Something artsy is in the works!
By admin | October 18, 2010
Looking for something artsy? It has been a while… so it is time for a change!
Soon, expect to see a new design & artsy ideas from Katie:
-cooking & baking
-art projects for kids
-inspirations
-DIY home decor tips & tricks
-gardening
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
2009 Kresge Detroit Artist Fellows Announced!
By Katie Bednar | July 1, 2009
The Kresge Foundation just announced the 18 Detroit area visual artists who were awarded with fellowship. This is the first year of the program; it is very exciting to see the talent in this area!
2009 Kresge Detroit Artist Fellows
My personal favorites:
HARTMUT AUSTEN
KRISTIN BEAVER
CEDRIC TAI
Topics: Inspiration | 1 Comment »
Space?
By Jonathan.white | November 2, 2008
Hi guys.
I don’t know if anybody is anywhere near good ol’ H-town anymore, but I’ve been talking with local artist Rick Weese recently and he has a massive warehouse studio space. He’d love to have other artists in the space creating and is trying to figure out if there are any artists who could use the space/welder/woodworking tools/poured concrete supplies/foundry/painting booth/etc. before his lease is up in June. ’cause if by then he doesn’t have a good reason to stay he’s going to leave. He’s also hoping to put in a kiln and maybe a glass furnace and maybe a spot with big backdrops for photography sessions. I’m going to talk to the folks at the HAAC (god I love those people), but didn’t know if you guys (or anyone you might know), might be interested in studio space/access to tools, etc. Thanks all!
Topics: Materials | No Comments »
mostly to Kate…
By amanda.berlinski | August 25, 2008
Hey, so in reading Kate’s post about etsy…I found myself, well beside myself. I’ve actually been thinking about doing the same thing. Not the wonderful, adventurous part about quitting your job…but just about setting up shop on the interweb. Basically, my back story for this is that I moved into a new apartment in June…and have been trying to furnish it on the cheap. Looking on craigslist led me to finding freebies that were listed as “sitting in such and such alley”…and since then I’ve been dumpster diving the alley’s around my house every weekend. I’ve now found a studio full of old furniture now that I’ve slowly been reviving and refurbishing I made a long table out of an old mirrored door, a bench out of woven T-shirt strips, and re-made an old butcher block table. I came up with a name for myself: “painted remains” (soon to be copywrited of course ;P ) and have been thinking about selling some pieces on etsy. It’s a prime time for re-used, recycled materials and personalized pieces…and is something to capitalize on. Now’s the only time I wish I would have taken some business classes, but oh well. Anyways, if anyone (especially Kate, only especially because you are about to do the same thing) wants to chat about it…I’m totally game!
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Even More Inspiration
By Katie Bednar | August 14, 2008
Seedy Weeds, Textile Design by Ruth Adler Schnee.
We have a retrospective exhibition of Ruth Adler Schnee’s textiles going on at the art center. They are contemporary and playful and beautiful, but the best part is that Ruth comes in almost everyday. I have had a chance to chat with her briefly and hear stories about her mother’s involvement with the Bauhaus (wow, I am just amazed!). She still has her mom’s Bauhaus portfolios, she said.
In this interview transcript, she said of her mother: She admired the painters of the Blue Rider [Der Blaue Reiter] like Kokoshka, Herschelman and many others, and that brought her to Munich and eventually then to the Bauhaus. She studied calligraphy, and I have her Bauhaus portfolios, which I absolutely cherish, because they are perfect.
I mentioned that Ruth’s work reminded me a bit of Paul Klee, and guess what! He lived on their street when Ruth was young, and he used to babysit her! Ruth’s father was in real estate, and found Paul Klee a house. Paul said he didn’t have the money to pay the commission, so he offered “any one of his paintings” but Ruth’s father said “I can’t feed my family with your paintings!”
It’s so neat to talk to her, and very inspiring that she is still working today (in her mid-eighties)!
Ruth in her Southfield, MI studio.
Read more about Ruth’s work here.
Topics: Artwork, Exhibitions, Inspiration, Musings, Sightings | 1 Comment »
Speaking of Inspirational Artists…
By kate herron | August 11, 2008
Anyone remember seeing work by this guy? It’s mostly figural and absolutely beautiful in his precision and the way he leaves in his measurement marks of each plane of the object/person. We’d looked at a few of his works in painting II but it’s taken me forever to track him down and find his published work: Euan Uglow
( read more on uglow here… )
Yeah, it’s on my christmas list because that is more than i can afford 
I’m also a tad bit obsessed with Lotta Jansdotter at the moment. Check her out if you are at all interested in printing, sewing, or working with fabric in any way. She’s got a great eye for simple, clean, attractive design…very scandinavianish and looking through her site can help with ideas and motivation 
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Oh yeah, we have a blog!
By Katie Bednar | August 7, 2008
Hi Everybody,
It’s been a while… Anyone have ideas for the blog, things we could add, ways to keep it going? It was nice to catch up with everyone for a while.
I am looking forward to seeing Kate’s etsy site.
Things are movin’ and shakin’ here too. I recently started a full time job at the BBAC where I was teaching classes before. I am still teaching a couple classes (one class called “Read & Create” for Preschool/Kindergarten & “Mixed Media Exploration” for 1st & 2nd grade), but now I also work in the gallery shop and with registration. Love it.
Feeling that “I want to paint” urge… which is good because there is a Faculty Show coming up in October that I need to prepare for! I am interested in contemporary landscape - check out some of the faculty at the New York Studio School. Also, Rimi Yang. Been looking at Deibenkorn at lot more now too.
Oh oh, and also thinking of underwater landscapes or coral abstractions.
What is everyone up to? Any new artist discoveries or inspirations you’d like to share?
Hope all is well,
Katie
Topics: Artwork, Inspiration, Jobs | 3 Comments »
a new (ad)venture
By kate herron | July 7, 2008
first off, thanks to amanda and steff for posting. this is exactly the kind of interaction we wanted to rekindle. Now, if only we could get more of our classmates in on it! If any of you think you can get in touch with people, spread the word!
As for me, I am taking this crazy big step into the unknown…I quit my gallery job (am working part-time at Dumbarton Oaks still) and am devoting my now free time to building a small online shop through etsy.com. The timing was right and it’s something i want to see if I can succeed at before turning all my time and efforts towards a “real” career and therefor, grad school. If it does take-off maybe i could move from the hosted site to a real shop, but for now I’m trying to think of it as a life experiment whose time has come.
At the moment, I am still developing my business plan and designs, as well as setting up some kind of studio space in our cozy=cramped apartment. My product base is going to be hand-printed paper and fabric items….an embroidered dish towel, a screen-printed handbag, a set of recycled/custom made stationary or recipe cards; items for the home that can be embellished with a polished artist’s/vintage touch. It’s the kind of thing I’ve always been making on my own and since i’m not quite sure about my other career avenues at the moment, it’s a good time to see if the whole starving artist dream could be a reality, well with food and shelter too, haha.
I’ll post updates as I get my sale site up and running and would appreciate any feedback along the way on the items/technique or advice from personal experience about selling and marketing your art.
so here’s to pursuing paths less traveled and acting upon crazy half-baked notions! can’t wait to see if we can get some more folks to share their starving artist stories with us
p.s. If we were in the studios talking about this, I’d have you listen to these two artists i’ve been addicted to lately: basia bulat and the watson twins.
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what about framing pieces on masonite?
By kate herron | June 6, 2008
is there anyone out there who could post some instructions/tips on building a frame/hanging system for paintings done on masonite? I’m thinking of just a simple box frame and that a few people might have used this method in katherine’s classes. I have done a few smaller oil paintings on masonite and need to finally make them displayable (is that a word?).
Topics: Challenges, Materials | No Comments »
Climatecycle
By amanda.berlinski | June 3, 2008
Hey, I’m going to do a little shameless self-promotion here. I’ve signed up do a fundraising bike ride that will help raise money to put solar panels into schools. It’s totally a great cause, you can donate anything…like a $1, (I know broke artists have no cash) but if you’d like to support me, or know of anybody else who would, check out the cause at www.climatecycle.com and then my fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/amandaberlinski
Thanks!
amanda
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »