Education: Embarc at CIADC

This past Friday CIADC and Embarc Chicago joined forces to bring local students from Sullivan High School into the shops for a day of immersive education, access and community. The kids jumped right in and knocked out projects from three of our departments: Metalworking & Forging, Woodworking, and Casting & Molding.

In each department, the student’s eyes were wide but focused as they worked. In the Metal Shop, Olivia taught the students how to forge, hammer and twist a piece of bar stock into a handy key fob. Up in the Woodshop, Erik guided the students on the bandsaw to produce a small box. And in Casting & Molding, Micki and Julia had the students independently design their own scratch molds and then poured 1,200 degree hot aluminum get poured into them to create a cast of their design.  

Embarc’s goal is to drive student success with long-term social and cultural exposure. Through the transformative power of these journeys, Embarc awaken students to the possibilities of their potential by dissolving the borders of the city and in their minds. Inspired by Embarc’s important work, CIADC is excited to announce the gift of 30 full-tuition scholarships to local teens. CIADC is working with both Sullivan High School and the Chicago Math & Science Academy to identify scholarship recipients.

Spring Open House and Bronze Pour

Saturday, March 10, 2018 // 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Join us for our seasonal open house with tours through our four shop departments in Casting & Molding, Metalworking & Forging, Technology & Design, and Woodworking ~ CIADC.ORG

There will be a bronze pour in the casting department at approximately 1:30pm along with regular open studio work in progress in the other departments.

Also check out our extended exhibition of CIADC Instructors works with contributions by Andrew Barco, Olivia Juárez, John Kurman, Micki LeMeuix, Erik Newman, and Quentin Shaw.

Exhibitions: Call for Entries – Review

Review will be our year-end survey of new works created at CIADC during 2017.

We are seeking your exemplary objects from a year of making in metal, wood, casting, and design – wrap up the year and show us your best work! CIADC Members and Students interested in taking part in this exhibit should complete a “Call for Entry” exhibition form available at the front desk.

To participate, please complete a submission form by Monday, October 23

·      Works will be selected and coordinated by Monday, October 30

·      Drop-off will take place November 6 through November 12

·      The exhibit will open on Saturday, November 18

Education: Register Now for Fall and Receive Discounted Tuition

Register Now! Fall Teen and Adult Classes Begin Monday, September 11

Casting & Molding (**Save 10% through 9/10**)
modeling, mold-making, and casting of 3D objects in aluminum, bronze, and more!

Metalworking & Forging (**Save 10% through 9/10**)
cutting, shaping, welding, and finishing 3D objects in steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and bronze!

Technology & Design (**Save 10% through 9/10**)
3D Computer-Aided Design: design for shop construction, rendering for presentation, and CNC output!

Woodworking (**Save 10% through 9/10**)
cutting, shaping, joining, and finishing 3D objects in hardwoods, sheet goods, and lumber!

Fall Workshops

Teen Classes (Ages 12-15)
in all 4 Departments!

Holiday Immersion Classes (Ages 16+) (**Save 10% through 9/10**)
1-week, Mon-Fri classes in each Department. 3-hour -or- 6-hour per day options!

Education: Embarc Chicago at CIADC

Last week, Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center was happy to welcome a group of 11th graders from Sullivan High School with Embarc Chicago for an experiential learning journey that encompassed our Casting, Metal, and Woodworking departments. Embarc is a three-year program that provides community-driven, experienced-based learning opportunities to low-income High School students to inspire and prepare them for college and career success.

CIADC instructors Micki LeMieux (Casting & Molding), Erik Newman (Woodworking), and Matthew Runfola (Metalworking) designed a 3-hour program, rotating students through each shop learning more about design, material, and process while creating components to assemble into a personal sculpture.

In the casting department, students created plaster casts of their fingers, using alginate molds.

In woodworking, they cut and sanded clear pine wooden base, using bandsaw and scroll saw.

And in the metalshop, students cut and folded a steel platform, using power shear, throatless shear, and magnetic sheet metal brake.

CIADC hands-on, experiential learning: learning shop skills directly applicable to creating objects, but also learning transferrable skill sets such as creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and empowerment. Our thanks to Ellen Muench of Embarc Chicago for choosing CIADC as a journey destination!

Teen programming (12-15): 5-week Summer classes, 1-week Summer Camps. Ages 16+ enrolled in adult programming with consent.

CMSA at CIADC in 2017

Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center is pleased to announce that CIADC will be collaborating with after school clubs at Chicago Math and Science Academy in Rogers Park in Spring 2017.

CIADC will be creating project-specific instruction for CMSA drama and art clubs to realize 3D objects in the Woodworking Department and the Casting and Molding Department. We're looking forward to partnering with this excellent neighborhood school to create new works together next year!

Fall Open House 2016

Saturday, October 15 from 4 to 6 PM Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center will host our seasonal Open House, featuring live demonstrations in Casting & Molding, Metalworking, Technology, and Woodworking, guided tours of our historic building at 6433 North Ravenswood Avenue, and the exhibition reception for Demo.

This weekend is Open House Chicago, with hundreds of historical buildings open with free access for the public. Stop in at CIADC to celebrate fall with food, drinks, and friends – and then go explore the rest of the neighborhood!

Education: Fall Enrollment is Open

This week, Fall enrollment opens for the term beginning September 12, 2016. Core classes will be offered in 6- and 12-week sections, there will be a smattering of single-session instruction modules, and we're pleased to announce two additions: CIADC will now be offering teen-focused courses on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and we've added an open studio access time slot for 12:30-3:30 PM on Sunday afternoons.

Check out the courses department by department below, and get ready for an active, creative Fall!

CASTING AND MOLDING

FABRICATED METALWORKING AND FORGING

INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

WOODWORKING

And for all members who are not planning to enroll in core classes this term, please be sure to attend the free STUC sessions to maintain access to open studio time!

Free Safety and Tool Use Certification on Saturday, September 10

Technology Department STUC (ITDSTUC-01) – 10:00 AM with Matt Runfola

Woodworking Department STUC (WDWSTUC-01) – 10:30 AM with Laura Miracle

Metalworking Department STUC (FMFSTUC-01) – 11:30 AM with Matt Runfola

Casting Department STUC (CSTSTUC-01) – 12:30 PM with Dominic Sansone

  

Call for Entries: Demo

Hands-on, first-person knowledge is fundamental to the spirit of our community at Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center. The next exhibit project highlights the hands-on culture of CIADC, and we are encouraging all members to be a part of this project!

Demo will present creations designed to be touched, moved, manipulated, examined, and activated by CIADC visitors. We are seeking kinetic works and interactive pieces, with attention to tactile surfaces and construction methods that encourage participation from visitors. As with all exhibits at CIADC, we are seeking works that incorporate metal, wood, casting, and technological processes.

CIADC Members interested in taking part in this exhibit should send a description of your demo project with images or sketches to socialmedia@ciadc.org or speak to Nathan Smith, Sandra Stone, or Danielle Euer at the front desk!

To participate, please be in touch by Saturday, September 3

 

  • Works will be selected by Thursday, September 8
  • Drop-off will take place September 12 to September 17
  • Join us for the opening reception Saturday, October 15 from 4-6 PM
  • Demo will be on display from September 24 through December 17

Education: 5-Week Summer Classes and Instruction Modules

Summer term at Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center is in full swing, but there's still time to join a series of great 5-week core classes or single-session instruction modules. The second half of the term begins the week of July 25 through July 30 – sign up today and keep up with the latest in the CIADC workshops – CIADC is offering a 10% discount to all new students: use code SUMMER10 at checkout!

5-Week Core Classes

Casting

Intro to Sand Cast Metal (CST120-05)
Wednesday 9 AM - 12 PM with Quentin Shaw beginning July 27;
Saturday 9 AM - 12 PM with Dominic Sansone beginning July 30

Intro to Composite Fabrication (CST150-05) 

Monday 7-10 PM with Mark Carroll beginning August 1

Fabricated Metalworking & Forging

Intro to Metal Fabrication (FMF110-05)
Saturday 9 AM to 12 PM with Quentin Shaw beginning July 30

Integrated Technology & Design

Intro to Rhino: 3D CAD Modeling For Design (ITD110-05)
Saturday 9 AM - 12 PM with Nathan Aldredge beginning August 6

Intro to Electronics and Microcontrollers For The Built Object (ITD120-05)
Wednesday 7-10 PM with Alan Baker beginning July 27

Woodworking

Intro to Woodworking (WDW110-05)
Wednesday 7-10 PM with Erik Newman beginning July 27;
Saturday 9 AM - 12 PM with Laura Miracle beginning July 30

Instruction Modules

Casting

Flexible Mold Making (CST520-01)
Tuesday, July 26 with Dominic Sansone 7 PM

Cold Casting (CST530-01)
Tuesday, August 9 with Dominic Sansone 7 PM

Fabricated Metalworking & Forging

TIG Welding: Steel, Stainless Steel, and Bronze (FMF530-01)
Tuesday, July 26 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

TIG Welding: Aluminum (FMF540-01)
Tuesday, August 2 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

Summer Courses Now Open!

Summer is right around the corner – sign up today for Immersion Week, 5- and 10-week core classes, plus a range of single-session Instructor Modules!

All members who will not be enrolled in department core classes, please be sure to sign up for the quarterly Safety and Tool Use Certification in order to use open studio access this summer.

Summer Safety and Tool Use Certification
June 18, 2016

Casting STUC

    Metal Fabrication STUC

    Woodworking STUC

    Technology STUC

      5-Week Core Classes

      Casting

      Intro to Sand Cast Metal (CST120-05)
      Wednesday 9 AM - 12 PM with Quentin Shaw beginning June 22 and July 27;
      Saturday 9 AM - 12 PM with Dominic Sansone beginning June 25 and July 30

      Intro to Composite Fabrication (CST150-05) 

      Monday 7-10 PM with Mark Carroll beginning June 20 and August 1

      Fabricated Metalworking & Forging

      Intro to Metal Fabrication (FMF110-05)
      Saturday 9 AM to 12 PM with Quentin Shaw beginning June 25 and July 30

      Integrated Technology & Design

      Intro to Rhino: 3D CAD Modeling For Design (ITD110-05)
      Saturday 9 AM - 12 PM with Nathan Aldredge beginning May 14, June 25, and August 6

      Intro to Electronics and Microcontrollers For The Built Object (ITD120-05)
      Wednesday 7-10 PM with Alan Baker beginning June 22 and July 27

      Woodworking

      Intro to Woodworking (WDW110-05)
      Wednesday 7-10 PM with Erik Newman beginning June 22 and July 27;
      Saturday 9 AM - 12 PM with Laura Miracle beginning June 25 and July 30

        10-Week Core Classes

        Casting

        Beginning/Continuing Casting (CST210-10)

        Wednesday 7-10 PM with Dominic Sansone begins June 22

        Fabricated Metalworking & Forging

        Beginning/Continuing Metal Fabrication (FMF210-10)
        Monday 7-10 PM with Sarah Holden begins June 20;
        Tuesday 9 AM - 12 PM with Matt Runfola begins June 21;
        Wednesday 7-10 PM with Sarah Holden beings June 22

        Continuing Metal Fabrication (FMF310-10)
        Wednesday 9 AM - 12 PM with Matt Runfola begins June 22

        Woodworking

        Beginning/Continuing Woodworking (WDW210-10)
        Monday 7-10 PM with Laura Miracle begins June 20;
        Tuesday 9 AM - 12 PM with Erik Newman begins June 21

        Instruction Modules

        Casting

        Plaster Mold Making (CST510-01)
        Tuesday, July 12 with Dominic Sansone 7 PM

        Flexible Mold Making (CST520-01)
        Tuesday, July 26 with Dominic Sansone 7 PM

        Cold Casting (CST530-01)
        Tuesday, August 9 with Dominic Sansone 7 PM

        Fabricated Metalworking & Forging

        The Oxy/Acetylene Torch: Welding and Brazing Steel (FMF510-01)
        Tuesday, June 28 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

        MIG Welding Steel (FMF520-01)
        Tuesday, July 5 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

        Heat Cutting: Plasma Arc Cutter and Oxy/Acetylene Torch (FMF550-01)
        Tuesday, July 12 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

        TIG Welding: Steel, Stainless Steel, and Bronze (FMF530-01)
        Tuesday, July 26 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

        TIG Welding: Aluminum (FMF540-01)
        Tuesday, August 2 with Matt Runfola 7 PM

        Woodworking

        Wood Finishing Techniques (WDW530-01)
        Tuesday, May 24 with Laura Miracle 7 PM

        Shop Conversations: Julia Paloma

        Nathan Smith: Do you have a moment when you are like, ‘This is when I started making things.’ Or have you made things your entire life?

        Julia Paloma: I think that it was when I was little, four years old—the early 70s—my mom was a budding feminist, and had just gotten divorced. So I think she purposely bought me this car that came with tools, it was wooden and the nuts and bolts were plastic, but I understood that you could use these tools to take it apart. And I definitely had the feel of—I liked the feeling of taking it apart. And even the sensation of when I had made it too tight, and how hard it was to loosen—there was something about that physical feeling. That was one of the first times. . . . And tinkertoys, I remember working with a lot when I was little. But after that there was a little bit of . . . well, you know, it was all kind of making. Cooking early on, and sewing, and embroidery for my stepmom, and you know, partly knowing to pay attention to how things were made. I was no good at paying attention to it, but I understood you could. And the more attention you pay, the better it looked. But probably, not really until . . . I mean, Ghost Ranch in New Mexico is the main focus for me of this kind of thing. I went—let’s see, it would have been almost sixteen years ago. I learned etching, and  I wasn’t really deep into it, but it was just kind of interesting listening to the artist who was teaching us talk about how she did it. It didn’t sink in very far, it was just a little week-long class, you know, that gave us this new experience.

        Ghost Ranch

        Ghost Ranch

        NS: Was your family there, or how did you end up going there?

        JP: My folks are Presbyterian ministers, and it was run by the Presbyterian Church. I believe it’s still owned by them, but it’s its own thing now. So they used to go there for retreats and so on. And maybe around, it must have been the early 90s, they started going fairly regularly, and now go every year. So in the year 2000 they said, Come on everybody—it’s a big year! It’s the year 2000, we got a couple new grandbabies, I think my mom was turning. . . . I don’t know, they even wrapped their birthdays in there.

        NS: So this place is not just an art space, it’s like you can do . . . there are many things going on there?

        JP: It’s a real working ranch first of all, and they have space for hosting meetings or conferences or retreats and those kinds of things, and you could have several simultaneous gatherings. And in the summer they have several weeks that are dedicated to making art. So, the next time I went to Ghost Ranch a few years later, I did basket weaving, which was also very interesting. Why we picked these two classes you could never ever really do on your own—because it was so relaxing to do the basket weaving in particular—but you can’t really get the stuff at Michaels, and you have to special order miles of it. . . .

        NS: Yeah, you have like an industrial amount?

        JP: Yeah! Well, you know, for a little house in Chicago. . . .

        NS: Baskets inside of baskets?

        JP: Right. A few years after that, my mom, who had been doing welding all along, said: Just try the welding. You know don’t—I know it’s a little. . . .

        Ghost Ranch welding space - washed away in a Spring 2015 flood

        Ghost Ranch welding space - washed away in a Spring 2015 flood

        NS: She had been doing welding every year?

        JP: Pretty much, yeah. She used to go often for two weeks, and do it for two weeks of the year, and then put it to the side. So that would have been probably almost ten years ago now, when I tried it for the first time. And I had no idea what I was doing, I was just melting stuff together, mostly just anything I made that year has by now fallen apart. And then the next year I learned a little bit more, and tried it again. You know, ever year I went back, and then it came to pass that my ex-husband and I divorced. So then it became the thing I looked forward to—it shaped the whole rest of the year. Just get to Ghost Ranch. You got to just get to Ghost Ranch. And then it got to be where I started thinking well, what I would do? And I would make plans—and all contingent upon what would the junk pile have, because we used all scrap metal. So that little scrap table there [motioning to CIADC metalworking department scraps], picture it about fifty times bigger. That’s what we would weld with, and pick through, and you know, chase the spiders and snakes out of the stuff. And then, I guess a year or so ago I said, you know, maybe I could do this more than just Ghost Ranch. I had actually seen the classes at the Evanston Art Center a few years before, and I thought, oh—that sounds way too structured, I don’t want to do that. Because Ghost Ranch is not, you know. . . .

        NS: They just want to keep you safe and let you go?

        JP: Safe enough, actually, because, you know, it’s guests coming for a week. So, they say: Natural fibers, closed toed shoes, long sleeves . . .

        NS: Go!

        JP: . . . if you have gloves, bring them. But we have gloves. Some of the other techniques they would teach us promoted more safety. We quenched the stuff every time we finished a weld, and so on. And there was a lot of close supervision, of course, but not strict teachers. But anyway, last year I said, let me just try this class. If I hate it, I’ll never do it again. And I almost didn’t take it. I went to visit the class in Evanston, and I met Dominic, and I watched the people working. And it smelled just right, it looked familiar, felt familiar. But the thought of sheet metal and bar stock and all that, just intimidated the heck out of me. I don’t think I can take a class, I won’t know what to do with that stuff, and I don’t have enough scrap, it’s hard for me to collect scrap in my daily life.

        NS: Sure. [General laughter]

        Ghost Ranch scrap pile

        Ghost Ranch scrap pile

        JP: I do though, but—you know, if it turns up. I have some, you know, but I don’t really have the . . . I haven’t figured out a system to go find it, systematically. But I decided to—I should stay. There was something about the way Dominic talked about even his own art, just in that brief time that made me think: Well, I have something to learn here. And the people looked like interesting people to be around, and so it was. And so the one class happened, and that shop closed. I do remember thinking—aw, Dominic’s not going to be teaching welding at [CIADC]. He’s going to be teaching casting. Now what am I going to do?

        NS: So have you taken welding here, or just casting?

        JP: I said, well, I’m going to stick with the teacher!

        NS: Nice, yeah. . . .

        JP: So I don’t know, I wouldn’t say that, in the welding at Ghost Ranch, when I started to feel like, when I put pieces of scrap together in a certain arrangement, that it meant something to me. Like it started out making things that represented other things, you know, here’s a figure of um . . . you know the storyteller figure, it’s usually a woman covered with little kids?

        NS: Yeah!

        Storyteller by Julia Paloma

        Storyteller by Julia Paloma

        JP: So that kind of figure, I made one. It’s really clunky and full of brazing rod and looks like a beginner made them, and they were.

        NS: But you were making things that were somewhat universal in figuration?

        JP: Maybe, yeah. You know, a figure has these kinds of components, but then I started over the years, between visits to Ghost Ranch . . . I remember one year my daughter was studying mythology, and she had—I think she actually copied it, but it was a really sweet drawing of Aphrodite. And so I knew kind of what I might want. So when I got to the junk pile I could look for the shapes I had thought I would need. And they had a series of steel circles I would use for things. . . . So I think it was around that time that I thought, oh—now, now I know what I’m making. I feel like I’m saying something. I don’t know if says anything to anyone else, but I felt like I was saying something while I put these things together.

        NS: And so that emerged when every step was intentional?

        JP: Uh-huh. I knew enough about how it was working. In the beginning it was partly just the thrill of turning on the torch and melting the metal. Now I understand—or the way I do it, it’s a lot less about how the metal’s going to act with the flame. It’s more—where’s the connection going to be and how do I get it to stick together? How do I need to prop it? How do I need to balance it? And then when it falls apart—okay, let’s make it a different way!

        NS: [Laughs for a bit.] So. The transition to learning casting, it seems to an outsider like a totally different thing.

        JP: It’s very, very different.

        NS: You couldn’t have started casting the way you started welding, right? You have to be very intentional the whole time. . . .

        Casting Department whiteboard

        Casting Department whiteboard

        JP: Yeah, yeah. You know, when I had the scraps of metal especially—and I guess when people using the sheet metal and so on, they have to have an idea of what they want the shape to look like before they ever cut it, they don’t have it already. So, when you’re casting, you have your pattern that you’re going to make a mold out of, but if you’re trying to change it, you have nothing. You’re trying to figure out to get—how do I get a mold made of this object that it can turn into the thing I’m looking for. And so it is all in your imagination, and you know, I think, when the class first started, Dominic didn’t use the whiteboard all that much, but now he’s using it more and more and more, because you have to draw it to see how it might work. And he’s using it to explain it to the rest of us too, about what his thinking is. But it’s inside out and upside down and backwards all at the same time and . . . what you’re doing will let you wind up with the thing you are imagining, but it feels so indirect, at least to me. And so I feel like I’m back in the beginning again.

        Hollyhocks by Julia Paloma

        Hollyhocks by Julia Paloma

        Bronze Age

        Last night we had the first Bronze pour in the casting department at CIADC!

        Julia was on hand to help Susan prepare her mold. . . .

        Dominick preparing the troops. . . .

        . . . a leaping flame early in the pour . . .

        . . . Susan battling some breakout . . .

        . . . and a smokey conclusion.

        Earlier this evening, the mold was broken, and while the results weren't precisely what was intended, they were not without a charm of their own.

        The beginning of bronze at Chicago Industrial Arts & Design Center. To be continued. . . .