Feedback comes in many forms including praise, support, questions, and everyone’s favorite, “constructive criticism”. This month The Crucible received a wonderful letter from Yelp! with a very specific kind of feedback: congratulations!

Working with our community has always been a large part of the DNA of The Crucible. We continually strive to match our curriculum to the needs of our students, and take time in each class to make sure each person who walks through the door has the experience they’re looking for. This month, Yelp! let us know that it’s been working.

Across the board we’ve received great reviews from folks who’ve taken the plunge and attended our classes and workshops. The comments range from simple and fun to lengthy and thoughtful. Here are a few:

“I can now eat fire. Thanks, The Crucible.”

“I don’t know how to give The Crucible anything less than five stars because where else can you learn glass blowing, wood working, arc welding and neon making? This is as good as places that do all that get!”

“I couldn’t think of any line save the opening one from Shakespeare’s Henry V better to describe my experiences at the Crucible. To say that the artwork here is incredible is like saying the Sistine Chapel is pretty. The words fail.”

“The Crucible is like another world. Inside the large Oakland space, exists a world of fire, glass, wood, metal, and creativity.”

Peralta Junction’s Pop-Up Creative Commons has become a hive of weekend activity in West Oakland. Movies, music, dancing… Each weekend as the doors open up inquisitive visitors are treated to art, food trucks, performances and a special booth of artists from The Crucible showing (and selling!) their wares.

A few of the artists showing off their craft include:

• Lauren Ekman with handmade glass beads and jewelry (etsy.com/shop/redredmelt)
• Cliff Bohm, blacksmithing and beautiful knives
• Sam Waller and his leather work
• Ben Cowden with kinetic sculpture (twentysevengears.com)
• Rob Nehring with metal sculpture (rustynoodlestudios.com)

Sound like fun? To learn more about Peralta Junction, visit www.PeraltaJunction.com.

The Crucible would like to give a special thanks to SmartyStreets (www.smartystreets.com) for their donation of address verification services.

As with most non-profits, our amazing programs and events are supported in a large way by things we send through the mail. Catalogs, invitations, fundraising appeals… The Crucible maintains a community of roughly 20,000 people, many of whom receive multiple mailings each year. It’s a time-tested system that works wonderfully… Until people move without letting us know, and drop of the face of the planet, forever.

At least that’s what used to happen. By helping to update our data using Change of Address information, SmartyStreets’ address verification services help us maintain the most up-to-date mailing lists possible. Their amazing service helps keeps our members in touch, our donors up to date, our classes full, our events roaring and our lights on. Thank you SmartyStreets.

We’re  proud to announce the expansion of our Community Partners program. In 2011 the program offered tuition discounts to educators, and in 2012 we’ve expanded the program to include discounts for public educators, firefighters, police officers, active military, veterans, City of Oakland employees  and senior citizens.

Participants in the Community Partners program receive 50% discount off tuition on classes at The Crucible. Available classes include welding, glassblowing, blacksmithing, jewelry-making and woodworking, offering participants opportunities to learn skills to enrich their lives and train for the future.

Sound interesting? We invite you to discover and become part of our learning community. Emphasis is placed on community partnerships and on creating an open learning environment. At The Crucible forges roar, sparks fly, glass bends, neon glows and creativity explodes.

• Valid for Pre-K to 12th grade classroom teachers and principals in a California School District, for active firefighters, active police officers, active military, veterans, City of Oakland employees and seniors age 65 and older in California.
• Proof of active status in California is required at time of payment.
• Discount is non-transferable and is limited to one discount per community member per quarter.
• Available in person or by phone only.
• Class cost comprises tuition and studio costs; discount is on tuition only. Discount cannot be applied retroactively. There is limited space for discounted tuition available in each class, and this offer cannot be combined with any other offers, volunteer/intern hours, or coupons. Not good for Family Fun Weekends, Tasters, Youth Camps or Youth Classes, Labs or CREATE access.

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Five-Year Research Agenda, with a System Map and Measurement Model

A little over five years ago, a group gathered at The Crucible for a formative workshop to talk about Art and it’s place in our society. That workshop sparked a study, which lead to this report. How Art Works is the culmination of five years of work, serving as a summary of progress so far and an outline for further research.

The full document and it’s appendices are available for download here: 

• How Art Works
  
• How Art Works: Appendices A & B
  

A Pop-Up Creative Commons in West Oakland featuring Art, Food Trucks, Performances, People & Pumpkins.

Beginning October 4, 2012, the 24,000 square-foot vacant lot full of weeds at the corner of Mandela Parkway and West Grand will be transformed into a creative community space filled with art and commerce. For three months this fall, The Peralta Junction Project will change the nature of weekends in West Oakland, utilizing the strong local opportunities for our often-challenged neighborhood. The project team will clean up and activate the space through art installations, creative workshops, local performing arts programming, micro retail shops featuring local artisans, Oakland-based food trucks, and a tented creative commons.

As we’re an integral part of the West Oakland Industrial Arts Cooridor, The Crucible will be hosting workshops for West Oakland youth on several of the Thursdays and Fridays while the space is open. These workshops will feature copper metalworking as well as learning how to work with light emitting diodes (LEDs). We’ll be tayloring our programming in conjunction with the many other organizations running workshops.

In addition to the workshops, we’ll also be taking over one of the 25 canvas tents to create The Crucible Artist Pop-Up Store, open every Saturday and Sunday 10-6pm. At the Pop-Up Store you’ll be able to browse through works by artists at The Crucible, all of which will be for sale!

Grand opening is this weekend, October 6th & 7th, with a host of installations and performances to kick off the project.

To learn more visit www.PeraltaJunction.com.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, October 26, 2012 (5:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time)
Applications should be sent to Steven Young, Executive Director at The Crucible via email, stevenyoung@thecrucible.org. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline.

ELIGIBILITY
In an effort to support The Crucible’s mission, priority will be given to artists residing in the Bay Area.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and in support of the West Oakland Renovation Project, The Crucible is seeking artists to construct a commissioned piece of artwork that will be displayed at The Crucible’s newly remodeled front yard. We are seeking two artists, each will display one piece.

The Crucible is a nonprofit arts education organization that fosters a collaboration of arts, industry, and community. Through training in the fine and industrial arts, The Crucible promotes creative expression, reuse of materials, and innovative design, while serving as an accessible arts venue for the general public. From blacksmithing, welding, foundry to neon, glass blowing, welding, and kinetics, The Crucible provides innovative visual arts education programs to 5,000 adult and youth students annually. The finished artworks will represent the areas in which The Crucible teaches, and should promote the reuse of materials.

SITE DESCRIPTION
The chosen artworks will be displayed in the front of The Crucible in our newly constructed sculpture garden. The garden was renovated this past spring, and funded by the City of Oakland in support of the West Oakland restoration efforts. The artwork will be displayed on two pads with an area size of 3’x3′ each. Each artist will be responsible for designing and constructing one piece of artwork to fit on one pad.

The Crucible is located across from the West Oakland BART Station, and is visible to an average of 4,895 commuters per week. The site is also seen to many pedestrians and traffic entering into the West Oakland corridor, and traveling on the freeway, as it is located on 7th Street.

PROJECT BUDGET
The total budget for artwork is a $2,500 stipend per artist, inclusive of all artist’s fees and associated expenses for design, fabrication, insurance, transportation and installation.

PROJECT SCHEDULE (subject to change)

• RFP Deadline: October 26, 2012
• Selection Panel Approval of 2 Artist Projects: October 31, 2012
• Artwork Fabrication begins: November 2012
• Artwork Installation: December 2012

ARTIST PROJECT SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS

• Priority will be given to local Bay Area artists with an emphasis in the reuse of materials.
• All projects should represent one or more of the technical areas that The Crucible teaches. Mixed media and artist collaboration is encouraged.
• Artistic excellence, innovation, and originality should be evident in the proposal concept submission and artist work samples.
• The artist’s professional experience will reflect an ability to meet the time demands of this project.

TO APPLY
All application materials must be submitted via email to Steven Young. Application materials include:

• Letter of interest including the project scope and description
• Resume
• 5 images of previous
  

While it’s true that most of courses we offer are geared towards an adult audience, youth programming still forms large portion of what happens at The Crucible. Inspiring creativity, responsibility, and an understanding of the way things work in youth is incredibly important to our operations. Not only do we offer regular courses geared towards our younger fabricators, we also offer very specific programs including scholarships, internships and a large selection of youth-specific workshops.

Our youth workshops are one of our most popular programs, growing in size and scope every year. We host several types of workshops with local schools and organizations, working in collaboration to teach skills necessary to complete a variety of projects. Our past collaborations include Girls, Inc., Lick Wilmerding School, Athenian School, Drew School, Marin County Day School, KIPP Bridge Charter School, New Highland Academy and The Tesseract School.

Our workshops are all project-based, and are wonderful opportunities for students to participate in group projects, or create individual projects. Designed to be fun and informative, our workshops facilitate team-building opportunities as well as encourage individual exploration of the arts.

Why do people choose The Crucible? For starters, we give students an equal footing in a unique, supportive and non-competitive environment. We encourage group problem-solving, encourage creative ways of communicating, and we address California educational standards in the areas of art, science and math. We offer projects and disciplines that fit your specific student needs, and we work towards developing each student’s individual artistic expression.

Workshops are offered in most of our disciplines. Blacksmithing, glass flameworking, kinetics, glass fusing, foundry / sand casting, jewelry, glass blowing, woodworking, bike alterations and welding are all part of our curriculum. We teach youth to use skills like these in creating projects like schoolyard benches, school signs, mosaics and garden sculptures.

We offer half- and full-day programs ranging from 3-hour to 8-hour design / build large art projects, and can accommodate multiple-day workshops. We can provide food and photography services, and provide exhibition opportunities.

If you’re looking for activities to engage your students over your spring and summer breaks, workshops at The Crucible are a great way to keep young minds active and engaged. For more information contact Carla Hall at 510-444-0919 x112, email carla@thecrucible.org, or visit the Youth Workshops portion of our website.

50% Educator Discounts

Along with out workshops, we also offer substantial discounts to educators in the bay area. As part of the educational community we’re happy to offer you a 50% discount on tuition for classes at The Crucible. This discount is valid for all pre-K to 12th grade teachers, principals and school administrators working in a California School District. The discount can only be applied over the phone or when registering in person, and does not affect the cost of materials required for classes. For more information visit the Educators Discount portion of our site.