Seton Hill University (SHU) students and faculty alike celebrated the grand opening of Studio 225 in downtown Greensburg at the open house event on Friday, Sept. 5.
The studio is located in what used to be the Troutman Annex building at 225 South Pennsylvania Ave., across from the DV8 Espresso Bar and Gallery.
The event began with a blessing of the space by Stephen Honeygosky, a chaplain and assistant professor of English. SHU faculty and students were invited to tour the area and observe the artwork in progress in the studio.
The open house also included refreshments and a raffle. There were sheets of paper that visitors were encouraged to decorate in whichever way they saw fit. The sheets were then rolled into cone shapes and will be used to decorate the studio.
By Molly Gladfelter
Staff Writer
Seton Hill University (SHU) students and faculty alike celebrated the grand opening of Studio 225 in downtown Greensburg at the open house event on Friday, Sept. 5.
The studio is located in what used to be the Troutman Annex building at 225 South Pennsylvania Ave., across from the DV8 Espresso Bar and Gallery.
The event began with a blessing of the space by Stephen Honeygosky, a chaplain and assistant professor of English.
SHU faculty and students were invited to tour the area and observe the artwork in progress in the studio.
The open house also included refreshments and a raffle. There were sheets of paper that visitors were encouraged to decorate in whichever way they saw fit.
The sheets were then rolled into cone shapes and will be used to decorate the studio.
Some of the students who attended were theatre and music students.
Like the art program, the theatre and music programs will also be utilizing spaces downtown in the fall of 2009. Theatre students Ryan Carroll, a senior; Natalie Moretti, a junior; and Nathaniel Hough, a sophomore, attended the open house in costume as famous artists. Hough impersonated Andy Warhol, Moretti came as Frida Kahlo, and Carroll as Salvador Dali.
Students have been taking classes in the downtown studio since the fall semester began. During the open house, some students came in to the studio to work.
Jacqueline Jones, a senior, was painting during the open house. “I really like the space down here. It’s sometimes hard to find a place to park, but overall I really like it,” Jones said.
“The lighting is great and it’s very airy in here. It’s a nice area to work in,” said Kim Franczak, a junior.
Christine Scholl, a sophomore and graphic design major attended the open house, although she does not currently have classes in the studio. “There’s something about this space that just makes you want to be creative,” she said.
Although parking downtown is limited for students who wish to drive themselves to their studio classes, they also have the option of taking a shuttle down to the studio.
“We have the shuttle for transportation down here for class, which is nice, but we have to find a way to get down here on our own to work outside of class,” Franczak said.
Although transportation may be slightly inconvenient for some students, overall they seem to be pleased with the studio.
“Transportation might be a little hard to figure out sometimes, but I love working down here. It’d be nice if they created more studios downtown,” Franczak added.
Pedestrians are able to observe art classes in progress in Studio 225. The community of Greensburg will continue to become more familiar with SHU students as other SHU programs move into spaces downtown as well.
Photo courtesy of Christine Scholl
