Garbage of NYC

Oh, we've all heard the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure". This project by NYC artist Justin Gignac is making me ask, "Can one man's treasure be another man's art?"

"What is art?" Ask 100 people and you will get 100 answers. Some people have their mind's made up on the topic and are unwavering in their opinions; others, like me, have yet to figure it out yet, or are unwilling to commit to an answer. As I write this, I am leaning towards the notion of "art is in the eye of the beholder". How's that for vague? My one caveat, though, is that in order for it to be art it has to evoke a reaction in the viewer. And something more than "oh, that's a pencil".

That's why the "Garbage of New York City" project had me scratching my head; is it art or is it just, well...garbage? On one hand, you could say "oh, that's a beer can". On the other hand, however, you start to see the beauty in the presentation. Removed from it's environment and placed in a protective casing, it becomes a charming little tableau; intreguing in its simplicity, really.

Or, maybe I'm overthinking it. Either way, if you can get people to pay $50 for a beer can and a plastic spoon, you are an artist. Con or otherwise. ;-)

x-posted to Natch!

Like Love Itself

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.

~John Gregory Brown

Hooray for cupcakes!

Once again, we have been blessed with Cupcake Karma. For the second year in a row, the mascot and I were winners in the silent auction at the MAWA "Over the Top" party. Last year, we took home a fancy camera; this year's prize was a huge gift basket full of things perfectly suited to a 12 year old boy, including hockey tickets, a Ticketmaster gift card, karate lessons, t-shirts, Dungeons & Dragons stuff, a funky stuffed raccoon, a stone zen cat, art gallery passes...ok, that last one was my fave out of the bunch.

As far as the rest of the event, the cupcakes were scrumptious and plentiful and I am happy to report that BOTH of my pieces sold for $90 each. Yay!

Aside from that, the really cool thing about the day for me, (besides having two good-looking escorts) was seeing so many familiar faces and feeing like a real member of the community. What a difference 12 months makes! Last year, I didn't know anyone at the party, but yesterday there was a friend or acquantance at every turn; although, it was so crowded that I only had a chance to speak to a handful of them. Oh, well...there's always the next event!

Art for MAWA

These are the two pieces that I have donated to the MAWA auction. I am very happy with the way both of them turned out and parting with them was very hard. :sigh: The sacrifices that we must make...

The first piece is a triptych collage that I made from all sorts of good shizzle, including a vintage pattern envelope and a vintage mother's day card from my "secret special stash". It's funny, though, I didn't realize until I had finished it that one of my contributions to last year's MAWA show was a lady in a yellow dress. Hmmm. Oh, and the quote is a favourite of mine from Mae West. If you ever want to read some good "lady quotes', Google Mae West. She was one sassy dame.



My second piece makes use of a bird skull (yes, a REAL one) that I have been hanging onto for almost 2 years. I was playing with it one day, and it just sorta "found" this picture of Buffy Saint Marie. I don't want to go into the signifigance of the piece as a whole or why I did what with what, but I will say that I love it ever so much. The piece of map under the picture is from a vintage Texaco map of North Dakota that I am using bit-by-bit. Nothing goes to waste! The title of the piece "She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina", incedentally, is the title of a Buffy Saint Marie album from the 70s.



Both pieces will be up for auction this Sunday at the MAWA "Over the Top" event. The proceeds from the auction go to programming at MAWA (Mentoring Artists for Women's Art).

Over the Top 2010

It's time once again for MAWA's "Over the Top" cupcake party and art auction! I participated in 2009 and have been looking forward to this year's celebration ever since.

Just like last year, I will be donating two pieces of art (one multi-media collage and one triptych collage) and a few dozen cupcakes. My art is all ready to be dropped off tomorrow, but the cupcakes will be made at the last possible minute and delivered fresh.

So. Ex. Cited.

A promise is a promise!

Here is the memo board that I made for the Winnipeg Habitat for Humanity ReStore "Recreate" art show/auction. For this project, a bunch of local artists (including me) were asked to find something at the ReStore with "upcycling potential". With a $20 merchandise credit in hand, and the mascot in tow, I scoured the store and came up with a boring white melamine cabinet door, a couple of pulls and a can of green paint. Yawn. I took it home to pretty-it-up and, after dipping into my stash of vintage goodies, I came up with this:



I painted the recessed center of the door with magnetized paint so that it could be used as a memo board, gave the whole thing a couple coats of fresh green paint and then went to work with the collage around the outer frame. There's all sorts of good stuff on there - vintage greeting and bingo cards, a page from a 1950s Winnipeg postal code directory, a vintage dictionary page, an old pattern envelope and some new decorative paper. I think it's super-cute, but I'm still nervous about it selling. Or, rather, NOT selling. :fingers crossed:

The show kicks off with a wine & cheese party tomorrow night and then it's open to the public until Saturday. Full details here - ReCreate: a ReStore Art Sale

March? Already?

Oh, dear. It's been a while, hasn't it?

The last month (ok, two months) has been a blur of trade-shows and gong-shows. And, come to think of it, gun shows. No, I haven't taken a sudden interest in firearms; I'm referring to my triumphant return to the gym. I finally sucked it up, laid down the dough and joined the Reh-fit Centre. I figured that by joining a "fancy" gym, I would not only be motivated to go by the utter lovliness of the place, but by the fact that if I don't go, I'm wasting m-o-n-e-y. Now that I've been diligently working-out for a few weeks and have visible results (yeah!), I am hooked.

But, enough about that...what about the crafts?!? Rest assured, I'm still at it. This past weekend, I delivered a custom job (an awesome domino necklace featuring Peanut's "Lucy") and a piece for the Habitat ReStore "Recreate Art Sale". I totally forgot to take a pic of Lucy, but I managed to get a couple shots of my Habitat piece before shipping it off. I will post those, along with details of the event,, tomorrow. I promise!