Sketch, paint, carve, print, stitch, throw, and fire your vision into reality at the MAC’s new Maker Space.
After being asked time and time again if they had art supplies—if they had a pottery studio—if they had a darkroom, the team at the Monongalia Arts Center got the hint.
“I’d enjoyed using the craft center at WVU, which is a great resource for university students and employees,” says MAC Executive Director Aldona Bird. “When people kept asking, we realized there was a need for something like that for the rest of the community.”
Opened in June, the MAC’s Maker Space has tools and supplies for projects ranging from sewing and linoleum block printing to development of black and white photography and all kinds of drawing and painting—as well as a significant collection of art books for learning and inspiration.
And soon it will, in fact, have a pottery studio.
“We’re going to have several wheels, a hand-building station, glazes, and a kiln,” Bird says. “We’ll start by offering classes and opening it to students in the classes, and hopefully in short order we’ll open it to the community.”
A Maker Space membership of $10/day or $60/month includes use of all of the tools and some consumable supplies, Bird says, with other supplies available for a small fee. The MAC has scholarships, too. “We want to make sure that creating art is accessible to everybody.”
If you’ve got art supplies you know you’re never going to use, the Maker Space can get them into the hands of someone who will turn them into something fabulous. And Bird invites suggestions from Morgantown’s creative community for other kinds of tools and supplies. “We’ve talked about adding more sewing supplies or getting a laser etching machine or a large-scale printer. We’re always open to feedback.”
The Maker Space is open when the MAC is: Tuesday 6–9 p.m., Wednesday through Friday 1–7 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM MORGANTOWN LOWDOWN
Leave a Reply