Special Projects
Scroll through a collection of past creative projects, many of which have engaged the public or specific communities. My impulse for community art is to create the world I want to see. Often, my goal is to create new connections between people or strengthen existing ones.
Falk Legacy Project
As an artist-in-residence at The Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, I assisted the 8th-grade class in creating their Legacy Project for their 2024 graduation. Under the tutelage of art educator Cheryl Capezzuti, I led the class in creating a multi-dimensional tapestry of punch needle embroidery, incorporating creatures of the water, land, and sky, both real and imagined. This tapestry is now permanently installed at Falk to commemorate the graduating class of 2024.
Cultural Mosaic Project
For the Cultural Mosaic project, I taught 20 fiber art workshops in punch rug technique to women in Turkish and Ukrainian immigrant communities in Pittsburgh. As both rug making and embroidery feature prominently in Turkish and Ukrainian cultures, learning this new fiber art form allowed the groups to express a blending of traditional and modern cultures. The project culminated in two exhibitions for these artists, providing additional income through sales: Cultural Mosaic at the main branch of the Carnegie Library in October 2023 and Common Threads at Studio Forget Me Not in Carnegie, PA, in November 2023. The Fiber Arts Guild of Pittsburgh coordinated the project in partnership with JFCS Immigrant & Refugee Services. Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp, Awesome Pittsburgh, and the Fiber Arts Guild of Pittsburgh provided funding.
Drawn Together
Drawn Together: A Coming of Middle Age Story in 62 Portraits is a collaborative project created by artist Suzanne Werder and me during the COVID-19 Pandemic. During January 2022, we drew each other every day, resulting in 31 unique portraits of one another. We exhibited our work at UnSmoke Art Systems in Braddock, PA, in April 2022.
We created half of the portraits during the live drawing sessions at my home, while the other half were made from selfie photos sent to each other. The result is an intimate investigation into our everyday lives and the nuances and subtle changes that occur in each person over time.
Portraits on Penn
During the summer of 2019, as a Futuremakers Fellow at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, I drew 100 portraits of strangers on Penn Avenue in East Liberty and Garfield.
I planned to select individuals to draw and interview about gentrification. But, to engage people authentically, I needed to set aside my agenda and shift the power. Instead of choosing people, I made myself vulnerable outside with a “Free Portraits” sign. People freely gave me their time, conversation, and trust, then walked away with a free portrait. I had the honor of encountering so many beautiful faces and stories and creating something meaningful for someone I may never see again. The community shaped the project.
Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
In 2019, I received a Fine Foundation Artist Residency at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. During my residency, I introduced visitors to my work, led drawing workshops, and taught museum visitors how to transform their drawings into textiles by using punch needle embroidery. The result was two large collaborative tapestries created by myself and visiting children.
Airport Portrait Project
In the fall of 2018, I made regular visits to Pittsburgh International Airport, drawing a total of 65 portraits of passengers. My goal was to learn more about the people who fly in and out of Pittsburgh and their travel experiences. I asked each passenger the same three questions:
Where are you going today?
What is one of the best trips you've ever taken?
Where in the world do you most want to go?
The process was like speed dating with pastels. To my surprise, most people were not only willing to sit with me and let me draw them, but they were also eager to share their stories.