By Judy Shuler
What can revitalize a community, help the shy find their voice and the disconnected find a place to belong? The arts, says Shane Hawkins, executive director of Infinity Visual and Performing Arts. Pearl City Clay House, a program and satellite site of Infinity, is in the process of opening a community arts space in downtown Jamestown.
Like so many things, progress was slowed by COVID, but kilns are in place and “we are planning to have a fantastic series of classes and activities the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, and all-day Black Friday.”
“Pearl City Clay House will reside within the Downtown Jamestown Arts Corridor (220 E. Second St.), not only for the proximity to the National Comedy Center and other attractions, but as a spark for further downtown revitalization and stimulation of local economy and business. A vibrant, active storefront boasting large street-level display windows along the 2nd street corridor will be a catalyst to additional positive development activity.”
Open to people of all ages, Pearl City classes are taught by professional artists in a wide variety of mediums—cut-paper with Wendy Bale; fiber art with Debbie Penley; hand-made paper with Janna Willoughby-Lohr; quilling with Michele Starwalt-Woods; painting with Leslie Calimeri; birds in art with Joseph Grice; jewelry making with D’Arsie Mae Manzella; pottery with Darcie McLachlan; ceramics with Caitlin Ross; fiber art with Lyn Harris and Michele Bango; Jenny Brown, macrame. More details about each of the teaching artists are posted at pearlcityclayhouse.org.
Deb Eck is program director and a teaching artist who specializes in installation and book arts. “Pearl City Clay House was designed to provide more art for the community, specifically adults and families, while also providing a new earned revenue stream for Infinity Visual and Performing Arts as part of a long-term sustainability plan.”
All profits from Pearl City events and programs go to support Infinity youth programming. A non-profit corporation, Infinity offers educational opportunities for all young people in the Jamestown area through access to the visual and performing arts–music, art, dance, theater, and performance. Participants can study with professional musicians, artists, dancers, and actors.
“We write 45K in grants annually to be able to provide scholarship options for students with financial need. In order to keep the doors open, more than 30 grants need to be written annually.”
As the new facility has been under construction, pop-up classes were held in a variety of locations; when the new space is open most activities will be held onsite, Hawkins says.
“Creativity, art, community activities are all connectors,” she says. “Post-COVID I think people are looking for experiences and connection. “Join us! Spark your creativity, meet new people, challenge yourself, re-invent yourself! And help support youth arts programming at the same time.”
The name “Pearl City” comes from Jamestown’s first major industry, lumbering. Hard woods were burned to produce potash and pearl ash. The area became one of the largest centers in North America for the production of pearl ash, which was shipped to London for use as leavening for bread. It earned Jamestown the nickname “Pearl City.”
“We felt that firing the kiln had a certain kinship with the production of pearl ash, and so we’ve adopted the name Pearl City as a talisman of our sense of place and purpose.”
For further details see infinityperformingarts.org, pearlcityclayhouse.org and their Facebook page. Register for classes at pearlcityclayhouse.org.