The Crucible is taking steps to define our presence in West Oakland. If you’ve come in for a class or whizzed by on BART in recent weeks, you’ve surely noticed our brand new self-identifying letters at the top of our warehouse. Now for the real question: When, not if, to add fire to the letters? But that’s not all!
We’ve also updated our front entrance with new landscaping and two installations. The first is “To The Loss,” a nine-foot tall Redwood drift log pulled from the port of Oakland and re-imagined as a Totem pole by welding instructor Colin Harris. To learn more about the creative process, materials, and story behind “To The Loss,” please visit Colin’s website.
The second installation is a large-scale steel and glass sculpture emblematic of The Crucible’s greatest asset: Community. The creation was a collaborative effort between The Crucible’s blacksmithing instructor Jeff Pringle and flameworking instructor Tansy Brooks.
These design updates further our efforts to create a safe, welcoming, neighborly environment, not just for our students, but for the West Oakland community at large.
We are grateful to Oakland Office of Neighborhood Investment for sponsoring the landscape project and sign, and to the National Endowment for the Arts for sponsoring the installation art.
What do you think of our new look? Let us know in the comments below!