What a fantastic day for Del Ray's signature community event!  UpCycle was on the Kids Korner with junk mail collage.  Of course, the doggie subject matter of our collage was linked to our long-term project, Fur-Vor.  

We offered all kids of discarded paper to collage with:  junk mail, catalogs, envelopes, maps and pages from damaged books.  Paper punches and scissors helped artists prepare the paper for the spaces they needed to fill.      

Filling the spaces on the panels and canvas was a bit like paint by number.  Our visitors selected a color scheme or pattern for each space, and everyone filled it accordingly.  Most of the time we stuck to color palettes, but an out-of-the box idea was to fill a space with faces.  Another idea was to fill a space with textures.  

We enjoyed a visit with Tanner, a real corgi!

Many helpful hands contributed to creating two attractive pieces of community artwork by the end of the day!

This week, we gathered around clay and objects that can make a mark in the slabs we made available.  

In the studio, we put stamps in the message center, as a link to the clay experience.  Some of the stamps were self inking while others required the use of a stamp pad.  Many friends used the stamps their bodies, which we assume is the where they have been used at the end of other classes!

We continued with tape, but brought out scotch tape and some of the VCR tape we cut in our first class.   The doggie on the poster board has hair now!  For mark making, we offered water color and chalk.  The lenses were back, but this time with colorful strips of film.  Many friends discovered they could change the color of the room by holding the film up to their eyes.

Pictures from Thursday's Playgroup:

Going back to Crafty Bastards for the second day was really great. I discovered many more artists who create by upcycling. Artists are using everything from old wool sweaters and bed sheets to license plates and even retired scout patches. These folks are very creative with their thinking and art making.

Before I introduce you to some of the artists I met, I want to remind you that this Saturday, 10/4/14, Art on the Avenue will be happening on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Del Ray, Alexandria. It should be another fantastic day for handmade goods. I hope to see you there!!!

Tigerflight is art and toys made by Beth Baldwin. She uses reclaimed wool and fabric samples to create adorable creatures and other sewn goods. She is a local artist who resides in DC. She can often be found at Eastern Market on Sundays. Her goods can be found on her easy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/tigerflight

These are images for Bookland Work Shop by Rebound Designs. I mentioned them in my previous post but I did not have pictures. Rebound Designs gives a second chance to well-loved books creating them into purses, earrings, pins and more. http://www.rebound-designs.com

Cotton Monster is a really fun. What caught my eye were the block prints on fabric. The fabric just happened to be repurposed bed sheets. I bought a few patches. I am excited to add them to a tee shirt for a new look. http://cottonmonster.com

Repurposing books was popular this year. Jacob of Ex Libris Anonymous crates handmade journals from vintage books. What I thought was fun about Jacob's journals was that he left many of the pages from the original book in place while he replaced a good portion with blank pages. So, as you flip through the book, you may pick up a new fact or have a little chuckle over the topic. http://bookjournals.com

The Had Matter is functional art for the wall created from recycled materials and vintage images. Erika uses license plates, vintage wooden yard sticks and other found materials to create shelves and hooks and more. http://hadmatterart.com

Leah Boelman of Little Green Things creates art with reclaimed wood, yarn embroidery and is handcrafted with love. I am a huge fan of sewing and I love this spin of sewing on wood. Leah's illustrations are enhanced by her sewing. http://littlegreenthingshome.com

Craftgasm creates reclaimed paper goods with a sense of history using maps, found materials and some snazzy vintage typewriters. Among the offerings are stationery, lettersets with map envelopes, notecards made with children's book illustrations, and art prints made on a Gocco machine. http://shopcraftgasm.com 

Rebecca Delaney has a lot of fun with what she does. Here she holds a bracelet made of vintage bottle caps. She incorporates many found objects in her art making. http://sewciopathic.com

Snarky Scouts are a funny spin on scout badges. Vintage merit badges are given new ironic meanings based on the picture. http://snarkyscouts.com


So far this fall craft season is starting out strong. I look forward to many more good shows in the area:
10/4/14 - Art on The Avenue in Del Ray
12/14/14 - GRUMP at Artisphere
I am sure there are more that are not listed here but this is a start.

Today we returned to fill our papers with dog images.  We warmed up our hands by making various marks with our pens.  Then we looked at dog images through view finders and drew the lines we saw.  

In small groups, we painted our found object prints with acrylic paint, and we started a dog inspired collages.  Everyone was so involved with their work that we only had time for one small group...plus a little free exploration time!