Кэролайн Фитч стала новым резидентом-металлистом в центре искусств и технологий Броквей

BROCKWAY — Brockway Center for Arts & Technology recently welcomed Caroline Fitch as the center’s new resident metals artist. A native of Wilcox, Fitch is proud to have been born and raised in west central Pennsylvania. She is a 2024 graduate of PennWest University Edinboro, holding two bachelor’s degrees in art education for K-12 alongside jewelry and metalsmithing. After graduation, she started her own small business, “The Lavender Hare Co.,” making jewelry full-time and quickly became active in markets and vendor fairs throughout the state. “I had no experience in metalwork prior to college,” she said. “I took a metals class on a whim and became enamored with adornment and the creation of handmade jewelry.” Her time working as a summer intern for The Elk County Council on the Arts (ECCOTA) included many enrichment projects, such as painting crosswalk murals and creating murals in local schools as well as teaching art classes to a variety of ages. “My father was very community-oriented and he enjoyed working with his hands,” she said. “I loved watching him participate in the Wilcox Memorial Day parade and he would make customized bicycles as a hobby.” A recent hands-on project of her own was converting an old passenger van, acquired from her uncle, into a mobile storage unit for traveling to markets and events. “Metals is a craft with a lot of tradition, but it is also an art form that is niche yet expansive,” she said. “I have made a lot of artwork that is influenced by my love of animals and my rural upbringing.” She hopes to show BCAT metals students that the medium is accessible and fun while also building her own portfolio of unique work. “Teaching makes you a better artist, and as an artist-educator, those things are not separate,” she said. “Instructing youth and adult students helps me to explore different ideas along with different people.” She is eager to gain more experience in enameling, aiming to convey the exciting possibilities of metalworking with as many community members as possible. “We are excited to have Caroline as part of our BCAT family,” BCAT executive director Derek Hansen said. “It is unique to have a local resident artist and I am very excited to see how studying under our Metals Studio Manager Melissa Lovingood will allow Caroline to build on her own unique work and add to the success here at BCAT.” Fitch will begin an eight-week class on powder coating in the BCAT Metals studio on Tuesday, Sept. 15. She will also host a Halloween-themed intergenerational workshop on Saturday, Oct. 24.