We’re on snow day THREE here in the Smokies. I love snow. I love lots of snow, in fact. But, the stark isolationism associated with snow is not lost on me. Today’s AAAD Artist of the Day, Anastassia Elias seemed the ideal person to illustrate this issue. It is a very small world …and getting smaller everyday. (continues below)
These collages are interior to discarded cardboard / paper tubes like you might find inside a roll of paper towels or toilet tissue. These simple silhouettes remind me to celebrate home, and remember it IS wherever YOU are.
The season of mass consumption is upon us. I will not waste my time trying to dissuade you of the want to give gifts to loved ones. I just want to ask you to consider value. Does the item you are bestowing add to the recipient’s lives? Does it help them grow? Does it better equip them to dispel hate or anger? Does it convey how you value the one who will receive it? Mixed media artist Frédérique Morrel, today’s Artist of the Day.,has addressed the question of value beautifully, and I offer it to you as yet another perspective. (continues below)
“…these neglected tapestries, seen and re-seen along these journeys, suddenly appeared to me as the idealized transference of my own visionary. These tapestries appeared to be the most accurate material to illustrate my work about modern vanities, loss of the paradise and rebirth in a better world. These tapestries are the most obvious and literally impicturing vocabulary to depict loss of some values, consequently to the injection of hyper consuming in occidental societies. These tapestries are telling the stories of these key and essential casualties:
loss of sale value : these tapestries are expensive (material & time consuming), but worth peanuts.
loss of aesthetic value : these tapestries are considered ugly and out of date, but have their own hidden beauty, particularly for those who are them.
loss of emotional value : these tapestries are telling love and family happiness stories, but are abandoned and thrown into mud.
“I revitalize them, offering a redemption, beneath animal appearance and covered with this popular language.” –Frédérique Morrel
I live rurally, by choice, and find the environment I live in almost overwhelmingly inspirational. Today’s Artists of the Dayhas found a way to put my inspiration to work for him AS art.Enjoy the gorgeous, ephemeral work of Richard Shilling. So many of his works are powered by the sun, just like today’s Power It Forward Call.(continues below)
“Through his ongoing relationship with nature he explores themes to do with time, ecology and the constant flux of the seasons and expresses these ideas through his unique land art images. Every sculpture is photographed in natural light, using normal camera equipment and without any Photoshop… Each photo accurately depicts how each sculpture appeared, at its most vibrant moment, before the elements reclaim the materials back to nature.” –from richardshilling.co.uk
I find myself craving carpaccio lately, but I’m not much of a meat eater anymore. Carpaccio is typically made using the highest quality, thinly sliced beef sirloin then served raw. But in recent years, the same term is now used in reference to the same treatment of fish and vegetables. The only unifying factor is the dressing of raw ingredients with lemon and olive oil, salt and pepper. Done correctly, the balance of ingredients in like a delicate collage. That beautiful balance is what I really crave. It can’t be done by recipe, only by feel, by taste, by experience. This Call wants the same collage. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Entries from Sweetwater Center for the Arts (Sewickley, PA) for Poetic Logic. Great space. Thematically sound. Talented juror. What’s not to love?
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post, CALL for ENTRIES: Poetic Logic, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
“In the early 20th century, with the advent of mass production of materials and media artists like Pablo Picasso, George Braque and Kurt Schwitters began developing collage as a way of reappropriating and repurposing materials and images to imbue their works with juxtaposed information that expressed a kind of poetic logic of association. In our current culture of mass information and media it is not surprising that artists are finding a continued purpose in investigating such relevant processes.” –from sweetwaterartcenter.org
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists residing in the U.S.
MEDIA: Open to collage, assemblage & other processes of incorporating elements of repurposed materials as a way of expressing our contemporary experience
DEADLINE:December 14, 2015
NOTIFICATION:December 28, 2015
ENTRY FEE:$25 for up to 4 works
JUROR:Shawn Watrous is a painter and collage artist from San Francisco who currently lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA. His work has been exhibited locally and nationally including shows at The Painting Center in NYC, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, and the Mattress Factory Museum, among others. Watrous received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from Kent State University. He is an Adjunct Instructor at Penn State University teaching an art overview class that focuses on western art history.
It isn’t about how little you spend; it is about how little you throw away. That is the key to keeping our household food budget on track. We throw very little away. When celery goes limp or carrots dry out, we add them to the collection of chicken bones in the freezer to make stock. I haven’t purchased broth or stock in years. A little cream makes a whole new meal from left overs. Overly ripe fruits make fantastic preserves, coulees, granitas & trail mix. Stale bread makes great croutons. Don’t let throwing things away become the habit, recycle or re-use or re-invent it–even food. This next Call wants your insight on garbage re-use & reduction. Love this one…
Check out this Call for Entriesfrom Komunala D.O.O. (Slovenia) & a non-profit Humanist assoc. for Garbage, an international mail art exhibit. No fees. Cash awards. Take a look…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for ENTRIES: Garbage, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
Today we swim in garbage. The world we live in is over populated, over polluted, over everything. How we deal with garbage needs a new approach, a new way of dealing with this overgrowing problem. Recycling is one of the possibilities. But how do we view garbage? How we use it, re-use it and what our personal relationship towards it is–those are the questions to be asked.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists
MEDIA: All 4″ x 6″ media(10cm x 15cm) that can be mailed
DEADLINE: Received by September 21, 2015
NOTIFICATION:All hung. The works will be exhibited in an exhibition space at the Goriska regional museum on a Kromberk Castle, online and an online catalog will be made for this purpose.
ENTRY FEE: None(but no return of work either)
AWARDS: 1st Award 100€2nd Award 50€(54.32USD) & 3rd Award 50€(54.32USD). Award winners will be announced in December 2015.
In our continuing efforts to downsize in preparation for “tiny living”, I downsized myself out of garden space. We moved back to our previous 2-acre, mountain-top abode, but anything other than container gardening is impossible with out a major terracing project to provide flat space on the side of the mountain. So, we’re going to attempt to grow a few squash & cucumbers on the deck using the railings as support. But, considering the fact that my dog has tree’d several black bears during the past two-weeks. Am I simply creating a buffet dinner on my porch? Nature. Hmm. This next Call wants to know your perspective. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Entries from Dubuque Area Arts Collective(Dubuque, IA) for the Earth Exhibit! No entry fee, open to all media & fast notification. It is like a dream…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for ENTRIES: Earth, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
“Works should focus on topics related to environmental issues and/or consist of salvaged or found objects. The purpose of this exhibit is to showcase unique and contemporary perspectives on environmental topics as well as unexpected and sophisticated use of recycled and found materials.” –from daartscollective.com
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists
MEDIA: Open to all media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, multimedia, photography, digital, installation art, video, recycled art, found object assemblage, etc.
DEADLINE:July 5, 2015
NOTIFICATION:July 6, 2015 *Note: Work must ARRIVE by July 15.
ENTRY FEE:None
AWARDS:Best in Show will be featured on the cover of Grain Magazinealong with an artist feature in a 2-page spread. Publication will be released in August. Outstanding artists submitting to the exhibit will also be featured in the magazine.
If I had to give my cooking an art style, it would probably be collage. I used to be a purist, a menu maker, a list writer. Somewhere along the way I began the little-bit-of-this-little-bit-of-that method. Dinner is now determined on whichever protein I thought to thaw out and whichever veggies were freshest, in-season and/or on sale. When I try to make a plan, it never fails that whatever I had planned ends up not sounding like what I really want. So, collage dinners are what we do now; it works for us. This next Call is also about collage. I like this one; take a look for yourself…
Check out this Call for Entriesfrom Tymutopiyapres(Lviv, Ukraine) for Collage Art. There is no entry fee, and if you’re looking for a brick-and-mortar show to add to your resume, this one is all hung. Take a look…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post, CALL for ENTRIES: Mail/Collage Ukraine, anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
MEDIA: “Collage & Assemblage Art (newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or handmade Papers, Other Portions of artwork or texts, photographs and Other Objects found, glued to a Piece of Paper or Canvas).” –from the original call. Size 14.8 X 21 cm (approx. 5.5″x 8.25″)
Editor’s note: This was sent to me under the subject line of “Mail Art”; however, I think this is more-accurately an all-hung collage exhibit, but because the expectation is that the majority of exhibitors will be from outside Ukraine, it is being dubbed a Mail Art show. I couldn’t find anything that indicated a postmark requirement or address requirement.
While reviewing work, I searched through entries for something contemplative but with a sense of humor to feature this month. A little something that would spice up my winter, combating the inevitable doldrums, as well as help me find a different angle on my the serious nature of my own current work. We are proud to Feature the work of A. Laura Brody. I find this work organic but mechanized, self-evident but not obvious. Inspired…
A. Laura Brody is a costume creator by trade and a functional artist by design and desire. You’ve seen her recent work for designer Michael Schmidt on LMFAO at the Superbowl 46 halftime show, the last 2 Black Eyed Peas tours, in Fergie’s LEGO dress and on Rhianna’s bottom.“I love bringing out discarded items and materials and making them the center of attention. Zipper teeth become lace edgings, ball bearings act as pendants and centerpieces, remnant snap tape becomes footlights and old tablecloths are reborn into upholstered cushions and deconstructed finery. My creations help people tap into childhood dreams of becoming heroines, kings, rock stars and super villains.” — A. Laura Brody
Rocking Duck Boat by Featured Artist A Laura Brody and Alan deForest – photo courtesy of Heidi Marie Photography
Are you self taught or formally instructed?“I’m both. I’m a costume maker and designer by trade, and my years of costume craft work have really made it possible for me to make the art. The upholstery is self taught and so is the carpentry. But I’ve got a longtime habit of tinkering. I get to use my technical skills in really different ways when I construct my artwork. It’s also pushed me to learn to weld and curve metal, how to refurbish stainless steel and silver plate, a little about wiring… Mostly, it’s teaching me patience, which I’m not so good at.”
The work for which many artists know you is mobility-centric. What brought you to that passion? I don’t self-identify as disabled. I have friends who do, though, and I’ve worked around quite a few folks who use disability and mobility devices. When a former boyfriend had a stroke, I spent a lot of time with his recovery and got really fascinated by all the devices you can get to help with food prep and getting around in the bathroom and such, but I was shocked at how uniformly ugly they all were. 3 years ago, I cracked my tailbone and then went through a nasty bout of tendinitis, which started me working on my own posture issues and thinking about what I would do if I couldn’t use my hands. It was pretty terrifying, since my hands are a large part of how I make my living.
Those tendinitis braces
are hideous.
Re-making a wheelchair into something amazing was in the back of my mind for a long time, and I finally got the guts to approach a wheelchair using friend of mine about redoing his old electric one. (Thank you, Peter Soby, for kick starting this idea!) One of the responses I get with my mobility artwork is how impractical the pieces are. People will go on at great lengths to tell me why they won’t and don’t work. But then, they start thinking about what might work. This is the whole point. How else do we get that conversation started? If we’re lucky enough to live through age and injuries and infirmity, wheelchairs or walkers or crutches or prosthetic limbs are going to be in our future. For some people, these devices are a part of their everyday lives. Why not make them amazing? And who said design was only about being practical?
Le Flaneur by Featured Artist A Laura Brody – photo courtesy of Heidi Marie Photography
Is sustainability a purposeful choice in your work or a by product of what you do?It’s a flat-out fascination and a longtime practice. I grew up in Alaska and was surrounded by people who took a lot of pride in figuring out how to make and fix things themselves with whatever they had around. I compost, I reuse in my artwork and everyday life, and I’m finding ways to do better with reducing my waste. I just read Junkyard Planet by Adam Minter (all about his travels in the global trash trade)and was fascinated and horrified. Check it out. You may never use another plastic water bottle.
Part of it comes from how much waste I see in the entertainment industry, which I’m a little horrified to be a part of. Yes, I know, this is biting the hand that feeds me. But you should see the waste that comes out of a TV show. Truthfully, though, it’s hard for me to go past a salvage yard or a thrift store or a junk pile without some piece calling out to me and begging me to take it home.
Talk to me about what media you consider the mobility-inspired work? “I call it over-the-top functional art. The works aren’t conveniently functional, which is kind of the point. The wheelchair and the walker’s GPS unit works (as long as I’ve charged all of the batteries), the walker rolls and the rocking chair rocks. They’re even pretty comfy. ”
What style or school of art do you think your mobility-inspired work fits into? And why do you think so? Apparently I fall into a Steampunk category. I guess I see why, even though a lot of Steampunk seems to be about smacking a gear or goggles onto your clothes and calling it Art. But I like to think of my work as being like a mad scientist, poring over old junk and fitting it together in odd ways to bring it new life. Is that Reconstructivism?”
Driven by Featured Artist A Laura Brody – photo courtesy of Heidi Marie Photography
I can’t wait to hear about your favorite food. “There are so so many of them! Truffle oil on cooked veggies is a recent find (so good), so are bison burgers and home-cured bacon (both pork and lamb) and just about anything in spicy coconut cream curry. I love fresh herbs and berries and almost all veggies. I cut out wheat a while ago. It was hard at first, and now I feel a lot better.” Editor’s Note: Spicy coconut cream curry? That sounds so good I could take a bath in it. I vote we make that the food of the year. Yum.
What style or school of art do you think your work fits into and why?“I’m comfortable with the surreal label, since Surrealism is an effective umbrella term for unusual artwork. I also feel that certain artworks of mine have Abstract and Visionary elements to them, though I don’t align myself with those movements.”
What about snack foods? “All things crunchy. I could eat a whole bunch of celery. Hearts of palm, cheese of many kinds and pickles and olives of many kinds, especially the spicy Sicilian blends. Mmm. Pickled foods.”I have a newly acquired addition to pickled foods–beets, in particular.
So, what’s coming up next for you? “I’m looking for a gallery to put up a 2014 Opulent Mobility, together with many more artists who want to re-imagine mobility. If anyone knows of a space that’s really chair and walker accessible, I’d love to hear about it! I’m also putting together a piece to submit to the World of Wearable Art in New Zealand. I want to make expanding nebula wings come off the back of a wheelchair (idea in process), and I just shot some video to put together into online tutorials for staple draping. At some point I may get it all done.”
Laura,thank you for being our mad scientist!
You have probably worsened my desire to salvage beautiful discarded treasures. My husband calls it hoarding. I’ll send him to this post for a better understanding of how it all works. I am inspired.
My culinary specialty is making meals out of whatever I happen to find in the cabinets and making it seem purposeful. Sure, I can make chocolate mousse out of an avocado, cocoa and honey. Yes, I can make brownies out of black beans and chocolate chips. Not everything comes with the perfect ingredients. And, while most folks won’t think the kit from this Call is perfect to create a masterpiece, you’ll have all the ingredients; just make it work. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Entries for Mystery Build 2014. This year’s theme is “Build a Dream”. We are so proud that our Featured Artist Amy Kollar Anderson won the People’s Choice Award for the 2013 Mystery Build. Which one of you is going to win an award for 2014? Investigate this one…
*Editor’s Note: If you have read the personal portion of this post,CALL for ENTRIES: Mystery Build 2014anywhere other than by email subscription or on ArtAndArtDeadlines.com, it has been published without permission and is considered theft.
Mystery Build is an art challenge developed by two artists to inspire creativity. The concept is simple. Buy a kit. Make something out of the contents of the kit. And, upload either a picture or video of your creation.
ELIGIBILITY: Contest is only open to legal residents of the U.S. and D.C. Contestants must be 18 years of age and older to receive cash prizes. Contestants under the age of 18 must have an adult who is 18 or older complete the Submission Form.
THEME: “Build a Dream” — You may interpret the contest’s theme any way you wish.
MEDIA: You must buy a Mystery Build Kit. You may choose to use anything in the Kit and the Mystery Build box itself, but you are not required to use all of the materials. Entrants MAY ADD paint, varnish, lacquer, food coloring, oil, water, dye, ink, and similar liquids to decorate or enhance the entry, or to manipulate the materials. Liquids may not be used for structural elements, but may only be used as a surface enhancement or as a tool. Substances which are not liquid at room temperature, such as wax, are excluded. Liquid adhesives not included in the Kit are also not permitted. Judges will have final ruling on use of liquids.
“Wandering Wonder” by Amy Kollar Anderson — 2013 People’s Choice Winner
Entrants may use any tools available to them to alter the materials in the Mystery Build Kit, barring tools that add or leave behind an additional physical material, such as a stapler which leaves a metal staple, or a soldering operation which adds solder. You may make tools out of any materials you want. Tools may include molds, which also do not have to be made of materials from the Kit.
DEADLINE: Submissions are due by 10/20/14 at 12:59 p.m. ET.
ENTRY FEE:FOR a LIMITED TIME$49.95 for the kit (includes shipping, kit and contest entry fee) as of the writing of this post. Normally, the cost is $59.95.
JUDGING PROCESS: An independent, qualified panel of judges will judge all eligible entries received based on these criteria: Creativity and Use of Materials, Creative Use of the Theme, Execution/Craftsmanship, and Presentation.
AWARDS: There are $21,000 in cash Prizes. Check here for complete prize details.
The more you know about anything the better off you are about everything. I attended Johnson & Wales culinary school just long enough to learn sauce and knife skills that have been worth every penny I spent. I use those skills everyday of my life. (Although I should have stuck around for pastry classes so I could have made this book cake I found a Sprinkle Bakes!) This next mail art call offers you the opportunity to provide education that not only will provide prisoners a chance to learn which impacts their lives, but their chance to learn impacts YOU too. Take a look…
Check out this Call for Entries for Postmarked 2012, California’s largest mail art exhibition that benefits the Prison Library Project. Jump start your creative juices with a mail art project today! Take a look…
For many years, inmates from around the country wrote to the Prison Library Project, and they were amazed by the artwork that accompanied requests for books. These beautiful illustrations were their inspiration for a mail art exhibition and fundraiser.
Postmarked was developed eight years ago for the Claremont Forum’s Prison Library Project, which sends books free to prisoners in the U.S. upon their request. Providing education and opportunity to learn about mail art, view new and established mail artists’ works, and to participate in the experience of creating and sending mail art. Now in its 8th year, this exhibition is one of the largest in California.
ELIGIBILITY:Open to all.
MEDIA: Mail art of any size and medium. ONLY the side with the official USPS Postmark/barcode will be displayed. Your mail art may be painted, stamped, collaged, printed, and/or otherwise decorated or constructed. It may be any shape and size that will go through the mail and receive an official postmark.
Your submission may get worn or torn through the mail, but the handling process is an important part of the theme. Only the side with the postmark can be displayed, due to space limitations, but the art doesn’t have to be limited to that side. You may include any message inside the envelope, which will be opened only by the person who purchases the art envelope. You may submit more than one piece… and begin sending now!
DEADLINE: Entries must be postmarked by September 30, 2012.
ENTRY FEE:None
WHY SUPPORT the PLP? “Rehabilitation was at one time a stated goal of the prison system. Today, funding for most educational and rehabilitation programs, including prison libraries, has been cut or completely eliminated. It is a distressing fact that today’s U.S. prisons are increasingly about punishing people and warehousing human beings, not about, rehabilitation, or education.”
“This is where PLP steps in. We believe that everyone deserves access to literature and educational materials, including people trying to work towards social change, self-empowerment or rehabilitation within the incarceration system.
The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but more than a quarter of the world’s prisoners.
Nearly one percent of American adults are incarcerated, the highest rate in the world, but many prisoners have little access to books or educational material. They face substantial barriers and are cut off from family and friends on the outside. While some prisons have libraries, many do not. Of those that do, access and selection can be extremely limited. Usually, prisoners are not allowed to receive books from friends or family. Thus, programs like ours are one of the few options available to these individuals.” –from the PLP website.
