The art of clay is attracting a new generation in the heart of America's first Carnegie Library in Braddock.
The volunteer-driven Braddock Creative Arts Program, located in the basement of the library, offers a fully equipped pottery studio, including a kiln, that provides workshops and classes for adults and children from all over the greater Pittsburgh area.
Annie O'Neill, Post-GazetteJaison Pascuzzi is the AmeriCorps volunteer who coordinates the pottery studio in the Braddock Library complex as part of the Braddock Creative Arts Program.
Click photo for larger image.
Braddock native and Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania professor Richard Wukich launched the studio in 2003 in the hopes of creating an artistic oasis for children.
"There's really a good spirit of people wanting to do something in Braddock," Mr. Wukich said. "Pottery is a village; it's a community of people."
The studio was originally funded by the Sanders decree, which was a settlement for a lawsuit filed by a woman in Braddock against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development years ago after public housing was torn down, forcing residents to move, according to Mr. Wukich. The studio now is funded by Braddock's Field Historical Society, of which Mr. Wukich is a board member.
"We are looking at this library to make it what Andrew Carnegie wanted -- a community center," Mr. Wukich said.
The spacious and airy pottery studio was formerly the site of a steelworkers' bathhouse. Now at the entrance, visitors are greeted by 10 spinning clay wheels on which wet clay is shaped.
Inside, a multitude of clay projects, including pots and mythical animals in various stages of construction, line the room on drying racks. Sunlight streams through the windows that stretch from mid-wall to the basement ceiling, illuminating glazed pots filled with budding young plants.
In addition to pottery classes, the studio is used regularly for fund-raisers. The studio recently held a chili cook-off in which participants made their own bowls, and it also was host to a planter sale. An open studio night also is offered from 5:30 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday for a $10 donation.
Ailene Josephs, of Regent Square, attends the open studio night each week with her two children. Ms. Josephs picked up a video from the library, saw a flyer about the studio and was immediately hooked.
"Open studio night is perfect because I'm a beginner," Ms. Josephs said. "It's also a wonderful outlet for young people to do something empowering with their hands."
Open studio night, Tuesdays, 5:30 - 9 p.m., $10.
Children's summer art classes, monthly rate, $60.
Teen and adult ceramics classes, monthly rate, $70.
Wheel-thrown pottery class, monthly rate, $75.
Raku workshop, scheduled on July 28, $25.
For information: 412-351-5356.
Program coordinator Jaison Pascuzzi, 29, of Pitcairn, joined the small team of volunteers at the studio in 2005. Today, he runs the facility, teaching, marketing and doing development thanks to a stipend paid by AmeriCorps that has been in place since the studio's birth.
Mr. Pascuzzi teaches the majority of the classes at the studio; he learned the craft of pottery from Mr. Wukich while earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in ceramics at Slippery Rock University. Mr. Pascuzzi graduated in 2000 and later received an art education certificate from Carlow University.
Reaching out to the young people of the community is his core motivation in guiding the program.
"As much as I love art and exchanging ideas, it is all rooted in the mission of the program: bringing in the children and enriching them," Mr. Pascuzzi said.
Mr. Pascuzzi, a published author with a book titled, "Paths of Clay," transformed the studio from a room full of equipment into a full-functioning community of potters.
"Jaison took over and we had momentum and got a lot more volunteers to work in the shop," Mr. Wukich said.
Mr. Pascuzzi is passing down his own love for giving back to the community to his students, with art projects like glazed pots that are geared toward beautifying Braddock.
During one after-school session, Mr. Pascuzzi said, he asked the students what they thought about Braddock from the inside out. Their answers were a collection of honest and uninhibited observations.
"Braddock is dirty, Braddock is run down, and they're going to tell you it is," Mr. Pascuzzi said. "I said, 'Well, maybe we can make it a little better on a small scale with your pots and put them in the library and make that space a little more pleasant.'"
Mr. Pascuzzi said that while he teaches children the art of clay on a daily basis, keeping them focused after a long school day is often a challenge. He stays at it because he can see the sense of accomplishment the children get from a finished product.
He recalled one little girl in particular who was having a bad day until her work at the studio turned her mood around. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts, came back to the room and finished her pot. Mr. Pascuzzi said that a picture he took of the little girl gripping her finished product with a winning smile is priceless.
"That picture represents the true experience that she was having." Mr. Pascuzzi said. "I took that picture and later I looked at it and thought, 'That sums up why I am doing what I am doing.' That's it; reaching this child and giving them a positive experience."
Vicki Vargo, Braddock Carnegie Library executive director, says that the studio, as well as Mr. Pascuzzi's dedicated presence, is especially important to the children who visit the library.
"It's a great way for kids to express themselves and discover the talents they have that otherwise, they wouldn't know they have," Ms. Vargo said.
While the studio builds its reputation as one of Pittsburgh's best-kept secrets, Mr. Wukich said that it is the center of hope for a community that needs it the most.
"The library is a center for life and learning and we are taking it to another level," Mr. Wukich said. "I see this studio as the salvation of Braddock."
First Published: June 21, 2007, 10:15 a.m.
