Elise Birnbaum’s OATMEAL Offers Nature-Inspired Sculptural Vessels

The studio practice began in Japan and has grown substantially in Pittsburgh

For OATMEAL owner Elise Birnbaum, crafting ceramics means replicating forms; perhaps the sculptural elements of a pruned cloud tree or the soft curves of a human body. When she first opened the shop, her bulbous and tiered vessels elicited questions about their function, but now Birnbaum faces rabid demand to keep her shop stocked—a testament to her work’s originality and appeal. “I was not traditionally trained …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

The first-ever Disability Futures Fellows program, clever interior ideas, sound design in EVs and more

New Studies Find Many Genes Influence Left- or Right-Handedness Scientists have long-posited that one single gene may determine whether a person is left- or right-handed (the latter, of course, being dominant, with 90% of people favoring their right). This theory does take into account the fact that environment factors (including geography and culture) likely play a critical role, too. Now, however, several studies involving millions …

Artists Steven + William Ladd’s Collaborative Work with Incarcerated People

At The Invisible Dog Art Center, "The Other Side" exhibition overwhelms with powerful art and intention

For the last nine years, New York-based artists Steven and William Ladd have collaborated with inmates from the NYC Department of Corrections as part of their acclaimed practice. The Other Side, the brothers’ enrapturing exhibition at Brooklyn’s The Invisible Dog Art Center, is the first solely dedicated to this transportive body of work and the stories behind it. To step into the exhibition is to witness …