First Creator Square ‘Creative Master’ Selected for New Johnstown, PA Residency at Bottleworks Art Center

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - July 28, 2015 - PRLog -- Artisan Alyssa Feather has been selected as the first ‘Creative Master’ in Creator Square Johnstown’s innovative artisan residency program in Johnstown, PA. Her residency, initiated and hosted by Bottleworks Art Center, begins this month and runs through November, 2015.

Angela Rizzo, BOTTLEWORKS Executive Director, states that "This residency is a great opportunity for two of Johnstown’s major arts organizations, BOTTLEWORKS and Creator Square, to collaborate. The more creative energy we both can attract to Johnstown the better. In Alyssa's short time setting up the shop and creating work at BOTTLEWORKS we have already attracted a lot of interest."

As the Johnstown’s first Creative Master to be selected, Alyssa Feather notes that "we seem to have created a lot of community interest already. It has been fun to meet everyone in the community. The collaboration with the local businesses has been positive. They have been very supportive. Since returning to Johnstown, my impression of the creative arts community that is developing is refreshing and inspiring."

The initiative is supported in part by a grant from the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, located in Johnstown. "We are strong supporters of both Creator Square and BOTTLEWORKS Arts Center. Of added interest to us is the collaborative nature of this initial residency and the positive impact we think it can have not only on these organizations but as a catalyst for additional community development," said Mike Kane, Foundation president.

About Alyssa Feather

Alyssa Feather is a master metal smith and jewelry designer who received her Bachelor of Science in Art Education (BSAE) degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Miami University of Ohio. She is an Adjunct Professor of Art at Harrisburg Area Community College and served as the shop technician in the metals studio at Miami University of Ohio. Her work has been exhibited extensively including an international exhibition in the Czech Republic, and juried internal exhibition at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her teaching has been recognized with a CELT Grant by the Center for Learning and Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Alyssa’s husband, Nathan Poglein, is also a metalsmith/jeweler.

About BOTTLEWORKS Art Center

BOTTLE WORKS is a dynamic arts organization operating two cultural centers in the cultural district of Cambria City in historic Johnstown, PA. Operating two adjacent community facilities, BOTTLE WORKS is Johnstown’s preeminent art center where local and national artists, performers, and craftspeople exhibit, create, teach and market their work. The mission of the BOTTLE WORKS is to provide opportunities for artists and audiences to promote and celebrate the Arts through exhibits, education, and participation.

About Creator Square Johnstown

Founded in 2014, Creator Square’s mission is to inspire, nurture, support, connect and exhibit the business and creative development of artisans while stimulating urban revitalization, economic development, and job skills transfer in downtown Johnstown, PA. How can an artisan residency stimulate the local economic and urban revitalization of an older industrial downtown? Creator Square is importing skilled, mid-career makers to a live/work studio building located on a park at the city’s epicenter, mixing them with local makers for an extended period of time, and connecting Johnstown’s creative community, industrial and defense infrastructure, and entrepreneurial activity back into the national network of makers. These artisans are a vital community catalyst, centrally located in the heart of the city, helping to revitalize downtown while stimulating commercial and residential development. Creator Square is a program of the Johnstown Business District Development Corporation (JBDDC), a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded in Johnstown, PA in 2010.

CONTACT:

BOTTLEWORKS
Angela Rizzo
Email: arizzo@bottleworks.org
URL: http://www.bottleworks.org

Creator Square Johnstown
Paul Rosenblatt, Springboard Design
Email: paul@springboarddesign.net

Donald Bonk, Good Future Innovation
Email: donald.m.bonk.c92@alumni.upenn.edu
URL: www.creatorsquarejohnstown.com