Providence Art Festival!

On Saturday, Ian and I went down to the Providence Art Festival to relish the good fun and visit some friends.  I passed on having my own booth this year - I'm giving myself a little break - so it was really fun to be able to enjoy and take in all the sights and fabulous crafts!

A few of my crafty buds had their own booths, and they looked fabulous!

Danielle of DaVine Jewelry

Moira of Literary Tease

Joanna of Joy in My Studio

And I got a little present for myself - when I saw this totally cute little sewing machine love print by Parada Creations, it obviously needed to come home with me!

If you missed the Providence Art Festival, there's another wonderful event next weekend: The Garden City Center Art Festival, featuring lots of local artists from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, June 11th.

Hope you had a crafty weekend, too!

An amazing studio sale

The Cardboard Pankakes Studio Sale on Saturday was so amazing! Emmy & Andrew covered their apartment in brown paper and cardboard (even lamps and rocking chairs!), and 12 local artists packed the walls and tables with our colorful creations.

Each artist, as an entry fee, brought some form of food to share. All varieties of cookies, brownies, and vegan biscuits were scattered about the apartment and made for wonderful, sweet treats throughout the day!

It was incredibly well attended! It felt like about 200 people came through the apartment, including lots of friends - like Jess and Alice! And some new friends, like Greta who came by my table and told me that she reads the blog. It was so exciting to meet a reader that I didn't know!

And lots of people bought some super fabulous gifts for their friends and family (myself included!), and for themselves too! Here's Tali showing off her new pair of Connect the Dots earrings.

It was so cozy and comfortable and it really felt one part sale, two parts celebration of being artists in this amazing Rhode Island community. Andrew was even selling pizza strips (totally a Rhode Island thing - pizza minus the cheese - I call it "saucy bread")! And Dylan and Dan from New Urban Arts were jamming in the front room to add to the festive atmosphere.

But, listen, don't take my word for it. Check out this totally amazing slideshow of photos taken by Jori Ketten. She really captured the magic of the event!

Thanks so much to Jean, Emmy, and Andrew for making such a wonderful day happen!

Studio Sale this Saturday!

I'll be taking part in this studio sale on Saturday, alongside some pretty amazing Rhode Island artists. Check out the facebook invite for more information, and I hope to see you there!

A Beautiful Day at IndieArts Fest

Last weekend I participated in IndieArts Fest, a day-long celebration of independent arts in downtown Providence. It was my first time having my very own booth, and selling so many different projects. The weather could not have been better - sunny and breezy - and there were so many people out and about to enjoy the day!

{ my table + my trusty helper, Ian }

{ pants purses and pant-leg utility aprons }

I had a range of projects for sale, and each one was somehow upcycled - either from thrifted clothing, repurposed recycled materials, or scraps of fabric. I was really delighted at how many people appreciated my resourcefulness. I always find it funny that no matter who comes to my booth - an 85 year old, or a 15 year old - they all tend to use the same word to describe my work: clever. To me, clever sounds a little bit like "tricky." I like to think of myself as resourceful, creative and inventive. But I think that maybe clever is a way to say those three words together!

{ little goodies: business cards + buy art buttons }

Now that I'm getting into the swing of having a craft booth, I'm taking the advice from Meylah's craft booth tips to have a "thematic, unified, and organized display." My theme is to have thrifted plates and bowls in Connect the Dots colors - blue and orange. So on Saturday I got to debut my recent goodwill finds, like this pair of pyrex bowls. I couldn't believe it when I found them at Rehab on Wickenden St - they are perfect Connect the Dots colors!

{ honeybee cards + hand-sewn hair clips }

And this blue dish and orange plate that I found when I was on vacation in Vermont.

{ milk carton coin purses }

And I totally splurged on this amazing travel suitcase on Etsy, but look at how perfect it is for holding coin purses, and it's blue and orange!

{ flower headbands }

These two girls stopped by my booth and fell in love with these flower headbands. While they were there, I think they touched every single thing in my booth - they were so excited that one of them yelled out, "EVERYTHING'S SO PRETTY!" which totally reminded me of....

{ it's so FLUFFY!!!! }

{ ginger, my dress form, modeling an Emmy Apron }

All in all, it was a fabulous day. I love talking to people about the possibilities of different recycled materials, and I love sending each of my creations out into to the world to be used, worn, and loved.

I couldn't have done it without the help (and super-duper muscles) of Ian and Joanna of Joy in My Studio. Thanks for all of your help, friends!

Hittin' the Streets

I got to relax and put the studio back together today after having my work all packed up for two fabulous art sales this week and last.

The Providence Art Festival was even bigger and more festive than last year! With lots of live music, delicious eats, performances, and lots of amazing artists - the threat of rain didn't stop tons of people from coming out and having a great time! It was such a busy and exciting day that I only was able to get one photo of my booth (thanks, Dad!):

When it was over, I packed my stuff up quickly and zipped down to Mohegan Sun with my momma to see James Taylor and Carole King in concert!! It was an amazingly fun way to end a great day!

Yesterday was another great community event - Whole Foods Market invited artists from The Hive to be part of a storewide event to raise awareness about honeybee health. Five of us set up on the sidewalk outside of the store and enjoyed a day of sunshine and good company. We got to spread the word about The Hive, a women-run feminist arts collaborative in Providence, all while supporting honeybee health and showing people our work.

Here's a peek at my table:

Joanna from Joy in my Studio had a fabulous time selling her hand-painted silk scarves and honeybee-themed artwork:

Adj from Justice Recycled showcased her upcycled art - silverware jewelry and tie clutches:

Moira from Literary Tease had oodles of beautiful texty jewelry and accessories, and somehow I missed getting a photo of Pam and her beautiful pottery, but you can catch a glimpse half of her in this photo (oops!):

It was so wonderful to have the opportunity (two weeks in a row!) to bring my artwork out of my own little world and into the community, so exciting to share my love for making and creating with others, so encouraging to witness people's reactions to my work, and so uplifting to really feel like I'm part of the artist community here.

And after so much preparation and excitement, I'm glad to have a few weeks to take on some fun projects and custom orders before the Indie Arts Fest on July 31st. Stay tuned for photos of those projects, plus more segments of My Creative Friend!

Carole Ann

Upcoming Fairs!

Mark your calendars to come check out Connect the Dots Crafts in person!

Myself and lots of other amazing local artists will be at these upcoming summer community events:

Providence Art Festival

Saturday, June 12th 10:30am-6:00pm

Westminster Street

This was a blast last year! It was my first time ever selling my art publicly, and Adj and I are super excited to be showing again - we know so much more, and our styles and interests have developed and come a long way.

Bees in the Hive Sidewalk Sale

Saturday, June 19th 11am-3pm

Whole Foods Market - University Heights

To kick off National Pollinator Week, Whole Foods Market at University Heights is holding a storewide event to spread awareness of busy bees of all kinds – in the garden AND in the arts! In addition to raising money for the Honeybee Health Improvement Project at the checkout lines, Whole Foods has invited artists from The Hive Archive to join in the celebration by showcasing and selling their work in the “Bees in the Hive” sidewalk sale in front of the store. Not only will I be selling, it's also my first experience organizing an art sale. Come by and show your support for honeybees, artists, the Hive, and yours truly!

Indie Arts Fest

Saturday, July 31st 1pm-8pm

Kennedy Plaza/Burnside Park

The annual IndieArts Festival celebrates independently produced art, digital media,music, performance and locally-sourced goods and products. There will be music, performances, a mustache contest (!), and the Arts Exchange marketplace with lots of amazing handmade and locally designed artwork.

Stay tuned for invites to these events on facebook!

Oh, and as I write this post, I feel that I just need to say: I love Providence! It's good to be an artist in a city that has a thriving and supportive arts scene!

{ photo by photographer Erin Newell, one of my very creative friends! }

Anybody else have some Providence love to share? Leave a comment below!

Carole Ann

building community through art

This week's how to is about one way of building community through art. Here's the full story:

I've come a long way this year - from tinkering with Adj during crafternoons, developing the blog, starting to formally sell my work, becoming an artist mentor at New Urban Arts, and starting to feel more and more comfortable about calling myself an artist. As part of this journey, I've been talking about art a lot with my co-workers at the Museum, and I've discovered that many of them do incredible creative work of their own that I never even knew about!

This is where the idea for "Providence Children's Museum Craftland" came in. Two months ago, I blocked off a couple of hours on a Tuesday night in December for PCM Craftland, an opportunity to celebrate the creative workplace and community that we're a part of. I made an announcement at the all staff meeting and sent out an email to everyone, inviting them to bring in their work to sell, barter with others, or simply show it off.

{ the adorable flyer by kerrie }

The important thing to was to keep it very informal so no one felt pressured to have a really snazzy display, polished projects, or even lots of things to share. I called it "creative work" instead of art, and invited creative work of all mediums - however anyone wanted to interpret that - even unexpected things like music and food (we had a cookie swap for those that consider themselves artists in the kitchen!). Kerrie sketched an adorable flyer to get the word out to our coworkers who wanted to attend just to enjoy and maybe do a little holiday shopping.

{ margaret getting her zipper brooches ready at crafternoon }

And it was also important to cheer people on as they prepared for the event! I invited everyone to my house for a crafternoon the weekend before the event - they brought their own projects and I supplied snacks, tea, and holiday music and movies.

{ erin working on a collage at crafternoon }

On the night of the event, we lined the assembly space with tables and people claimed spots as they arrived. Almost 20 staff and volunteers came to share their work!

{ val's beautiful cards and jess' screen prints and 'zines shared a table }

The diversity of mediums was incredible - purses made from crocheted plastic bags, hand-stamped holiday cards, etchings, charcoal drawings, hand-printed wrapping paper, 'zines, photos, jewelry, and so much more!

{ joanna's amazing hand-painted silk scarves }

Throughout the night, there was a buzz of mutual admiration as we all wandered to check out each others' tables. There we many conversations about the creative processes behind the work - from rolling scraps of magazine pages into beads, to hand-painting designs onto silk scarves, to rescuing zippers from thrift stores and transforming them into flower brooches.

{ annie explaining the process behind her drawings }

And my favorite part of the night - the bartering! It's hard to come up with the cash to take home everything you want at an event showcasing the work of so many talented people, so there was a lot of "Oh! I love this print! Stop by my table and see if there's anything you might want to trade..." going on.

{ jen and I made a trade - a beautiful hand-bound book for a tissue holder }

The night went by in a flash, and I came home with lots of inspiration and ideas, beautiful pieces of art made by people I feel very connected to, and a warm feeling for the wonderful community that I'm a part of.

{ my table...how's about all that inventory!?! }

So for anyone out there looking to organize a similar event, here are the tips in a nutshell:

• Pick a date far in advance so people can plan ahead
• Keep it informal - invite anyone to share work of any medium, and encourage them to come even if they only have one or two things to share
• Get the word out with an all staff email or some posters
• Send emails to cheer on your artists! Organize a crafternoon to create all together!

{ gina came just to enjoy, and I think she went home with something from every table! }

One of the goals that Adj and I have for connect the dots is to build community through art. Today at work, everyone was talking about how much fun they had, and how excited they were to learn about everyone's talents. This event was definitely a great success! We all decided that we can't wait a whole year to gather together again, so we're going to do it again in the spring.

Carole Ann

The Summer in Review

Carol Ann and I have been crafting together for almost a year now and I am just getting around to making my first post to the blog. : ) What a better time than the end of one season and the beginning of another. It seems like the summer just began yesterday but we are winding down to the end of August already!

Throughout the summer Carole Ann and I have been crafting our way through Providence. We were each led a workshop for the HIVE the http://www.hivearchive.org/ . For $10 crafters received a drink or appetizer and a crafting lesson with materials included.

Hive O' Clock

Carol Ann had a full house of crafters at the Down City Dinner on Weybosset St. where she led the 2nd Hive O' Clock workshop. She taught local crafty women how to turn their household milk carton into a fun new coin purse.

The first Hive O' Clock workshop was held at the Union Station Brewery where I taught a small but highly energetic crew of 9 how to turn old soda bottles into bright and colorful flowers.

Indie Arts Fest

Because my partner in crime had to run off to VT, I was left to man the Connect the Dots Booth at the Indie Arts Fest on my own : )... well that's not completely true... I had help from a couple friends. Thanks Cathy, Geneva, Jeff and Eric for all your help with set up and cleanup.

My friend Nelson stopped by to check out my Silverware Jewelry and see what I have been up to with my free time when I am not hanging out at the rock gym with him.

The silverware jewelry took many different forms before turning into these awesome earring which are made made from the stems of various forks, spoons and knives I have collected over the past year.

My workbench was in shambles before the Indie Arts Fest! Here is a snapshot of it the week before the festival with tons of earrings in various stages of completion.

Soon the workbench will be back to its good ole self once I am done preparing for our fall showing at the Street Painting Festival this September. Look out for more details soon. This summer has been full of crafting craziness and we hope will continue throughout this next year.

Good Luck and Peace
Adj

Providence Art Festival!

Adrienne and I had an awesome time at the Providence Art Festival yesterday. We were so lucky that the weather held out - so many people were there!

Our booth setup was just like we planned, and her landlord's suitcases were such a funky/fun way to display our work. So many people asked us about the suitcases alone! Shown here are the hottest items of the day - the milk carton coin purses, fused plastic bag wallets, and the plastic bottle flowers. I was surprised how the kids were so taken by the tuna can pin cushions.

Adrienne's silverware jewelry was also a big hit. She even has pre-orders for more!

Everyone loved checking out her tie skirts. So many people said "Oh man, I have so many ties I need to get rid of..." We happily take donations!

The whole street was full of amazing artists and crafters. We were lucky to have a chance to each take a break to check it all out!

Like any good Providence festival, this one had a Big Nazo parade. So fun!

My Dad was trying to get photos of our booth, but there were too many people! (Hooray!) At one point, someone walked in and said "This must be the best one...it has the most people!" My friend yelled from the back of the crowd "It is!!" Woot woot! Up until the fair, only our friends had seen our work, so this was really validating.

I'm laughing because he finally got one where you can see me. Plus I was just so excited. All. Day.

My boss came by, and lots of other people from the Museum and Adrienne's work (AS220). Lots of friends too!

At the end of the day, we were pretty happy with ourselves. For our first time selling our stuff, it went great. We got such a great response to our recycled materials, and people were sharing stories about things they make out of junk or asking for our advice about how to reuse things. If we had a nickel for every time someone said "Isn't that clever" while checking out our stuff! We even got a few business cards from galleries and online shops that want to sell our stuff. Cool! We were just so happy...

...and exhausted. It was an interesting experience to be making stuff not just for the process, but the product, and to be playing the "salesman" for our art. It's so different from our regular quiet crafternoons at my house, and creating just to learn. That being said, I'd definitely do it again!

So, after one day "off", I'll be back to crafting as usual!