Garden Bound
February 2026
Greetings,
February has been quite an exciting month for The Novelty Collective so far! We’ve completed several captivating art projects with our Afterschool students, successfully launched multiple program initiatives, & set more irons in the fire for future NoCo features. Now that we are back to a full schedule of programming & expanding on ways to get involved, we hope to see more of you at The COVE Art Center in the coming weeks & months. Please don’t hesitate to contact Brittany or me if you’re interested in any of the activities mentioned below!
Afterschool in Action
It is a joy to have our students back after a long (& especially cold) winter break. We are always brainstorming & workshopping to prepare engaging lesson plans for our students, & we’ve had a lot of fun with this over the last few weeks. Here’s a snapshot of our recent activities!
The Mystery of Mark
Brittany has consistently delivered thoughtful Bible lessons to our local junior high & high school students week after week since we’ve been in operation. Our current journey through the gospel of Mark has been an intriguing exploration of Jesus’ life & ministry, with special attention given to His self-claims, how He acted to support them, & what we should make of them as we study the text.
Recently, we’ve spent a lot of time talking to the students about authority, leading them through examples of Jesus using His spiritual authority to heal sick people. In true Afterschool fashion, we’ve taken our learning to the next level by applying our lessons to tangible art projects. Here are some examples of what the kids have been working on. You can view the final results when we post them on social media!
“The Withered Hand,” a sculpture based on Mark 3, where Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath against the religious leaders’ strong objections
“Sinners Only,” a mixed-media project based on Jesus response to the religious leaders’ criticism of His association with sinners in Mark 2
In one of the arguably most important works of contemporary Christian literature, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes a compelling case that urges us to a critical decision concerning the person of Jesus.
“A man who was merely a man & said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, & is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse… You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him & kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet & call Him Lord & God. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Through our study of Mark, we are nudging our Afterschool students to unravel the true identity of Jesus & consider the profound implications it holds for our lives.
Is Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or Lord?
[Re]Open Studios
Our drop-in for adult artists is back, & we’ve made some notable changes to improve our offerings. Open Studios will now occur on the second Saturday of each month, so we can steer clear of big holiday weekends & accommodate more people. Additionally, we’ve made it our goal to host guided workshops every month based on past successes & popular interest.
Flower Hour
NoCo’s first Open Studios of 2026 was tremendous! The COVE was full of familiar faces & new friends, all eager to create. For our workshop, prolific painter & NoCo Fest veteran Rachel Casper (aka Gwen Srange Art) taught everyone how to create abstract flowers with acrylic paint on canvas. The results are STUNNING!
Not all of the artists pictured above would consider themselves “painters,” & most were trying methods unfamiliar to them. There are so many opportunities for you to jump in & learn new skills at Open Studios. We would love to see you here! Remember, it’s free. All you have to do is show up!
Please use the handy widget on our website to mark your digital calendar with the latest information on upcoming Open Studios, & follow us on social media for regular reminders (plus, more awesome photos).
🔔 The next Open Studios will be on Saturday, March 14th, from 11:00am - 5:00pm.
Second First Friday
In case you missed our January newsletter, we announced a brand new function we started at the beginning of February: The Novelty Collective is hosting an art gallery in partnership with Bellevue Forward’s First Friday “art crawl” across the North Boroughs of Pittsburgh! Participating cafés, boutiques, & other shops are displaying artwork by local makers at each establishment. It’s a great way to bring the community together & support the arts, not to mention welcome more foot traffic into these spaces.
We are very pleased with the success of our first gallery, which featured a series of abstract paintings by Gwen Strange Art & live music by Stealing Time. Check out what’s in store for our second First Friday:
The Gold Thread
The team has decided to call The Novelty Collective’s art gallery The Gold Thread. You may recognize the title if you’ve been following us for some time. We chose it for our first-ever art gallery held outside The COVE Art Center last summer, an event that featured several NoCo artists whose work is largely inspired by nature & its connection to the divine. The title & the idea behind it are consistent with our vision & mission, so we’re going with it!
Our upcoming gallery will feature a series of paintings by Dodi Dean entitled “Looking Up & Out,” a contemplative exhibition that finds beauty in natural shapes & negative spaces through repetition & layers. Come & show your support!
🔔 The Gold Thread continues on Friday, March 6th, from 6:00pm - 9:00pm.
NoCo Insiders
Sharing our story over the past five years is a privilege I never grow weary of. I often wonder if I will ever be able to accurately describe the thrills & challenges of grassroots ministry, or the incomparable awe & joy that arise as we see God at work through our meager human efforts. There are so many stories of individuals whom The Novelty Collective has impacted, but it just isn’t practical to cram them into a newsletter like this.
That’s why the team created NoCo Insiders. We delivered our very first issue in January, & we are already preparing to publish the next one. Every edition of Insiders will feature a different person or group with gripping stories about their creative journey & how it connects to The Novelty Collective. I cannot place enough emphasis on how inspiring the subject of our upcoming article is!
If you want to join the mailing list, please consider contributing as little as $10 per month to one of our fundraising campaigns. NoCo Insiders is one way we like to thank our committed donors, as these stories would not exist without their help. With your help, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of teens & adults in Pittsburgh (& across the U.S.)!
🔔 When Givebutter notifies us that you’ve submitted your first donation, you’ll be signed up for NoCo Insiders. Get started by February 28th to receive this month’s article!
See You Soon?
The team would be thrilled if you could join us for Open Studios, The Gold Thread, or even schedule an individual visit when you’re interested. Please, don’t be a stranger, especially if you’re local to Pittsburgh. We also want to know what you are up to & how we can support you!
Reach out to us anytime from one of the links below (excluding YouTube!). Thank you for reading, & we will see you soon(?)!
Blessings,
Jordan & Brittany
Article written by Jordan A. King
