Why is it that everything always happens at the same time, or within the same week? Yesterday I spent the day at Paper Boat working but did a little multi-tasking doing gocco printing on these sweet poppy color mini-folders that fit a DVD perfectly for the press kits we plan to send out next week for the silent art auction. Here is the end result:


Two screens were used on the front


And one screen on the inside


50 total were printed

I also assembled 150 out of 300 of the wooden spool catalogs for the "Devotion To Thread" show that opens this Saturday....

Saturday, July 19th
at the Poketo Headquarters
510 S Hewitt #506 Los Angeles, CA 90013 (5th floor)

Come hang out, watch a clip of the documentary, have a drink, check out the art, make a bid and if you are lucky you may be taking home a new piece work by one of the 30 artists who donated to help us raise our goal $5000
to finish Handmade Nation!

The press release with event details is available HERE.

Feel free to pass it around and help up spread the news, we are looking for as much hype to help us raise our $5,000 goal! I will be updating you often with news and details about the show, just keep an eye out for the logo above and feel free to post it on your page and link back to us to help spread the word!!So here's the deal..... these 30 artists have donated original and limited edition artwork and print that will be up for auction, it is going to be an amazing show because participating artists include:
Alena Hennessy, Amy Rice, Catherine Ryan, Catia Chen, Chris Crites, Daria Tessler, David Stein, Diem Chau, Emily Eibel, Erika Somogyi, Jen Corace, Jill Bliss, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Katy Horan, Keith Shore, Kelly Lynn Jones, Kim Weiss, Kime Buzzelli, Leah Chun, Lisa Congdon, Lisa Solomon, Merrilee Challis, The Polaroid Kidd (aka Mike Brodie), Monica Canilao, Nikki McClure, Pete Yahnke, Pippi Zornoza, Renee Garner, Sarah Anderson, Sarah Neuburger, Stephanie Syjuco, The Little Friends of Printmaking, Tom Vadakan, Tracy Bull, Veronica De Jesus, Will Bryant and Xander Marro.

Also 40 super duper stuffed gift bags (we are talking books, t-shirts, soap, stationary....etc) will be handed out to the first people at the event filled with goodies from:

Apenest, Art School Dropout, Bubble Roome Soap, Cara Taylor Designs, Cursive Design, Dog & Pony Show Designs, EKRA Recycling Artist, Ex Libris Anonymous, Foxy & Winston, Happy Owl Glass, Matty 8080, Pearl & Marmalade, Poketo, Princeton Architectural Press, Supermaggie, The Great Lakes Goods and Zeichen Press

If you would like to volunteer at the event, please drop me a line.

A special big thanks goes to our event sponsors:
Poketo
Craft Magazine
Three by Three

Handmade Nation Book on amazon.com

Handmade Nation Book on amazon.com
Originally uploaded by Indie Craft Documentary.

Our book is up for pre-sales....
http://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Nation-Rise-Craft-Design/dp/1568987870/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210350067&sr=8-1

May Raffle!

May Raffle!
Originally uploaded by Indie Craft Documentary.

May Raffle
valued at over $150

Tickets available at
www.indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com

The following will come stuffed into a Handmade Nation Craft Tree Canvas Tote:

* Cancer Pants Journal with cancerpants Super funtime kit! from If'n Books + Marks!
* Chocolate and pink Polka Dot Clutch from Poise.cc
* Zeichen Press CD Mixpak
* Honeydoux "In The Navy" Earrings with vintage blue glass anchor buttons, brass shells and chain. Gold-plated surgical steel earwires. 1.5 inches long
* 4 Sublime Stitching patterns
* Handmade Nation pocket mirror
* Bead Simple by Susan Beal

Take note......

In New York:
Via Monica Hamption, Director of Education at the American Craft Council:

I'm excited to announce the return of our highly anticipated "Summer in the City Salon Series" ("Inside Out: Current Conversations in Craft and Beyond" - see below) beginning on Thursday, May 15th featuring Tyler Hays from the amazing furniture company BDDW. For more information on this event as well as all the other events taking place throughout the summer, please go HERE. Be sure to RSVP for the series as they fill up very fast! I hope you are all well and hope to see you soon!

In Virginia:
"The Thread as the Line: Contemporary Sewn Art"
Curator Cynthia Connolly has put together an amazing show at the Ellipse Arts Center in Arlington, VA that includes work by Megan Whitmarsh, Caroline Hwang and Sabrina Gschwandtner runs through July 12th. Information is HERE

In Washington:
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mandy Greer last year and checking out some of her work in her studio if you are in Seattle, make the drive across the lake to the Bellevue Arts Museum to see what they are calling "Greer’s largest and most intricate artwork to date. The room-size installation is featured as part of a larger selection of works drawn from the artist’s last decade of activity." You will not be disappointed the exhibit runs though August 3rd. More information HERE.

The April raffle winner is.......

Lauren Bruggenthies

161 raffle tickets were sold in April, that's almost double the previous month! Let's see if we can break this new record in May!

p.s. I use a random number picker to select the winner if anyone is curious.

Guerrilla Girls, featuring Frida Kahlo

Home from Pittsburgh where I was a speaker at the Art, Activism & Equity Symposium. The event was fantastic & I met an amazing amount of mind-blowing women. It was such an honor to be on the same bill as the Guerrilla Girls !

My talk was titled "Crafting Your Life: Craftivism & Creating Community". I spoke about my many projects and then showed a bunch of slides of craft+activism from around the world.

Here I am with Jennifer Baron who was responsible for bringing me to the event.

What an amazing weekend! More pictures are HERE & more information on the event is HERE.

Just found this flyer! Two days till Pittsburgh!

Art, Activism & Equity Symposium
Co-presented by the New Hazlett Theater, Greater Pgh Arts Council & Women and Girls Foundation
Part of the Women in the Arts Festival

April 18, 2008–April 19, 2008

This weekend join me in Pittsburgh where I am a guest speaker at:

Art, Activism & Equity Symposium
April 18, 2008–April 19, 2008
Co-presented by the New Hazlett Theater, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
& Women and Girls Foundation
Part of the Women in the Arts Festival

The New Hazlett Theater, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and the Women and Girls Foundation present a dynamic symposium, Art, Activism & Equity, as part of the "Women in the Arts" Festival on April 18 and 19, 2008. The festival celebrates the accomplishments of women in the arts in Pittsburgh and connects the local arts community with national resources, trends, and philosophies.

The symposium in April will explore solutions regarding Southwest Pennsylvania's embarrassing record of women's compensation rates, build networks among Pittsburgh's emerging and established arts leaders while celebrating our region's unique strengths as a center for individual accomplishment. The program will also explore politics and feminism and will encourage local action, connection to resources and coalition building.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008, 2:00 – 9:00 PM

Registration and Welcome Reception – 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Opening Remarks – 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM
Jane Werner, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh

Opening Presentation - 2:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Guerrilla Girls, featuring Frida Kahlo, on the history and work of the Guerrilla Girls in exposing sexism, racism and corruption in the art world, politics, film and pop culture. Guerilla Girls will explore stereotypes, based on their book "Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers". (http://www.guerrillagirls.com/)

Workshops – 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Workshop A -- Crafting Your Life: Craftivism & Creating Community
Presenters: Faythe Levine and Elizabeth Perry

Workshop B -- Guerrilla Girls: Getting active and initiating change
Limited to 30 people.

Reception – 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Hosted by Women and Girls Foundation

Panel Discussion – 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Nancy Washington, board member, August Wilson Center for African American Culture
Representative Chelsa Wagner, 22nd Legislative District, Pennsylvania
Vanessa German, poet
Heather Arnet, executive director, Women and Girls Foundation
The quest for equality is still critical. Conversation will explore today's feminist movement in the arts, in politics, in business and across generations.

Performance – 8:30 PM
Selected works by Vanessa German

Resource Expo
The main lobby will feature resource booths with information for artists and audience members to secure funding, get involved locally and globally, and spur their own projects.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2008, 10:30 AM – 9:00 PM

Registration and Welcome Reception – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Opening Remarks – 10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Sara Radelet, New Hazlett Theater
Focus of the day will be on identity and equity both locally and globally.

Opening Presentation – 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM
Melissa Swauger, of the University of Pittsburgh's Sociology Department, will present the Implicit Association Test, demonstrating that we all have subconscious discriminations whether we know it or not.

Lunch – 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Panel Discussion – 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Wage Equity: Presented by the Women and Girls Foundation

In the United States, women earn an average of 76 cents to each dollar earned by their male counterparts. In Pennsylvania, the ratio is 73 cents to the dollar. In SW PA, the ratio is 69 cents. This discussion session will investigate the origins of those statistics and solutions and action steps locally and nationally.

Workshops – 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Workshop A and B -- Mini-Catapult Sessions
Catapult is a new project of the Women & Girls Foundation that matches trained, volunteer coaches with women who want to become more skilled and confident in their use of negotiation to improve their professional situations. The program grew out of a desire to support women seeking to negotiate salary increases, but good negotiation skills can support you in improving many other meaningful job-related issues, including benefits, promotion, title change, and/or work responsibilities.

Reception – 4:30 PM – 5:30: PM

Performances

Nicole Reynolds 6:45 PM – 7:45 PM
Soma Mestizo 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Resource Expo Presenters

Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
Women and Girls Foundation
The Idea Foundry
Handmade Arcade
E-Magnify® women's business center at Seton Hill University
The Pennsylvania Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy at Chatham University

To register for the symposium or for more information, please call the New Hazlett Theater at 412-320-4610, ext. 17 or email dsciranka@aol.com

Program Fees
Friday & Saturday full program - $40/$20 students
Friday only - $25/$15 students
Saturday only - $25/$15 students
Evenings only $15 /$8

If your organization has a group of five or more, they can take advantage of the 10% discounted group rate. All registrations must be made at the same time.

Presenter and Performer Information

Heather Arnet

Heather Arnet serves as the chief spokesperson, fundraiser, and advocate for the organization. Since joining the Foundation as its first Executive Director, she has spearheaded Women and Girl's Foundation's efforts to pursue legislation at the city, county, and state levels for fair representation for women on Pennsylvania's appointed boards, authorities, and commissions. In 2004, Arnet was selected as one of Pittsburgh's "Top 40 under 40" by Pittsburgh Magazine. In 2003 she was honored with an award in "Art and Activism" from the Thomas Merton Center for Social Justice, and in 2005 AAUW awarded Heather a "Friend of Equity Award" for her work in fighting for women's rights.

Vanessa German

Slam poet and visual artist, Vanessa German, has shown and performed throughout the country. A featured performer at the International Arts Festival in Grahmstown, South Africa, Vanessa's performance poetry could be seen and heard in Germany, Sweden, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Olympia, and New Mexico. Vanessa was a 2005 and 2006 nominee for Emerging Artist of the Year at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. She is the National Slam Bush Champion, Ink Tank Slam Champion, and was voted Best Spoken-word Poet by the Pittsburgh City Paper.

Guerrilla Girls

In their own words … Who are the Guerrilla Girls?

We're a bunch of anonymous females who take the names of dead women artists as pseudonyms and appear in public wearing gorilla masks. We have produced posters, stickers, books, printed projects, and actions that expose sexism and racism in politics, the art world, film and the culture at large. We use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny. We wear gorilla masks to focus on the issues rather than our personalities. Dubbing ourselves the conscience of culture, we declare ourselves feminist counterparts to the mostly male tradition of anonymous do-gooders like Robin Hood, Batman, and the Lone Ranger. Our work has been passed around the world by kindred spirits who we are proud to have as supporters. It has also appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, Bitch and Bust; on TV and radio, including NPR, the BBC and CBC; and in countless art and feminist texts. The mystery surrounding our identities has attracted attention. We could be anyone; we are everywhere. (http://www.guerrillagirls.com/)

Faythe Levine

Faythe Levine is an artist and organizer based out of Milwaukee, WI. She is currently working on her first documentary film Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft and Design which is due to premier in 2009. She is the co-author of a book under the same title published by Princeton Architectural Press that will be released in November 2008. Faythe is the founder and coordinator of Art vs. Craft, co-owner of brick and mortar space Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery and does freelance curating and design work. She also plays the musical saw in the experimental musical group Wooden Robot. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, Utne Reader, Venus Magazine, Paper Magazine, and American Craft Magazine.

Growing up in Seattle during the 1990's gave Levine firsthand exposure to many punk bands and the riot grrrl scene. This underground community quickly exposed her to DIY ethics, and she learned early on that you could release, self-publish and distribute your music and zines through a vast nationwide network of like-minded people. In 2003, she found herself looking at an emerging movement that embraced both art and community, which can now loosely be defined as "the new wave of craft." This movement is exploring the uncertainty of where fine art meets craft, redefining and reclaiming creativity. The new wave of craft is influenced by the history and techniques of traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art.

Soma Mestizo

Christiane D's lyrics tell unconventional stories in traditionally prose or poetic ways – more extreme that the folk ballads of Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan. Leach's stories are like movies, with scenes set and emotions conveyed through the eyes of the characters, rather than recounting the exploits of "Frankie and Johnny". At times, these songs can push the envelope of music, such as on "Next Victim", a disturbing, percussion-laden track on Peepshow that stretches the border between song and prose.-Justin Hopper – City Paper.

Elizabeth Perry

Elizabeth Perry is a writer and new media artist. Her sketchbook journal may be found at www.elizabethperry.com/woolgathering, where she has been blogging since 2002. She is a fellow at the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University and a founding editor of the award-winning Pittsburgh Signs Project, an online public art project documenting the visual landscape of western Pennsylvania (www.pittsburghsigns.org). Perry works at The Ellis School, an all-girls independent school in Pittsburgh,where she helps teachers integrate technology into a PK-12 curriculum. She has spoken and taught workshops about blogging and other new technology for artists both locally at venues like the Mattress Factory Museum and the Technology and the Arts conference at Carnegie Mellon University, and nationally at conferences like BlogHer (San Jose, 2006; Chicago, 2007) and She's Geeky (Mountain View, CA, 2007).

Nicole Reynolds

The 24-year-old Pittsburgh native's most recent disc, "This Arduous Alchemy," is a collection of fetching come-ons and bittersweet yearning — or, in her own words, a "breakup and recovery album" — draped against a pastoral background of tuneful folk strains and rootsy meanderings infused with a jazz swing.

New Hazlett Theater
Allegheny Square East
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Phone: 412-320-4610



To register for the symposium or for more information, please call the New Hazlett Theater at 412-320-4610, ext. 17 or email dsciranka@aol.com.

For a full schedule of events, program fees and a list of performances and presenters, please go to www.newhazletttheater.org