Bloomfield gallery Boxheart will feature artists from Lawrenceville, Uniontown

Working with clay during his first ceramics class at Corning Community College, just over the Pennsylvania border in New York, Travis Winters thought for the first time that art was something he could do long-term.

“It opened up my eyes to what art was,” said Winters, 35, who now lives in Uniontown and whose work will be featured beginning next month at Boxheart Gallery in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. “I previously thought of ‘art’ as primarily drawing and painting.”

His work will be featured March 3 through April 2 at Boxheart’s upstairs gallery, while downstairs will feature the work of artist Tony Cavalline, a resident of the city’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.

Winters, who works as the program manager at the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, spoke recently with the Trib about his love of working with clay and ceramics and his upcoming exhibit. The following interview has been edited for length.

Q: Why do you prefer clay and ceramics over other mediums?

A: It’s a material that can be extremely forgiving, but also lets you know when you rushed or skipped a step. It always keeps you on your toes! It is also a medium that forces one to learn about the different chemical properties of the many different materials in order to obtain the desired results. By working in clay, I have learned about how to build things that are structurally stable, as well as a lot of information about the materials used to create different clays, glazes, and surfaces. The medium has an endless amount of possibilities that will continue to force me to grow and learn.

Q: Do you have a favorite subject when it comes to creating art?

A: I tend to make work about my own personal experiences within my current environment. By drawing from my own life, I strive to create a dialogue centered around shared universal experiences, all revolving around prevalent themes from within our society.

Q: What do you enjoy most about creating art and the creative process itself?

A: I don’t know if I have a thing I like the most, as I tend to enjoy the process of making as a whole. For me, I really enjoy the process of learning about the materials as well as challenging my technical abilities in sculpting and finishing a piece. Oftentimes, I feel like the process of creating allows me to process my thoughts and emotions about what is happening around me.

Q: Does your upcoming exhibition at Boxheart have a unifying theme or something that ties it together?

A: It’s a narrative extravaganza about the mundane day-to-day life that surrounds us all. The work featured in this exhibition is meant to spark one’s imagination to fabricate their own personal narratives, all while relating back to themes of the shared human experience. For more on either upcoming exhibit, see BoxheartGallery.com.

The gallery is currently in the midst of an exhibit marking its 20th anniversary, featuring works from artists who have been featured in past years.