New Year, Big News!

Happy New Year!  We hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday season filled with love, laughter and perhaps a little art-making!  2011 was a busy year for the Arts Alive Mobile.  In its first 6 months, the Arts Alive Mobile made 13 appearances.  From music festivals, to charity walks to shopping events, our Street Squad Artists were there!

While the Arts Alive Mobile may be resting its tires for the month of January, things are Main Line Art Center are moving faster than ever! The new year was kicked off with a big announcement:  After nearly 25 years, Main Line Art Center’s Executive Director Judy Herman announced that she will retire in August.  Under her tenure, Judy has grown the Art Center immensely – from a small art center with an operating budget of $200,000 and a staff of two to a mid-sized organization with an average operating budget of $1.3 million and a professional staff of ten.  She was the brains behind the Art Center’s public art projects and exhibitions program.  Read more about this big announcement and Judy’s accomplishments in this press release.  Judy will absolutely be missed, but she will not be a stranger!

Photo by Howard Pitkow

Don’t be a Scrooge: Visit us at the Dickens Festival

Top hats!  Costumes!  Hot “toddies” in festive tin mugs!  Can you see why we’re so excited to be a part of this Saturday’s Narberth Dickens Festival!? Scheduled for Sat., Dec. 10 from noon-4 pm, this event draws thousands to Narberth every year.  Highlights include a scavenger hunt for kids, horse and carriage rides, and of course roaming characters from “A Christmas Carol.”  Throughout the day there will also be some wonderful musical and theatrical performances.  At 11 am, get into the spirit with a free showing of A Muppet Christmas Carol at the Narberth Movie Theater.  Then at 1, 2 and 3 pm, at N. Narberth Avenue, enjoy double feature performances starting with a 10 minute puppet show produced by the PuppetBox Theater Troupe followed by a 20 minute excerpt from the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet’s performance of the Nutcracker Suite.

What could possibly make this event more fun?!  Art!  (come on, you had to see that answer coming!).  And that’s where we come in.  The Arts Alive Mobile and Street Squad Artists will be situated at Sweet Mabel Folk Art & Fine Craft Gallery from 2-3 pm with free art projects.

So surely there is some fee to attend such a wonderfully festive event?  Think again!  Thanks to the generous donation of sponsorship dollars and manpower from the members of the Narberth Business Association, entrance into the festival and most of the activities are free.  Carriage rides cost $5, and there are a few souvenirs for sale as well.  Come have fun, and make sure you say hi to us!

Ready, Set, Shop!

‘Tis the season for holiday shopping, that’s for sure!  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, even Brown Thursday (yes, that was a “thing”)….who can keep track!?  The malls are packed, the parking lots are filled, and the pickins’ are slim!  Why not make it easier on yourself and support the local creative economy by just shopping at one of our area’s many holiday craft sales?

A perfect example is one that we’ll be headed to this weekend with the Arts Alive Mobile, Chestwold’s Holiday Gift & Craft Sale at the Elementary School (630 Loraine Street in Ardmore).  This free event, featuring 45 local artists, craftsmen and vendors, opens Friday, Dec. 2 from 7-9 pm and then Saturday, Dec. 3 from 9 am-3 pm.  The Street Squad Artists and the Arts Alive Mobile will be rolling up on Saturday from 11 am-noon and will be bringing supplies to make festive ornaments.  Admission is free (yay) and parking is free and plentiful (even better!).  You can find more details on their Facebook event page.

Also opening Friday is Main Line Art Center’s Holiday Fine Craft Sale!  This highly-anticipated sale runs through Dec. 11 and features an amazing assortment of one-of-a-kind fine crafts including handmade jewelry, ceramics, glass, wood, fabric and more…all handcrafted by 50 (that’s right…50!) professional artists from the region. The Holiday Fine Craft Sale is free and open to the public (again, lots of free parking here) and is supported by sponsor Bank of America. Hours are as follows: *Thurs., Dec. 1, 5-7 pm  (Members’ Early Shopping); Dec. 2: 10 am-9 pm; Dec. 3 & 4: 10 am-5 pm; Dec. 5-8: 10 am-7 pm; Dec. 9 &10: 10 am-5 pm; Dec. 11: 10 am-3 pm. Visit our website to browse through pictures of the amazing work and read through the impressive list of participating artists.

Make sure you take advantage of both of these wonderful sales. Happy Shopping (and art-making!)

Arts Alive Mobile & WXPN’s Kids Corner Music Fest: Music to our Ears!

We at Main Line Art Center are super pumped about our next Arts Alive Mobile appearance!  On Saturday, Nov. 19 we’ll be joining our friends at WXPN’s Kids Corner at their Music Festival.  Not only do we think the Kids Corner folks are the bee’s knees, but this is the first time that the Arts Alive Mobile will be crossing state lines!  The Music Festival will take place in the First State (that’s Delaware, dontcha know!) at World Cafe Live at The Queen in Wilmington.

So, what’s this Music Festival all about?  Well, for a mere $7 per ticket, you can enjoy an afternoon of live music and fun, including performances from bands The Plants (@ 11 am), Shine and the Moonbeams (@ noon), and Billy Kelly and the Blah Blah Blahs (@ 1 pm).  Add to that balloon sculptures and you’ve got a great afternoon!  Doors open at 10:30 am and you can purchase tickets here.

Because music is always more fun when you can play along, our Street Squad Artists will be in the house from 10:15 am-12:15 pm and will be toting supplies to make maracas.  We shall see you, and hopefully hear you, then!

Make Saturday Family Fun Day at The Arc’s Event

One of the best parts of this project, aside from seeing the excited faces of little kids as we roll up to an event in the colorful Arts Alive Mobile, is getting to partner with wonderful organizations in our area.  A perfect example is the non-profit The Arc of Delaware County, which we’re partnering with this weekend. Founded over 50 years ago, today the Arc is the premier advocacy organization for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Together their network of members and community partners, the Arc provides advocacy services for individuals and families, connects people with resources, improves systems of supports and services, promotes inclusive community practices, and influences public policy.  So you can see why when they asked us to be a part of their Family Fun Fest and Walk-a-Thon this Saturday, Nov. 12, we happily agreed!

The fun takes please at the Ridley Middle School (400 Free Street, Ridley Park, PA 19078) from 12-3 pm.  The event features carnival-inspired food and snacks, carnival games and prizes, face painting, demos by the police and fire departments, and of course, arts and crafts!  Our Street Squad Artists will be there from 2-3 pm and will be toting supplies to make tin tile covered sketchbooks.  Please come visit us and support another nonprofit in our community that is really making a difference!

Young at heART!

If there’s one thing that makes us happy at Main Line Art Center it is supporting local, emerging artists. It makes us smile.  It makes our spirit soar.  You get the point.

So, to partner with First Friday Main Line (FFLM) on Nov. 4, a date they’ve dedicated to supporting emerging artists, makes perfect sense to us. FFML has planned quite a full roster of events highlighting up-and-comers (including the opening of our exhibition, PAINT! Emerging Philadelphia Artists Selected by Bill Scott), but our Street Squad Artists will be focusing on the littlest artists.  From 6-7 pm, you’ll find the Arts Alive Mobile crew at Gymboree Play & Music in Ardmore helping kids make these very cool sketchbooks with a tin tile cover.  Keep it handy throughout the night as you make your way through all of the venues and get inspired by the talent all around us.  See you there!

Street Squad Artist Shout-Out: Patty Papatheodore

“I believe that learning about the world through the process of visual art is as important to children as breathing,” said Patty Papatheodore, Arts Alive Mobile Street Squad Artist. “Teaching children how to take an idea from their inner world and construct it in front of them in two or three dimensions is a powerful tool which can enhance every aspect of their education. It is this very process that cultivates the power of curiosity and invention within them.”

Patty with a participant in Main Line Art Center's program with the Delaware County Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Patty is a Teaching Artist, working largely with fiber and ceramics. She has taught children’s classes in painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramics at Main Line Art Center for the past 11 years, and also co-directs the summer camp program. In addition, Patty is very involved with teaching the Art Center’s Outreach Programs, including the Exceptional Art Program, designed for children and teens with physical and cognitive disabilities, and the Art Center’s program with the Chester County Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. These programs are central to the Art Center’s mission of “Art for Everyone” and are near and dear to Patty’s heart.

“I have been a teaching artist working with people of diversified ability for several years now,” said Patty. “I have had the pleasure of watching the exceptional growth of the art center community, serving all members with special consideration for the needs of every artist.”

Patty is excited to be a part of the Art Center’s “On the Road with Arts Alive” program as a Street Squad Artist.  She believes that the program serves the community as never before, truly in keeping with Main Line Art Center’s “Art for Everyone” mission. “As a Street Squad Artist, it is fun to see people waving and smiling at the decorative art van as we drive throughout the community!” she said.

Over the summer, Patty was very busy prepping for the Family Art Festival, the kick-off event for the Arts Alive Mobile.  As the Family Art Festival Coordinator, Patty led a committee that planned and managed the event, a job she found very fulfilling.

“I had the pleasure of seeing many new faces at the Art Center that day,” she said. “People were so excited to participate in a variety of art projects, from festive party hats to beautiful mosaic tiles.  There were many dedicated Art Center community volunteers assisting new families with art projects, while highly recommending Main Line Art Center’s classes, workshops and events from their own firsthand experience.”

Patty’s personal art is mixed media fabric collage dolls and birds using clay and soft sculpture, drawing, objects, and even poetry all within one personal composition. More recently, she has started experimenting with a technique of painting with wool.  Her work will be included in the Art Center’s upcoming Holiday Fine Craft Sale. For more about Patty, visit her website, or read her blog where she writes about her experiences as a Teaching Artist.