Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Check out Flash Fl00d at Little Berlin...and at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym!

Little Berlin just posted this image on their Facebook page that I recognized...it's the back of the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym building! Turns out that there is a flash drive back there that is embedded with artwork in conjunction with Little Berlin art space's "Flash Fl00d" exhibit. Check out the details below!

FLASHFL00D

March 2nd-24th 2012 at little berlin
OPENING on First Friday – March 2, 6-9PM

A semi-secretive mass public exhibition of rapidly-distributed hidden flash drives containing downloadable exhibitions. Curatorial members of Little Berlin along with other Philadelphia galleries, collectives, artists, hackers and members of the public are invited to embed USB flash drives known as ‘dead drops’ in public locations such as walls, phone booths and staircases. The drives’ contents can include photos, video, text or other items and will be listed online at Little Berlin’s website, in addition to the deaddrops.com database.

D R I V E S curated by little berlin members: Alana Bograd, Angela McQuillan, Tyler Kline, Kelani Nichole & Lee Tusman, along with Sean Stoops, extraextra, Girard Hall, Data Garden, gli.tc/h + many more…

A full and complete listing of the artists and collectives involved will be exhibited at Little Berlin’s exhibition space at the Viking Mills building. Throughout the month of March, Little Berlin will be holding related programs including performances, glitch symposia, and a DIY dead drop-building workshop.

Kate MacDowell

Oh Kate MacDowell... Her work is so stunning. The attention to detail is amazing. Justin got to deinstall and pack two of her pieces, Canary and Daphne, at a show at the Galleries at Moore during the NCECA conference when it was in Philly and it was incredible to see her work in person. Check out her website for more info on her work.

Canary

Quiet as a mouse

Pinkies (detail)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Carson Brothers Coffee

Artists love coffee, right? We are no exception, so one of our plans from the beginning was to make sure we had some quality coffee available at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym for everyone to run on. We knew we wanted it to be locally roasted and had toyed with asking a few local companies, but then met Mike and Ryan Carson at our Coldhearted event. Their coffee is fabulous and roasted right here in Fishtown. This morning Justin and I shared a cup of their Sumatra blend, which we both loved. So if you are looking for some great coffee from a local microroaster (is this a term? I imagine it to be the coffee version of microbrewing...) check out Carson Brothers Coffee at www.carsonbrotherscoffee.com.

Picks of the Harvest 2012 at Thinkspace

This Saturday is the opening for Picks of the Harvest 2012, a group show that I'm in at Thinkspace in Culver City, CA. I wanted to share photos of the piece I made for it, and later this week Justin will post photos of the mold making and casting process (he made the mold for me as a birthday present! Yes!)

With Love, North Philadelphia XOXO (Zombie Cat)

Polyurethane Resin, Ribbon

10"h x 15"w x 5.5"d

2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Hacktory and Hive 76 at PAFA Thursday, March 8th!

Check out this event at PAFA featuring The Hacktory and Hive76!!! Get your tickets now!

THANK YOU!!!!

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday night for the potluck! It was great to meet everyone and show you all the future home of the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym (though all the kids seemed quite at home already, no?) Can you believe I did not take a single photo? Next time, promise! And speaking of next time...now that we have the space, we're making the potlucks a monthly thing, so save the date for the next one - Saturday March 24th!

Cx5 Video...starring Matt Damon

So, I posted about Cx5 back in September when I had first heard about it...and signed up for their mailing list because I was interested in trying the stuff out (though I think it will be way more up Justin's alley than mine...I am a die hard water clay fan.) I recently got an email from them with this demo video and thought I would share. Sounds like the product will be available soon, and we'll definitely try some out and let you guys know how we like it.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Saturday, February 25th! Potluck/Info Session at 5pm!

Hope to see everyone tomorrow at our potluck/info session! Come check out our space, meet new people and eat good food! Yay! 5pm at 1834 E. Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA

Artists' Gallery Talk & Walk-through: "Of Myths, Metal & Mortar"

Join Julia Levitina and Katherine Stanek at the Noyes Museum for brief presentations about their work, process and aspirations as sculptors, followed by a guided tour of the exhibit, Of Myths, Metal & Mortar.

Where: Noyes Museum of Art, 733 Lily Lake Road, Oceanville, NJ 08231

When: Thursday, March 1st, 2012, 5:30-8:00pm

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Apply Now: Spring Craft Bazaar(s)

Wow. May is going to be a very busy month in Philly in terms of craft fairs and events! I just got this email about a Greensgrow Farms Spring Craft Bazaar on May 5th. Also remember to check out the Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 12/13th and the Trenton Avenue Arts Fest/Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby on May 19th. All of these events are still accepting vendors so if interested apply now!

Launch at Space 102 featuring new work by Terri Aluise

The amazing and wonderful Ms. Terri Aluise (fellow sculptor and the fabulous Philadelphia Sculpture Gym intern) has a piece in this show at the Crane Building, which opens on March 3rd, 2012. The exhibition is part of FiberPhiladelphia 2012, a city wide celebration of fiber arts. Congrats Terri!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Paper Box Studios

Anyone looking for studios in the Fishtown area should definitely check out Paper Box Studios. The building is amazing(!) and there are tons of spaces inside to fit all kinds of needs. If interested, I'd suggest contacting Leo soon, as the spaces are going quickly!

The Book Sculptures of Guy Laramee

I was looking back through the Hi-Fructose blog and found an article by the fabulous Ms. JL Schnabel about these amazing carved book sculptures by Guy Laramee. Check it out here.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

West Philly Tool Library - Pizza and Power Tools

The West Philly Tool Library is a place we've been dying to get to. It's a library of tools (hence the name) that you can check out and take home with you to use on projects of any kind: art related, home repair, gardening and more! I saw on their Facebook page that they are doing monthly Pizza and Power Tools sessions on how to use power tools. So if you are interesting in learning how to use something, or already know how but want to take a look at their selection, check out the flier below! We won't be in town for the next one (March 1st) but hope to get to the one in April to check out their space!

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Potluck/Info Session

This Saturday! Come out! Tell your friends! Bring food! Or beer! Dress warm!

invite via The Bureau of Communication

Monday, February 20, 2012

Did you know...

...that Polytek offers special low pricing and free shipping on trial kits of their Liquid Mold Rubbers and Casting Plastics? I always tell anyone I know this tiny fact, as I've never seen it advertised but thought of it as more of a fabulous secret passed along from sculptor to sculptor. Well the other day (or week..I forget.) we got a flyer in the mail about their trial kit pricing, which reminded me that I needed to post it here! Call them up (800-858-5990 or 610-559-8620) and ask about their trial kit pricing! And no, they aren't paying us to say this...we just love them. (Stay tuned for a blog post from Justin later this week on a paint on rubber mold demo using their 74-29 mold rubber.)

Proud Sponsor of the 2012 Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby

Ahhhhh the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby...We REALLY wanted to participate in this event this year (for the past few years really...) but we'll be right in the middle of building out our space and figured that it wouldn't be the best idea to undertake another project at the moment. But we love the event and definitely wanted to support it, so the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym is now a sponsor of the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby!

Wait...you don't know what the KKSD is?! Read on...

From Kinetickensington.com:

The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby (KKSD), a design competition and parade of human powered vehicle floats, was started in 2007 as an Economic Development Initiative of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) to compliment the East Kensington Neighbors Association's Trenton Avenue Arts Festival. For more information about business, events, and the arts along Frankford Avenue and in the rest of the 19125 zip code visit frankfordavearts.org. NKCDC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing the East Kensington, Fishtown, and Port Richmond neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Our mission is to strengthen the physical, social, and economic fabric of the community by being a catalyst for sustainable development and community building.

A Kinetic Sculpture is a human-powered vehicle that also has an artistic theme. Think of parade floats on bicycles, or mummers on hand crank driven pirate ships, or an alien space ship on 2 welded togther bikes, it's zombie amish folks, it's a bar and bar stools on a bike, it's anything you can dream up. A Kinetic Sculpture Competition is all about fun and ingenuity, making the wackiest, most interesting contraption is the goal- finishing the course or winning is not. Kinetic Sculpture Competitions have been taking place all over the world since 1969 when a California artist named Hobart Brown made some artistic improvements to his son's tricycle.

The KKSD is not a race, but rather a design competition and parade celebrating human powered transit and art in Kensington. Award Categories include- Best Art, Best Costume, Best Engineering, People's Choice, Best Breakdown and a special secret judge award. People get to vote for their favorite entry at the event, so come to the fest and VOTE!

Sounds amazing, right? If you are feeling inspired to sign up, registration is open! The event takes place on Saturday, May 19th, 2012. To register, check out 'How to Register' on the KKSD website. Then go attend the Meet and Greet at the Philadelphia Brewing Co. on Saturday, March 3rd...then start building!!!! If you decide to participate, please send us process photos and we'll post them here on the blog!

Friday, February 17, 2012

IGNITE PHILLY 9 WAS AMAZING!

So we are just gonna say it now...count us in as lifers...we'll be at Ignite Philly 10 through Ignite Philly 63,847 (provided we live that long), no matter who the speakers happen to be, because it is one amazing event. I was so inspired and moved by so many of the talks and laughed my ass off at others. It was really a perfect evening. My only regret is that I was not there for Ignite Philly 1-8 (thank goodness for the video archives...I'll be making my way through those this weekend)! And Justin and I managed to speak about the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym without falling off stage or dying of excessive shyness...whew (I was pretty nervous!) Really and truly we had a great time and cannot thank Ignite Philly enough for having us! Here are some of our favorites...it was hard to choose because we loved them all so much!

Our fabulous hosts: David Clayton, Dana Vachon, and Geoff DiMasi

Keya Dannenbaum of ElectNext started things off with an amazing love story...

Doogie Horner's recounting of his internet explorations was hysterical...

Ainé and Emaleigh Doley talked about their work in their community which was very inspiring...

Pam Selle had us rolling with her talk "Go The Fuck Home"...

And Andrew Simonet's work was incredible...on so many different levels...

And the reading of tweets in between each talk pretty much sealed the deal...so good...

I highly suggest that you attend the next Ignite Philly event...it is sure to be amazing!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Potluck and Info Session - Saturday, February 25th

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym in The Temple News Online

Thanks to Luis Fernando Rodriguez for coming out to our studio and interviewing us!
Check out the article here.

Unoccupied: Michael Konrad at The AIR Gallery

UNOCCUPIED
New Work by Michael Konrad

The AIR Gallery: 4007 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 [map]
On view March 9-30, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, March 9, 6-9 PM
Gallery Hours: Fridays 3-7 PM and by appointment 917-318-0380

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Bonsai Tree Houses by Takanori Aiba

These bonsai tree houses by Takanori Aiba are so amazing...

From Colossal:

For nearly a decade since the late 1970s artist Takanori Aiba worked as a maze illustrator for Japanese fashion magazine POPYE. The following decade he worked as an architect and finally in 2003 decided to merge the two crafts—the design of physical space and the drawing of labyrinths—into these incredibly detailed tiny worlds. Using craft paper, plastic, plaster, acrylic resin, paint and other materials Aiba constructs sprawling miniature communities that wrap around bonsai trees, lighthouses, and amongst the cliffs of nearly vertical islands. I would love to visit every single one of these places, if only I was 6 feet shorter. See more of Aiba’s work here. (via design you trust)

Apply Now! Art Star Craft Bazaar

Looking for a fun event to showcase and sell your work this May?

Apply now for the 2012 Art Star Craft Bazaar!
We'll be there doing demos and telling everyone about the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym. Every year this event draws a huge crowd and we are very excited to be a part of it this year!

Info from artstarcraftbazaar.com:

The Art Star Craft Bazaar is a juried arts & crafts retail show. We are primarily looking for artists & crafters who create handmade, original work. However, we are open to products that are designed by the artist & made in small quantities. All mediums are welcome. The event is held outdoors & each participant will be provided with a 10’ x 10’ space. Tables, chairs, tents & parking passes will be available to rent/purchase. Participants are required to bring everything else that is needed for set up & display.

Up to two artists may share one 10’ x 10’ space, but must apply separately. When submitting your application you will have the option to write in the name of who you’d like to share a space with. We will pair you up with that person if they are also accepted. If they are not accepted, you are welcome to your own space or we will try to pair you up with another accepted artist.

Location: The Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, which is along Columbus Blvd, between Walnut & Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, PA.

Dates: Saturday & Sunday, May 12th & 13th, from 11-6pm

RAIN OR SHINE

Find more details here.