The Rose and Radish gallery and boutique in San Francisco offers a fresh mix of springtime creativity!
I am inspired by this creative way to upcycle felt with these little tabletop cup cozies. Their goals for showcasing craft designs are admirable and charming: Read the rest of this entry »
Are you an avid reader and fan of the literary arts? Have you ever been to a book art opening? Reading Elle Decoration recently, I found this lovely post on the subject.
“Food and Interior Stylist, Paul Lowe of Sweet Paul has been styling a series called The Written Word“. The paper sculpture vases and the picture holder in the pics above show some of Paul’s creative spark.
If your in the mood to create functional upcycled art here is an adorable tutorial on how to make a book table, if you are looking for a stylish book recycling project.
As crafters, whatever our craft may be, I think it’s important that we also feel free to define ourselves as artists. This is true not only because we create works with our hands, with meaning and intent, but also for a couple more reasons in particular:
As a crafter, no matter your craft, Artist Trading Cards are a fun, easy, and accessible way to translate your work into artwork. Here’s how to get started: Read the rest of this entry »
1. Sculpture: Look at this inspiring upcycled artistic re-creation of metal made by artist LadybugCircus on etsy for an interesting wall hanging, clock, or hook.
2. Furniture and Lighting: A light fixture made out of an old shredder, or cheese grater looks cool. Perhaps you are into the steampunk look or modern, recycled metal for cabinets, sliding doors, cabinets on wheels and storage containers all look slick… Read the rest of this entry »
Artist Don Simon creates stark worlds that cut to the chase and make thoughtful commentary on human’s impact on animals and their habitat. Via Grist, you can see a flash movie of his work, complete with commentary by the artist.
Have you ever wanted to expand your crafty side and try stitching a creative texture on a fabric, hanky, notecard or decoration? If so, here are a few neat finds and tutorials on the subject this season:
I recently found out about this great collabortive art piece called The Box Doodle Project. The idea is that you take a cardboard box that would otherwise be thrown out, and make art with it. Their tagline is “Make the most of the least,” and I couldn’t agree with that more. If you’ve got a cardboard box, some Sharpies or paint, and some bursting creativity, you too can be part of The Box Doodle Project.
The Box Doodle Project even has an online tool, so you can still join in on the fun if you don’t have boxes waiting to be recylced. It gives you all kinds of paint colors and marker sizes. This is a great option if you would rather recycle your boxes than make art with them, but like the idea of recycled art, or if you’ve already sent your boxes off to the recycling facility.
If you don’t want to make your own, either with real materials or online, you can still enjoy surfing through all the projects that have been posted to the Project. There are some truly awesome boxes on the website, and worth browsing through.
Check out Elven Forest Creations on Etsy.
All the products are made from recycled, reclaimed or organic fabrics. On the top above “the feathers for the wings are from someone who had gathered fallen feathers from their farm” and“the feathers would have gone to the landfill had they not started selling them.”
I think we all know by now where the presidential candidates stand on things like taxes and the war in Iraq, but have you dared to wonder what kind of funding they have in mind for the arts? Despite the U.S. being in a dilly of a pickle, I don’t want to see the National Endowement for the Arts cease to exist.
This eye-opening article in The L.A. Times gets to the bottom of where the candidates stand on funding the arts. Although the new wave of crafting is a grass roots movement not widely supported by outside funding, sustained interest from the public correlates to the level of importance placed on arts culture. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the things about being an artist that has always bothered me is it’s a hobby (or life) which is geared towards social & political change, yet is entirely toxic to the artist and the earth. Which is an oxymoron that really hit home for me when I became chemically sensitive from the overuse of unsafe materials in unventilated areas. For years after I contemplated what art really meant to me if I could not use the toxic oils, acrylics, stains and glue I was accustomed to- all the beautiful bright colors & goop I had based my entire style on.
I love the idea of making vibrant meaningful art from materials that are locally, organically, and safely sourced- and was shocked to find that we have things in our back yard and grocery that create quality art that’s sure to make your heart thump and hands clap. These videos are of the painting process using poke berry & turmeric paints, made easily by boiling each with some kosher salt for about 45 minutes. I started 
experimenting with these paints a few months ago and the color has not faded at all- plus you can mix these organic colors together to get more variations. The paint brushes I used are made with human hair (mine and my neighbor’s), a stick and a rubber band to hold the hair in place (you can shape it perfectly with scissors!). The “canvas” is paper sewn together and hung in a tapestry fashion with locally woven organic cotton scraps.
Crafting a Green World
Crafting a Green World features do-it-yourself projects that incorporate reused, recycled, and natural materials. Find knitting, sewing, crocheting, and other project ideas for eco-friendly and fashionable clothes, crafts, gifts and more.
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