Tag Archives: Patterns of Meaning

Where Industry Meets Art

In a sunlit studio in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, surrounded by stacks of century-old wooden foundry patterns and oil paintings drenched in rust-colored nostalgia, artist Cory Bonnet is quietly revolutionizing the way young people see their future. His initiative, Patterns of Meaning, is more than an art project—it’s a movement designed to reconnect communities with the history, creativity, and possibility embedded in manufacturing. And at the heart, is a plan to inspire future makers through workshops that carry an urgent and compelling promise.

Cory is spearheading a new outreach collaboration with the Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL) program to inspire students to pursue careers in the casting and forging industries. The partnership with METAL will be piloted in public schools in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County and surrounding counties. By connecting the industrial history of their community with the imagination of hands-on art projects, Cory is aiming to ignite that spark in more than 1,000 kids within the first year.

“I want them to look at manufacturing not as factory work but as a creative endeavor,” he explains. “It’s problem-solving. It’s invention. It’s creation.”

Trash to Treasure

Cory’s studio is a time machine built from weathered wood, technical blueprints, and bold new ways to showcase them. The patterns—hand-carved forms once used to cast the components of steel mills—serve as both historical artifacts and creative springboards. “These things were all built by hand,” Cory says. “Before CAD, before CNC machines. Built with skill, sweat, and imagination.” Each salvaged artifact—some dating back to the 1890s—tells a story.

His journey into combining art and industry began with collecting a few scrap metal pieces from a salvage dealer named Chip Barletto. Chip was used to hauling big stuff—like 80-ton pieces of iron—and shared how these hunks of metal reveal the rich history of the region where they both grew up. Wanting to preserve these relics of the Steel Belt, Cory bought one of the most complete collections of industrial casting patterns and blueprints from this era in the world. He’s now working with a consortium of artists who use the collection in unique mediums: oil, glass, ceramics, and sculpture. They take what previously was forgotten in a warehouse and revitalize it.

Ingenuity Through Art

It’s this spirit of ingenuity that Cory wants students to encounter. Led by IACMI—The Composites Institute®, METAL is supporting a variety of K-12 workshops across the country. This workshop will immerse students in a curriculum that merges fine arts with technical learning. Younger students might paint, draw, or create collages inspired by the patterns and their stories. Older ones may get hands-on with wax models, CAD tools, sand casting, and 3D printing. “It’s a way to Trojan horse creativity into technical education,” Cory says with a grin. “Art with technology is how young people will create the next unbelievable things.”

“Right now, there’s a disconnect,” he continues. “Young people don’t see metalworking or manufacturing as exciting, meaningful careers. But they are. These are industries that built the modern world. And they were built by people whose greatest assets were human spirit and ingenuity.”

Through classroom presentations, field trips, and hands-on instruction that focus on creative opportunities through fine art, the initiative aims to reach students not traditionally tracked for careers in engineering and science. The goal is to inspire all students to think about careers in advanced manufacturing while they’re young.

Why Here, Why Now?

Through a pilot, Cory has already seen how this program rekindles a sense of wonder and gratitude—not only for the objects themselves, but for the people and processes that made them. Their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. The workshops aim to bridge the gap between past and future, between abstract creativity and tangible creation. Cory sees today’s students as uniquely positioned to imagine new possibilities. “They’re starting at a level the steelworkers of 100 years ago couldn’t even dream of,” he says. “They have the tools. Now we just have to help them realize the power of their own ideas.”

Ultimately, Cory hopes that students leave the Patterns of Meaning workshops with new skills and a new sense of identity—one rooted in both art and industry. “I worked solo for 20 years,” he reflects. “But the real magic happens in collaboration. When no one claims to know everything, and everyone listens and builds together—your work will be magnitudes greater than anything you could accomplish on your own.”

The compelling message he wants students and their parents to hear is that their country needs them to explore careers in manufacturing again, and when they do, it can be a win-win. They can look forward to good, well-paying jobs that won’t be the same as the ones even a generation ago. The need is urgent, and the time to embrace those opportunities is now.

To learn more about upcoming workshops, please contact Cory Bonnet: corybonnet@gmail.com

Original article credit: Margaret Slattery, Communications Manager at IACMI

Pittsburgh-based Patterns of Meaning art initiative partners with METAL to engage K-12 students in steel and metal manufacturing

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL) program, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute® with funding from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program, today announced a new partnership with the Pittsburgh-based Patterns of Meaning Initiative, an innovative program that introduces steel, specialty materials and metal manufacturing to K-12 students through the arts. 

“Manufacturing – including steel and metal production – is necessary for the future and depends on new artisans capable of the creativity and innovation it requires,” said Cory Bonnet, Pittsburgh-based artist and Patterns of Meaning founder. “The goal of Patterns of Meaning is to help change the cultural perception of heavy manufacturing from a dying industry to a creative and vital essential human contribution. Ultimately, we want to encourage future generations to pursue industrial trades, a much-needed trend for future workforce development.”

Patterns of Meaning is an unprecedented collection of industrial artifacts, paintings and sculptures honoring the industrial era. Its K-12 initiative is a unique curriculum that combines classroom project-based learning with experiential fine art exhibits, including artwork in steel, glass, ceramics and wood. 

The partnership with METAL will be piloted in the Pittsburgh Public School District and surrounding counties. It includes classroom presentations, field trips to Patterns of Meaning Exhibit Hall, and hands-on instruction guided by local faculty for class art projects focused on the metalworking industry. Projects may include drawing, painting or collage for younger students, then progress to more complex projects using computer-aided design, wax models, sand casting and additive manufacturing processes for advanced learners.

By introducing students to the creative and technical opportunities within engineering and sciences through fine art, the initiative will reach students not traditionally tracked for careers in these fields.

Since its kickoff in 2023, METAL—a U.S. Department of Defense-funded program that is developing a skilled trade pipeline to fill gaps in the U.S. metallurgical and manufacturing workforce—has gained significant momentum, including a rapidly expanding network of university hubs that assist with K-12 and adult metallurgical training. Tennessee Tech, University of Alabama and Michigan Tech are the two most recent additions, but the network also includes The Ohio State University, Penn State and the University of Tennessee.  

“We applaud Patterns of Meaning for its innovative efforts to transform public perceptions of the steel industry and manufacturing through fine arts,” said METAL National Workforce Manager Lucinda Curry. “Patterns of Meaning engages youth in metal manufacturing, aligning with METAL’s mission to strengthen the future metalworking workforce.”

Visit the Patterns of Meaning Workshop and Exhibit Hall in the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. and for a limited time in Brooklyn, N.Y. Patterns of Meaning recently announced a new partnership with Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, displaying its works in an exhibit entitled “Brooklyn X Pittsburgh: The Industry of Art” in Brooklyn, New York from July 19 to August 24. 

About METAL

Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL), led by IACMI, is an industry-driven initiative aimed at providing high-quality, hands-on training in the metalworking and manufacturing sectors. The program is designed to address workforce development needs by offering comprehensive curricula in casting, forging and metallurgy, with an emphasis on automation and modern manufacturing technologies.

About IACMI
IACMI – The Composites Institute® is a national public-private partnership focused on advancing composite materials and process technologies. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, IACMI brings together over 170 members from industry, academia, and government to drive manufacturing innovation and workforce development.

About Patterns of Meaning

The Patterns of Meaning Initiative offers an innovative solution to address the critical challenges facing the manufacturing and steel industries—an aging workforce, difficulty in attracting young talent, and a weak public perception. Recognizing that these industries require new artisans, Patterns of Meaning embarks on an initiative to use fine arts to engage K-12 students by combining interactive, project-based classroom learning with experiential art exhibits featuring large-scale paintings and sculptures from the Patterns collection. To learn more, visit https://patternsofmeaning.org/. 

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