Seattle Metals Guild Newsletter
2
MAKE ART + BE AN ARTIST // WHERE TWO WORLDS MEET Pratt’s Steve Galatro talks with Cat McCadden In an effort to make all of our members aware of the diverse and evolving educational opportunities in our area, the SMG sat down with Pratt’s executive director, Steve Galatro, to learn about what’s new at Pratt, where tech fits in and what “piecing it all together” means for a working artist. COMMUNITY “You walk in the door and you’re interacting with people in a total opposite discipline. You’re sharing that exchange, and that’s what is so vital for the various art forms.” Steve Galatro, Pratt’s executive director, can’t contain what’s special about Pratt at our morning meet up in his perch-like office above the school’s foyer. He’s right. e community at Pratt has an intangible quality due to its diversity: jewelry or large scale metals, glass or printmaking. As a Pratt student since 2011, I can attest to the influence that the skilled teaching artists at Pratt have had on my professional development. According to Galatro, it’s these tight knit pockets within the school, as well as the larger arts network of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest community, that connect people. “We’re just one component of a larger community and it’s true in each discipline. at’s the thing about Pratt – there are so many disciplines.” Seattle’s diverse community of learners + teachers adds to the melting pot. “e future of arts in our region and our society is really going to come down to a collaborative effort between the entities. Partnership and open exchange and people working together. It’s the way I see it at Pratt, so I try to surround myself with people that are smarter than me. We need to listen, take advice, share expertise. It will help the community, the art forms – this active exchange is key.” CRAFT Aſter a particularly frustrating soſtware upgrade, I was wonder- ing if people want to make more things with their hands today? Is there a response to the digital age that Pratt has seen? Steve thinks so. “I do think there is a maker movement, especial- ly at beginner level where sometimes Pratt students are looking for something, searching.” As a student of leisure (seriously, for credits at SU) Galatro studied the philosophy of “flow”. Defined as that moment when one hands over complete physical or intellectual engagement in any given activity, making art is seen as one of the rare opportu- nities to achieve that state of being. Galatro believes “that feeling of losing yourself in everyday activity is such a giſt to our lives. ere needs to be a place for that, and we’re one of those places.” I tend to agree. He’s more focused on process over the end product, and this has led Galatro toward facilitating art creation at Pratt. He’s been cre- ating spaces since his days on stage in the theater, then managing art galleries, and later while earning his MA in Arts Leadership. BUSINESS OF ART When Galatro arrived two years ago, his task was to protect the core of what Pratt was about, but deliver it in a different way. e studio was the core of the exchange; the artists were strong, but the support structures were deteriorating and so a re-evalua- tion began. “One of the first things we did was ditch the academic model, with four quarters per year. at wasn’t serving anyone. We realized we could meet those needs year round! Different duration, different start dates, different price points. e students are responding to these newer options.” Pratt went from four quarters of 8 weeks each to its current full 52 week calendar class schedule. PIECING IT TOGETHER Steve and the Pratt team know it’s hard to make a living as an artist. “Whether part-time or full-time, [an artist is] always piecing it together. ere is a deficit of professional development out there, and I’m personally passionate about the business of art. One of the things we talk about on the first day with twenty-year-olds is if talent is enough. We burst their bubble. It’s not. It’s probably not event the most important quality to being successful and self-sustaining. Continued on the following page guild news - july 2014
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Steve Galatro sits down with Seattle Metals Guild
Transcript of Seattle Metals Guild Newsletter
MAKE ART + BE AN ARTIST // WHERE TWO WORLDS MEETPratt’s Steve Galatro talks with Cat McCadden
In an effort to make all of our members aware of the diverse and evolving educational opportunities in our area, the SMG sat down with Pratt’s executive director, Steve Galatro, to learn about what’s new at Pratt, where tech fits in and what “piecing it all together” means for a working artist.
COMMUNITY
“You walk in the door and you’re interacting with people in a total opposite discipline. You’re sharing that exchange, and that’s what is so vital for the various art forms.” Steve Galatro, Pratt’s executive director, can’t contain what’s special about Pratt at our morning meet up in his perch-like office above the school’s foyer.
He’s right. The community at Pratt has an intangible quality due to its diversity: jewelry or large scale metals, glass or printmaking. As a Pratt student since 2011, I can attest to the influence that the skilled teaching artists at Pratt have had on my professional development. According to Galatro, it’s these tight
knit pockets within the school, as well as the larger arts network of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest community, that connect people. “We’re just one component of a larger community and it’s true in each discipline. That’s the thing about Pratt – there are so many disciplines.”
Seattle’s diverse community of learners + teachers adds to the melting pot. “The future of arts in our region and our society is really going to come down to a collaborative effort between the entities. Partnership and open exchange and people working together. It’s the way I see it at Pratt, so I try to surround myself with people that are smarter than me. We need to listen, take advice, share expertise. It will help the community, the art forms – this active exchange is key.”
CRAFT
After a particularly frustrating software upgrade, I was wonder-
ing if people want to make more things with their hands today? Is there a response to the digital age that Pratt has seen?
Steve thinks so. “I do think there is a maker movement, especial-ly at beginner level where sometimes Pratt students are looking for something, searching.”
As a student of leisure (seriously, for credits at SU) Galatro studied the philosophy of “flow”. Defined as that moment when one hands over complete physical or intellectual engagement in any given activity, making art is seen as one of the rare opportu-nities to achieve that state of being. Galatro believes “that feeling of losing yourself in everyday activity is such a gift to our lives. There needs to be a place for that, and we’re one of those places.” I tend to agree.
He’s more focused on process over the end product, and this has led Galatro toward facilitating art creation at Pratt. He’s been cre-ating spaces since his days on stage in the theater, then managing art galleries, and later while earning his MA in Arts Leadership.
BUSINESS OF ART
When Galatro arrived two years ago, his task was to protect the core of what Pratt was about, but deliver it in a different way.
The studio was the core of the exchange; the artists were strong, but the support structures were deteriorating and so a re-evalua-tion began.
“One of the first things we did was ditch the academic model, with four quarters per year. That wasn’t serving anyone. We realized we could meet those needs year round! Different duration, different start dates, different price points. The students are responding to these newer options.”
Pratt went from four quarters of 8 weeks each to its current full 52 week calendar class schedule.
PIECING IT TOGETHER
Steve and the Pratt team know it’s hard to make a living as an artist.
“Whether part-time or full-time, [an artist is] always piecing it together. There is a deficit of professional development out there, and I’m personally passionate about the business of art. One of the things we talk about on the first day with twenty-year-olds is if talent is enough. We burst their bubble. It’s not. It’s probably not event the most important quality to being successful and self-sustaining.
Continued on the following page
guild news - july 2014
MAKE ART + BE AN ARTIST // WHERE TWO WORLDS MEETPratt’s Steve Galatro talks with Cat McCadden
Continued from the pervious page
Artists must self-promote, be business-savvy, and take care of themselves with regard to business, the IRS, intellectual property. No one is teaching that. They’re teaching how to make art but not how to be an artist. We could do more here at Pratt. I want to bring that to the table, now that we have a positive trajectory.”
So since talent isn’t enough and there’s a million things to do, where do I start? Pratt is a good bet. Part of their strategic plan includes future programs that bridge that gap for the working artist—programs that can “take you beyond the world of making art and to the world of being an artist”.
Seems like a cool new universe. Sign me up.
To check out Pratt’s education offerings: http://www.pratt.org/classes/
To learn more about the Seattle Metals Guild:http://www.seattlemetalsguild.org
guild news - july 2014
