Celebrating it's 11th year, Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair is both an exhibition and a sale for handmade arts and crafts made by independent artists. This event is sponsored by the Washington City Paper. The event is held for 2 days and you still have tomorrow to catch it. It is held at Union Market in DC, 1309 5th Street, NE. (just by Gallaudet University) For more information check out their site: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/craftybastards/ Why am I telling you about this oddly named Arts & Crafts Fair? Well, of course it is because there are some really cool artists who are UpCycling! Check out Margie Criner of Red-Belly Studios. In chatting with Margie, I complemented her on her color choices and arrangement of materials. She said that after years of being a graphic artist, she likes to think of her sculpture arrangements as working with 3-D graphic design. You can see more of her unique work on her website: http://www.red-belly.com/ The next artist I came upon was Monique Roberson-Langley, creator/designer of Nik da Pooh Designs. She creates upcycled light bulb terrariums, dioramas, sculptures and much more. Her stuff is super cute. I am only sorry that I did not get a better picture of her terrariums. But, that should be incentive for you to come out the the Crafty Bastards Arts & Craft Show tomorrow to see her work in person. You can find Monique and her art at: http://www.nikdapooh.com/ Rebound Designs is a creative artform for well-loved books. Caitlin Phillips creates original Book Purses and other functional art out of old books giving them a second chance and purpose. Ahh, I did not get a picture but if you want to see more of her art, check her out at: http://www.rebound-designs.com/ or you have one more day to catch her at Crafty Bastards. The Broken Plate Pendant Company has a very self-explanitory name. They make awesome jewelry out of expired dish ware. They will do custom work too. So, if you have broken that special plate, you can ship pieces to them and they will make functional art out of it. For more info. check them out at: http://ibreakplates.com/ Yes, I forgot to get a picture again. I was having a really good time just looking around.
The 12th Annual Alexandria King Street Art Festival was held on September 13th and 14th. While checking out the wide variety of art, we came across a number of artists who use cast off goods in their art. Meeting Patti and Bob Stern was a lot of fun. They put a lot of their personality into the art they create. Patti points out "we transform wonderfully old architectural artifacts into truly one-of-a-kind art pieces." You can find Patti and Bob at http://www.theperfectview.com . Sarah Bean creates custom carved books. Using books as her media, she creates a three dimensional, hand carved and illustrated work of art. Sara and her work can be found at www.artandpoems.com . Above are some of the pieces made by Tiffany Ownbey. She says, "My work is a study of human interactions, relationships and memories...sometimes humorous and sometimes tart. Scale and proportion are intentionally manipulated for emphasis. Using paper-mache I make figurative sculpture out of antique sewing patterns, vintage books and found objects." She can be found at www.tiffanyownbey.com . Sandhi makes paper mosaic portraits. She makes amazing images with advertisements, junk mail and message that she receives. Sandhi says, "I express my vision through a variety of images - mostly portraits - and have changed the way I make art and the way I see the world around me...for good." Sandhi and her art can be found at www.schimmelart.com . Look for Sandhi inspired art our Art on the Avenue Kids Korner booth! October 4th from 10 am - 4 pm on the Mt. Vernon Field in Del Ray.
Dogs have an undeniable presence in the City of Alexandria. They are frequently seen walking with their owners, playing in one of our city’s many dog parks, drinking from bowls outside businesses, and enjoying treats from shop counters. Numerous businesses in Alexandria cater to the needs of dogs and their owners, and it’s unlikely a day will pass without a resident encountering a dog. Our project explores the roles that dogs play in the City of Alexandria and how they fit into our community.
Fur-Vor will encourage and enhance artistic engagement with businesses, students, local artists, and the Alexandria community throughout the phases of the project. The project will engage over 500 students enrolled in Alexandria City’s out-of-school programs to introduce them to new artistic media. The project will also engage businesses in Alexandria in a competition to create Fur-Vor art using their own upcycled material. We intend to enlist the assistance from Alexandria-based Torpedo factory artists to create a dog-themed float and costumes for the Scottish Walk, which draws 30,000 visitors to the city each December. Finally, at several community events, including Del Ray's First Thursday, Art on the Avenue, the AWLA Shelter Walk, and Alexandria's Earth Day Celebration, Fur-Vor will engage the public in and provide opportunities for the community to create upcycled art. This project is funded by generous support from the Alexandria City Commission for the Arts, 2015 Arts Grant program. As well as the following individuals, businesses and organizations: TOP DOG Animal Welfare League of Alexandria FIDO'S FRIENDS Baylor Solutions YOUR PARTICIPATION IS WELCOME AND YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! FUR-VOR PROJECT PAGE Day 1: Today we gathered around opening CDs and sorting the cases, CDs and papers. Some friends used the cases to make frames to hold their work from this week. (Returning friends have frames at home.) In small groups we made paper cloth and snakes out of bottle caps. We also hammered bottle caps into a log. One friend said, "Real hammers? I'm not allowed!" Well, they are allowed at UpCycle and they have gotten the hang of hammering. During free exploration, we explored colored film on the light box, built a house boat out of materials and worked in the message center. See you tomorrow! Day 2: Today we gathered around books to get ideas for our sculptures. We then made a plan by drawing our animals and machines before we began building. We also embellished our paper cloth from yesterday with stitches and beads. During free exploration time, we added to our bottle cap snakes, made a group piece of paper cloth and watched a repair man work on a nearby roof. Day 3: Today we gathered around upholstery samples. We took the papers and staples out of them, and then we sorted them by color. There was interesting debate about whether certain fabrics were brown, gray, light or oddballs. In one small group, we added details to our found object sculptures. In our other group, we pieced the upholstery samples together to make a back for our pillows. We also stuffed the pillows ourselves. During free exploration we continued working on our bottle cap snakes and we explored punches and stamps in the message center. Day 4: On Thursday, we gathered around clay. The group developed a story about eggs and a nest that evolved to include a mama bird, several baby birds, lots of worms and extra nests. In small group, we did observational drawings of our sculptures and painted them with liquid water color. Did you know you can make your own liquid water color out of dried-up markers? In our other small group we made prints with found objects. We tested out the materials and then made a final composition. Day 5: Today we gathered around clay again. Many friends made impressions with various items we had available for mark making. In small groups, we explored the effects of water color and salt on a hunk of ice. We also moved water in a large bin, using basters, pipettes and PVC pipe. In our other small group, we selected, traced and cut out a piece of our prints for our frames. We also sewed a piece of paper cloth we made as a group, and put this small sample in our frames. Our bottle cap snakes also came home today. We had a wonderful week with your children. Thank you for sharing them with us! Kelley & Susan Our second week of Fun With Junk camp ended with some clever creations as well as some beautiful work. Our friends worked on sculptures of creatures. We looked through books for inspiration and drew the animals, looking carefully at the shapes that made their parts. These drawings became a plan that we referred back to as we sculpted. We also did some sewing: paper cards with beads and monogrammed pillows. We used upholstery samples and scraps of fabric to create letters for the pillows. We also used a variety of stitches: running, couching, blanket and the French knot. Our friends were very pleased with their work.
More Fun With Junk Thanks for sharing your children with us!
Art on the Avenue was a big event!!! Even though it rained for most of the day, we had a very steady stream of visitors come to the UpCycle tent. We offered three experiences with materials. Decorating a log, found in the river, with bottle caps donated by Los Tios was a very popular experience. The decorated log will become the base to a small glass-tip table. Another opportunity that was offered was weaving with color collections. We also offered collage. The glue did not cooperate fully with the wetness of the rain but that did not stop one young lady who created a doll with the materials available. She used the nails and hammer from the log to create what she wanted. |
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