Super Bowls!

This week's treasury is all about the bowl game.

*in her best Emily Litella voice*

"I'm so happy that people are getting excited about bowls. Here are some really super ones..."

WisCon call to artists

Please note some date corrections to this post:

Wiscon or WisCon, is often called the world's leading feminist-oriented science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin in February 1977, and is held annually throughout the four day weekend of Memorial Day. Sponsored by the Society for the Furtherance and Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction or (SF)³, WisCon gathers together women and men: fans, writers, editors, publishers, scholars and artists from around the world to discuss science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on issues of feminism, gender, race, and class.

Per the art show page on WisCon's website: 

We believe that Art is an important aspect of SF, and that an exciting Art Show is an important part of any convention. We strive to make the WisCon Art Show a continuing success by integrating the art show with the rest of the convention.

We are doing things a little different this year. In order to include more new artists, we are requiring all artists to submit an application and photos of their work to the Art Show Staff by February 29 of this year. We will start sorting through the applications then and will notify the applicants of their status around  Match 18.


The Art Show Application page may be found at http://www.wiscon.info/artshow.php .

Art show focus:

• Work by women artists
• Work by regional artists
• Work with feminist themes, whatever that may be

We don't plan to define feminist themes. That's up to you. We do, though, plan to continue to have popular awards for the Most Feminist and Most Outrageous items in the Art Show, as have for the past several years. We are interested in original work by the artist, which may include one copy of limited edition reproductions. For additional print sales, you are welcome to participate in the WisCon Dealers Room, or make an arrangement with one of the dealers. We also have a small print shop for items with fixed sale prices; let us know if you are interested in participating, since space will be limited.

Milwaukee ReStore 2012 Recycled Art Contest

The 2012 Recycled Art Contest, hosted by the Milwaukee ReStore, is officially open for entries! This is the third annual contest that challenges community members to take repurposed material from the ReStore and turn it into recycled art. The entries will be displayed in the ReStore and online for customers to vote on. The top five vote-getters will receive fabulous prizes.  The sky is the limit as to what you can design. From welding a dog together from tools, to redesigning a piece of furniture, to painting a window...IT'S COMPLETELY UP TO YOU! The only limit to this competition is that the materials used have to be from the ReStore. The only outside materials that may be used are adhesives. So, come down to the ReStore and put on your creative thinking caps! Entries are due by March 24th. 


Prizes:
1st Prize - $150
2nd Prize - $100
3rd Prize - $50
4th Prize - $25
5th Prize - ReStore T-shirt & Water Bottle
(Prize Money Awarded In The Form Of ReStore Gift Certificates)

A special "Kid's Bonus" will be awarded to any winners under the age of 15. In addition to the Gift Certificate, winners under the age of 15 will be awarded a mystery basket of goodies just for them!

Rules:
-Create a work of art made entirely from repurposed materials at the ReStore! (adhesives excluded) All ages welcome! There is no limit to the amount of entries one can submit.

-Entries must be submitted to the ReStore by Saturday, March 24th. They will then be displayed in the store and voted on by customers. Winners will be announced on Earth Day, April 21st!

-Artists will retain ownership of all entries at the conclusion of the contest. However, all entries will be included in a silent auction while on display. Bids will be relayed to the artists who have the decision to ACCEPT OR NOT ACCEPT ANY BID. A minimum of 20% of any accepted bid must be donated to Milwaukee's Habitat for Humanity. Artists may allocate more of a percentage if they wish.

-Upon submission, all approved entries will receive a $25 gift certificate to the ReStore to compensate for materials.

-Submit Art Projects by Saturday, March 24th to:
Milwaukee ReStore - 3015 N. 114th, Wauwatosa

For more information contact Jake Brandt:
jbrandt@milwaukeerestore.org - 414.257.9078 ex. 13

Treasuries from January 22nd through 28th, 2012

A big thank-you to fluffstuffandpuff, BaublesAndWhatnots, LizzysFancies, thecrochetloft, piratesb00ty, PluffMudDesigns, ZuTuTu, and CASESPLUS for including my work in treasuries that they had created this past week!

Felt Up

Considering I've been seeing a bajillion smooshy-smooshy Valentine's Day postings AND I've been looking at a lot of needle felting lately, this week's currated treasury is all about getting "felt up". Enjoy!

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Update 1/27: I love the fact that three of the items in this treasury sold in the past 2 days!

She's a scrappy gal, she is...

 

During my undergrad years, I used to frequent The Scrap Box in Ann Arbor. It was a fantastic place where manufacturers would donate their (clean) scrap items from their factory processes to be sold to the community. There would be bins of such things as little plastic rectangles, one inch foam circles, and orange widgety bits with peel-off adhesive backs.  Most items were sold by the mix and match fill-it-yourself bag with some items (like sheets of vinyl) sold separately. It was always a great source for cool/cheap/odd art supplies for the kids at the shelter where I worked and I’d also go looking for materials for curriculum/creative projects with friends who were occupational therapy, art, or education majors.

Since it had been several years since I’d visited The Scrap Box, I wondered if it still operated and I also wondered if there was a similar program in the Milwaukee area. The good news is that, yes, the Scrap Box is still running strong:

  (Incidentally, The Scrap Box also has a blog over at WordPress) 

Alas, there’s not a similar program in Milwaukee…or at least none that I could find…that offers post-industrial materials in a user-friendly setting for artists and crafters (though we DO have American Science and Surplus, which is a different flavor of awesome). There is also a Scrap Box-type program in Chicago (The Creative Reuse Warehouse via the Resource Center Chicago), which I’ll have to check out when I’m down that way.

While Milwaukee currently lacks this sort of recycling program, I found a TON of similar programs throughout North America.  Obviously what each center has can vary by region and even day-by-day, but I sure that they’re all well worth checking out for great repurposable art parts.

ALABAMA            

Mobile                        

-GRCMA-The Resource Place 

ARIZONA            

Tempe                        

-Treasures for Teachers 

BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver
-Urban Source

CALIFORNIA  

Long Beach                

-Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse          

Los Angeles               

-reDiscover at Smart Space      

-Trash for Teaching, Inc                           

Mountain View          

-FabMo                           

Oakland                     

-East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse   

Palo Alto                      

-The ReARt Store at Whole House Building Supply
Redwood City
-RAFT--Main 2

Riverside                    

-Riverside Arts and ReUse Exchange         
Roseville  
-ReCREATE                 

Sacramento                  

-RAFT--Sacramento

San Francisco             

-SCRAP (Scrounger's Center for Reusable Art Parts)
San Jose                     

-Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT)--Main 1
Santa Barbara             

-Art from Scrap
Vacaville                    

-Center for Imaginative Reuse

COLORADO       

Boulder                      

-ArtParts Creative Reuse Center
-Center for Creative Reuse      
Colorado Springs       

-SCRAP UP
Denver                       

-RAFT--Colorado         

CONNECTICUT    

Bristol                        

-Imagine That! at the Imagine Nation Children's Museum
Hartford                      

-Scrap-it, A Creative Reuse Center

D.C                      

Washington, DC         

-SCRAP-DC   

FLORIDA         

Ft. Lauderdale                       

-Kids in Need Resource Center
-Trash to Treasure
Melbourne Beach       

-Reusable Resources Adventure Center                         

North Miami                          

-Ocean Bank Center for Eduational Materials                          

-Teacher's Universe

GEORGIA           

Atlanta                       

-WonderRoot Creative Reuse 
Carrollton                   

-The Scrap Bin

IDAHO               

Boise                          

-The ReUse Market

ILLINOIS           

Champaign                 

-The I.D.E.A. Store      

Chicago                      

-Creative Reuse Warehouse     

INDIANA            

Bloomington              

-Materials for the Arts Program

Franklin                      

-Creative ReSources
Hammond                  

-Hammond Recycling’s Art & Crafts ReUz Station
Indianapolis               

-Teacher's Treasures     

IOWA                

LeClaire                     

-Reusable Usables Creative Arts Center 

KANSAS              

Kansas City                

-Recycled Materials Center, Children's Museum of Kansas    

LOUISIANA        

New Orleans              

-Recycle for the Arts, a program of The Green Project           

MAINE              

Auburn                       

-SHAREcenter
Farmington                 

-Everyone's Resource Depot     

Scarborough               

-Ruth's Reusable Resources     

MANITOBA
Winnipeg
-ArtJunktion

MASSACHUSETTS  

Boston                        

-Recycle Shop, Boston Children's Museum
Cambridge                 

-Extras for Creative Learning (EXCL)        

MICHIGAN      

Ann Arbor                 

-The Scrap Box
Detroit                         

-Arts & Scraps   

Grand Rapids             

-Learning from Scratch            

Lansing                     

-Creation Station          

Traverse City              

-SCRAP--Traverse City        

MINNESOTA    

Mankato                     

-Art Bin at the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota
St. Paul                       

-Artscrap Resource Center (Art Start)

MISSOURI  

Bridgeton                   

-Kidsmart  

Crestwood                 

-St. Louis Teachers Recycle Center
St. Louis                    

-The Upcycle Exchange {Materials Market}
  
NORTH CAROLINA  

Asheville                    

-Trash , Inc.
Cary                          

-Cary Creative Center
Durham                      

-The Scrap Exchange
Hickory                       

-Resource Warehouse & Gallery

NEW MEXICO   

Albuquerque              

-Wemagination

NEW YORK        

New York                  

-SHHHH Salvage Projects
Queens                                  

-Materials for the Arts     

 OHIO                 

Cincinnati                  

-Crayons to Computers
Columbus                   

-Waste Not Center
Toledo                        

-Scrap4Art       

OKLAHOMA      

Oklahoma City          

-Save it for Art 

OREGON           

Eugene                      

-MECCA           

Portland                                 

-SCRAP: The School and Community Reuse Action Project

PENNSYLVANIA   

Lancaster                    

-Lancaster Creative Reuse       
Philadelphia               

-The Resource Exchange       
Pittsburgh                   

-Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse
   
RHODE ISLAND                 

Providence                 

-Resources for RI Education  

TENNESSEE        

Nashville                    

-Turnip Green Creative Reuse

TEXAS                   

Austin                        

-Austin Creative Reuse
Denton                       

-SCRAP Denton
Houston                     

-Texas Art Asylum

VIRGINIA              

Richmond                  

-Stuff, Inc.      

WASHINGTON        

Lynnwood                 

-Creation Station

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Support your community’s art and recycling movement! 

(As always, linking to this post is more than permissible.)

Treasuries from January 15th through 21st, 2012

Copious thank-yous to the following Etsians that included my work in treasuries January 15th through January 21st: GalleyWestStudio, recreated1, DreamJewelry17, FrouFrouFelt, Obsidianrain, JudithGayleDesigns, WoodlandTrinkets, MaybeMedieval, twistedpixelstudio, engineerandthegypsy, Modred12, VisualEyesCosmetics, AccessoryShowcaseNY, VirtuosoVintage, BelovedU, roagui, M1dnightDreary, vintagestampjewels, cecrafts, Marie Francoise Gironnet, realfaery, moschapeau, Nezihe1, alleya, and KaleidoscopeHearts.

Crazed week...

I'm going to take a break for a a few days from Etsy/blogging, likely until next Sunday or Monday. I have a few things on my plate right now (in no particular order):

-My partner's ex died last Monday and, while I'm not directly involved, my partner had power of attorney and has coordinated tomorrow's funeral/taking care of her estate. He's understandably a bit worn right now.

-I'm in last minute freaking-out headspace before this weekend's convention.

-Changes at my day job, which means adapting to new structures.

-Trying not to give in to the creeping crud flu that everyone seems to be coming down with. Alas, I cannot work in a hazmat suit.

I will be back. There will be wit. There will be shinies. There will be treasuries. Really.

A couple of quick and inexpensive salvaged fixture rehabs

As I've previously mentioned, I'm vending at Midwinter Gaming Convention next weekend. In preparation for this, I'm doing an assessment of the booth fixtures I have and figuring out how to display everything.

I'm always looking for objects that I can repurpose, not only for my shinies, but also for use in displays. While I do have a few of the standard black velvet-covered-intended-for-jewelry-display geegaws, most of my fixtures are found items. (Technically, a few of the velvet bits are salvage too, since I bought them at a mall jewelry store's going out of business sale.)

A while back, I found this clippy stand that I believe was originally intended for pictures. It's a bit over 2 1/2 feet tall (depending on how the wire tentacles are arranged) and I snagged it from my local Goodwill for $2.99.

While the chrome finish wasn't bad, I wanted it to look a bit more steamish/vintage laboratory. I painted the base and wire arm socket a matte black and wrapped the upward shaft in a coil of 18 gauge copper wire (Since I knew this was going to take a lot of wire, I used the inexpensive $2.99 for 25 feet wire from Menards. I'm glad I did, since it used precisely the whole package.). I think I might also add either an etched brass plate on the base or use a metal label frame to give it even more faux science flair. It'll make a great holder for some of my X-ray image necklaces.

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about hitting the after-Holiday clearance sales for recyclable items? These enameled metal cans were among this year's spoils. They're about 12 inches tall and were $2 each after an 80% markdown.

I'd bought them to serve as stanchions/pillars to elevate part of one of my displays closer to eye-level. While the "before" picture shows them upside down, they're very sturdy right side up too, so I decided to decorate them that way. I still had quite a few of the medical quackery ads left over from my torso project, so I decopaged the cans with the paper scraps, then added a layer of sealant.

They're also a great size for packing smaller items into/creating protected sections in my big tote boxes when transporting everything to and from events.

Treasuries from January 8th through 14th, 2012

Much gratitude to Heymes Baltic Amber, Engineer and The Gypsy, DoSymphony, This Time Next Tuesday, Hannah Ash, Steampunk Surplus, Silver Lining Kreation, DreamJewelry17, DoBatsEatCats, Kein Schmetterling, Aseyeseeitlal, BragginRightsBath, Gourmet Handbags, RainyDazeDesigns, Nightsvision, Arlene’s Boutique, lannarfelt, Bonnie’s Sew Crazy, newDawncreations, Kasandra's Designs, Carol Toepke, Idyll Wyse, Black Ant Beads, p1xie, Eden Gallery, Etchythings, Virtulyglass, Made for Me by Oaklie and Leslie Rhoades for including my work in the terrific Etsy treasuries that they had curated this week!

Walken in a Winter Wonderland

It's Monday. I'm awake. I just created an Etsy treasury about Christopher Walken. What else do you need to know?

Treasuries from January 1st through 7th, 2012

A big thanks to Inbar Jewelry, Lean Dog Pottery, The Old Barn Door, Lilac Cottage Cards, Fleur De Lis Jewelry, Ed Kidera, Jodi's Craft Emporium, Will Rockwell, Keys To The Kingdom, Roagui, The Green Haven, JetTat Designs, Engineer and The Gypsy, Double A Stitching, Shoesstring Cottage, Sibel Jewelry Design,  Heyme's Baltic Amber, Jude's Hand Spun Yarn, VonlenskaVintage, By Blackbird Designs, Ottoline’s Oddities, Fringe and Flourish, Polyester 10, Erelivent, Art by Liz K Zook, and La Muerte Dulce for including my work in the Etsy treasuries that they had created this week.

I used the CraftCult treasury widget creator to make clickable snapshots links of each of the 29 (!) treasuries below. (The widgets are usable on a variety of different blog platforms and websites, and are a great way of sharing treasuries that you've created or been included in.)

Goals for the year

-Do 10 events/shows in 2012. Every year, I try to branch out of my comfort zone just a little bit more with showing off my work. In 2010, this was participating in an artist alley at a convention and competing at the state fair. In 2011, this was doing panel discussions at a convention, vending at a convention, and vending at a mainstream show.  My goals for this year are to do an art show at a convention that requires more than just an hour or two of travel (Convergence in Minneapolis) and the art show at World Con (ChiCon in Chicago).

-Really learn PhotoShop. I know how to do some photo editing, but I really want to learn more. I have grand ideas…but I need to figure out how to make these happen.

-Blog at least once a week. This will not be hard. I have a list of about 20 topics at the moment that I’d like to write a post about and this list will just increase as the year goes by. I just need to make time to do so, because I actually really enjoy blogging.

-Complete at least one Etsy treasury a week. I really slacked on this in 2011. I had good intentions and even tried to do a treasury a day in March, but the time and motivation sort of faded away. I’m even more doleful that I didn’t keep up with the treasuries that I was included in. I was included in literally hundreds of treasuries last year and am ashamed to say that I fell short on cross-promoting these or sometimes even properly thanking the other artists that created them.

Here's my entry for this week. Now I just need to get it together 51+ more times this year...

-Post in and maintain my other shop, MoiraCoonRedux. I have stuff in the shop, but not much and I seldom even mention that I have this shop. I have many-many things that I really need to sell off, both supplies and vintage bits, so I need to get off my duff and get them posted/promoted.

-Play with my blowtorch more. Enough said.

-Increase my blog circulation to 500 followers and my Facebook fan page count to 2000 fans. I know that I could always go the “add me and I’ll add you” route to make these numbers happen, but I’d rather have readers who actually like my work and writing. I’ll have the blog posts and I’ll stay active on FB anyway, so I’m going to do more submitting to craft sites and posting in FB groups under my fan page to attract more readers.

-Stop procrastinating about posting items on Etsy. Did you know that I have dozens of pieces that I’d made for events this past autumn that I STILL have not posted? I’m justifying this right now since I want stock for a show in a few weeks, but really…that’s a poor excuse. After Midwinter Gaming Convention, I need to take the time to photograph and write copy for EVERYTHING. 

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What are your goals and objectives for 2012?