Pittsburgh, PA

Even though I haven’t been to the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts since high school, I’ve noticed they have been doing some interesting work there and I thought I’d help spread the word.

Here’s just some of the things I suggest checking out:

Adult & Summer Classes: For anyone who misses art class in high school or college or always wanted to experiment with painting or any artistic medium, these classes could be the solution. The PCA offers both adult and youth classes, as well as hosting a workshop for younger children in the summer.

Adult classes offered include, printmaking and book arts, ceramics and sculpture, creative writing, decorative and fiber arts, jewelry and metal arts, as well as media and photographic arts. Neat!

For a complete schedule of classes offered at the PCA, click here. Even though the deadline for Winter classes has passed, there is still time to register for the Spring classes. For information on the children’s Summer Camp click here.

PCA Shop: The PCA is currently working on building a consignment based media shop, which will feature local books, zines, dvds, cds and other items that fit into this category. It sounds like a really neat idea and a great way to support the local art, music and film scene.

Their website says the deadline for submitting work was February 15th, but the City Paper says February 29th, so if you’re really interested, you may want to contact them and see if it’s not too late to submit work. For more information, go here.

Current Shows:

Icons and Incongruities: Photographs from America’s Heartland by Jim Schafer

The photography show runs from February 8th until April 13th and features photographs of “simpler times” and small mid-western towns. The prints are in color, as well as in black and white and contain images of abandoned buildings, which happen to be a personal favorite subject matter of mine.

Admission is a $5 suggested donation and hours are as follows:
Monday- closed
Tues-Sat- 10-5pm
Sunday- 12-5pm

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is the bright yellow building located at 6300 Fifth Ave in Shadyside. If you’ve ever been to Shadyside, you probably know where I mean, but to be more specific, it’s at the intersection of 5th and Shady Avenue.

For more information on the AAP show visit my previous post and for the PCA click here.

Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Shadyside, art, classes, photography

Head out to the I Made It! Mine craftshow this Saturday at the Union Project in Highland Park. As always you’ll find a wide assortment of crafts, clothing and household accessories and this time, you’ll also be able to check out the Union Project as well.

The Union Project involves an effort on the part of its members to bring together the surrounding neighborhoods and to promote creativity, diversity and togetherness. Their mission statement is as follows:

The Union Project serves as a highly visible catalyst for neighborhood redevelopment and historic preservation on a large scale – and will develop the hearts, minds and skills of community members along with the physical space. The Union Project represents the best of Pittsburgh’s creative thinking, action and investment. This community-supported project will only exponentially increase its impact as funds are raised and capital work is completed to transform and reuse this important building.

I’ve been wanting to check out this building/project for awhile now, so it looks like I just got my chance!

The Union Project is located at 801 N. Negley and I Made It! is from 12-5. For more information on the craftshow go here and for more information on the Union Project, visit their website here.

This weekend also brings the Associated Artist show, which features 97 works from 66 artists from the area. It’s in celebration of Pittsburgh 250 and is being held at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts in Shadyside. The reception is this Friday from 5:30-8pm, however future viewings will be possible up until March 9th.

The exhibit is located at the Marshall building which is at 6300 Fifth Avenue. For more information, visit the Associated Artist site here, as well as the Pittsburgh Galleries site for other local art events.

And if these two events don’t keep you busy this weekend, you can always go see the Vagina Monologues at the City Theater! For more information, visit last week’s post on the play here.

Pittsburgh, I Made It!, craft show, Union Project, crafts, Highland Park, Associated Artists, Pittsburgh Galleries, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Shadyside, art

A couple of years ago, the Art’s Festival on Walnut Street combined with the one on Ellsworth in an attempt to make a fun time for all! It’s this weekend and starts on Friday and ends Sunday around 5pm. It’s a lot of fun and the weather is supposed to be fantastic at least on Saturday and Sunday, so there’s no excuse not to go. Unless you’re going to Oktoberfest all three days, in which case, you are excused.

Here are the official hours/directions,etc:
Friday 12-9pm, Saturday 10am-9pm & Sunday 10am-5pm.
The Walnut Street festival stretches from S. Aiken to S. Negley and the Ellsworth one, is obviously on Ellsworth, which is close by. Just googlemap the area if you’re confused.

If you want to check out some of the artists participating in the Walnut Street one, go to their website here. (Don’t ask me how they were able to acquire such a common domain name).

Shadyside Arts Festival, Shadyside, Pittsburgh, art, music, Ellsworth, Walnut, food

The last weekend of Walnut Street’s Block Party is this Saturday and will feature great music, food, drinks and more! Make sure you check out the local establishments as well, including the Walnut Grill, Shady Grove and Doc’s Place.

The bands slated to play include the Bill Deasey Band with a special guest star Kelsey Friday and also Rob and Greg, members of the Clarks.

The event is between 7-11pm on obviously, Walnut Street in Shadyside. Proceeds benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Let’s hope it doesn’t rain!!

Walnut Street, Shadyside, Pittsburgh, music, food, bars, Bill Deasey, Kelsey Friday, the Clarks, Walnut Grill, Shady Grove, Doc’s Place

Saturday night around 10pm there was a three alarm fire in Pittsburgh and it took out one of my all-time favorite places, The Harris Grill in Shadyside. You can read a story I wrote about the place a year ago at MrBaconpants.com.

Click here to watch the KDKA News story.

This is a said day for bacon lovers everywhere, where Harris Grill used to have a free bacon night every Tuesday night.

I am glad to know that no one got hurt in the fire and I am even happier to know that the owner of the building is going to rebuild. So maybe the Harris Grill and Bacon night will be back sometime next year.

Bacon Night, Harris Grill, Pittsburgh, Shadyside, fire, bacon lovers, 3 alarm fire, kdka