Recycled Art: Dental X-rays!

While at FiberPhiladelphia, Whitney and I visited a really cool warehouse turned art gallery called the Crane Arts Building. It is broken down into many different galleries and work studios, so beyond the fiber art, there was a lot the other cool innovative art. 

What you may not know is that my mother has worked at a dental office ever since she graduated from high school. That's right. When I was in high school I would put long hours in over the summer organizing (and sometimes re-organizing) their filing system, assisting with cleaning equipment, and greeting patients. Looking back now, it was a really good experience for me to see what the professional world was like before I went to college. It helped me get into the mindset of working with the public and keeping a routine. Plus, the best perk of all, the money was great and I got to hangout with my mom most days. Now, to be real for a moment, I really hated having to wake up so early when the rest of my friends were staying up late and sleeping in, but when all was said and done, it really wasn't that bad. 

While I strolled through the art gallery, I stumbled across the most amazing (+ beautiful) piece of art made from recycled goods that I have ever seen. Here it is:

It is the most stunning floral sculpture made of recycled dental x-rays! I love the texture that the x-rays naturally provide, both color and textile. 

Across from the sculpture was another sculpture arranged as a beautiful plant with a few "leaves" scattered among the fixture.

What art have you recently seen that uses an uncommon material? I feel like seeing these sculptures have caused me to look at every day materials in an entirely new way! I love it when that happens. :)

xo,

Day Trip: American Visionary Arts Museum

If you're in the mid-Atlantic/New England area, it's probably raining where you are. It's been raining so much this weekend you're probably wondering if you can reschedule or do something fun next weekend to live up the last few moments of summer, right?

That's pretty much where my mind was this past week. Cory and I traveled so much in July we have been taking a lot of time off to relax our bodies and our wallets. So we're staying at home, going to our community pool, and cooking in as much as possible. I love this because it means more time for books, more time for crochet, and more time to soak in peace and quiet before school starts back up this coming Thursday. However, earlier this week a little birdie (my friend Whitney) told me about a day trip she had taken to the American Visionary Art Museum. It had been a while since Cory and I had been to a gallery of sorts (...ok since early July...), so I knew it was a perfect Saturday thing to do!

If you're unfamiliar with Baltimore, trust me when I say that it is NOT 100% like The Wire. That is one of the most common things I hear and it is so frustrating. Baltimore actually has a lot to offer families, teens, couples, you name it! Sure, there are a few neighborhoods that are sketchy and really unsafe, but the bottom line is that if you're going there to do something cool, you're not going to end up in those areas anyway! Baltimore has a really amazing art and up and coming music scene. I have seen some incredible bands in the area when they were just starting out, that went big in NO time after the show (ie: Black Keys). Anyway, please know that Baltimore is an amazing city. It has a lot to offer! Sorry for the rant, I just felt the need to defent Charm City.

So, the AVAM is in the heart of Federal Hill, a really charming neighborhood in Baltimore near the harbor. The building itself will blow you away as it is covered in mosaic and screams GLITTER!

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The Museum is comprised of three buildings. The glitter building is the main entrance where you see a lot of the galleries that are open year-round. Trust me when I say this isn't your average art gallery. It is so fun, quirky, and cool. They have a collection of every Pez dispenser ever made. EVER. It was right up my alley and provided me with so much inspiration. SO much. Right now, the exhibit on display until September 4th is "What Makes Us Smile?" which is all-around fun and so sweet.

When you walk into the building, you're instantly greeted by SMILE, a mosaic created by toothbrush parts! So creative!

Unfortuantely, photography isn't allowed inside a few of the buildings, but I tried my hardest to sneak a few for you ;). We encountered a massive downpour mid-way through our visit, so I apologize for the change in lighting and... well... the rain. Most of them are taken with my droid, but a few are taken with my Nikon D40 as well.

(Now you might be asking yourself...

WHAT is that pink fluffy thing in the bottom left corner!?)

In the main building there is a really great shop that has lots of wacky stuff. I picked up a new bag to use for my lunch bag at work. I also picked up a few of Twinkie Chan's Yummy You pins!

But I will admit... I did leave this beauty behind:

I hope you enjoyed a little peek into the AVAM!

xo,

Liz

Artomatic is coming to Frederick!

Artomatic, a non-profit organization created with intentions to support open-entry artisans in the D.C. community, began in 1999 and has become quite an exciting event in the metro area. So what does D.C. have to do with Frederick? Well, other than it being less than an hour away from us, what happens in D.C./Baltimore usually floats our way eventually, which is why I'm smitten with this little artist-friendly town.

Nearly four years ago, the local school system finally decided to compile all four Board of Education offices that operated throughout Frederick County and have one massive BOE building downtown. Sure, they already had a headquarters downtown, but it wasn't even close to being large enough to house all the offices... plus it was in need of millions of dollars in rennovations, that unfortunately, were much more expensive than starting from scratch. That brings us to 2010 when they opened the doors to their beautiful new office building. But what was going to happen with the landmark location on Church Street?

(old office)

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(new office)

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It's been the question in a lot of discussions recently, and that's when Artomatic stepped in!

Yes! Artomatic is to be held in Frederick this fall (September 28-November 6)! I can't even believe it. Although the plans had been in the works with the Frederick Arts Council, I didn't hear about this until last night and I am so excited to share it with all of you!

So here's the deal. Artists have until September 9th to sign up for a spot in the building. The building can house over 300 artists! Each spot is $100. Each artist is required to pay the fee plus donate a few hours of their time helping out with the event. Now--let's say you're a gal like me that has a pretty busy fall season ahead and you're not quite sure if you can handle another big event--I'm just donating my time! That's right, I signed up to be a greeter for the event a few Sundays. If I can't give my art, I will surely give my time!

I'm really excited about this for a few key reasons.

1) More art in Frederick is never a bad thing.

2) Autumn is my favorite season for art... and life in general... ;)

3) Frederick is gorgeous in autumn!

So, come on out folks. If you're a metro-area resident, it will be worth your journey. Many locals have already signed up (did you know Frederick has always had a large artist demographic?), but there are also quite a few visiting artists looking to get their work introduced in a new community! Fun!

The key to my... art project?

When Cory and I were driving from Myrtle Beach to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, we took the back road. We knew it was risky, but it just seemed like the perfect day to spend a day in the car with the windows down and the music turned up.

About a hour north of Myrtle Beach is Wilmington, North Carolina, one of my favorite towns... ever. It's a small southern town with a great artistic flair, plus it's where Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill were filmed ;).  Cory and I decided to stop in Willmington for brunch, which ended up being the perfect opportunity to spend time outside in the local farmers market and soak in extra sunshine and fresh air.

As we returned to our car, Cory and I instantly noticed there was something a little different about the chainlink fence placed next to our car. It was covered in keys! Keys?! Why keys? We had no idea, but we thought it was so cool.

Come to find out, it's actually a community art project, Keys with a View. We were so impressed by this project and the simple beauty of the project that we dug around until we found a key that we had no need for in the car! I thought it was so cool to add to this community project!

Are there any community art projects where you live?

xo,

Liz

Banksy & Street Art

Cory and I were strolling through Netflix on demand and stumbled across the documentary, "Exit Through the Gift Shop." This documentary is created by an annonymous, British, subversive street artist named Banksy. Here's a look at his work:

Long story short, this documentary is pretty cool and is a must see for anyone who appreciates modern and pop art in any way. It highlights a man who Banksy met through friends who was simply recording their production of street art, but decided to become a street artist himself. Except he wanted to be a street artist times a million, so he turns himself into Mr. Brainwash. It's really incredible. Here's an article from the New York Times in the spring reviewing the documentary.

Here is some of Mr. Brainwash's work:

To be perfectly honest, I feel about this documentary exactly how I felt about the series finale of "The Hills." It's all about your perception of reality. I believe your perception of reality has a lot to do with your perception of art.

Find "Exit Through the Gift Shop" on Netflix, online, or some other resource.

Let me know what you think about Mr. Brainwash and Banksy.

(Maybe if I'm lucky, some of you whom live in LA might have even attended his gallary show "Life is Beautiful."

Is it art? Is Mr. Brainwash respectable, or do you feel as if he violated the concept?