Ash Survey, Ash Tree and Treadle Lathe Available

April 15, 2015

Carnegie Mellon Students Gauging Interest in Pittsburg Ash

A group of Carnegie Mellon students is working with a Pittsburgh-based non-profit, Pittsburgh Green Innovators (PGI), to find a use for Pennsylvania's ash trees. Ash trees are being killed in huge numbers by an invasive beetle, the Emerald Ash Borer, and PGI hopes that the ash wood could be used for more valuable purposes than firewood. It is the larvae of the beetle, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, that feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients, and eventually killing the tree. You can help this coalition by participating in their on-line survey. In exchange, you have a chance to win one of three $100 gift certificates. The survey is open to all, and the more participants the better their results. Please feel free to contact Benjamin Roderick (broderic@tepper.cmu.edu) with any questions. Thank you for your participation!

Want to know more about this invasive specie? You can visit the emerald ash borer, a website that is part of a multinational effort to assemble the latest information about the infestation and what is being done about it. You'll also find information on tree identification, management, replacement, and links to many resources.

Ash Logs in Center Bridge

Free Treadle Lathe

If you are looking for some ash, Grace Betts has just had a tree taken down in Center Bridge, north of New Hope. Grace can be reached at 718-938-6250 or her email for more information.

Jack Gumbrecht is hoping to find someone who will appreciate and perhaps use this antique (est. 1820-1850) treadle lathe. It might need a little tune-up, but all the parts are there. He is in Fort Washington, and if you are willing to pick it up, you can have it for free. Jack can be contacted at his emai l or 484-632-6893.

Other Selections: Local Artists Respond to the Museum Collection, a new collaborative exhibition, open at The Center for Art in Wood at 141 N. 3^rd Street, Philadelphia, from May 2 - July 19, 2014 in the Gerry Lenfest Gallery. An opening reception with the artists will be held Friday, May 1, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at the Center in conjunction with First Friday gallery festivities in Old City and a gallery talk and art expedition are described below.

The Center for Art in Wood embarks on new terrain with this spring exhibition, a collaboration with young, local artists who work in diverse media - drawing, sculpture, printmaking, video, and photography - everything, in fact, except wood. The 18 Philadelphia-based artists studied the Center's Museum Collection and selected one or more pieces to serve as a point of departure for new artwork. The exhibition ranges from animation, kinetic sculpture, woodblock prints, book art, to large scale installations. In this and other projects, the Center seeks to make the collection an engine for creative activity.

The concept for the project began with Gerard Brown and David Stephens, members from the museum's exhibition committee, who proposed that the Center open its gallery to the many artist-run spaces in Philadelphia. Participating members of the collective NAPOLEON include Marc Blumthal, Lewis Colburn, Marianne Dages, Christina P. Day, Alexis Nutini, H. John Thompson, and Tamsen Wojtanowski. Additionally, NAPOLEON member Jordan Rockford invited the local artist Patrick Coughlin to participate. Another collective, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, brings five artists to the project: Jaime Alvarez, Todd Baldwin, Mark Brosseau, Joanna Platt, and Terri Saulin Frock. Artworks by Jason Gandy and James Johnson are curated by Sean Stoops. Timothy Belknap and Ryan McCartney, who direct the Icebox Project Space through their collective, McCartney/Belknap, round out the show. Lewis Colburn, a NAPOLEON member, worked closely with the Center's staff to organize the exhibition.

Exhibition Events
The Center stays open until 8:00 PM for First Fridays, May 1, June 5, and July 3. A gallery talk and reception with the artists will take place on Saturday, May 2. Join the artists as they talk about their work in the Center's Gerry Lenfest Gallery.

On Friday, June 5 the Center and the 319 Artist Cooperative Building will co-host an art expedition, which starts with guided tours at 5:00 PM at the Center, then moves to the artist-spaces at 319 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia for gallery tours from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Admission to this event is free, but registration is required, with a 30 person limit, admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that the 319 N. 11^th street building is not wheelchair accessible.

To register, please contact Maggie Bradley, Director of Advancement at 215-923-8000 or maggie@centerforartinwood.org.

The exhibition is generously supported by the Cambium Circle members of The Center for Art in Wood, The Bresler Family Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Samuel S. Fels Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and Windgate Charitable Foundation.

The Center for Art in Wood is a non-profit organization which features international contemporary art made from wood in changing exhibits, a Museum Collection showing the breadth of the wood field, a Research Library, and an eclectic mix of handmade merchandise in the Museum Store. The Museum Collection contains over 1000 objects from around the world, ranging from traditional functional every-day objects to contemporary sculpture. The Center is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm and is handicapped accessible. Admission is free, membership and donations are appreciated.