E-newsletter Clarification

I love that Intown surprised me with the feature on their recent e-newsletter blast! They are great ladies doing delightful things for our downtown.  Support them!

One point I have to clarify is that this blog is not the best place to go for information about Studio 550. If you want to learn more about Studio 550 go to the Studio website.  If you want to sign up for the e-newsletter for the studio, again, go to the Studio website and sign up on the top right (not the sign up immediately to the right... that is for the Monica Leap Ceramics e-news, which is not the same thing.).

If you are reading this, then thanks for visiting!  Come visit us this weekend for our 1-day workshops. You get a chance to try out our classes for just a day, no commitments. We'll run a workshop day every second Saturday of the month. One in the morning 10-1PM in clay or stained glass and a second clay workshop in the afternoon 2-5PM.

See you in the studio!

Let the fun begin!

I am so glad construction is over, now we are on to the fun part. Programming! 

I have the awesome task of finding people in the community who are intensely passionate and excited about what they do, and then making a home for them in the Studio so they can share what it is that they do best with the rest of the community - you. 

I'm always interested in meeting new teachers and am always interested in new ideas for programming. If there is something that you have always wanted to see in Manchester, maybe the studio could be the place for it. Get in touch with me a let me know at info@550arts.com

Really, this blog is supposed to be the site for my personal pottery updates, but you might find that I don't post here as often now that the Studio space is open. If you watch the calendar on the Studio website, you'll what I'm up to: http://www.550arts.com/calendar.

Regardless, even in just the first month and a half we:

- Have a full pottery class of wheel throwers who are completely jazzed to be there (they come in to practice and everything - it warms my heart!)

- Held workshops in felting, bookbinding, stained glass, knitting, clay, and more

- Invited community members to make over 40 ceramic bowls to donate to the Empty Bowls event to benefit the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter

- Held monthly Argentine Tango social dances (every second Saturday!)

- Started salsa social dances (starting every third Saturday)

- Offer weekly Tai Chi, Yoga, Belly dance, Hula hoop, poi spinning, and AMAS martial arts classes

- Monthly Date Nights on Fridays 

- Parent/Kid clay days on Saturdays

- Hosted "Studio Parties" for happy groups of friends and businesses

- Exhibited functional ceramic pottery from over 46 artists around the country

- and so much more. 

If you'd like to learn more about the studio, check out the website (www.550arts.com), and read about it in the Hippo's article by Kelly Sennott.

The construction dust clears

I'm not sure how to explain everything that happened since November 2011 til now concisely, but suffice to say, construction is a bitch. Over the past year I worked with the Southern NH Planning Commission (working out my City and Regional Planner Muscles - which are mostly keyboard typing muscles), became the General Contractor for finishing the redevelopment of a 20,000SF building, became a day laborer on the construction site, and all the while, trying to keep Studio 550 alive in the eyes of the community.

I originally moved home to NH in 2010 to start up a community art/clay center in Manchester, NH - Studio 550. We were slated to move into an old warehouse in early 2011. The building was left over from the times of the Amoskeag mills back in 1890.  Unfortunately, a few bad general contractors, plus a few bad sub-contractors and we were left hanging with just the idea of a studio and a broken building. 

I'd rather focus on the positive though, and say that in construction was completed in November of 2012 and December 15, 2012, we had our grand opening! None of this would have been possible without the help of family and friends, who put in countless hours to help bring this to where it is now. Classes started January 7th, and now I have the challenging and incredibly exciting task of learning how to build a business and creating a community centered around the arts!  

All this is to explain why I have not been as prolific in the studio as I usually would be. We are currently engineering glazes and, now that the studio is set up, and the kilns are plugged in, I am ready to rock... right after I fill these classes and market this workshop, and schedule the next few shows, and make sure the residents have what they need... No, I think I'll start throwing this weekend. 

Thanks for sticking with this and cheer me on to whatever comes out of these fingertips in the next few days!

For more information on Studio 550, see www.550arts.com