chrome. . . fins. . . tuck and roll upholstery. . . hubcaps. . . food. . . music

The Steel Yard is happy to announce its 5th annual Cruise Night, part of the Works in Progress 2010 fundraising event series. Cruise Night will bring over 70 custom and classic vehicles to the newly renovated site for an evening of polished chrome, greasy grooves, raffle prizes, studio tours and food sold by the famous Haven Brothers.  Come see whats new at the Yard, learn about our various courses and check out some of New England’s coolest rides.

Free, 5pm to dark, Friday, the Steel Yard, 27 Sims Street, 273.7101

July 16th is the 5th annual Cruise Night at the Steel Yard, part of the Works in Progress 2010 fundraising event series.

Cruise Night will bring over 70 custom and classic vehicles to the newly renovated site for an evening of polished chrome, greasy grooves, raffle prizes, studio tours and food sold by the famous Haven Brothers.  Come see whats new at the Yard, learn about our various courses and check out some of New England’s coolest rides.

July 31st is Wooly Fair. Interactive art events include The Churning of the Ocean, Nesty Tacos, the Tricycle Rally, and The Flower Tower — a 24’x24’ pyramid structure hosting over 100 container gardens to be planted by each attendee of the Fair and the distributed throughout the community after the event. Live music and food.

August 14th — The 25th Anniversary Foo Fest will once again transform Empire Street into a lively party with over twenty original music performances on two stages, dancing, eating, visual art installations and homemade games. Foo Fest’s indoor and outdoor stages will host over twenty distinctive performances over twelve hours.

Who wants to go to the beach anyway? The sand gets in your egg salad, the sun makes you look like an old handbag, parking is a pain, and then of course. . . you know. . . Jaws. This alternative comes from the Steel Yard.

Now is the time to register for some Steel Yard goodness. Discover exciting new offerings such as: ‘New Jewelry’, exploring materials, chasing and repoussé; or ‘Decorative Panel Reliefs’, enameling and welding in an outdoor fire pit. Or, you can try out some of our tried-and-true classes such ‘Slip Casting and Making Jewelry’ and ‘Becoming a Small Business’.

To learn about our offerings in glass, welding, blacksmithing, jewelry and ceramics check out the Steel Yard course listings.

A comment here if I may — every artist should take at least one business course. Even Annie Leibovitz got herself all bollixed up.

The Steel Yard, 27 Sims Avenue, 401.273.7101

Special Mother’s Day Jewelry Making over at the Steel Yard — two classes, Saturday or Sunday.

This is a special Mother’s Day Weekend offering of our Beginning Jewelry Workshop and it’s all about making and working with that basic building block of jewelry… the jump ring! The class will start with learning how to form round hoops with wire. From there, students will learn a variety of techniques that can be used to design their own unique necklace, bracelet, and/or earrings. The class will cover ways to alter the surface and texture of the wire by hammering, twisting, carving, and drilling metal. Students will also learn basic soldering and annealing skills, as well as how to apply various finishes to their pieces.

Instructor Heather Guidero is a 2002 RISD graduate with a BFA in jewelry and metalsmithing. After 3 years of goldsmithing in NYC, she moved back to Providence. Go here for more info and to register.

$175, 10am to 4:30pm, Saturday, Sunday, The Steel Yard, 27 Sims Street, 273.7101

I meant to post this earlier but there is still plenty of time to register for the spring and summer courses at the Steel Yard. Learn ceramics, glass casting, stained glass, jewelry, welding, or perhaps metalsmithing with Lu Heintz who makes gorgeous stuff in many categories (including the very cool window grate at B Sharp Music). She has the item here under ‘Functional’ at her website. I don’t know what it could possibly do, but I know I want it. Ditch the stupid book club, learn how to do something awesome.

The Steel Yard, 27 Sims Street, 273.7101

It has always been a little difficult explaining to the uninitiated exactly what the Steel Yard is. It just isn’t like anyplace or anything else — and until reading today’s article in the ProJo my understanding was incomplete. Gina Macris explains how it got off the ground, what goes on over there, and their future plans.  It is good to know that the soil remediation effort is nearing an end, making way for some exciting new projects. The big plan is to have the renovated building at 1 Sims Avenue house commercial space with a restaurant on the first floor, and the adjacent property at the Steel Yard could “include retail space for crafts and a venue for outdoor movies.”  That would be amazing — that space is swell at night. Not enough can be said for the vision and energy of partners Nicholas Bauta and Clay Rockefeller who have added so much to the cultural fabric of life in Providence.

*Short answer: The Steel Yard is an arts, education and jobs collaborative at 27 Sims Avenue.

Too many things to do, but make time for this unique event. And hooray for the bleachers! Last year people were climbing on top of wobbly old ladders and hanging from rafters making it difficult to hold onto your beer. I mean cider. It just looks really cool like something out of those cheesy Kalevala movies, or the Hall of the Mountain King, or Pittsburgh. From the Steel Yard,

Watch the Iron Guild fire up their furnaces for the 4th annual molten metal spectacular. In the past they’ve brought us fiery hearts, zombie kings, and glowing skulls. This year…pumpkin casting and the giant flaming Jack-O-Lantern!  Bleacher seating available!!! (A big thank you to the Providence Parks Department for lending us the bleachers) Music provided by Empty House Cooperative.

Enjoy hot cider, doughnuts, and wood-fired pizza while you take in the performance. The event will also feature a bowl sale by the Steel Yard Ceramic Artist Cooperative.

$7, Friday, the Steel Yard, 27 Sims Avenue, doors 6pm, performance 7pm to 8:30pm, 273.7101

Still time to enroll in courses at the Steel Yard. A few things have started already but some classes like ‘Beginning Blacksmithing’ don’t start until November so maybe there is still time to get in. The course instructor for that workshop is Lu Heintz whose work enhances and protects the Providence landscape. Pictured here is the tree guard in front of Julian’s. She also created the window grill at B Sharp music (lovely and practical) and if you were ever stupid enough and drunk enough to try to break into the old Safari Lounge, I bet you left your junk on those spiky, medieval window grates. Workshops include metal casting, glass casting, glass fusing, ceramics, welding — check out the course listings.

Good hair day for the folks at the Steel Yard. This event (Works in Progress 2009 fundraiser) had to be rescheduled due to rain and they have been well-rewarded. From their website,

Teams of artists and fabricators compete in our 2nd annual head-to-head sculpture competition.  Enjoy grilled goodies and stick around for the Iron Chef sculpture auction.  Also for sale will be ceramic goods made by Steel Yard ceramic artists.

1pm to 5pm, Saturday, $20 adults, $10 kids 10 and under, the Steel Yard, 27 Sims Ave.

[Postponed to September 19. Good call. Ed.]

The Steel Yard continues to impress and amaze with all the arts, culture, production and fun they bring into the world — like that really cool girlfriend or boyfriend who was always full of surprises, and that you regret, to this day, that you didn’t spend more time with or appreciate more.

For the latest delight, check out a competition that is truly beyond compare this Saturday (rain date September 19th) as artists compete to create sculpture out of the same trove of objects and materials.

Here’s the skinny from the Steel Yard site:

Teams of artists and fabricators compete in our 2nd annual head-to-head sculpture competition.  Enjoy grilled goodies and stick around for the Iron Chef sculpture auction.  Also for sale will be ceramic goods made by Steel Yard ceramic artists.

$20 adults, $10 kids 10 and under, Saturday, Sept. 19, 1pm to 5pm, 27 Sims Avenue

Works in Progress 2009 Fundraiser at the Steel Yard — the fourth annual Cruise Night featuring classic cars, custom, and (I don’t remember this from last year) bicycles. Also music, refreshments and raffles. And if you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside these buildings there will be studio tours as well. Come see hub caps that are nicer than anything you have hanging on your walls, polished chrome you can straighten your seams in, and cavernous backseats with tuck and roll upholstery specifically designed for necking and heavy petting. Yup, everything used to be better and here’s proof.

Free, 5pm to dark, Wednesday, the Steel Yard, 27 Sims Avenue

Meet with people who love bikes and biking tonight, and discuss Recycle-a-Bike’s list of fun events for the fall. Suggestions welcome.

And if you already are a bike mechanic, or might soon become one, your community bike shop needs you. At 7pm get together and discuss the following topics: volunteers mechanics workshop; open shop; shop organization and inventory; lead mechanics system; tools, programs, classes and outreach.

5:30pm, Wednesday, Recycle-a-Bike, The Steel Yard, 27 Sims Avenue

Metalworker Lu Heintz will be giving a public blacksmithing demonstration today, at the Steel Yard of course.

Her metalsmithing has been featured in trade magazines, including The Anvil’s Ring, and a recently published book 500 Metal Vessels. In the past few years her work was exhibited at the Perimeter Gallery (Chicago, IL), Brookfield Craft Center (Brookfield, Connecticut), The RISD Museum (Providence, RI), Hygienic Art (New London, CT), and ADD Gallery (Hudson, NY). In 2006 her first solo show in Providence exhibited nine new sculptures. In 2007 she executed two public commissions; for one she was awarded a Steel Yard based grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for apprentice training in folk arts.

Heintz creates gorgeous organic shapes you might stumble upon in a forest glen, if you lived in Narnia. She is conducting a week-long intensive, ‘The Potential of Sheet Metal: Cold and Hot’, while at the Steel Yard this summer courtesy of a grant from the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts.

Free, 7pm, Wednesday, the Steel Yard, 27 Sims Avenue

Apparently ‘Wrenching Wednesdays’ at the Steel Yard has been canceled, but Recycle-a-Bike is now hosting an Open Shop on Tuesdays which is not quite the same thing. According to their website,

Open Shop is up and running. Tuesdays 6 - 9 pm. Stop by and fix your bike, access to all tools and a skilled mechanic to help you. $5/hr. $20/month membership and work/trade also available.

Also, maybe you can help out with this project.

Volunteer Days and Nights: Saturdays Noon - 4 pm, and Wednesdays 6 - 9 pm. We’re preparing for remediation and have tons of sorting and bike tune-ups to do to ensure that our shop keeps its doors open and its services active. Drop by and help out.

We are looking for 20 milk crates and a set of large shelves (which can fit milk crates) to store our stuff. Please contact us to set up a time to donate if you have any of these items.

The ‘remediation’ refers to the additional capping off of the soil at the Steel Yard which will probably be causing some upheaval in the routine there. (If you recognize the bicycle in this photo . . . it’s in the Providence River. Sorry.)

Open Shop (bike repair), 6pm to 9pm, Tuesday, 27 Sims Avenue, Steel Yard

Applications for Camp Metalhead at the Steel Yard are due Monday, June 15th. Camp Metalhead is a two-week summer youth program that explores arts and industry. Metalhead is open to young adults from the Providence area between the ages of 14 and 18.  This year’s camp will take place Monday through Friday July 20th through the 31st.

Camp Metalhead, The Steel Yard, 27 Sims Avenue, 273.7101