ART: MAKING, MARKETING, TRENDING!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Just log onto www.toginet.com for a brand-new,
LIVE, 2-hour
Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski!
3 pm -5 pm EST 2 pm – 4 pm CST 1 pm – 3 pm MST 12 pm – 2 pm PST
Call into the live show with your questions or comments for my guests
(877) 864-4869
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MEET MY CO-HOSTS!
Artist, Crocheter, Sculptor
NATHAN VINCENT
photo credit: Axel Dupeux
About NATHAN…
Nathan Vincent lives and works in New York City and received a BFA from the SUNY, Purchase. His work has exhibited in museums and galleries in the US and has received attention in international publications. He has been highlighted on several television programs and received an award as a finalist from the West Prize in 2008.
Nathan says, “My work explores gender permissions and the challenges that arise from straying from the prescribed norms. It questions the qualities of gender by considering what constitutes masculine and feminine. It critiques stereotypical gender mediums by creating ‘masculine objects’ using ‘feminine processes’ such as crochet, sewing, and applique.
Many of the the objects I create were inspired by memories of attempts to be masculine. Men I have known spent much of their time in the garage with tools getting greasy and doing the heavy duty lawn work. They watched Sunday afternoon football on their recliners with the remote in hand. One uncle was a body builder, which to me was the physical epitome of masculinity, and the other a hunter, expressing his prowess through killing animals and displaying their heads. And, I distinctly remember longing to be tall enough to use the urinal in the men’s restroom like the big guys. By crocheting the objects that are linked to these masculine ideas I am breaking down the barrier of traditional gender permissions. The objects are no longer rough and manly, but soft and inviting. They evoke the feminine. The non-traditional sculpting process of crochet allows me to draw attention to the sources, motivations and meanings around the challenge of defining gender identities.
My latest work, including a life sized locker room and a series of gas masks, grows from these ideas and takes on issues of vulnerability, intimacy and projecting a persona to the outside world.”
Nathan recently told Dwell magazine, “My mother taught me [to crochet] when I was about ten. I forced her to sit me down and show me how to make granny squares. I remember my first stitches being so tight that the hook squeaked as I was crocheting. Tension was the hardest thing to learn. I imagine I was taking out my childhood anxieties on the yarn. Once I learned to loosen up a bit, I made granny squares like no one’s business.”
Nathan’s artworks simultaneously evoke surprise and recognition…
The full-size “Locker Room” is a detailed masterwork:
CLICK HERE for Nathan’s website!
and
Quilt Designer, Artist, Clothing Re-Purposer
LUKE HAYNES
About LUKE…
Luke says, “As a contemporary quilt maker, I am exploring ways of using fabric as a medium for both functional quilts as well as wall hangings. For the viewer, enchantment lies within the perceived craftsmanship and creativity of the quilter and their work. Quilts that are constructed for warmth from overused cloth can be transformed into intriguing art objects. The resulting dialogue between quilting as a pastime of assembling found or purchased fabrics, and quilting as a skill of constructing usable objects from unusable cloth reflects a current societal tension. I ask the viewer to reexamine the quilt tradition and the nature of cloth in my work. In seeing my work, the viewer takes away a new understanding of craft and function, as well as art and materiality. My aspiration is to take quilting to the masses of literate artisans that may yet not know the ripe qualities of the medium.”
Luke’s quilts are stunning, deeply individual, and unforgettable!
CLICK HERE for Luke’s website!
CLICK HERE for Luke’s blog…following his career and spotlighting his works!
CLICK HERE for Luke’s shop on Etsy, Entropies!
Luke’s on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!
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MEET
Artist, Author, e-Program Pioneer, Teacher
MARNEY K. MAKRIDAKIS
About MARNEY. . .
Marney K. Makridakis is founder of Artella Land, the groundbreaking online creativity community, which since 2002 has been inspiring artists, writers, and creative spirits, and supporting them in following their dreams. The mission of Artella Land is to create a playland for creativity, full of unique services that embrace the creative uniqueness of individuals, catalyzing unawakened creative inklings and inspirations to come alive and passionately thrive.
Prior to launching Artella, Marney followed a variety of different directions on the artist path, making her perfectly suited to speak the language of creative individuals and be attuned to their needs. She has been an actress, cabaret-performing singer, an arts administrator, arts education consultant, craft instructor, and a freelance writer. These various pursuits led Marney to converge her passions into a single focus: to embrace the creative uniqueness of individuals and awaken the creative spirit and rightful prosperity within everyone.
“[I]n my mid-twenties,” Marnie explains, “I learned that art and crafts were excellent conduits for emotional healing. I was naturally attracted to paper arts and simple watercolor paintings, and once I began combining words and art together as an art form, I was in heaven. I found the process of making words visual, and making art narrative, to be a very liberating and dynamic form of artistic expression. What excited me even more was creating an opportunity for collaborations within a creative community. More and more, I am learning how much we long for community, how much it fuels us as we dance with the earth’s tilt and embrace all that is possible in art and life. Thus, in the Fall of 2002, I had the dot of an idea to start Artella (named for ‘art’ and ‘telling’), in an effort to ignite a communal spirit among artists, writers, and creative individuals. “
In order to pay for printing the magazine in full-color, Marney created innovative ePrograms to serve the unmet needs of creative individuals, and became a pioneer in using the internet to deliver out-of-the-box programs and services for creative people. From inspiring, life-changing ePrograms to Artella’s whimsical Member Ship Creativity Cruise to the unconventional and wonderfully addictive new art form of Digital Altered Books™ , Marney’s inventions continue to make a profound difference in the way creative people think about their art, their dreams, and themselves.
Since launching Artella, Marney has presented courses, workshops, and publications related to creativity, self-expression, prosperity, creative healing, writing, mixed media art, goal setting, and building creative businesses to thousands of individuals. She is a sought-after teleclass speaker, guest lecturer, interview subject, and also offers a creative approach to one-on-one business consulting through her Creative Cartography Coaching.
Marney’s new book rethinks time to stimulate your creative spirit!
Marney says, “One of the ARTsignments in Creating Time is called the ‘Flow Chart’ (pictured above), which is a visual illustration of what gets us into the flow state of timelessness… Here’s what I wrote about my Flow Chart: ‘I divided my canvas into eleven free-form blocks, with one flow idea per block. I doodled additional flow states in small metal-rimmed tags and th…en attached the tags to the back of the canvas, so that they extended down below the bottom of the canvas, like tiny pendulums of little clocks. When I first made this piece, I was living in Hawaii, and it hung in my studio, where the window was usually open. The wind streaming in from the window caused the little tags to make random clicking sounds as they hit against the wall, as if the normal tick-tock of a clock had been rearranged by improvisational jazz musicians. It was a perfect reordering of flowing time.’”
CLICK HERE for all things Artella and Marney!
Marney’s on FACEBOOK!
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MEET
Quilter, Educator, Artist, Leader
AMY E. MILNE
About AMY…
Amy E. Milne, Executive Director of The Alliance for American Quilts, has worked as a nonprofit administrator, an educator and an artist for the past 17 years. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from North Carolina State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. Amy joined The Alliance after serving 5 years as Executive Director of SeeSaw Studio in Durham, N.C.
“Quilts have always brought people together,” says Amy. “The Alliance for American Quilts has built on that tradition, uniting people interested in quilts from inside and outside the quilt world around a shared vision and bringing their talents together in collaborative ventures. I was thrilled to join this organization. And as a native of western North Carolina, I’m proud to see a national organization of The Alliance’s caliber move its headquarters to Asheville in 2006.”
The Executive Director works closely with its Board of Directors, Board Committees, members, partners and supporters to carry out the planning and implementation of the organization’s projects. Amy travels to national quilt shows and meetings that allow her the opportunity to network and meet with members of The Alliance’s virtual community and to share our mission with new audiences.
About fabric arts, Amy comments, “Quilts are valuable in so many ways and when we preserve and document them we are ensuring that our history is saved for future generations. They are historical documents whose surfaces record events (birth, death, engagement), dates (battles, weddings), people (makers, recipients, patrons), places (location made, community celebrations) and movements (political, social, religious). As objects quilts range from the ornate to the utilitarian and in the context of when they were made this difference tells us about the maker even in modern times. I wrote an article for Etsy.com last year about why it’s important to label quilts.”
Amy admits, “I’m a bit of a fabric hoarder and I think that it’s this appreciation of the endless possibilities of putting fabric together that attracts many quilters…. I’ve always enjoyed making things. I come from a family of creative people and live with and cherish objects made by family and friends. I went to undergraduate school at NC State University’s College of Design and studied textile design and drawing there and then got my graduate degree in mixed media art at the University of Michigan, focusing on site specific sculpture and drawing. After college I taught design and did software consulting for students and faculty at my alma mater —NCSU—and enjoyed that a lot.
When an opportunity came up to work with middle and high school students at SeeSaw Studio, an afterschool design and entrepreneurship program in Durham, I jumped at the opportunity. This was my first nonprofit leadership position and I loved how much diversity was required as executive director—teaching, fundraising, marketing, finance, board and community work. My work with the AAQ has similar diversity—plenty to keep me busy and always something new to learn, this time on a national scale.”
CLICK HERE to delve into The Alliance for American Quilts!
Follow Amy and the AAQ on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!
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And, when your Mojo listening’s done…
Get your small-quilt thinking caps on (see how practical I am? Mine’s shower-proof!) and make a resolution with me to enter the NEW Alliance for American Quilts contest (the prizes are amazing – and you have until JUNE!!!)
The 2012 theme is “Home Is Where the Quilt Is,” celebrating the form and the meaning of Home. All techniques and materials are encouraged. Entries must be 3 layers–top, filling and backing and must conform to our contest guidelines–click here to download the “Home” entry form (3 pages).
THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO QUILTERS FROM ALL OVER THE GLOBE (yes, you too, Australia, Canada, Italy, France, England, Ireland, Poland — anywhere and everywhere there are quilters!)
CLICK HERE to read more about this awesome opportunity to let your craftwork shine! DO IT DO IT DO IT WITH ME, cupcake!!! And thanks! xoxom
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If you’ve never used Auriful Thread. . .
. . . then you haven’t really sewn!
Why not start off with my BASICS ?
Go to my web site to order YOUR collection — CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED.
Many thanks to Nessa Reifsnyder of Fabricate, for assistance with Mark Lipinski’s Blog!
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