Choose-Your-Own First Friday Adventure

Those in the know know that First Friday is one of the best ways to feel like you’ve got your finger on the pulse of Bethlehem. Each month, we get a chance to get out on the town and have an amazing kick-off to the weekend because the South Side has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to that really cool restaurant, that neat little shop, that awesome art experience, or that great gallery opening.

You can see these colorfully awesome quilts at First Friday as part of Deciphering the Universe: Quilts by Barbara Schulman.

This month’s First Friday will kick off February 6 from 6-9 p.m. at the Banana Factory and 6-10 p.m. in South Side Bethlehem. Because there is no shortage of choices at this super awesome community celebration, we have created some ready-made adventure plans for you. Yes, you! Let’s begin.

---

Elizabeth’s First Friday Adventure
By Elizabeth Wiggins, ArtsQuest Visual Arts and Education Coordinator

Part 1: Fueling Up. I’m starting by covering the cool restaurant part of the evening first so I don’t get that rushing-because-I’m-hungry feeling and miss something I really want to see. Since I like places with a lot of vegetarian options, I’m likely to hit Nawab Indian Restaurant, Twenty Four East, Sal’s Brick Oven Pizza, or La Lupita for dinner before heading over to the Banana Factory to spend my evening checking out what’s new in the local art scene.

Part 2: The Banana Factory.

• Fun Fact #1: The Banana Factory currently has 29 Resident Artists occupying studio space on the first, second, and third floors of the building. This month, there are two new Resident Artists, Melissa Perhamus and Michelle Neifert, to welcome to the building.
• Fun Fact #2: Every month, two Resident Artists are Featured Artists on the first floor of the building. In February, Erin Anderson and Michelle Neifert both get their first turns as Featured Artists.
• Fun Fact #3: All of the Resident Artists do something completely different from their fellow artists.

Pro Tip: Grab one of the Banana Factory maps created by the Resident Artists at the Front Desk as a handy reference guide. Then, start visiting studios on the third floor and work your way downstairs. The artists’ doors are open and they’re ready to meet you.

People glassblowing. In the Glass Studio.

Part 3: The ArtsQuest Glass Studio. After visiting with the Resident Artists, I’m going to stay on the first floor and head to the back of the Banana Factory, towards the ArtsQuest Glass Studio. On First Friday, our in-house glass artists do a long glassblowing demonstration and hold make-your-own workshops on the Studio floor. This month they’re decorating the studio in all red for Valentine’s Day and sculpting a bust of the goddess Aphrodite out of hot glass.

For those interested in trying out glass themselves, the make-your-own is glass hearts. Spots will go fast, so reserve yours here: http://buff.ly/1zdrJyz

And, if you’re looking for a special, handmade something, there will be one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day themed glass merchandise for sale on First Friday only. Treat yourself or someone else.

---

Elena’s First Friday Adventure
By Elena Douvanis, ArtsQuest’s Marketing Manager

Part 1: Exhibitions at the Banana Factory. Let’s get this party started at one of the Banana Factory’s four current exhibitions. This is my adventure, so I’m going to explore the Hope & Healing Juried Art Show‘s opening reception in the Crayola Gallery. This show, which is the signature project of Healing Through The Arts, helps change the quality of health for patients and caregivers by providing inspirational art to hospitals and healthcare facilities, where people often spend time waiting in patient rooms and treatment areas. Talk about a cool mission. Learn more about the Hope & Healing Juried Art Show: http://buff.ly/1JIYKXO or read about the other exhibitions you can choose: http://buff.ly/1LiB7ax

Part 2: Crafters and Shopping. Looking often leads to shopping, which is where I’m off to next. On the first floor of the Banana Factory, you’ll find First Friday crafters with an array of wares from 3-D paper objects, to handmade accessories that put Etsy to shame, to colorfully up-cycled garments and jewelry. Don’t be “that guy” who buys generic scented hand soap for birthday presents. Be “that guy” who buys incredibly unique, locally sourced gifts that people will want to fight over. Learn more about the crafters: http://buff.ly/1LiBeTr

Part 3: More Shopping. There’s lots of cool handmade stuff to buy at the Banana Factory, but you’d be missing out if you didn’t visit some of the great shops in South Bethlehem, too. I’m starting to get a little hangry, so I’ll pick up some made-from-scratch sea salt caramels at Tallarico’s Chocolates to hold me over. Then I’ll stop at Cleo’s Silversmith Studio and Gallery to ogle the lovely jewelry, ceramics, furniture, and more made by over 100 American craftsmen Cleo has selected to feature in the shop. All this while Brooklyn-based violinist and fiddler Sam Barnes and Rich Jeffries play in the background. There are many more places to check out, but I’m hungry!

I’m a sucker for sea salt.

Part 4: Carbs and Drinks. Time to hit up one of South Bethlehem’s many restaurants. I’m in the mood for pasta (when am I *not* in the mood for pasta?) so let’s check out Molinari’s. After a glass of Italian wine and bowl of premise-made pasta, I’m ready for a nightcap at the newly opened Social Still. Social Still has the honor of serving as Bethlehem’s first distillery, featuring small-batch craft spirits, cocktails, and small plates. I’ll have the Crazy Mary, featuring a shot of Social Still’s jalapeño-infused vodka. Or maybe I’ll have the Pickled Martini. Scratch that–I’ll have both. #FirstFridayYOLO

---

The options are plentiful at First Friday, dear reader. You can see them all here. Feel free to use one of our Guaranteed Fun Plans, but we also encourage you–nay, challenge you–to go wild and create your own First Friday adventure experience!

You can do it!

P.S. For those who come out to First Friday, we’ve got a contest for you: This month, we’re hosting a Twitter photo contest to find out what and who you love at the Banana Factory. During your visit, keep your eye out for something special that makes your heart soar or gives you a little smile: a piece of art, a group gathered to hear an artist talk, an amazing demonstration, or something we can’t even imagine yet. Then, grab some people—an artist, friends, loved ones, new friends you’ve just made—and get them all together in a picture. Tweet it to @bananafactory with the hashtag #ForTheLoveOfFirstFriday by 9 p.m. on Friday, February 6. We’ll go through all your amazing photos and pick the photo that best captures the sentiment of our hashtag to win one of our February or March Photography Workshops.

Focus on the Olympus InVision Photo Festival: Why You Should Drop By and See What Develops

By Elizabeth Wiggins, ArtsQuest’s Visual Arts & Education Coordinator.

When you hear “photo festival,” I bet you think of a bunch of shutterbugs sitting around talking about their favorite F-Stops, right? The problem is if you’re thinking about the Olympus InVision Photo Festival that way, you’re only getting part of the picture.

Pun intended.

So, I’m here to offer you a list of reasons why you might want to check out the Olympus InVision Photo Festival November 7-9. Whether you classify yourself as an established professional photographer or just a kid with an iPhone, an Instagram account, and a dream, we’ve got something for you.

In no particular order, here’s a list of reasons why you might want to spend part – or all – of the weekend with us:

• Pictures and stories. Saturday, November 8, we’ve got four leading professionals in photography speaking throughout the day at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema. Kick back in the comfy seats and enjoy stories about life and work from Guggenheim Fellow and Fulbright scholar Andrea Modica, Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer photojournalist David Maialetti, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and Olympus Visionary Larry C. Price, and Director of Photography at The New York Times Magazine Kathy Ryan. Don’t count on all technical talk. This is your chance to get the story behind the picture.

• Pictures and stories, part 2. Hear all about their lives on Instagram, an “Office Romance,” and their commitments to art and to telling the important stories through the lenses of their cameras.

• Rub elbows with the pros. This festival is about community, which means that presenters and attendees have the chance to exchange ideas, ask each other questions, and talk about their work in real ways. In addition to the presenters, the weekend’s going to be full of visiting Olympus Visionaries, leaders in the world of photography, and local photographers, and hopefully you, in conversation about art.

• Art Everywhere. During our kick-off event at First Friday, on November 7, we have seven (7!) gallery shows opening at the Banana Factory and the ArtsQuest Center. The walls are going to be full of Olympus Visionaries, Pennsylvania photographers, college student work, a decade of Philadelphia photographers, the Director of Photography for The New York Times Magazine, middle school students shooting the Faces of the South Side of Bethlehem, and Pulitzer Price winners.

• Party time! This year’s Slideluck Lehigh Valley IV Party on Saturday night is going to be another amazing night of inventive slideshows, tasty snacks, Brooklyn Beer, and music from Olympus’ own corporate band, Peripheral Vision.

• Tips you can use. This year, we’ve got a couple of seminars designed to help you take things to the next level. For those who are looking to raise their portrait game, we’ve got “Oh No, Mom and Dad are Gonna Snap! How to Instantly Take Better Photos!,” a two-part workshop taught by Olympus Trailblazers that’s going to improve the quality of your personal photo albums (Part 1 and Part 2). And for those who are looking for a bit of real talk about how to make their dreams become a reality, we’ve got “Making Your Way in Photography: Work, Struggle, Succeed” a free (free!) panel discussion that’s perfect for students and students of life.

• Hands-on skills and adventures. Sunday, November 9 is our “hands-on” day. For the part of you that just wants to get out and shoot some photos, we’ve got “Out of this World – Photograph the Works of Steve Tobin,” a workshop that gets you and your camera onto the private sculpture grounds and into the art warehouse of internationally-acclaimed artist Steve Tobin. And for the part of you that loves fine art, we’ve got “The Art of the Platinum Print,” a discussion and demonstration by Thomas Shillea that will focus on the ins and outs of this 19^th century photo process.

To get tickets for the Olympus InVision Photo Festival, please visit: http://www.bananafactory.org/events/olympus-invision-photo-festival/

Party, Party, Partaaaaay or, The Top Ten Reasons You Should Attend the Glass Blast

By Elizabeth Wiggins, ArtsQuest’s Visual Arts & Education Coordinator

On September 26, from 7-10pm, the ArtsQuest Glass Studio is holding the first-ever Glass Blast, a fundraiser to support our glass studio. It’s going to be very fun. Here’s why:

1. One-of-a-kind swag. The first thing you’ll do when you arrive at the Glass Blast is pick your glass for the evening (and to keep!). You’ll have your choice of one of over 200 hand-blown glasses made in our Glass Studio. Something’s bound to go with your outfit.

2. Beverages. Once you pick your glass, you’ll get the chance to road test with our signature Glass Blast cocktail made with Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Not much of a drinker? No worries! You can use your glass to enjoy a Saxby’s smoothie in style.

3. More than one kind of fire. We’re bringing our mobile furnace to the party (more on that in a sec) and we’ve got a complementary cigar bar from Cigars International on the Sands Deck.

4. Fire. Sort of. We don’t just want you to support glass; we also want you to try it out! We’re pitting our guests against each other in a Longest Drip Competition on the Air Products Town Square. Everyone will get a chance to see how good he or she is at keeping molten glass from hitting the ground. It’s going to be about skill and luck.

5. Glass art, part 1. We love to brag about our studio-grown talent, so there’ll be a show of student glass art work.

6. Glass art, part 2. The Glass Studio made that amazing 40-foot tall Four Elements sculpture housed between the 2nd and 4th floors of the ArtsQuest Center. The party’s happening all around it so that you can get a good look at what we can do.

7. Small plates of deliciousness.   FOOD ON SMALL PLATES #fancyfun

8. Music by Lovebettie, who was recently named Rolling Stone’s ‘Band to Watch’ and called ‘Pittsburgh’s Hottest Band’ by Microsoft Windows, so yeah.

9. Fabulous prizes. We’re holding raffles and silent auctions of art, experiences, and more.

10. You get the chance to support glass art education at the Banana Factory. The ArtsQuest Glass Studio is the region’s only hot glass studio, and we do everything from teach classes to host parties to create gigantic works of art. This party is all about keeping all that going.

Tickets for the Glass Blast are on sale here: http://www.artsquest.org/pages/details.php?107460. Get them before they’re gone. We really don’t want to have fun without you.

How We All Took a Second to Stop Worrying and Tried Making Some Glass

By Elizabeth Wiggins, ArtsQuest

Monday afternoon, several members of the ArtsQuest staff took a few minutes out of their busy days to take a sneak peak at the make-your-own glass seashell class the ArtsQuest Glass Studio is offering this June.

A quick side note: If you didn’t already know, the ArtsQuest Glass Studio is the area’s only hot glass studio AND it’s located at the Banana Factory.

AND if you also didn’t already know, you can visit every second Sunday of every month and make that month’s special make-your-own item (in June, that’s seashells on Saturday, June 8). You can also make-your-own glass at First Fridays now, which is a great way to increase your fun at First Friday by at least 85% (This June, you can have 85% more fun Friday, June 6, from 6-9pm).

Anyway, a whole bunch of staff members from the Front Desk, Finance, and Visual Arts Departments – most with no glass experience at all – tried their hands at making glass seashells. I brought a camera, because I’m that person in the group.

This isn’t just an insider’s look at the make-your-own process. There are also fun facts.

First, you gotta pick some colors.

 

Fun Fact #1: Those bowls are full of frit, which is composed of small bits of colored glass. The furnace at the ArtsQuest Glass Studio at the Banana Factory holds clear glass, so to give pieces color we melt frit into the clear glass.

Then, it’s time to get some glass from the furnace. Students in all of our glass classes learn how to do this step themselves, but during make-your-owns the Glass Studio Staff gets things started.

 

Fun Fact #2: The molten glass in our furnace is over 2,200 degrees. But you’re totally safe.

Next, it’s time to apply the frit to give the pieces color. Once the color’s been applied, it’s time to shape the glass and really get into the entire sea-shell making process.

This is where I let the pictures start to do the talking.

 

    

 

Fun Fact #3: Our wood blocks are made from fruit woods and stay in water all the time. When hot glass is placed in one of the blocks, it rides on a bed of steam while it’s shaped.

 

Once the details are in the piece, it’s time to start finishing. So, how does the glass get off the punty rod (that big pipe it’s been on this whole time)?

First, we use a tool called jacks to create a line where we can break the glass off the rod.

Then, it’s time to wait until just the right moment to give the glass a little tap off to break it along that line.

 

It’s important to be both gentle and decisive.

Finally, the glass heads off to the annealer, since it can’t be taken home right away.

 

Fun Fact #4: In about two or three days, the seashells are ready for at-home use. Our annealer has slowly brought the pieces down from 950 degrees to room temperature.

 

Even if there wasn’t something to take home, it would still have been tons of fun!

 

“C” is for cookie, but “C” is also for camp.

By Elizabeth Wiggins, ArtsQuest

I have a confession: Until about three years ago, I didn’t think that the fact that I went to summer art camp as a kid was all that extraordinary. In fact, I sort of forgot I went.

I grew up in a place that focused on fostering cultural and artistic opportunities for children. So, in the spring, my mom and I would sit down and figure out what art, music, and dance classes I could attend in the summer. I would hope that I got all of my first choices and a few weeks later, my schedule would arrive, and I’d start preparing myself for a summer school focused on all kinds of art. All of this seemed very normal.

Flash forward to many years later and to adult Elizabeth getting ready for Banana Factory summer camps and realizing that her summers had been pretty extraordinary.

I understand now that not everyone gets to go to summer art camp. Some people even live in places where summer art camp isn’t a thing. So, how fortunate do I feel to be an adult in a place where fostering cultural and artistic opportunities for children is a priority? Super fortunate. But I’m more excited for the kids who get to come to the Banana Factory this summer. There’s so much to learn and do each week and so much of it will build on their creativity and imaginations. It’s hard not to feel some twinges of envy. When our camps are in session, there will opportunities to do magic, learn hot glass, travel to foreign countries and space (via imagination), sculpt, and visit with Vincent Van Gogh.
And I didn’t even list 10% of what’s going on.

Art camps at the Banana Factory

Years from now, those kids will have their own stories about what they learned, the projects the made, the photo excursions they went on, and the silly songs they sang. And, if they start to think of the arts and art camp as something so normal that they think everyone should get to participate, then we’re all doing something right.

Learn more about the Banana Factory’s kids/teens/young adults/youth summer art camps at http://www.bananafactory.org/camps/

It lasts longer

By Jon Lunger, ArtsQuest

First things first.  We’re working on another headlining show for Musikfest.  Knock on wood, that could be coming later this week.  Stay tuned.

Now, on to some photography awesomeness.

We’ve teamed up with The Moody Blues to offer a one-of-a-kind experience at Musikfest this year!

PHOTOPASS: Concert Photography is our new program that gives you the chance to shoot photos at select concerts, in an official capacity!

Here’s the basic run down.

You’ll work with photographer Brian Hineline (dude has shot for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and more!) at the Banana Factory’s Olympus Digital Imaging Center, during a hands-on workshop.   Then it’s off to the Musikfest grounds, where you’ll have access to get some sweet behind-the-scenes shots.

And of course, the day is capped-off with the opportunity to join Brian in the “Media Area” near the soundboard for The Moody Blues concert at Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza, where you’ll get to shoot photos during the band’s first 3 songs!  After that, you get to stay and enjoy the show.

Boom.

Tickets for PHOTOPASS: The Moody Blues Concert Photography go on sale this Friday at 10am.

We’re also doing it at SteelStacks this May!

We’re pleased to announce that we have PHOTOPASS: Concert Photography experiences at SteelStacks, for the following concerts:

• Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Workshop: 5/1, Concert: 5/8
• Modest Mouse: Workshop: 5/1, Concert: 5/21
• Cherry Poppin’ Daddies – Workshop: 5/1, Concert: 5/22
• Herman’s Hermits featuring Peter Noone – Workshop: 5/1, Concert: 5/24

These workshops are limited to a few participants, so make sure you register ASAP!

400-some words on learning the art of glassblowing

 By Elizabeth Wiggins, ArtsQuest

In my experience, when you tell someone you’ve taken a glassblowing class, their first response is, “Where?! Why?!” To which the answer is always, “Well, it was right there.” Right there being the Banana Factory and my reason being inspired by the reason people climb Mount Everest.

Typically, the conversation goes on a little longer, with some “Reallys?!” and “Man, I’ve always wanted to do thats” throw in. To which the answer is always, “For real. You can. You should.” Because when I worked out all the details, thought about all the variables, and checked my calendar, I couldn’t find any reason to pass up the chance to learn something completely new.

When I came to the Banana Factory, I wanted to take a break from long days in graduate school and use a different part of my brain. I started in the fusing and slumping classes, getting myself familiar with glass and accidentally getting myself a front row seat to my next adventure.

While fusing and slumping is now housed on the 3rd floor of the Banana Factory in its own studio, it used to be held in the observation area of the ArtsQuest Glass Studio at the Banana Factory. Some nights, while students were working in fusing class, the glassblowers and several of their advanced students would show up to work on creating a number of the small items you see at ArtsQuest festivals and events. And the more I watched how the worked with hot glass, the more I realized I probably had nothing to lose by trying it myself.

I had come to the Banana Factory to be challenged and to learn something I couldn’t learn anywhere else. And all of these things were certainly true of glassblowing: it’s not a common thing to just take up, there’s only one place to do it in the Lehigh Valley (the Banana Factory), and it’s definitely a worthwhile challenge if there ever was one.

So, one “why not?” turned into a whole year of classes where I challenged myself to make tumbler after tumbler until I got it (sort of) right and where I found out a lot of new things about myself: that I did have some artistic leanings, that I could learn how to work better with others as a team, and that I could break out of my shell doing something I never expected to do. Oh, and I could do all that pretty close to home.

• Glassblowing classes 
•  ArtsQuest Glass Studio at Banana Factory
• There are classes for all experience levels (including no experience)
• Classes are forming year-round

EDITOR’S NOTE:  I too have taken a glassblowing class at the Banana Factory and found it to me an incredible, life changing experience.   You need not have any artistic (or previous glassblowing) experience – the staff is hands-on for every step of the process.   I’m not really adding any new information to Elizabeth’s post… I guess I’m a blog diva who just wanted to be seen.  Anyway, listen to Elizabeth and give it a try! – Jon Lunger, ArtsQuest