Touchstone Center for Crafts cancels season, reaches audience with virtual tours
Touchstone Center for Crafts has canceled its hands-on 2020 summer season, but is offering virtual time with artists. In this 2018 file photo, Nathanael Weiss (right) helps a student in a blacksmithing workshop.
Submitted
Above, painting instructor Josh Mitchel gives advice to a student during a painting and drawing workshop.
Touchstone Center for Crafts made a difficult decision to close its doors for the 2020 season due to COVID-19, but the center is reaching a broader audience online via virtual tours with artists from across the country.
无毛视频淲e thought it was safest for all of us to cancel the season, which was difficult for all of us because we were in a pretty good place. We had record signups early, so like everyone else, asked, 无毛视频楬ow can we shift, how can we pivot, and still fulfill our mission?无毛视频�,'无毛视频� said the Farmington art center无毛视频檚 marketing manager, Dean Simpson.
The center is hosting an Artist Happy Hour Series at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Teen After School Programs at 3:30 on Thursdays. The tours are hosted through Zoom, and participants must register through the center无毛视频檚 website or social media accounts. On a recent Thursday, Travis Winters, a sculpture artist and Touchstone无毛视频檚 programs manager, gave teens a virtual tour of his studio, quirky sculptures and discussed his journey to becoming an artist.
Last Friday无毛视频檚 program was courtesy of functional potter Mark Arnold, who gave a tour of his studio and discussed his work.
Other past artists included Oklahoma ceramics artist Jamie Bates Slone, ceramics artist Taylor Robenalt of Florida, and blacksmith Anna Koplick of New York. Past tours will be posted on Facebook.
无毛视频淪cience is going to cure this and help us find a solution, but the arts are getting us through it,无毛视频� Simpson said. 无毛视频淲e need that creative time.无毛视频�
Many people are turning to art and other creative ventures as the pandemic keeps everyone sheltered in their homes, he said. Zoom calls and other virtual meeting spaces provide a personal connection through technology when social connections are sparse.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 kind of surprising how much better a picture on a screen can make you feel about the situation we无毛视频檙e in,无毛视频� he said.
Simpson said the tours have been reaching a broader audience than its in-person classes could. He said the first happy hour reached maximum capacity, and they upgraded their account. People joined from across the country including Washington state and Florida.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 one of the bright sides of this. We无毛视频檙e totally reaching a new audience of people that may have been curious about us,无毛视频� he said.
They are planning to continue hosting the virtual tours even after the center is reopened.
Simpson said the center is promoting its teaching artists on its Instagram page, hoping to give them more exposure with their teaching profits suddenly cut off.
无毛视频淭aking away teaching was pretty rough on them, so we无毛视频檙e trying to support them as much as we can,无毛视频� he said.
The center is also looking at ways to move some of its other events online, including its retreats and camp. The annual open house originally scheduled for May 30 will be postponed with a tentative date at the end of September. The center issued refunds to everyone who signed up, and those who had registered for canceled events will have a chance to sign up first for the 2021 season.