For Lease: Work Space/Artist Studio at The Steel Yard May 22, 2012

Work Space/Artist Studio at The Steel Yard (Providence’s West Side)

2800 square feet at Providence’s Steel Yard (www.thesteelyard.org).

Features:

Garage door, 3 ton overhead track crane

Great light (bank of windows and skylights), Concrete floor

Access to the Steel Yard’s shop/ equipment

This is ideal space for those undertaking large fabrication/sculpture.

Available for short term or long term lease.

$2,500-$3,000, incl. a month, negotiable depending on length of rental desired.

Call (401) 273 7101 or //' + emailE + '') //]]> ">

Now accepting applications for Camp Metalhead! May 15, 2012

Application Deadline: June 11, 2012

July 16th-July 27th, 2012 
9:00 am to 4:00 pm   Monday thru Friday 

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE!                                                                                                           

Camp Metalhead is a two-week intensive introduction to creative metal fabrication. Each morning offers a unique behind-the-scenes experience at a local manufacturing business or artist's studio.  The rest of the day is spent in the Steel Yard studio learning how to weld!

This program covers the basics of shop safety as well as various metal fabrication techniques including MIG welding and oxygen-acetylene torch cutting.  Metalheads will first practice their skills on their own individual project to take home. Then, as part of the program, they will move on to design and fabricate a piece of functional public art for a local neighborhood.  Past projects include: an information kiosk for Olneyville Square, gates for the Peace and Plenty Playground, trashcans for Onleyville Housing Corporation, a compost bin for D’Abate Elementary, and sculptures to sit atop columns for Grove Street Community Garden.

After successfully completing the program, Metalheads will have access to our Youth Open Studios free of charge for as long as they are in high school or under 18 years of age.  During these studio sessions, students can work on their own projects and spend time experimenting in our shop with the support and guidance of skilled monitors. 

Camp Metalhead applicants must be between the ages of 14 and 18. Preference will be given to Rhode Island applicants; financial assistance is only available to state residents. Enrollment is limited.

Participants will be selected based on their applications and letters of recommendation. After the Steel Yard subsidy, the cost of the program is $750.00 per student.

Applications for full or partial scholarships must be completed and returned to the Steel Yard by the camp application deadline.  Awards will be given in the form of waived or discounted registration fees and decisions will be made based on financial need and available funds.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the camp or the application.  You can reach the Program Director, Alma M. Carrillo, by phone at 401.273.7101 or by e-mail at

Camp Metalhead Application 2012 (pdf)  Application Deadline: June 11, 2012

We're hosting an Open House May 2, 2012

Friday, May 18th
5:30 - 8:00 PM
Free Admission

We hope you can join us for our upcoming Open House! This free event is a chance for you to come to the Steel Yard and explore all that we have to offer!

Have you always questioned what goes on at the Steel Yard, but never had a chance to swing by, or seen our logo on the handmade public furniture and amenities around Providence and wondered what it was all about? Then come to our open house and get to know us a little better! Even if you're familiar with the Steel Yard or have taken a class here, you should still swing by to hang out with great friends and fellow Yardies.  

At the Open House, we'll be offering demos in all media, offering studio tours, hosting a yard sale of tools, a Yardie art show, and an art and merchandise sale. You'll also get to check out our revamped jewelry studio and our new outdoor foundry studio.

Refreshments will be served.

Spring Courses Are Here! February 16, 2012

Our spring courses are now online!    

Have you made a New Year's Resolution yet? Make 2012 the best year ever by resolving to take a class at the Steel Yard! Registration is now available for our spring open enrollment courses. So, don't miss your chance to register to learn a new skill or add to your existing knowledge.

This spring we're offering a special blend of classes to suit any interest: blacksmithing, ceramics, foundry arts, glass, jewelry, painting, and welding. You could also take a class forging your own tools, or learn how to zombie proof your house by making custom window or door grates.  

>> For a  complete course listing, click here!

Help The Steel Yard Raise The Roof July 29, 2011

The beginning of summer brought some bad weather to the Ocean State, especially on June 8th when an overnight storm uprooted trees, knocked out power, flattened highway signs and billboards and caused many of us to run for cover in our basements.

One victim of that storm was the Steel Yard. Our Middle Studio lost one-half of its roof along with its skylights. The corrugated metal peeled back like a sardine can and landed out in the Yard.  Also damaged was the South Studio, home to tenant-sculptor Brower Hatcher’s Mid Ocean Studio. There, a tree broke off at the roof line and wedged itself into the skylight system cracking most of the glass. We are very grateful that no one was hurt and that the damage was not greater. But now our already leaky roof is completely compromised and it will not last another winter.

The Middle Studio is the center of our workforce training programs and our Public Projects fabrication-you know-those locally designed, sourced and built bike racks, trashcans, tree guards and fences that are found all across the state. We need this space to be fully operational to continue these critical programs that are training the next generation of skilled workers and keeping small scale manufacturing alive in Rhode Island.

While the Middle Studio is next on the site redevelopment schedule, the price tag-a whopping $280,000 is a long way from being raised. The loss of the roof changes our ability to wait until the rest of the funds are raised.

Insurance will cover replacement of the damaged portion of the roof but only to the extent of current conditions-and we are not willing to waste those funds.
SO, we have decided to raise the roof now, the right way – with insulated panels and plenty of day lighting to support our artists and fabricators working beneath.

The price to do this? $110,000

To date we have $30,000 committed to the roof-and we anticipate the insurance will cover an additional $30,000. That leaves $50,000 to raise.

A generous donor has come forward with a challenge gift.
For every two dollars we raise, our donor will match $1-up to $10,000
All we have to do is raise $40,000. Not much if we do it together!

So this is where you come in:

A gift of $20 will become $30
A gift of 50 will become $75
A gift of $100 will become $150

You get the picture.

To get the Yardie ball rolling, I’m making a gift of $100!
Every member of the Steel Yard board is also making a personally significant gift!

Won’t you join us?
A gift of any size will make a difference.
Together, I know we can do this.

Now it’s your turn! Please help us RAISE THE ROOF!

Storm Damage, South Studio

Storm Damage, Middle Studio

Apply to compete in IRON CHEF 2011! July 28, 2011

Applications are online to start or join a team and be a part of IRON CHEF 2011!  Last year's winners - Butcher Block Mill, LLC, headed by Curtis Aric - are back again to try and claim the title for the 2nd year in a row. 

Think you have what it takes to be crowned the next Iron Chef?  Apply now by downloading the application below.

Click to view larger.

Download the team application: Iron Chef Application 2011 (pdf)

Books Beneath the Beams July 1, 2011

On Saturday, July 9th, the Steel Yard welcomes authors Jane Hamilton, Ann Hood, Tom Perrotta, and Anita Shreve to share their work with the public at a free event from 12-4 pm. ‘Books Beneath the Beams’ is presented in partnership with the Providence Community Library and is the first program of what the Steel Yard plans to develop into an annual series of literary gatherings. The day will conclude with a reception and a chance to tour the Steel Yard’s campus and studios.  Books will be available for sale throughout the day through Island Books of Middletown. This program is made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Cruise Night June 22, 2011

The Steel Yard is happy to announce it’s 6th annual Cruise Night car show and fundraiser!  The Steel Yard’s 2011 Cruise Night will bring over 70 custom and classic vehicles and over 150 people to the unique site in an evening of polished chrome, raffle prizes, studio tours, food sold by the famous Haven Brothers and greasy grooves spun by The Colonel.

Part of the Works in Progress 2011 fundraising event series, Cruise Night will take place on Friday, July 15th, from 5 pm to dark.  Each year, the event has grown consistently bigger, bringing together more classic car and bike enthusiasts from throughout the region in an old school rendezvous and show off.

The Steel Yard, located at the historic Providence Steel and Iron site, is a non-profit organization offering arts and technical training programs designed to increase opportunities for cultural and artistic expression, career-oriented training, and small business incubation.  The Yard encompasses 2 acres of newly rehabilitated space in Providence’s industrial Valley district that includes a 10,000 square foot industrial shop, artist studios and small business and non-profit offices.

Cruise Night at the Steel Yard
Friday, July 15th 5PM – Dark
Rain Date: Saturday, July 16th
Free Admission

A Call to Artists: City of Providence, National Grid Team Up on Public Art Project to Encourage Energy Efficiency and Recycling June 7, 2011

The City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and National Grid are proud to announce a Call to Artists, inviting diverse Providence and Rhode Island artists and art associations from to submit their concepts for the Fine Art of Recycling campaign.

This campaign will unite a passion for energy efficiency with the city’s longstanding support of creativity and artistic excellence.

In June, the top 10 artists/art associations will begin to put their creative imprints on ten refrigerators that will be placed throughout Downtown Providence for the summer months of 2011. National Grid has developed this “cool idea” to raise awareness of energy efficiency and recycling and to support local culture and the arts.

National Grid has partnered with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its Responsible Appliance Disposal Program (RAD) to reduce emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases through the collection and proper disposal of refrigerated appliances.

Mayor Angel Taveras has pledged to reduce the city’s carbon footprint by signing the Climate Protection Agreement first endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2005, which urges federal and state governments to enact policies that will meet or beat the target of reducing global warming pollution levels to 7 below 1990 levels by 2012.

“This project is a great way to call attention to energy inefficiency and highlight the work of our incredible creative community,” said Mayor Taveras. “We are very pleased to be working with National Grid on this important and timely issue.”

Artists of all ages are encouraged to submit their designs to this competition. Selected artists will be paid a $750 stipend. National Grid and the City will be responsible for installing the works.

The request for proposals can be accessed here.

The deadline for proposals is June 8, 2011.

ABOUT NATIONAL GRID

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

Camp Metalhead Applications - Due June 12 June 1, 2011

APPLICATIONS FOR CAMP METALHEAD 2011 ARE DUE BY JUNE 13TH  

Camp  Metalhead is a two week intensive introduction to creative metal  fabrication for youth ages 14 to 18.  Each morning offers a unique behind-the-scenes experience  at a local manufacturing business or artist's studio.  The rest of the  time is spent in the Steel Yard studio learning how to weld! Camp  Metalhead covers the basics of shop safety as well as various metal  fabrication techniques including MIG welding and oxygen-acetylene torch  cutting.  At the end of the program, participants design and fabricate a  piece of functional public art to be installed locally.    

New This Year
2011 marks the program's first year of offering two camp sessions on a  needs-based and scholarship model. In an attempt to meet the growing  demand for this program, we have decided to adopt a model which will  allow us to simultaneously serve both those who may benefit from the  camp but can afford to attend, as well as those who will benefit but  cannot otherwise afford to attend.

This  change is the direct result of the camp's popularity, the fundraising  competitiveness the Steel Yard is facing, and the increasing diversity  of students we serve-students whose diversity is not necessarily in line  with financial resources (as was true in our early years). Camp  Metalhead began out of the Steel Yard's desire to offer underserved high  school youth a summer opportunity like no other. Over the past five  years, parents, teachers, and youth have persuaded us with compelling  applications to look beyond financial need to select students who can  benefit by participating in Camp Metalhead.  We are committed to make  this camp accessible; students will have the opportunity to apply for  financial aid or to apply as paying students.  Awards will be given in  the form of waived or discounted registration fees and decisions will be made based on financial need and available funds.

Participants  will be selected based on their applications and letters of  recommendation.  After the Steel Yard subsidy, the cost of the program  is $750.00 per student. Scholarships are available.  Applications for full or partial scholarships must be completed and returned to the Steel Yard by the  camp application deadline.   

Application Deadline: June 13, 2011  
Session 1: July 18th-July 29th, 2011
Session 2: August 1st- August 12, 2011
9:00 am to 4:00 pm   Monday - Friday     

>> Download the application
>> Click here for more

Artists Working Shirts May 18, 2011

New Steel Yard tee shirts designed by our own Howie Sneider!

These shirts feature the "Artists Working" graphic on the front printed in yellow and black, with the Steel Yard logo and website on the back.  Printed on an army green 100% cotton Guildan or Anvil brand shirt.

Click here for more information and to order.

Camp Metalhead Applications - Now Online May 11, 2011

Applications for Camp Metalhead are now online! 

Fill yours out and return it by June 13th.

Read more here.

Camp Metalhead Application 2011 (pdf)

Clay-Dough May 4, 2011

Remember how much fun it was to play with clay?  Spend the evening in a fun and relaxed studio environment hand-building, wheel-throwing, pot-pinching and more.  

Bring the kids! Bring a date!  Bring your friends!

Refreshments will be available by donation.  

Saturday, May 21st from 4 – 7pm
Throughout the evening, shop hand-crafted ceramic goods made by our Ceramics Cooperative members, tour the site and check out the progress on our outdoor foundry.

*Work created during Clay-Dough is not fired, but recycled and re-used in our courses. 

$20 for adults and $10 for kids 10 and under.

The Steel Yard
27 Sims Avenue, Providence 
401-273-7101

VISTA // Socrates Sculpture Park April 27, 2011

Howie Sneider is taking part in an upcoming show at Socrates Sculpture Park.  May 8 - August 7, 2011.  Opening reception May 8th from 2 - 6 PM. 

Ivan Argote
Jillian Conrad
Priscila De Carvalho
Blane De St. Croix
Michael Clyde Johnson
Leif Low-Beer
Steven Millar
Slinko
Howie Sneider
Rob Swainston
Jason Tomme

Culture Stops! March 9, 2011

change.org

Registration is now open for our Spring/Summer course season! February 22, 2011

Registration is now open for the Steel Yard's Spring / Summer Course Season!
We cannot wait for our studio to start humming with creative activity this season--it's time to get our torches, forges, and kilns fired up!

Check out our courses page for the full lineup of offerings in Welding, Ceramics,Blacksmithing, Jewelry, and Glass. You'll find some great new opportunities like:

Introduction to Welding: Using Found Objects
Introduction to Welding: Thinking 3-D
Building Freak Bikes
Jewelry Fabrication: The Basics
Casting: Jewelry and other Small Objects
Stained Glass
Slip Casting
Glass Casting
Rubber Mold and Plastic Sculpture

Courses fill fast, so be sure to visit our website to register soon.

We can't wait to see you in the studio!

Community Activists: Rising from the Ashes February 1, 2011

Thanks to the vision of two young developers, a former industrial complex now stands as a model for neighborhood revival.

By Kristi Cameron
Posted January 17, 2011

Few places have a greater industrial legacy than Providence, Rhode Island. A succession of textile, jewelry, and metal fabricators made the city prosperous in the 18th and 19th centuries, but their subsequent decline left behind some 250 vacant mills, not to mention a hole in the economy. The working-class Valley and Olneyville neighborhoods on the banks of the Woonasquatucket River are full of these buildings, and it’s here that a nonprofit artists’-colony-cum-trade-school called the Steel Yard has forged a development model that’s not only deeply rooted in the city’s manufacturing past but fosters the creative community Providence is placing its bets on today.

The Steel Yard consists of two modest clusters of brick-and-aluminum buildings that frame a large patchwork of grassy and paved grounds. Though it just had its ribbon cut-ting last September, nothing about the site looks new or polished. That’s partially due to circumstance—the completion of a major landscape-remediation effort has, for the moment, drained the organization—and partially by design: the site is meant to host get-your-hands-dirty industrial-arts classes and large-scale fabrication projects. In short, the Steel Yard is not your typical factory-to-condo conversion.

“I’ve been very critical of developers who maxed out these older mill sites, where every inch is somehow built on,” says Drake Patten, the executive director of the Steel Yard. “What I’ve learned in doing this project is that there’s a reason for that. It’s impossible to clean up these sites with-out spending an extraordinary amount of money. If the Steel Yard founders had done a business plan, this place couldn’t have happened.”

Instead of a business plan, the founders—Clay Rockefeller, a 32-year-old Brown graduate and the great-great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller, and Nick Bauta, a 34-year-old RISD graduate and the grandson of the Canadian food magnate W. Garfield Weston—started in 2001 with some big ideas and enough money to acquire the $1.4 million, three-acre Providence Steel & Iron complex at 27 Sims Avenue. “We wanted to approach the question of what to do with a historically industrial property in light of the changes to the area,” Rockefeller says. “I was particularly interested in what the next successful model for industry would look like, and if it could be sustainable in a scaled-down way that focused on local markets.”

Two events influenced them. The previous summer Rockefeller spent a day volunteering at the Crucible, a beloved institution in Oakland, California, that offers affordable classes in and studio space for the industrial arts. “Something there clicked for me,” he says. “I became hyperaware of the importance of being part of a healthy ecosystem. I’d valued community my entire life, but I hadn’t given much thought 
to how to cultivate it. This was the first time I began to aggressively explore the role of physical space as it pertains to community.” The idea of creating a collaborative environment where people could support one another in the act of making things took root.

Back in Providence that fall, a controversy erupted over plans to replace Eagle Square, a collection of 14 mill buildings in Olneyville that were home to an influential underground art and music scene (members of the band Lightning Bolt were early residents), with a shopping center. People stormed a city-hall hearing to fight both the destruction of the mills and their own displacement. At the time, Mayor Buddy Cianci was experiencing a backlash against the city’s much lauded efforts to rejuvenate downtown, an effort that had, since 1976, rid the core of the train tracks that once isolated the statehouse, relocated the confluence of the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers, and uncovered the paved-over Providence River. But it was all accomplished, people began 
to feel, at the expense of outlying neighborhoods.

The hearing resulted in a modification to the development plans, leaving some of the old buildings intact. But more important, it catalyzed Providence into rethinking the value of its industrial architecture. 
In short order, the mills qualified for landmark designation, historic-preservation tax credits, and zoning exemptions that allowed for residential conversions. Eager to ensure that some of the buildings remained accessible to artists, Rockefeller partnered with three Valley residents to convert the nearby Armington & Sims Engine Company building into artists’ live-work spaces, now called Monohasset Mill. But even before the project was finished, he realized the work was so expensive that he couldn’t offer as much affordable space to the creative community that he had hoped to. So later in 2001, when he and Bauta—both metal sculptors—learned that the Providence Steel & Iron property next door was for sale, they jumped at the chance to buy it. “We had a perfect reason to save it,” Bauta says. “It’s a beautiful example of a working industrial site. And it’s right in the heart of the area that has always been full of artists.”

They established a private foundation and began to offer welding space, using existing equipment and Bauta’s own tools. After plugging along as a ragtag band of artists and fabricators, Bauta and Rockefeller brought on Patten in 2005 to help the organization “grow up.” With a modest $400,000 annual operating budget (collected through a combination 
of revenue raised on-site and philanthropic grants), Patten oversaw the development of youth programs and classes in ceramics, glass, jewelry, blacksmithing, and welding.

One of the Steel Yard’s most financially successful initiatives is the Public Projects program, which has landed 90 contracts to make street furniture, including five separate jobs for the Providence Downtown Improvement District. “I put a bid for trash receptacles out to five companies, and the Steel Yard won in a competitive process,” says Frank LaTorre, PDID’s director for public space. “I was happy about that. Why contract to a huge company in Minnesota when we have a nonprofit down the street?”

The Public Projects program pays folks like Tim Ferland, who learned to fabricate and weld at the Steel Yard, to pro-duce the furniture. “I was a bar-back when a friend introduced me to the Steel Yard,” says Ferland, who has since parlayed his newfound skills into a career and his own business, Metal Tooth Fabrication. “If it wasn’t for them, I definitely wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.”

Despite such successes, the Steel Yard faced one major hurdle to moving forward: it was sitting on a contaminated site that would cost $1.2 million to clean up. “We could receive no bank loans, no major capital-improvement foundations would even talk to us, and our insurance was deadly expensive,” Patten says. They did have one thing going for them: being a nonprofit allowed the Steel Yard to secure a total of $600,000 worth of Environmental Protection Agency brownfield-redevelopment funds in 2007, costs a commercial developer would have had to assume and recoup through sales. It was enough to get the ball rolling, but it took two years to get the necessary permits, due to a perceived conflict in 
the plan, developed by Klopfer Martin Design Group, which proposed naturally filtering storm water while keeping the toxic soil on-site (a choice that was cheaper and more philosophically acceptable to the group than dumping it in someone else’s backyard).

Patten fought for their vision, navigating the sometimes competing concerns of the Rhode Island EPA, the Department of Environmental Management, the Coastal Resources Management Council, and the Narragansett Bay Commission. Last fall, after nine months of construction, KMDG finally delivered a landscape flexible enough to accommodate every-thing from public gatherings to a large delivery of steel while preserving the untamed culture of the Steel Yard. “Everyone was afraid that the place would change,” says Kaki Martin, a principal of KMDG. “We worked hard to make sure there was room for that spontaneous, wild urban character to return.”

No longer “rusty and sharp,” as Rockefeller describes the property’s original state, the Steel Yard is primed to draw more visitors. But Patten still needs to raise the million-plus dollars necessary to update and weatherize the buildings. Fortunately, the Steel Yard team has come to embrace a slow-growth approach to development. “The end product that 
we have collectively created is better because it has taken us so long,” Rockefeller says. “It has allowed us to respond to the ways people interact with us rather than air-dropping this thing in.”

There are still an estimated 90 underused or vacant mills in the city. The Steel Yard approach certainly isn’t the most profitable model for developing them—only now, after ten years, have the partners come close to recouping their initial investment. What they have done, however, has resulted in rich rewards for the local community and the city as a whole. Artists now have a stable place to work that “has relieved some anxiety about where they’ll end up next,” says David Cicilline, the former mayor who was elected to Congress last November. The Steel Yard has also paved the way for other noncommercial programs, including the Paul Cuffee Maritime charter school, which inhabits an old bus-depot maintenance facility down the street.

Most important, the Steel Yard has helped change the way Providence, which rebranded itself the Creative Capital in 2009, sees development. “Having the people at the Steel Yard debate with us and present options for building off the arts community has forced us to think differently about who we are as a city,” says Thomas Deller, who heads Providence’s planning department. “It’s making us consider how we can use this example to do other things.” Cicilline goes further: “We embedded lessons from the Steel Yard in the city’s comprehensive plan, so it will have an impact on the process for a long time.”

Read the original article here.

Pumpkin Launch Dates August 25, 2010

Check out upcoming events for the Heritage Resoration trebuchet!

Iron Chef 2010 August 11, 2010

Saturday September 25th, 12:00pm - 5:00PM

Free Admission

Teams of artists and fabricators compete in our 3rd annual head-to-head sculpture competition.  After the main event, stick around for the sculpture auction where you'll have a chance to big on your favorite piece!  Food and refreshments will be available by local food vendors. 

12:00 PM - Join us in celebrating our recently completed environmental cleanup at our official ribbon cutting ceremony!

1:00 - 5:00 - Iron Chef

Check out some pictures from last year's competition: Iron Chef Flickr

Cruise Night 2010 Video July 21, 2010

Check out Rob Houllahans's super 8 video from last week's Cruise Night.  Thanks Rob!

SY Cruise Night 2010 from Robert Houllahan on Vimeo.

Clay-Doh June 18th June 10, 2010

Get ready for the next Works in Progress fundraising event - Clay-Doh - at the Steel Yard.  Clay-Doh is your chance to experiment and play with clay in a fun and casual atmosphere.  Work created during the event is not fired, but gets reused by our classes and ceramic cooperative members. 

Clay-Doh is a great way to spend an evening doing something a little out of the ordinary.  Invite your significant other for a memorable date (think Ghost) or forget the baby-sitter for the night and bring the whole family down where there's something for everyone.  With plenty of ways to get your hands dirty, drinks for kids and adults, good music and great conversation, Clay-Doh is fun for kids and adults alike! 

Available for purchase at the bowl sale will be ceramic bowls, cups and more created by our own cooperative residents. On top of that, your admission helps support Steel Yard programming. 

June 18th, 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
27 Sims Avenue (north end of the studio, in the ceramics department)
Beverages - Snacks - Music - Clay!
$20 for Adults, $10 for kids 10 and under
Tickets available at the door

Clay-Doh / June 18th

Cruise Night June 9, 2010

Mercantile Block - Sneak Preview This Weekend June 2, 2010

AS220's new live studios at the Mercantile Block in downtown Providence are expected to be ready this October.  Get a sneak peek this weekend from 1 - 3 PM on Saturday and Sunday. 

Full scoop here: http://www.as220.org/about/the-mercantile-block.html

Clay Doh - May 14th! May 11, 2010

Clay-Doh - May 14thRound up your family and get ready for the first Works in Progress fundraising event of 2010 ... Clay-Doh! Have you ever wanted to try your luck at throwing a ceramic pot, or maybe, let your kids experiment with hand forming clay - somewhere other than in your living room? Clay-Doh is here to help!

With plenty of ways to get your hands dirty, drinks for kids and adults, good music and great conversation, Clay-Doh is fun for the whole family. Available for purchase at the bowl sale will be ceramic bowls, cups and more created by our own cooperative residents. On top of that, your admission helps support Steel Yard programming.

We hope to see you in the studio this May!

May 14th, 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
27 Sims Avenue (north end of the studio, in the ceramics department)
Beverages - Snacks - Music - Clay!
$20 for Adults, $10 for kids 10 and under
Tickets available at the door

Looks Like A Bad Sign May 1, 2010

A benefit in support of the Steel Yard

May 1st, 2010, 7 PM - 12 AM
1 Sims AvenueFood - Drinks - Bands
$10 (free admission to the gallery)
Tickets available at the door

Music: Villainer (formerly the Hollows) & Deleted Arrows

Artists: Becky Ilsley, Shawn Gilhenney, Tom West, Greg Penniston, Enamel Kingdom, Brian Dowling, Stephen Holding, Susan Dansereau, Nathan Nadeau, Howie Sneider, Christina Sciullo

Sponsors: 1 Sims, Hot Club, Julians, Narragansett Beer

Snacks by Robot Treats Baking Co

Looks Like A Bad Sign

Registration is now open for our Spring/Summer course season! February 12, 2010

We cannot wait for our studio to start humming with creative activity this season--it’s time to get our torches, forges, and kilns fired up!

Check out our courses page for the full lineup of offerings in Welding, Ceramics, Blacksmithing, Jewelry, and Glass. In addition to our regular introductory courses you’ll find some great new opportunities like:

•    Building Bike Trailers
•    Stained Glass
•    Hollowware
•    Glass Casting
•    Making Jewelry: Becoming a Small Business

Courses fill fast, so be sure to register soon.
 
We hope to see you in the studio!

Holiday Craft Sale December 15, 2009

Our Ceramics and Jewelry Cooperatives put together a holiday craft show at White Electric this Sunday! 

Check it out for handmade ceramic goods and jewelry from Steel Yard artists and instructors.

December 20th, 5pm - 9pm

White Electric, 711 Westminster Street

Ceramics Cooperative Member Search! December 9, 2009

The Steel Yard is currently seeking applications for our Ceramics Cooperative.  The Ceramics Cooperative is designed to assist emerging to mid-level artists in growing and strengthening their creative practice in a supportive, cooperative environment. We encourage artists to work together, learn from each other and collaborate in the development of a strong Steel Yard ceramics department.

To find out more information, click here.

Download the application here: Ceramics Cooperative Contract 2010 (doc)

Iron Pour 2009 October 7, 2009

Watch the Iron Guild fire up their furnaces for the 4th annual molten metal spectacular.  Also for sale will be ceramic goods made by Steel Yard ceramic artists.

Friday October 30th
Doors at 6 PM
Performance begins at 7 PM

$7 to enter

Rain Date: Saturday October 31st

Want to help out?  Contact .

Call for Entries - Architectural Ceramics September 22, 2009

Artists working in the ceramics medium are invited to submit works for inclusion in Architectural Ceramics, an exhibit that will run from November 5th, through December 2nd, 2009. The exhibition explores works which relate to interior space which may include decorative elements incorporated into buildings or created as site-specific free-standing sculptures.  Large to small scale installations works will also be considered. National Deadline: October 10th, 2009

Juried Selection process with guest juror: Stephen Oliver, architecture/furniture design. Founding artist of Affinity Arts in Maine. 

Entry Fees:  $12 for 1st entry, $20 for 2nd, $25 for 3rd.  Prized will be awarded.

Application
Submit completed entry form (download on website www.mudstonestudios.com), artist statement & resume, required images and installation requirements, to: or Mail to Ellen Blomgren, Mudstone Studios, 30 Cutler St. box #8, Warren, RI  028855

E-mail with  jpeg attachments.
          * In the Subject, put “Artist Submission”
          * In the Body of the e-mail include the following info:
                + Web Address if you have one
                + Contact Information (name, email address, phone, etc.)
                + Title, size, medium, year, and other pertinent info about the work sent.
                + A brief description of your art, and short bio.
          * File attachment requirements:
                + JPEG files only. Images should be no larger than 3 MB each.
             
Artwork delivery/return and installation  

• Gallery Specs:17' x 24' plus 10 1/2' x 10 1/2' - 10' height
• Mudstone reserves the right to reject any work that significantly differs from the entry images/proposals.
• Shipped work must be sent in a reusable container with pre-paid return shipping. Work will be returned in same manner as delivered, via UPS or USPS.
• Accepted works will remain on display for the duration of the exhibition, November 5th - December 2nd. 
• All unaccepted work must be picked up by October 20th

Sale of work

• Mudstone Gallery will retain a 30% commission of the listed sale price.

Important Dates

• October 10th, 2009: final entry submission deadline
• October 28th - November 1st 2009: delivery of accepted work
• November 5th - November 29th: Architectural Ceramics exhibition dates 
• November 5th: Architectural Ceramics Opening 7:00 -9:00 pm
• December 2nd: artwork picked up

Gallery contact info:
Mudstone Studios & Gallery
30 Cutler St
Warren, RI  02885

www.mudstonestudios.com


(401) 297-9412

Iron Chef & Steel Yard BBQ September 16, 2009

Works in Progress - Iron Chef & BBQ

Teams of artists and fabricators compete in our 2nd annual head-to-head sculpture competition.  Enjoy grilled goodies and stick around for the Iron Chef sculpture auction.  Also for sale will be ceramic goods made by Steel Yard ceramic artists.

Saturday September 12th from 1pm - 5pm

$20 for adults, $10 for kids 10 and under

Interested in helping out?  Contact

Rain Date: Saturday September 19th, 1 pm - 5pm

Cruise Night 2009 September 1, 2009

Works in Progress - Cruise Night 2009

Our 4th Annual classic car, custom, and bicycle show.  Bring the whole family for an evening of polished chrome, music, refreshments, raffle prizes and studio tours.  Music by Johnny "The Colonel" Maguire. 

Free to the public!

Rain Date: September 10th, from 5PM - Dark

Intersted in helping out?  Contact

Arts Day July 21, 2009

Elisa from the 21st Community Learning Center writes to ask for artist participation in this year's Arts Day:

Arts Day is a morning where artists from various mediums work with a group of up to 10 to 12 students for about in 1.5 hrs.  Students are able to learn about the artist's educational background, current and past work experiences, and create a demo of the artist's current work. In the past years they have invited dancers, painters, jewelry designers, and story tellers.  Students truly enjoy the hands on learning and showcases their work towards the end of the morning.

There is no compensation for the artist's time, but will reimburse for supplies relating to the demonstration. 

If any of you artists out there are interested in sharing your work with some eager young minds and making a lasting difference please contact Elisa at
.

Currently Accepting Jewelry Cooperative Applications June 23, 2009

Jewelers at work

Are you interested in becoming more involved with our jewelry studio or gaining 24 hour access to our facilities?  We are currently looking for cooperative members and a program coordinator. 

Read more here.

Camp Metalhead Applications Due Monday! June 10, 2009

Interested in art?  Want to learn how to make things out of metal?  Come to the Steel Yard!  Camp Metalhead is a FREE two-week long intensive introduction to creative metal fabrication from July 20th to 31st, 2009.  You will learn about the history and profession of metalworking in Providence and beyond.  Each morning, you get a behind-the-scenes experience at a local manufacturing business or artist’s studio.  The rest of the day is spent learning how to weld!  You will learn the basics of shop safety and various metal fabrication techniques including MIG welding and oxyacetylene torch cutting.  At the end of the program, you will design and fabricate a piece of functional public art to be installed in the community.

To attend Camp Metalhead, you must be between the ages of 14 and 18.  You can be male or female, and you do not have to be currently in school. Enrollment is limited. Preference is given to those living in Providence and from local public schools.  You do not need to have any related experience!

Download more information here: Camp Metalhead Brochure 2009 (pdf)

Download the complete application here: Camp Metalhead Application 2009 (pdf)

Steel Yard VISTA search! May 6, 2009

The Steel Yard is looking for our next full-time Americorps VISTA to join our team! 

Apply Before May 29th! 

Start Date: August 27th 

Description: 
The Steel Yard is looking for a VISTA who will assist with the organization's programming, outreach, and resource development. Specifically, the VISTA will work with staff members to increase outreach to local schools and youth partners, increase our volunteer capacity, and research both grant and workforce development opportunities. Duties will also include managing course registrations and assisting with Steel Yard public programs. We are looking for someone with a strong interest in the intersection of arts and community development and a desire to learn more about the inner workings of a nonprofit organization. An ability to speak Spanish is helpful but not required.

Benefits: 
Living Allowance, Health Coverage, Training, and a choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend.

Applications Due by May 29th! 
See the full description of service and apply through Americorps on-line.
For more information, e-mail us at

New Site Launch! May 1, 2009

It's May 1st, and the new Steel Yard site is officially on-line!
For all of our sweet new features, check out the info page.
Something broken?  Oops!  Tell me about it: .