About Me and Resume
I retired from teaching high school chemistry in 2016 and now have the opportunity to focus full-time on art. Teaching is an art that requires a great deal of creativity as does sculpture and mosaic making, so the transition from teacher to artist is quite harmonious, a change I have been anticipating for some time. I have been carving marble on and off for more than twenty years and began work with broken tile mosaics over the last eight years.
I have taken marble carving/sculpture workshops at the Worcester Art Museum, The Carving Studio in Rutland, VT and in Carrara, Italy.
My teaching career was not an ordinary one. My experiences teaching and living abroad in Antwerp, Brasilia, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador (Bahia), London, Turin, as well as in CA and MA and some recent travel in Portugal has provided much of my inspiration for art. I also grew up in a family with a creative streak, a grandfather and father who were blacksmiths, an uncle who was a builder and cabinet maker, and a brother, a carpenter with a knack for unique construction, all of which has had an everlasting influence on me as well.
I enjoy the challenge of carving marble and have a studio for sculpting as well as an outdoor work area. My first attempt at carving marble was a self-portrait back in 1998 in my backyard with hand tools. I was surprisingly pleased with how the piece turned out, so I entered it into a juried art show at The College of the Sequoias in CA, and to my complete astonishment, I won Best of Show! I’ve been carving and sculpting marble ever since.
I was also interested in mosaics and about eight years ago I began making broken tile mosaics with students at Hudson High School in MA. Students took to the idea and showcased their mosaics on corridor walls at school to highlight projects they would present at the UNESCO International Meeting of Young Scientists Conferences held in Santarem, Portugal. And creating these mosaics to display at school provided students a unique way to recognize and build a cultural bridge between Portugal and the Hudson, MA community.
Artist Resume: Peter Vacchina
Artist: Sculptor 1997-Present
petervacchina.com
Juried Exhibitions
Visalia, CA, College of the Sequoias Exhibition 1998
Pittsfield, MA, Lichtenstein “Showing Up” 2018
Pittsfield, MA, Lichtenstein Center for Arts, Ten Spot 2020
Sandisfield, MA, Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit 2022, 2023
Pittsfield, MA, Art of the Hills: Visual Evidence 2022
Pittsfield, MA, Lichtenstein Center for Arts, Unfinished 2023,2024
Housatonic, MA, Center for Peace through Culture 2024
Displays
Pittsfield, MA, Whitney Center for the Arts, BAA 2018
Pittsfield, MA, 10x10 RAP 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Pittsfield, MA, UNICO Exhibit 2019, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Lenox, MA, Cohen and White Associates 2021, 2022
Pittsfield, MA, Inspired Creations 2022
Pittsfield, MA, Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center 2022
Lenox, MA, Lenox Craft Fair (Youth Basketball) 2022
Pittsfield, MA, Our Harvest of Hope 2022
Pittsfield, MA, DriveBikeWalk event 2020, 2022
Pittsfield, MA, UNICO 100 Year Anniversary,2023
Pittsfield, MA, MarketPlace Café, 2022
Pittsfield, MA, The Proprietors Lodge, 2023,2024
Stockbridge, MA, Whispered the Heart, 2024
Pittsfield, MA, Berkshire Art Center, 2024
Pittsfield, MA, Downtown Pittsfield Inc, 2024
Sculpture and Mosaic Installations
Hudson, MA, UNESCO, HHS Hallway 2012
Hudson, MA, UNESCO, Rail Trail 2014
Pittsfield, MA, Festival of Hope 2018
Pittsfield, MA, The Spot 2019
Hancock, MA, Parinda Yoga 2020
Group Shows
Pittsfield, MA, Lets Go Pink Show 2019
Pittsfield, MA, Showing Up Berkshire Art Association 2018
Public Art
Hudson, MA, Rail Trail with students 2014
Hudson, MA UNESCO Conference with students 2011,2012,2013, 2014, 2015
Berkshire County, 2TGHR 2020
Pittsfield, MA Habitat for Humanity 2020
Pittsfield, MA Peaslee’s Store 2020
Pittsfield, MA, Palace Arch 2019
Pittsfield, MA, Our Town, Artist Liaison 2024-25
Ice Sculptures
Greenfield, MA, Winter Carnival 2019, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
North Adams, MA, Winterfest 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
Pittsfield, MA, 10x10 Up Street Arts Festival 2019, 20, 21, 22, 23
Northampton, MA, Ice Art Festival 2018, 20,21,22,23,24
Holyoke, MA, Ice Sculpture Festival 2022
Hancock, MA, Hancock Shaker Village, The Big Chill 2022,2023
Grants
Mass Cultural Council 2023
Capacity Building Grant, Assets for Artists, MASS MoCA 2024