TraillWorks: The Blog: Colors of the Steel

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Colors of the Steel

At last weekend's Bethlehem Fine Art Show, I premiered new hand painted tile coasters called "Colors of the Steel". They were warmly received and one set was sold. A year ago, my husband and I, along with my parents, took a Steelworkers' Archives trolley tour of Bethlehem Steel. Growing up in Easton and travelling all over the Lehigh Valley, the steel factory was always a poignant landmark. Just last year Bethlehem Steel was taken over by the Sands Casino and part is being redeveloped by ArtsQuest and PBS 39, along with Bethlehem Opera Theatre, the Hispanic American League of Artists, Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Pennsylvania Youth Theatre. Go to Sands Bethworks for more information. Over the past few weeks demolition has begun to certain parts of the steel factory. The project to rejuvenate and reinvent Bethlehem Steel will focus on maintaining key architectural features as well as using significant structures such as the Blast Furnaces as part of the master plan.

As all of this has been going on over the past year, I had been thinking about painting tiles that reflected something of Bethlehem Steel. Taking the trolley tour last year was a step in that direction. I came home with tons of photos, however, none were terrific. Being in the trolley, I had a difficult time with getting all that I wanted in the viewfinder and much of what would have made for great subject matter was cropped out and incomplete. So, I set my photos aside until two weeks ago.

Another look through my photos drew my attention to not so much the architecture, as the materials, textures and colors of the steel. So, rather than simply create a portrait of Bethlehem Steel, as so many other artists have done, I thought I would take a more modern approach. The result are coasters that depict textures and materials of the factory such as metal panels, rust, rivets on metal, oxidation. Once Bethworks is complete, this decaying state of the factories will never again be seen but in photographs and artist's renditions.

In addition to simply making the coasters I wanted to do something to help preserve Bethlehem Steel in our memories. I've decided to donate 30% of all Colors of the Steel tiles to the Steelworkers' Archives which is committed to preserving the history of the factory and educating younger generations about it. I think this is truly a great organization and there is much to be learned from Bethlehem Steel -- both in its successes and failure.

The tiles with prices are below. If you're interested in purchasing a set, please email me.