One of her lovely drawings inspired children in the “I Made It Market” last week. Here is the story in her own words:

When I missed the deadline to apply for a booth, I decided to participate in the Creativity Zone with “I Made it Market” art projects for kids. I have done several venues with Carrie Nardini and Nina Barbuto’s “I Made it Market” in the past. I choose to use my Dollar Bank drawing because Dollar Bank is main sponsor of the Three Rivers Festival, and it was the  most personal way for me to acknowledge that.  It just seemed appropriate, and I knew kids would enjoy painting the large print of my drawing. I wasn’t quite prepared for how many kids would want to do that! Lots of them!! (I was short some brushes.) I created the drawing of Dollar Bank on Fourth Avenue a while back. It’s one of the first buildings I noticed for its scale and wild exuberance when moving here from Boston. It’s funny that when you move somewhere you notice places and  buildings  that are not always the most iconic places yet they become iconic for you. I am always surprised how many people don’t know that building. I still love it!  

Carol’s next great adventure is with the Pittsburgh Society of Artists where she is the publicity chair. She is busy publicizing “Art Day With PSA” a free event June 18 at Trader Joe’s plaza in East Liberty. More Art Day info

Carol Skinger’s Drawing – Images by Renee Rosensteel

An esteemed panel of jurors judges the artwork and awards the artists. This years ‘Best in Show’ went to Dennis Childers for his “Window” photography and video installation. Childers photographed the window across the street from him downtown over a length of time and throughout the seasons. When grouped together in the exhibition, the windows seem to be an opening into another world. The progression of time is fascinating to see and the transformation of such an ordinary space is intriguing to witness.

Also notable are artists Mia Tarducci Henry, who received the Juror’s Choice Award for “Give and Take” an oil painting on canvas. Ben Matthews received the Juror’s Choice Award for his piece “Ghost Wall: Whiskey and Eggs Revolt.” Carrie Smith also received the Juror’s Choice Award for her “Intercept sculptural installation.

The variety of art and creativity on display at the Juried Arts Exhibition is a breathtaking experience. This show has long played an important part in the history of the Three Rivers Arts Festival and is one of the best places to purchase a truly unique piece of art for collections. The Juried Arts Exhibition can be found at the Cultural Trust Arts Education Center on Liberty Avenue. It is open everyday until 6pm from now until the end of the festival. This is a show that is not to be missed this year at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

I noticed a second artist outside the tent quietly documenting  Bob Ruma’s balloon animal stand.  The artist was Bill Vrscak.  He caught a moment in Bob’s busy balloon-making.  I asked Bill about his process, he said that you have to let the paint do what it wants to do, to paraphrase his art teachers, “Your first mistake is trying to correct your first mistake.”

Seth Clark is the artist behind the poster for the 2011 festival. A print designer, Seth’s work is primarily in mixed media and illustration.

Seth grew up in Seekonk, Massachusetts, and studied close to home in at the Rhode Island School of Design. He earned his BFA in Graphic Design, focusing primarily on print design and alternative typography. During this time, he discovered collage. This method of hands-on, spacial development took a major role in his digital work as well as his physical works on paper.

It was about three years ago, after graduating from college, that Seth traveled the country looking for the best city in which to begin his career as an artist and designer. The endless row-houses and rich architecture of Pittsburgh could serve as a valuable inspiration for his drawings and the affordability of the Steel City could allow for a large studio space and ample free time for productivity.

Seth is interested in exploring fragmentation and deconstruction in his art, and is fascinated by the aesthetics of houses and buildings and the personality of a place. On his website, you can find a plethora of drawings of broken down houses and decaying buildings. The festival blocks explore the structural composition of the city and reference the beauty of hand-painted signage.  The windows and patterns that appear on the blocks are, in a way, not far from what you’d see hidden in his drawings of abandoned houses and collapsing structures.

This architectural flair is prominent in Seth’s design for 2011 Three Rivers Arts Festival poster. Seth hand-painted the tiny details on hundreds of blocks, to assemble them to create a compact version of the Pittsburgh skyline. Seth photographed his installation and the colorful, playful image for the poster was the result. The three dimensional fragmentation of the blocks forms a whole and complete image. The many pieces of Pittsburgh fit together to form a colorful and exciting image for the festival.

You can see the actual hand-painted block sculpture during Festival hours at Three Gateway Center. Seth also had a piece accepted in the Juried Visual Art Exhibition.

The jurors for the 2011 Juried Visual Art Exhibition are:

• Murray Horne, Curator, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Jason Busch, The Alan G. and Jane A. Lehman Curator of Decorative Arts, Carnegie Museum of Art
• Kate Lydon, Director of Exhibitions, Society of Contemporary Craft

The jurors for the 2011 Artists Market are:

• Laura Domencic, Director, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
• Barbara Jones, Chief Curator, Westmoreland Museum of American Art
• Keith Belles, Designer, Wax Jewelry Design Studio

Artists Market
New deadline: 11:59 pm, Friday, February 18, 2011
More infomation

Emerging Artist Scholarship
New deadline: 5:00 pm, Friday, February 18, 2011
More information

Juried Visual Art Exhibition
New deadline: 11:59 pm, Friday, March 11, 2011
More information

Showcase Noir
Deadline: 11:59 pm, Thursday, March 31, 2011
Note: Artists applying to Showcase Noir can apply to the Artists Market at no additional charge, but you must apply to Showcase Noir first, and both applications must be received by 11:59 on February 18.
More information

All programs are juried separately. Application deadline for all programs is February 11, 2011, unless otherwise noted. Deadlines have been extended. See new program deadlines below.

Artists Market

The Three Rivers Arts Festival Artists Market is one of the top fine art and fine craft markets in the country, hosting 300 artists and welcoming approximately 300,000 visitors annually. Applications are accepted online through Zapplication.

Deadline: 11:59 pm, February 18, 2011

Start your Artists Market application

Emerging Artist Scholarship Program

The Emerging Artist Scholarship Program offers competitive scholarships for local artists who have never participated in an outdoor fine art & fine craft show to participate in the Three Rivers Arts Festival’s Artists Market for the first time.

Deadline: February 18, 2011

Start your Emerging Artist Scholarship application

Juried Visual Art Exhibition

The Juried Visual Art Exhibition is an indoor, juried visual art exhibition showcasing exciting new work by regional artists during the annual Three Rivers Arts Festival. Artists meeting eligibility requirements are invited to submit up to three works for consideration.

Deadline: 11:59 pm, March 11, 2011

Start your Juried Visual Art Exhibition application

Showcase Noir

Showcase Noir is a one-day juried exhibition presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to highlight artwork created by African American artists. In 2011, Showcase Noir joins forces with Three Rivers Arts Festival, and will be held on Sunday, June 5, at the Byham Theater.

If your work qualifies for both programs, apply first to Showcase Noir and you will receive a special discount on your Artists Market application fees.

Deadline: March 31, 2011

Start your Showcase Noir application

Three Rivers Arts Festival officially began when Antonson’s inflatable sculpture of Andrew Carnegie’s head was unveiled this morning in the Allegheny River.

What started out as an idea is now a nylon-coated vinyl inflatable which will float at the convergence of our three rivers throughout the duration of the Festival.

Antonson had been speaking with Alice Snyder, vice-chair of the Three Rivers Arts Festival Advisory Board at that dinner party. She encouraged Antonson to develop an idea for a public sculpture, which later turned into a work created specifically for the Festival. He ultimately landed on this cost-effective, logistically-sound concept which would be manufactured outside of Cleveland, brought back to Pittsburgh and then inflated in the river.

The piece is a floating bust of Andrew Carnegie clad in a snorkel and diving mask combination, his facial features airbrushed onto the blank vinyl canvas from a mechanical lift. A generator inside the head blows cold air, keeping it inflated no matter what the temperature is outside.

Carnegie’s first home in Pittsburgh was on the North Side (named Allegheny City at the time), just a stone’s throw from where Antonson launched the inflatable doppelganger – a purposeful placement.

“It is my hope that this installation will attract a wide and varied audience, luring new devotees to the Festival.”

A steel magnate who grew from humble beginnings as the son of a Scottish weaver, Carnegie became a benefactor and philanthropist who made a huge impact on the City of Pittsburgh. That impact is evident today in the city’s thriving cultural and educational institutions.

Stephen Antonson is a product of one such institution. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, he moved to Homestead where he overlooked steel mills for a year. “During those years, I saw Carnegie as this presence that lingered over the city on a number of levels,” he said. “In a way, it’s interesting to have him come back to Pittsburgh and admire what the city has become.

While reading David Nasaw’s biography of Carnegie, Antonson came across what might be the perfect quote to accompany his inflatable sculpture. Referring to his investments, Carnegie said, “When Pittsburgh sinks, I sink with it, and when Pittsburgh swims, I shall swim with it.”

Andrew Carnegie’s head is still above water. Swim on, Andy. Swim on.

As opposed to a curated exhibition, a juried exhibition offers an open call to any artists who meet the exhibition’s criteria. In the case of the New Juried Visual Art Exhibition, we required that artists live approximately within 100 miles of Pittsburgh (we had a list of eligible counties, if you want to get specific). In addition to the Greater Pittsburgh area, the region also includes the Morgantown and Wheeling areas of West Virginia; and the easternmost slice of Ohio, including Youngstown.

In 2010, back by popular demand, the New Juried Visual Art Exhibition showcases the Greater Pittsburgh region’s vibrant artistic community. In the exhibition’s return year, the Festival received 600 entries across all media from which the jury panel selected the 110 works on display by 76 artists.

Aimee Manion: Toxic Landscape. Oil, ink, watercolor on panel.

The distinguished jurors for the 2010 exhibition are Sarah Hall, Curator, Frick Art and Historical Center; Adam Welch, Curator, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Pittsburgh Filmmakers Galleries; and Murray Horne, Curator, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Wood Street Galleries and SPACE Galleries.

The exhibition, located on the fourth floor of the Trust’s new Arts Education Center at 805-807 Liberty Avenue, was designed by moxie DaDA.

Unless otherwise marked, the works displayed in the exhibition are available for sale. To purchase a piece, please see the gallery attendants.

Click here for a full list of accepted artists and gallery hours.

Seth Clark: Roof. Charcoal, pastel, graphite, colored pencil on paper.

In this spirit, the Pittsburgh Technology Council began in 1983 with the intention of expanding the wealth and success of Pittsburgh’s technology industry. Now with 1,422 member companies, it is safe to say that it has succeeded.

In 2008, the Council formed the Art & Technology Initiative in an effort to unite and cultivate these respective communities in the Pittsburgh region.  This union has made a notable impact across the city and will continue to do so by showcasing technology-themed art at the Festival this year. This will include gallery exhibits, interactive displays and performances featuring some of Pittsburgh’s leading artists and technological innovators.

David Edwards: Power Flower

The exhibits and performances may change the way we view art and technology, and help us to better realize the unlimited potential of each. Plus, they offer us some downright good times that are sure to benefit everyone’s Festival experience. Ranging from digital puppetry to interactive sculptures and robots, video installations, and an interactive exhibit requiring text messages from viewers.  Following are a few glimpses into what you will see on the visual arts side; we’ll cover performances in another post.

David Edwards’ 14′ tall sculpture made from 80% recycled aluminum takes the shape of a potted sunflower.  Its wind-powered spinning petals transform wind into energy using a micro wind turbine. In addition, there are flexible solar panels that collect energy for programmable LED lighting.  This exhibit and others can be seen at Point State Park.

Lori Hepner: @BarackObama, 7:26 PM May 12th from web (#1)

Other exhibits are based entirely on interaction between the patrons and the art. In an installation by Balam Soto, viewers control the projection of a digital image with a cube in their hands and the projection reacts to the movement of the cube made by the patrons.

As the height of the digital age continues to expand, Lori Hepner shows an interactive gallery installation requiring viewers to send tweets and texts to be used as the basis for the installation.  Each character from the text will be converted to binary code and displayed onto a spinning LED array.

These works and more can be seen at The Art of Technology Gallery, located on the third floor of the Trust Arts Education Center at 805-807 Liberty Avenue.