Saturday, February 18, 2012

Back!

I have neglected this page for a few weeks with getting ready for CapriCon and other matters. To update: All is good, the convention went well, I have a few potential commissions to do and the possibility of some writing work. Tomorrow, I'm going to a small bead show. WHEEE!

Monday, January 30, 2012

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..."

Sunday, January 29, 2012

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.


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!








Wednesday, January 25, 2012

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!

---------------
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                
Los Angeles               
-Trash for Teaching, Inc                           
Mountain View          
-FabMo                           
Oakland                     
Palo Alto                      
Riverside                    
-Riverside Arts and ReUse Exchange         
Roseville  
-ReCREATE                 
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                          

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              
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                 
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                         
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                       
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                       
Albuquerque              
-Wemagination

NEW YORK        
New York                  
-SHHHH Salvage Projects
Queens                                  

 OHIO                 
Cincinnati                  
-Crayons to Computers
Columbus                   
-Waste Not Center
Toledo                        
-Scrap4Art       

OKLAHOMA      
Oklahoma City          
-Save it for Art 

OREGON           
Eugene                      
-MECCA           
Portland                                 
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.)