The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild announces its latest exhibit, “Topographies,” which features art by renowned artist Barbara Sorensen. The exhibit will be on display from Jan. 22 to March 15 in MCG’s Connie Kerr Gallery.
Rooted in clay, Barbara Sorensen is known for monumental sculptural installations that draw on geological formations and classical elements. While she works with a variety of media, including metals, resisns and experimental mixed-media prints, this exhibit focuses on her ceramic work. Sorensen’s artist statement reads, “I instinctively respond to the form, surface and texture of the Earth, echoing them in my work. I look at the landscape, interpret and reinterpret it, processing it within, and give it back, transformed.”
Sorensen discovered clay, an ideal medium for her interest in textural plasticity, as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. She later worked with notable ceramic artists such as Peter Voulkos, Paul Soldner, Don Reitz and Rudy Autio, who she considers mentors. Today, in her Colorado and Florida studios, she continues to evolve and expand her concerns in the series of works that explore her enduring interests: the natural environment and conceptual notions of the vessel.
“I build in layers, stacking and joining the clay as I move upward to create layers of antiquity, layers of time, and layers of myself. Petrified ghosts and seas of ancient years are recorded as the process drapes the landscape. I let the sculpture lead me where it should go.”
Sorensen’s work can be viewed in museums and private collections nationwide, including the White House Collection in Washington, DC. And she has a unique Pittsburgh connection. Her daughter, Kristine Sorensen, is a television news anchor with KDKA.
An artist talk and gallery reception is scheduled for Feb. 7, from 6-8 p.m. The talk and reception are free and open to the public.
For more information on the artist, visit www.barbarasorensen.com

DEBBIE NORRELL

When the game Pac-Man was introduced back in the late ’70s from time to time I would go into a restaurant and play the game while I was waiting for my lunch. It was fun, I liked the sights and sounds of the game and of course racking up points is also exciting. I never got into any of the other games like Atari or PlayStation. Frankly, I thought they were the demise of our youth and often wondered how people could spend time playing a game when they could be doing something so much more productive.
Fast forward to the present, I now have a smart phone that has all kinds of bells and whistles. One of those bells is the ability to download free “apps.” I guess that is short for applications that allow me to play games on my phone. When I saw other friends doing this I was stunned. They were actually playing a game on their phone instead of engaging in conversation with the people they were with.
I don’t know when it happened but a friend or maybe it was a “phone game pusher” introduced me to a game called the Logo Quiz. It has all kinds of categories and different kinds of logos to identify, like Chanel, Gucci and Mercedes Benz. Wow right up my alley. This was actually fun I felt like I was on a game show quickly identifying the logos and moving on to the next level. The only thing that was missing was the lights, the cameras and the prize money.
My pusher/dealer told me if I liked that game I’m sure to enjoy playing Candy Crush, so I gave it a try. At first I didn’t understand how the game worked, I was earning points purely by accident and then I caught on. I’ve moved up 23 levels, I’ve filled the lake full of lemonade and I’m running down my batteries playing these mindless games. I may have to check into rehab.

I used to wonder why so many people where inviting me to play games with them via Facebook. Now I see, this is madness. I can’t see where there is any personal gain in playing the games. The only gain seems to be for the companies that run the banner ads and whoever is trying to get me to buy more time to play the game after I have run out of free time or moves.
One of the things that hooks you are the hypnotic tunes that are played and the words of encouragement that flash on the screen, sweet, divine and sugar crush. But I’m not gaining anything, no hand/eye coordination, no money, just points and bragging rights. Precious time is being wasted. I can see playing these games when you are stuck in an airport or perhaps riding a bus or train, but you better have your charger handy because these games quickly run down your batteries.
I think you should be able to earn free smart phone use or if you gain so many points you can break your contract. In the meantime after I complete level 24 I quit.
(Email the columnist at debbie­ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Madam C.J. Walker

The name Madam C.J. Walker belongs in the beauty archives right beside Elizabeth Arden, and Helena Rubinstein.

Madam C.J. Walker, was born as Sarah Breedlove. We should always want to honor this great businesswoman by keeping our hair fierce and fabulous.

During the 1890s, Sarah Breedlove developed a scalp disorder that caused her to lose much of her hair, and she began to experiment with both home remedies and store-bought hair care treatments in an attempt to improve her condition.

In 1905, Breedlove was hired as a commission agent by Annie Turnbo Malone—a successful, Black, hair care product entrepreneur—and she moved to Denver, Colorado. While there, Breedlove's husband Charles helped her create advertisements for a hair care treatment for African Americans that she was perfecting. Her husband also encouraged her to use the more recognizable name "Madam C.J. Walker," by which she was thereafter known.

In 1907, Walker and her husband traveled around the South and Southeast promoting her products and giving lecture demonstrations of her "Walker Method"—involving her own formula for pomade, brushing and the use of heated combs.

As profits continued to grow, in 1908 Walker opened a factory and a beauty school in Pittsburgh, and by 1910, when Walker transferred her business operations to Indianapolis, the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company had become wildly successful, with profits that were the modern-day equivalent of several million dollars.

Madam C.J. Walker died of hypertension on May 25, 1919, at age 51, at the estate home she had built for herself in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York.

At the time of her death, Walker was sole owner of her business, which was valued at more than $1 million. Her personal fortune was estimated at between $600,000 and $700,000. Today, Walker is widely credited as the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR—Michael and Rae Fussell (Photos by Debbie Norrell)

For 21 years the season for sweethearts has kicked off with the Annual Kappa Sweetheart Ball. This year there was a new twist, the sweetheart ball morphed into “An After 7 Love Affair:” The 22nd Annual Valentines Extravaganza featuring national recording artist “After 7.”
KSEF (Kappa Scholarship Endowment Fund) President Rex Crawley commended Brother Howard Russell and his committee for their unwavering commitment to achievement and making sure that Feb. 9, was one of the most incredible events in the KSEF history. The evening began with a VIP reception on the second floor of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. Guests were beautifully dressed in fabulous evening looks and dined on salmon, roast beef, turkey and enjoyed a tasty mashed potato bar.
After dining, it was time for the centerpiece of the evening, a live performance featuring R&B trio “After 7.” The sexy, suave and debonair group blew the audience away with their hits: “Can’t Stop,” “Ready or Not,” and “Heat of the Moment.”
The formal program portion of the evening, emceed by Dwayne Cooper, was brief but powerful. KSEF will give out nearly $500,000 in scholarships with the help of sponsors, Robert Morris University, Penn State University, NEED and State Farm Insurance. Highmark executive Evan Frazier also announced the endowment of the Aaron Walton KSEF Scholarship.
After a great concert it was time for your choice of after parties. During the entire evening, love was in the air.