Tag Archives: arts

Made in Pittsburgh: Gandy Bars

A Gandy Bar, is definitely not a candy bar – but is a whole lot of fun. A Gandy bar is a three stringed instrument that is a cross between a dulcimer and a guitar. Each gandy bar is made by hand by Gad and Andy right here in Pittsburgh.

You can purchase a complete Gandy Bar or a kit to make your own Gandy Bar at home.

Visit www.GandyBar.com to purchase or stop my the IMadeIt Market today (Saturday, May 24, 2014 – apologies to our email readers who might not see this post till the workweek) at South Side works to say hello to Andy and try one out.

Here is a video of Andy explaining the instrument:

Details for the IMadeIt Market on Saturday, May 24.

2014 Art All Night is coming to Pittsburgh this weekend

Art All Night, Pittsburgh’s annual free art event, pops up in Lawrenceville this weekend for its 17th year. The completely volunteer-run event is held non-stop from 4pm on Saturday, April 26, 2014 until 2pm on Sunday, April 27, 2014.

Never heard of Art All Night? The idea behind the censorship-free, non-juried event is to encourage participation from all types of artists. Everyone is welcome to come, share, and experience a variety of local art and activities.

Besides original artwork, Art All Night features a live auction, various participatory and collaborative activities, live entertainment, and on-site artwork. Children’s activities are available on 4-8pm Saturday and 10am-2pm Sunday.

All artists, regardless of age or skill-level, can submit one piece of artwork to the event. Art must be dropped off between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, April 26 and must be ready to hang or otherwise displayed. Photo ID is required for both drop off and pick up, which is on Sunday, April 27 from 2:30-5:30pm. More information and an online registration form can be found here.

Volunteers and donations are what make Art All Night happen each year, so both are encouraged! Each year, a dedicated and talented team of volunteers offers their free time to make the event as incredible and fun as possible. You can sign up for 2-hour shifts before, during, and after the event, for all sorts of tasks, so please do if you have the time!

Check out Art All Night on Facebook (including the official Facebook event), on Twitter at @ArtAllNight, and Instagram at ArtAllNightLawrenceville, and don’t forget to hashtag your posts with #ArtAllNight, #AAN17, and #ImAnArtAllNighter.

The event is held at 97 40th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201, which is a warehouse on the corner of 40th and Willow St in Lawrenceville. Parking might be tough so consider taking public transportation, car-pooling, or catching a Lyft (get $25 off your first ride with that link). Hope to see you there!

View Google Map

Pitt-starter – Meet Pittsburgh Artist Robert Qualters

Pitt-starter is our occasional series of posts about Kickstarer and other crowdfunding projects that are of interest to the Pittsburgh community. You can check out previous Pitt-starter posts here.

I am very excited to share this Kickstarter project with you. First, because I think this is a great chance to learn about a Pittsburgh artist who has been painting this city for decades. And second, because I had the opportunity to meet Robert Qualters earlier this year and I think he is one of the many Pittsburghers that should be on your radar.

Robert Qualters - Penn Station Rotunda, 2006, acrylic and collage on canvas, 42x48"

Robert Qualters – Penn Station Rotunda, 2006, acrylic and collage on canvas, 42×48″

Robert Qualters is one of those artists where you have probably seen his work around town but you might not have known much about the artist. His paintings are hanging in some of the offices and restaurants and he has painted several murals for Mercy Hospital and Pittsburgh public schools.

I hope you will take a moment to visit the Kickstarter page for “Robert Qualters: A Life in Film” to check out the video and some of the paintings of Pittsburgh. The Kickstarter trailer gives you a glimpse into his studio which is located in Homestead. I’ve had the chance to visit another artist in this building and you would have never guessed this old school was home to a wealth of Pittsburgh talent.

Another fun fact about this project is that one of the filmmakers, Elizabeth Seamans, was Mrs. McFeely on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

This Kickstarter project is to fund a film about his work which will debut in 2014. A retrospective of his paintings will be on display at Pittsburgh center for the arts starting February 7, 2014.

The Qualter’s Kickstarter project also offers some unique rewards and the chance to pick up a signed and numbered print from the artist or an original painting from Qualters.

Follow Robert Qualters on Facebook – facebook.com/qualtersart and Twitter @qualtersart

CAPA students help to select pop artist’s piece for Peduto’s office (post-gazette.com)
Watch the Trailers and Vote for Your Favorite Pittsburgh Film Projects (iheartpgh.com)
A Souper Pitt-Starter: Warhol’s Soup Cans in the Nude (iheartpgh.com)
Unusual Acquisition Tradition (online.wsj.com)
Pittsburgh Steel Mill, 6 x 6 in. (paintedjournals.wordpress.com)

Treading Art Recommends – Lawrenceville Artists’ Studio Tour

Each week our friends from the website Treading Art put together their list of Weekend Treadings – an awesome list of weekend activities happening in Pittbsurgh. We feature one of those events here on IheartPGH. This week’s Treader’s Choice is the Lawrenceville Artists’ Studio Tour and be sure to check out the entire list of Weekend Treadings for Oct 31 – November 3 here.

9th Annual Lawrenceville Artists’ Studio Tour

Learn for yourself why this Pittsburgh neighborhood is known as a creative enclave! With over 40 artists to mingle with and 17 studios to explore – hike around Lawrenceville and make a day of it!

Lawrenceville – walking map

Saturday, November 2, 2013 10am-6pm // FREE

Cargo container to expand house in Lawrenceville (triblive.com)
Game has Pittsburgh mayor’s race go around a board to bring home election (triblive.com)
This Rust Belt city shines: Pittsburgh, we hardly knew ya (theglobeandmail.com)
Window Washers Dress As Superheroes, Cheer Up Kids At Children’s Hospital (pittsburgh.cbslocal.com)

Cultural District’s Gallery Crawl Tonight

Looking for something to do tonight? Want to do something free? Want to culture yourself? Impress your friends with newfound knowledge of artistry? (Maybe that last part’s just me.) Come join other partons of the arts at the Cultural District’s free quarterly Gallery Crawl. The crawl runs tonight, Friday, July 12th, from 5:30-9 p.m., and participants can start from any of the many locations.

There is so much going on at the crawl tonight, but I’ll include some unique highlights here. There’s comedy, a cell phone disco, documentaries, live music, photography, yoga, a night arts market, dance lessons, and, of course art.

Check out the Cultural Trust’s page or the brochure below for more details.