WOOD TURNING: WHAT A TURN-ON!

TURN IN to 501 Vine Street, and you’ll see what I saw in April: the curves and shapes and colors and grains that define the craft of wood turning. When I arrived, I immediately spotted the lathe, basking proudly in the light on the windowsill, and knew that this device, guided by the deft hands of an artist, was responsible for the beautiful objects I was about to see. Albert, Ron, and William, the inspiration and administrative backbone of the organization, gave me a warm welcome, a hint of the sensory pleasure that pervades the Wood Turning Center in Philadelphia. I began my journey.

HAD I MADE A WRONG TURN? As I entered the gallery, I was struck by the apparent anomaly that I saw ahead. Pieces made from glass and linen and leather and clay in a wood center? Then I saw the sign: “Magic Realism---Material Illusions”, and I understood my mistake. Here was a special exhibit that played with expectation and its intersection with reality. On display were illusions of materials: a child’s cotton dress…really wood; a birch tree branch…really clay; a lacy linen corset…really glass. I had been exposed to the unexpected interconnectedness, OK… the magic… of materials!

TIME TO TURN BACK THE CLOCK by paging through the books and photographs in the next room.  By perusing through the shelves that lined the walls, serious scholars, able artists, and just fascinated folks could read about the history of wood turning, the process that defines it, and the artists who produced its most acclaimed work. Out of sight in a climate-controlled area, the WTC houses a permanent collection of wood-turned objects that are rotated out for display periodically. If time had permitted, I could have researched the past and gained even more appreciation of this special craft.  Next visit!

THEIR TURNSTILE KEEPS MOVING!  WTC also invites hobbyist turners to enhance their skills, experienced wood artists to find new inspiration, and researchers to expand their knowledge. Most importantly, WTC encourages the general public to discover and appreciate this very special place. There are only three craft art studios in Philadelphia, the other two devoted to either clay or fabric. The Wood Turning Center is unique: its focus is wood, and its mission is to elevate the perception of this craft art to the level of fine art! After my visit, I was a believer!


NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN. Be a visitor. You have lots of choices. Three specific and well-defined programs are available for Art-Reach members, each one offering some combination of museum history, process explanation, exhibit information, sample pieces, and lathe demonstration. Also available is a hands-on turning experience! The WTC kindly offers an “on-the-road” alternative, taking portions of the program to member sites, thereby reaching audiences unable to travel. 

 IT’S SOMEONE ELSE’S TURN: Do you need another recommendation? Maybe Brandee will convince you! Brandee, a young woman with many physical challenges, along with Debbie, her nurse, and Lynda, her doctor, spent the morning of April 29th at WTC. I was there too. Wood artist, Philip Hauser, a retired executive who confessed to a long-time love affair with wood, patiently demonstrated how wood is turned on the lathe. He slowly transformed a chunk of unfinished poplar into a “lidded box.” As Philip worked and talked, Dr. Lynda orally conveyed the visual details to Brandee, who is visually impaired. The pleasant smell of burning wood filled the air as the turning continued. With each new curve and detail, Dr. Lynda placed the transformed creation into Brandee’s open hand, thus stimulating her tactile response. Dr. Lynda’s expressive narrative voice reflected the beauty of the evolving piece, enhancing the sensory experience for this special guest with limited independent abilities. When Philip ended his demonstration, he gifted the finished piece to Brandee, concluding what Dr. Lynda described as “unequivocally, one of the best experiences Brandee has ever had.” She added her intention to return soon with other Rec Care folks.

 However you choose to experience this craft and art, whether at the WTC site or on your own turf, you will see the curves and shapes and colors and grains. You will feel the warmth, smell the wood, and welcome the peace. Your senses will tell you… you made the RIGHT TURN!

-by Barbara Speece

Green Room: The meaning behind the term

A green room is a room in a theater, television show set, or public venue used by actors, speakers or other performers when they are not onstage. They can simple or lavish.



While most green rooms today aren’t literally painted green, the origin of the name is unclear and varies in explanation from the usage of green paint in the rooms to green plants kept to provide humidity, which was assumed to be good for the voice. One theatre explains that “In olden times the players performed on a platform or stage referred to as “The Green” and adjacent to this was a room for relaxing, going over lines and other things that players did.”


Today, green rooms might have TVs for actors and actresses who, while waiting for their cue to go onstage, can watch what’s going on onstage currently. On television show sets, celebrity guests and TV show hosts might meet each other in the green room before appearing together in front of an audience. Fans, often with a backstage pass or for a fee, may meet the actors or musical performers in the green room after the performance.

- by Khanh-Anh

Birthday of the Week

English actress Audrey Hepburn was born this week on May 4th, in 1929. She was born in Brussels, Belgium and was the only child of Joseph Rusten and her mother, Ella Van Heemstra. As a child she took ballet lessons at the Arnhem Conservatory and after World War II ended, Audrey and her mother moved to Amsterdam where she continued to study ballet under Sonia Gaskell. Eventually, she moved to London where she studied ballet under influential British dancer Marie Rambert, while occasionally working as a model to support herself.

She had her first role in the British movie One Wild Oat and then had minor roles in Young Wives’ Tale, Laughter in Paradise, The Lavender Hill Mob, and Secret People. While working on the English and French film Monte Carlo Baby, French writer known as Colette choose Audrey to play the title role in the Broadway adaptation of her novel Gigi. Hepburn won a Tony award for this performance. In 1953, she received her first starring role in the film Roman Holiday, for which she won an academy award for best actress. In 1954, she starred in the play Ondine with Mel Ferrer, whom she would marry later that year. They would have one child together. She went on to star in numerous films, including Sabrina, War and Peace, Funny Face, Paris When It Sizzles, Love in the Afternoon, Green Mansions, The Unforgiven, The Children’s Hour, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Charade, and My Fair Lady.

After her divorce from Ferrer, she married her second husband Andrea Dotti on January 18th, 1969. They would also have one child together. In 1988, Audrey Hepburn became UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador – a role that had a great impact on the organization and on Hepburn herself. She passed away on January 20th, 1993.

-by Mike Endres

Art-Reach at the Scott Arboretum

Art-Reach held its 2nd annual program celebrating Earth Day on April 23rd.  The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), an Art-Reach community partner, Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASB), a long time Art-Reach member agency as well as Art-Reach staff, donors and I embarked on a sensory tour of Scott Arboretum.

Sensory tours are generally given for people who have sensory disabilities. Elements of exhibits, shows or in this case the garden are made available to touch and smell in order to heighten participants’ experience of the event. For people who are blind and receiving descriptions of the place they visit, these tours enhance the narrative and place the descriptions into context of a tangible object.















Scott is a 300-acre arboretum located on the grounds of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA.  Becky Robert, the Member and Visitor Programs Coordinator, was our knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide.  The tour began at the Scott Entrance Garden whose plants and layout change every year.  Becky passed around clippings from a shrub with a twisty vine.  We learned that when the leaves die in the winter, the vines add interest to the garden.

Touching the plants was a new way for some of us to experience the garden but it was old hat for our friends from ASB. This organization serves people who are blind or visually impaired and ASB is an active member of Art-Reach. Visiting museums and attending performances year round, this group actively seeks sensory tours where tactile elements are incorporated into the experience offering a far more intimate understanding of the featured activity. In this same manner ASB has visited the Philadelphia Zoo, InterAct Theatre Company, Arden Theatre Company and  Enchantment Theatre Company, to name a few.

When we walked over to a majestic pine tree and felt its deep ridges or furrows, HLAA member Diana told me it was “very interesting to feel the flakiness of the bark.” HLAA provides assistance and resources for people with hearing loss and their families to learn how to adjust to living with hearing loss. They have also been an integral community partner in the Independence Starts Here Campaign, bringing many new audience patrons to enjoy the arts in the Philadelphia region.

Our next stop on the sensory tour brought us to a wooden trellis and Becky passed around some Daphne flowers. Mary Ann, who is hard-of hearing, said she liked “flowers and anything visual” the best. Lavera, one of our blind guests, rubbed the flower in between her fingers and smelled her hand instead of smelling the flower directly. This helped her to “get the scent better,” she explained.

The group then trekked over to a beech tree that was a gift from the Swarthmore class of 1881! The gigantic tree was nearly 20 feet in diameter. Betty, a guest from ASB said the bark felt “all ripply, like when you drop a pebble in a pond.”

Acorns crackled beneath our feet as Becky led the group to a red oak tree and then to a sawtooth oak tree. I felt how the sawtooth oak got its name: it has leaves with serrated edges.

“I love lilacs,” Gladys, another ASB member, exclaimed as we got to a cluster of lilac plants. They were the first official plants at the Arboretum. Lavera echoed that they were her favorite plant of the day.  “It smelled like the most pungent hint of lilac from my childhood,” said Betty.


Sensory tours are also highly enjoyable for anyone with a keen interest in better understanding an artistic art medium. Donor Albert Olenzak, both a supporter of Art-Reach and of Scott Arboretum, agreed with Gladys sharing that he especially enjoyed the portion of the tour where he was able to feel and smell the lilacs. “I’m an outdoors person,” he shared. “I thought it [the tour] was great. It was the best time of the season to smell the lilacs and was beautiful.”

We crouched down to feel a green plant nicknamed Lamb’s Ears, which, according to Betty, felt “better than velvet.”  The final two stops on the tour were a dwarf white pine and a traditional pine.

The day ended with a reception at the Wister Education Center. Cosmic Catering provided organic goodies and we all enjoyed each other’s company. Al Olenzak commented that he had not been to Scott for a while and enjoyed seeing the Wister Education Center. “It was a very pleasant event,” Al shared. “I enjoyed the sensory tour, it was very relaxing and beautiful, but I especially enjoyed meeting the folks participating because they were all very interesting.” For Art-Reach members, donors, staff and ambassadors alike, this event was indeed a relaxing way to end a one-of-a-kind nature experience.

~by Danielle Bullen
Danielle is a Special Project Ambassador with the Art-Reach Ambassador Program.

Inside the Mind of a Dancer

Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki featuring dancer Laura Feig
Used with permission from Ballet X

On April 18th, a sunny Sunday morning, families gathered at the Wilma Theater. They were there to attend “Inside the Mind of a Dancer,” a lecture-demonstration presented by Art-Reach Arts Partner organization, Ballet X.

Founded in 2005, “BalletX produces original choreography that expands the vocabulary of classical dance for all audiences.”

Children chattered and anticipation filled the air as co-artistic director, Christine Cox walked on-stage, carrying her young son. This was truly a family affair. Cox began by asking the audience to write down emotions on a slip of paper.  Then 6 of Ballet X’s dancers came on stage and took their places around 2 portable ballet barres. 

Cox explained, “A dancer, everyday, 6 days a week starts by working out at the barre.”  The dancers demonstrated some of the common moves they practice, such as pliés and pirouettes.

Dancing is not as easy as professional dancers make it look.  “A lot is going on in our brains as we warm up,” said Cox. Dancers need to think about the position of all their body parts as they move.

After warm-up exercises, the dancers showed the captive audience some floor routines.  They collected the papers with emotions written on them. Co-artistic director and choreographer Matthew Neenan picked a paper that said “relaxed.”  Neenan then designed a dance and taught it to his fellow dancers. The relaxed ballet told the story of waking up on a lazy Sunday morning.

The audience saw that dancers need a great memory.  Neenan explained they might have 1 or 2 weeks to create and learn a 20-minute ballet. He said, “People don’t realize how quickly we have to come up with movement.”

The dancers then created mini-ballets based on the audience-suggested emotions “excited”, “anxious” and “tired”.

Cox re-emerged and invited the kids in the audience on stage to learn a routine. Young dancers and some parents got up and practiced their 1st positions, their relevés and their arabesques.  To end the family friendly morning, Cox choreographed a routine to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and everyone danced happily.

Jim and his family attended the event with Art-Reach member, St. Mary Interparochial School.  “My family and I truly enjoyed the performances. Our seats were very close to the stage and this made for a truly memorable afternoon and morning of excellent dancing and informative demonstrations into how a choreographer creates their performances.”

St. Mary Interparochial School has been a long time member of Art-Reach, using the arts creatively to foster family time spent together both during and after school hours. They have found that this approach works to build their school community, increase parent involvement and provide students and their families with fun learning experiences. Jim could not agree more. “I look forward to enjoying many more cultural experiences which are provided by this wonderful program,” says Jim.

After the presentation, Matthew Neenan was kind enough to offer a peek behind the curtain and talk with Art-Reach about Ballet X’s community outreach.

Art-Reach: What are some common misconceptions people have about ballet and dancers?
Matthew Neenan: There’s the misconception it’s a hobby. It’s our job. There are days I don’t feel like doing it, like any job, but I have to do it. Kids don’t realize it’s hard work.  You have to be resilient.

AR: Why is it important for Ballet X to engage in community outreach?
MN:  We have to. Community outreach introduces people to the ballet, develops audiences, and sells tickets. It gets the audience involved. It’s fascinating for adults and children alike. To get grants, we need show outreach efforts.

AR: What inspired Ballet X to create this event?
MN: We wanted to teach about ballet. We’ve done demonstrations before but never for an audience this young. It was kind of an experiment to see if we could hold their attention. We wanted to show toddlers live movement. It’s better for them to see something live than watch TV.  We wanted to do an event at the Wilma. There’s not a bad seat in the house. The audience can really see the dancers for who they are and see the passion and drive very clearly.

AR: What do you hope the audience takes away from the event?
MN: Appreciate the art form, the training, and how smart the dancers are.

~by Danielle Bullen
Danielle is a Special Projects Ambassador with Art-Reach's Ambassador Program

Keeping customers happy, loyal patrons!

Inclusive customer service for everyone: we all know it is important, but what does it truly look like? How do you do it well and execute it correctly?

Independence Starts Here, in partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, presents: 

Keys to Quality Customer Service for Seniors and Patrons with Disabilities.
Tuesday, April 20
9:00-11:00am - continental breakfast provided
The Playground, Adrienne Theater
2030 Sansom Street
Philadelphia PA

This free workshop provides the keys to making sure that all customers are treated with respect and that first-time customers become long-term patrons. Mimi Kenney Smith of VSA Arts of Pennsylvania will lead this session, providing a wealth of best practices and attainable, easy action steps to make your venue more accessible and service friendly. Mimi knows her stuff and makes it fun to learn. We hope to see you there!

Register for this FREE workshop at:
http://keystoservice.eventbrite.com

Why it Matters:
Serving senior audiences and customers with disabilities provides significant opportunities for the cultural community.  According to a 1998 Department of Labor statistic, more than 20 million families in the U.S. have at least one member with a disability. The estimated buying power for people with disabilities is over a trillion dollars and seniors with disabilities control up to 40% of the personal assets in America. Yet, when speaking with patrons with disabilities, their primary concern is not for the quality of the ramp or the captioning; it is for the quality of the customer service.  This seminar will provide the keys to making sure that all customers are treated with respect and that first-time customers become long-term patrons.

This workshop is presented by Independence Starts Here, a community wide cultural-access initiative led by VSA Arts of Pennsylvania and Art-Reach in partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and Philadelphia Corporation for Aging as part of Celebrate Arts & Aging.

Independence Arts Studios offers Spring Session Classes

Independence Arts Studios (IDS), an inclusive artist studio offering classes for persons of every age and ability, has their new spring line up available.  Located at 714 Market Street, IDS offers the following opportunities.

Wheelchair Sculptured Art
Thursdays 1-3 pm, April 29th to June 3rd
Michael Mantis, master jeweler, will be lead students to create an assemblage of various wheelchair parts, put together to create a single piece of arts without welding.

Cast Making for Faces
Tuesdays 1-3pm, May 4th to June 8th
Barbara Gregson, theater artist, will guide students in engaging live models to make plastered casts of the faces of some of the Liberty Resources consumers.

Cost for non IAS members  is $40
Cost for current IAS members is $35

For more information or to register, contact the IAS at 215-634-2000 x333 or send and email to info@artsbuyias.org