This
new approach to craft education offers youth & teens a window into creative
3-D thinking, knowledge of materials, and the habits of
mind and skills needed for the 21st century
Mayor Joe
Petty, State Rep. Mary Keefe, Eric Batiste of the City Manager's Office, and
Craft Center President Kim Cutler to launch the celebration at 1 p.m.
September 21, 2016 – Worcester, MA – The Worcester Center for Crafts will introduce their new, innovative
Youth Craft + Creativity Program at a free event this Saturday, September 24
from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Craft Center, located at 25 Sagamore Rd. in
Worcester. Classes in the new program are designed with an integrated,
multi-disciplined approach to youth education for ages 6 through 17 that is
creative, fun and hands-on. Mayor Joe Petty, State Rep. Mary
Keefe (D-Worcester), Eric Batiste of the City Manager's Office, and Craft
Center President Kim Cutler will launch the celebration at 1:00 in the
front lobby of the Craft Center.
The September 24 event is designed as
a sneak peek into the Youth Craft + Creativity Program and will provide
information, demonstrations, and hands-on activities – plus an opportunity for
advanced registration at a discount. To RSVP for this free event, visit http://bit.ly/2aLBDUw.
The Craft Center has developed the
Youth Craft + Creativity Program in response to parents, artists, educators and
community members who have said it is needed - and needed now. “We’ve identified a void in Greater
Worcester that we are trying to fill,” said Honee Hess, executive director of
the Worcester Center for Crafts. “This new approach to craft education offers youth
& teens a window into creative 3-D thinking, knowledge of materials, and
the habits of mind and skills needed for the 21st century.” The Youth Craft + Creativity Program is
distinct from other classes or programs because it is designed to teach the
skills of craft while using it as a window that takes students beyond the book
and the screen to actually “think” and “do.” Classes introduce skills to be
makers as well as to the art, aesthetics, science, math, engineering, and
design that are fundamental in learning and making crafts. In this way, students are not only taught to work with tools, but also to
understand more about skills that transfer from classroom to the world beyond.
According to a 2012 by Michigan State
University researchers, arts-and crafts-trainable skills have been proven to
enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics success in K-12
classroom. Like Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei, modern-day innovators in
science and engineering are artists and craftsmen as well. The Michigan State
research shows that significant arts and crafts experience is highly correlated
with professional success in science and engineering as measured by outcomes
such as major prizes and honors, patents, or the founding of new high-tech
companies. The notable factor is not the type of art or craft, but the early
introduction to arts and crafts in elementary and middle-school years followed
by persistent practice of that art or craft into adulthood.
Craft education nurtures the 21st-century skills of collaboration,
communication, creativity, problem-solving and resilience that are prized by
employers across the economy. As explained by Honee Hess of the Craft Center, “Craft enriches our society and economy
in many ways, from master goldsmiths to makers who build film sets and props,
from the small-batch production of designer makers and industrial designers to
one-off ceramic masterpieces, and from centuries-old traditions to cutting-edge
digital making and new product development. Makers contribute to sectors as
diverse as engineering, manufacturing, medicine, technology, architecture,
fashion and design.”
Throughout the year, the Youth Craft +
Creativity Program classes will be offered for youth and teens, ages 6 through
17. Beginning October 24, 2016, the
Youth Craft + Creativity Program classes will be six-week sessions for students
in age-appropriate groupings. The classes will meet once a week for two to
three hours, depending on the class and age group. After-school and on weekends, the Youth Craft
+ Creativity Program classes will allow youth and teens access to hands-on
making: ceramics, bookmaking, architecture, stained glass, glassblowing,
jewelry-making, enameling, sculpture, 2-D to 3-D, puppetry, paper-making, fiber
and textile arts, and much more!
Funding to create the Worcester Center
for Crafts Center’s new Youth Craft + Creativity Program was provided by the
Stoddard Charitable Trust, the Fletcher Family Foundation, the Greater
Worcester Community Foundation, Southbridge Savings Bank, United Bank, Webster
Five, Millbury Savings Bank, and individual donors. Bay State Parent is a sponsor of the September 24 sneak preview of
the Youth Craft + Creativity Program.
About Us
The Worcester Center for Crafts is one of the oldest
non-profit institutions for craft study in the United States. Founded in 1856
as the Worcester Employment Society to help immigrant women produce and sell
hand-crafted wares to support their families, the Craft Center has evolved over
the past 160 years into New England's leading center for craft education,
exhibition and entrepreneurship. In 2004, the organization expanded and opened
the New Street Glass Studio - an off-campus, 8,000-square-foot,
state-of-the-art, multi-studio glass facility - in Worcester. The WCC offers
the only comprehensive glass-studio program in New England available to the
public. Through an affiliation begun in 2009, the Craft Center is home to the
Worcester State University visual arts-studios and partners in community
outreach.
The Craft Center's mission is "to sustain craft as a
vital part of our community" by providing high-quality craft education and
training, by supporting craft artists in their professions, and
through advocacy and public-education initiatives, including
adult-education classes and workshops, youth-education and outreach programs,
exhibitions showcasing the work of established and emerging artists, artist
residencies, lectures, family events, studio rentals, Gallery Store, and major
events. The Craft Center is a member of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and
its WOO PASS program, and receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural
Council, a state agency. In addition, the Craft Center has an affiliation with
Worcester State University.
For more information, contact Honee
Hess, executive director of the Worcester Center for Crafts, at 508.753.8183
ext. 302 or hhess@worcester.edu.
