As artists from diverse mediums have flocked to the Pajama Factory for space and artistic independence, one professional artist has found a place to evolve, explore and thrive.
If you sit down and talk to Chad Andrews, who has been a part of the Factory complex for the past three years, you find a man who is reflective, energetic, innovative and passionate about his lifetime work as an artist and a teacher of the arts.
Being raised in a military family that moved around throughout his childhood, Andrews found his passion in museums all over the world to which his mother would take him and his brothers.
"My two brothers and I always drew and I was the one that just never stopped," Andrews said. "It was something that I found myself always getting excited about. I always found myself drawing."
Arriving in the Gettysburg area during his last years of high school, Andrews remembers defying one art teacher by gaining acceptance to Kutztown University's art program.
Not fully intrigued with his father's prompting of commercial design, he searched for what he truly wanted to do and remembers finding it in a printmaking studio.
"I saw this etching and it was one of those things, right there and then I decided that that was what I wanted to do the rest of my life," says Andrews. "Much to the chagrin of my father, with chills running up my spine I changed my major the next day."
Kutztown University would continue a theme of constant change and diversity that had been and would be a mainstay the rest of his life, as he remembers having three different printmaking professors in as many years with three different ways of teaching.
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art in his pocket, Andrews took a job with Paul Goodwin's Fine Arts Inc. before heading off to the University of Pennsylvania.
"It was not fun and it made me realize how I desperately wanted to make fine art and how I wanted to approach my life in a studio," says Andrews of his work at Paul Goodwin's Fine Arts Inc.
To contrast the academic experiences at Kutztown, the University of Pennsylvania would lead to more theoretical research and self-exploration while earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking.
"Penn was more unstructured in that I could take and do what I wanted during those three years," says Andrews who would instruct and work in construction and installation of exhibits at the Philadelphia school for the better part of eight years.
It was during this period that Andrews feels he battled with the different theories and philosophies of art.
"I went into Penn working representationally until eventually fighting tooth and nail with abstraction which led to a more non objective approach," says Andrews.
Before one exhibit Andrews recalls selling a painting and finding himself trying to reproduce the piece for the show and having to check himself.
"That's when I stepped back and realized that that is not why I was painting. I'm not painting to sell. I'm painting for self-expression and passion."
While exploring his increasing enjoyment of teaching, Andrews took a position as the director of visual arts at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Located in Michigan, the school houses students from ages 8 to 18 studying dance, theater, music, creative writing, motion picture arts, and all different mediums of art.
"That was an absolute amazing job and place to be," Andrews says of. Interlochen. "The faculty as well as the students comes from all over the world. Everything is at a world-class level. It's such a magical place that is full of serious and highly-motivated students."
Being pulled several different directions as director, husband, father, and artist took its toll on Andrews, who after seven years at the school says he felt "burned out."
"I could not physically do everything that I wanted to do at the level I wanted it to be."
In 2007 Andrews left Michigan for Williamsport with his wife, Jennifer, and their daughter Kylie, bound for the in-laws' farm.
Andrews admits that when they first moved to the Williamsport area, the idea of this being his hot art spot seemed absurd.
"I figured that I would be isolated from the world and be able to focus on my art," said Andrews. "But as I met more people, I started getting excited about being here, and once I heard about the Pajama Factory I had to get into there."
At the Factory, Andrews enjoys what he calls communal isolationism, where he can work in his studio by himself while at the same time be a part of a community with the other artists that are in the building.
"It really gets the energy going, knowing there's a bunch of like-minded individuals in a small area sharing ideas, sharing passion, and that's what's happening here."
Feeling rejuvenated and engulfed in his own art work, Andrews' most recent works include his "Tar Heart" series and "Greek Cross" series as well as his work with silicon.
In his Tar Heart series, he applies tar and powdered graphite to the surface and catches them on fire to create an image with unique colors achieved by the thermal changes on the material.
"This was inspired by watching Kylie coloring," says Andrews. "It shocked me that my beautiful angel of a daughter would say 'heart' and scribble these harsh strokes, and I liked the contrast I was seeing."
Having been produced in just the past month or two, the series will be on exhibit at this month's First Fridays and the Arts and Wine Festival on August 8.
His "Cross" series involves paintings using tar and graphite to create a Greek cross which Andrews perceives as representing intersection despite its religious tone.
"Going in I knew the cross would be a tough issue to get past, but I really tried to push it beyond that, sometimes successful and sometimes not so much," says Andrews who added, "The Greek cross is the second symbol that a child will draw outside of the circle."
Inspired by working around the house, Andrews' silicon polymer installations have been placed at such locations as the Community Arts Center.
Using a caulking gun, Andrews creates landscapes among other sceneries which often take several hours if not days to install only to be thrown out when the exhibit is over.
"I like that about the silicon drawings. I like the crazy kind of idea that I spend a tremendous amount of time doing them and they get thrown away," says Andrews.
"The value is while you are making it and the experiences of resolving the challenges that you are given. Those are the things that I am really, really passionate about."
This year has been a busy one for Chad as he has displayed his works recently in Washington D.C. and has plans for exhibitions at the Java, Juice, and Art in September, in the Philadelphia area in October, and a gigantic one-person show at the College of William and Mary, in Virginia, as well as another in Kutztown in November.
Never diverting from the enjoyment he receives from teaching, Andrews works as an instructor at Bloomsburg University along with offering instruction at the Pajama Factory.
"Surprisingly, my schedule is incredibly open. So I try to fit people's schedule instead of having them fit into mine," says Andrews of his instruction at the Factory. "I try to make it a social and fun kind of thing."
Also, Andrews offers his services to aspiring art students such as portfolio analysis and other college and career preparation.
"To see the rush of that 'oh my god I just did this' and opening the world to a student is such an enjoyable experience for me," says Andrews. "It has never been about money. It's about passion."
Andrews feels that he has been embraced by the Factory community and that has in turn energized him to continue his work.
"There's excitement here, a sense of exploration. We're getting in on the ground floor of something that's going to be really good," says Andrews. "Owner Mark Winkelman is willing to help artist, and with Michael Pilato at the Public Art Academy attracting artists and the latest renovations taking place in the building, this is going to be a hotbed for artists in the future."
With his experience and recent success you would think that the artist would become restless here in the heart of Pennsylvania, but Andrews is quick to say otherwise.
"My wife keeps me humble or from getting down on myself and is very supportive while my daughter has shown me the joy and beauty in the world, and this is where we've set our roots.
"This is where we plan to live for a very long time. This is where we really want to be."
With this jewel of an artist right here in Williamsport, aspiring students shouldn't hesitate to take advantage of Andrews' wealth of experience as he says his door is always open.
"It is my hope that students who are interested in studying with me will take the initiative and approach me to set up a class."
Information about Chad Andrews can be found on his website at: www.chadandrews.com/index.html.
