Brick project grows

NEWBERRY — In conjunction with the Newberry County School District Art Show held on March 30, the Newberry Arts Center offered attendees the chance to take part in creating a personalized brick as part of the Community Brick Project.

“This is the first year we’ve done this. We’ve never done a hands-on activity during the art show, so this was the first time and the majority of the crowd wanted to participate in this,” said Marquerite Palmer, arts and special program coordinator.

The project was started by Josh Copus, an artist based out of Asheville. Copus goes to different areas of the country with raw clay that hasn’t been altered in any way. Copus carries his clay to different communities, starting first in Baltimore and starting the brick-making project.

“You take wet, raw clay and you pack it into molds. You remove the mold and then you have a wet brick. The brick dries for a few days until it gets to where you can pick it up but is still soft. Anyone can come and stamp any message they want to in the brick,” said Palmer.

Palmer said this allows people to put their message in a brick that will be in that brick forever and it doesn’t cost them anything.

“His idea and what we talked about is that bricks are like members of a community. They are stronger when they are working together,” said Palmer. “This is sort of an analogy of a community coming together, working together and being stronger. People got really excited about being able to stamp their own message in a brick.”

The NAC will keep the bricks and use them as an installation in NAC in different ways. The NAC doesn’t want to build brick walls, so the bricks will be kept loose so they can either be laid into a pathway or built into a tower. They will also be used so that the different messages can be used and seen in different ways.

The Community Brick Project is a continuing project and is something Copus hopes that other communities will pick up. Copus provided the materials, clay, stamps and everything that would be needed to create the bricks.

For more information, visit www.NewberryArtsCenter.com, the NAC Facebook page or contact Marquerite Palmer at 803-321-3685.

On one side of the brick was this print and the rest of the brick could be decorated however people wanted to decorate it.

https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Art2.jpgOn one side of the brick was this print and the rest of the brick could be decorated however people wanted to decorate it. Courtesy photos

This proved to be a great activity for families to enjoy.

https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Art3.jpgThis proved to be a great activity for families to enjoy. Courtesy photos

Newberry County School District Art teachers.

https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Art4.jpgNewberry County School District Art teachers. Courtesy photos

The Community Brick Project was held in conjunction with the School District Art Show.

https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Art1.jpgThe Community Brick Project was held in conjunction with the School District Art Show. Courtesy photos