now one see,s the clear hand prints of the usual group of "developers" there. This is one of Pittsburghs most realistic shots at having a liveable and funtional art and gallery district and one that artists own and have a stake in. If after all the struggle and ground work artist's are pushed to the margin of this area it will be on them and I won't feel pitty when the fools start picking at thier wounds and scabs.

And as to you real estate types, you should realise that a lot of artists have serious drug problems and are crazy, just wait untill the first ear gets cut off and your investment will be down the tubes.