While never a student at CMU, I have many friends who were and friends that are professors at the…read moreschool. However, I have been affiliated with the university in some way or another throughout my life. Whether for film festivals, librabry visits, collabs with the art school I attended, seeing President Obama speak, or attending ska shows (that's right, back in the day it was the place to be for a good show), I have spent a lot of time on campus. It was a nice walk from my place in Bloomfield as well. The campus is beautifully landscaped with gorgeous buildings. The architecture is just wonderful. Staff and faculty that I have come in contact with over the years are stellar human beings.

A world class institution with strong programs in Robotics, Engineering, and the Performing Arts…read more I regularly attend their musical performances which feature great programming and artistic interpretation. It's a beautiful campus with lots of traditions.

We got to tour the Pittsburgh Glass Center as part of our Friendship house tour in October. Such…read morea cool place. We got to visit the entire facility. Would love to go back and take a class. Beautiful pieces of glass to purchase by local artists - made in the Glass center.

I had a blast at the menorah making class at the Pittsburgh Glass center. What a fun day! This…read moreclass you get sheet glass and little rods and nibs of glass to create a design. Then you mark when you want your candles to go. In a week we'll be able to pick them up after being kilned and I cannot wait to see how the glass melts together! What a wonderful time and super affordable as well. #GOUDapproved

I am kicking myself because this last weekend was my most recent visit to this place in maybe 12…read moreyears. Why did I not return more often!?!? Anyways, the visit was filled with visual wonders for the mind and soul. Each piece was truly unique and remarkable in so many ways. Most disciplines of art were represented with shining examples of each. The current exhibition features several highly skilled local Pittsburgh artists. The gallery features art, but also sometimes hosts music shows, which I was happy to be a part of in the past. You will get a plethora of information from the owner if you inquire about the works, artists, or anything and everything. If you love creative works and you are in the Pittsburgh area you have got to go to this marvelous gallery!

Wonderful community center, gallery, and event center. I attended a poetry reading here, but they…read morealso host community events, classes, summer camps, and art exhibitions. The center is named after Irma Freeman, a painter born in Germany but later emigrated to the United States due to the increasing Nazi threat. Her paintings are vibrant splashes of color and light that dazzle the viewer. Whether you attend a Yoga or art class here, it's an inviting and welcoming space that will expand your horizons and encourage your creativity.

Lindsay provided my partner and me with an exceptional tour during an open house, showcasing her…read moreremarkable artistic process and sharing a wonderful story. I absolutely love her work and have decided to frame it on my wall.

Met with Gingerly Press this past weekend at American Craft Made Baltimore show on Feb 21st. I…read morelearned a lot about their process and loved several prints. I'm still considering buying several for new wall space in kitchen. The earth-valued themes are depicted so simply but their design and colors are very appealing.

This is a gorgeous campus, and a frequent location for birders. Their academic programs are…read moreexcellent, and I am somewhat familiar because my son graduated from one of their graduate programs. I have attended many musical concerts on this campus, and they are excellent. Several times in the past, they have hosted fundraising concerts (Japan tsunami, earthquake in Nepal) and they have shown a generous and compassionate outreach in times of tragic circumstances.

Beautiful campus! Bring a camera!read more

A nice little shop on Walnut in Shadyside. It's been a couple years since I stopped in, and saw…read morethat it really hasn't changed much with time. A pleasant fellow let me look about and we chatted about this and that. The collection here is rather eclectic and spread among many themes - and there's a lot of Pgh sports stuff. I did find two pieces by a Spanish artist. They were a bit overpriced...but he did knock of a some off for the pair and I liked them, so I went ahead and made the purchase. It's all good; the place is worth a look. I hear they do nice framing as well.

Maser Galleries is excellent for framing. We had a page from an old magazine with artwork that…read moremeant a lot to us. Brenda helped us frame it beautifully. She had great ideas that we never would've come up with if we'd tried to design it ourselves. It took four or five days, and the price was very reasonable. When we picked up the framed piece, they had created a pocket in the back and tucked in some information about the magazine (Harper's) explaining its cultural and historical significance. It was very thoughtful and we really appreciated it. While we were in the gallery for framing, we loved looking around at the paintings. They are striking, lovely, and accessibly priced. We visited during the pandemic (December 2020) and were grateful and at ease because of the common-sense precautions they took. Brenda wore a mask the entire time, without mentioning it. She took care to stand back from us as we looked at the framing materials. She propped open the door for air flow.

Nice building with enough facilities to provide nearly everything you need. A huge shoutout to the…read moremushroom flat bread in the cafeteria. When I always bought a fresh and crispy mushroom flat bread, brought it to the class, and ate the whole bread while pretending to be listening to the class. Ah the good old days

This is one of the newer buildings on the CMU campus. It is very cool on the inside with spiral…read morestairs, windowed bridges to other buildings, modern high tech classrooms and Tazza Dora (the reason for my frequent visits). In my opinion it is incredibly ugly from the outside not in keeping with the stately yellow brick decor on the rest of campus. Love it for its function, hate it for its aesthetics. It is also ironic that Bill Gates, a college drop-out, can get his name on college buildings, donating far less tha typically required of other donors of named buildings. The Hillman's on the other hand are a treasured name in Pittsburgh philanthropy. All of in all my lower rating reflects its distraction from the attractive green roofed, yellow-brick buildings on campus. To each their own I suppose.

Instructor John Folkes…read more First off, great guy. On time every day, dropped me off on time everyday aswell. He was friendly, direct, and best of all helpful. Before I took the classes I was okay at best, in both the driving and driving confidence. After each lesson I became more and more comfortable with driving over all. John's goal is to get you as close to perfect, and driving like you've been driving for ever. This really helps when the test proctors are only looking for the basics, and you roll up driving like a pro. Also I am a teen driver and he taught me, so if I can learn, you can learn aswell.