Public art is pouring out at Ketchup City Creative
Residents are involved in metalsmith project
Shhhhhh! Public art is going on at Ketchup City Creative in Sharpsburg — a place that is no longer open to the public, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions.
Lindsay Huff, a metalsmith, enamel artist, teacher and graduate of Fox Chapel Area High School, has been sneaking from her Etna home to build the art at Ketchup City. The neighborhood is in on it, too. “We’re funding the project with a grant from the Hillman Foundation,” said Brittany Reno, executive director of the Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization, part of the Triboro Ecodistrict that includes groups in Etna and Millvale.
This is not the first public art project funded by SNO. Photographer Martha Rial’s “Beyond the Ceiling: Sharpsburg” murals honoring inspiring local women, past and present, still catch the eye along the borough’s byways. Ketchup City was part of that project then, too, but this time, the public art space is using its “Closed due to COVID-19” status to provide Ms. Huff a place to work.
Choosing the format and the artist was a process for SNO. “We were really impressed with Lindsay’s community vision plan,” Ms. Reno said.
It also helped that Ms. Huff lives in Etna.
“We wanted to do our best to support a local artist. With all of our projects, we’re feeding two birds with one scone,” Ms. Reno said. “Anytime we can use our grant funds to support local businesses to fulfill a plan is the ultimate goal.”
Local residents are also involved with the project. SNO and Ketchup City have put out a call for empty, clean, dry aluminum cans — preferably with the top and bottom removed. The Sharpsburg Art Mural Can Collection Plan has been posted on social media for a month so residents know they can drop off their cans at Ketchup City, 612 Main St. in Sharpsburg, and behind 216 North Ave. in Millvale, a property currently for sale.
Ms. Huff has been set up at Ketchup City since late May. The metalsmith found her niche at Fox Chapel High School, where she credits retired art teacher Ron Frank with encouraging her interest.
“It’s a pretty tedious process,” she said. “A lot of students aren’t fond of the work. But I find it very satisfying.”
So satisfying, she went on to graduate from Syracuse University with a bachelor of fine arts degree in metalsmithing. Once home in Pittsburgh, Ms. Huff began teaching her art to students of the Artsmiths of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media. She also teaches online and in many community art settings. She teachers students from age 8 through adulthood metalsmithing and enamel work through short workshops, field trips in schools and a variety of projects.
“It’s certainly an interesting time to do an art project,” Ms. Huff said of the coronavirus quarantine. Initially, a series of workshops had been planned, inviting people of all ages to help create the public art pieces from the collected aluminum. Now, she is doing most of the hands-on work herself, and the public is limited to donating cans.
Once Ms. Huff gets the metal collected and cut into colorful aluminum tiles, she will don her safety gloves and arrange the pieces by color, and the large-scale art pieces will be put together similar to a puzzle. “I pre-cut the tops and bottoms of the cans, so when I cut down the seams, it leaves a big rectangle to work with,” she said. Her friend and fellow artist, H. Gene Thompson, a fabric sculptor and public performer based in Wilkinsburg, will help with the piece work.
Then it’s hammer time. “I really have to focus and work,” she said. “But I get a gratifying sense of achievement.”
With the proper safety measures, she’s taught her methods to students of all ages in schools throughout the Pittsburgh area. This time, the workspace at Ketchup City will offer a window to her world of metalsmithing. Ms. Huff also plans to provide online videos of the work, and, when possible, tables will be set up on the sidewalk where children can try out the metalsmithing process on their own.
Finally, Sharpsburg Borough Council will get involved by approving sites for the public art displays and use social media to survey respondents for ideas on the imagery they like to see. “There will be two or three installations throughout the community,” said Ms. Reno, who is also borough council president. “A lot of residents and business owners want to see public art. Our online survey will give them a say on where they’d like it to be.”