"Rag Rug" by Betsy Timmer

I’m feeling rather fickle as I indulge in the visual feast that is ArtPrize. Each new piece I see becomes my favorite. I’m currently enamored with this “Rag Rug” dress created by Betsy Timmer that is on display at the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM). The piece is made of found sheets, curtains and tablecloths that the artist braided and stitched by hand. The piece is impressive in size, measuring 98″ in diameter at the base and 64″ tall.

Timmer will be talking about her work at 7 p.m. Monday at the GRAM. Maybe I’ll see you there. Read more about “Rag Rug” here.

In the coming days I will be posting photos of the ArtPrize entries that captivate me in random order. ArtPrize is the international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Mich. More than 1,700 artists have entered and attendees vote to decide who goes home with the $250,000 top prize.

"A Full Taste of Happiness" by Laurie LeBreton

I’m backtracking here, but I want to note that Wednesday’s ArtPrize opening reception at the David D. Hunting YMCA was very nice. I would have posted about it sooner, but my Internet service was knocked out by Mother Nature for a couple days. I’ve also been busy soaking up inspiration at ArtPrize with out-of-town guests. So fun!

The curator at the YMCA did a great job setting up the venue and made all the artists look good. (Thank you, Molly!) It was strange to stand around looking at people looking at my quilts, but I’m a firm believer in stepping out of one’s comfort zone as often as possible. Fortunately, the people who came to the reception were very kind and many even indulged me when I launched into my high-speed spiel about the joys of English paper piecing. I was thrilled to see people picking up the sample packs I’m giving away at the venue courtesy of my favorite supplier. (Thanks again!)

I’ve never had my art displayed in a show this big, so this is a new experience. And it meant a lot to see some familiar faces in the crowd.

"Cow" by Kaitlyn Peil

I was blown away by the other artists showing work at the venue. From ornate beaded necklaces to paper cranes, paintings, a tea bag mosaic, pastels, sewn paper, an abstract wood installation and even a cow made out of plastic cows, I was impressed by the diversity and talent showcased at the venue and humbled by the creative company I’m in. Read more about the YMCA venue offerings here.

"Tranquilitea" by Peggy Kerwan

Wednesday’s reception was educational in many regards. While I have a lot to learn about showing art, I’m already looking forward to starting some new completely independent work. That’s the inspiring beauty of ArtPrize. Seeing all the art makes you want to go make more of your own. You really need to check out this event if you haven’t yet. You won’t be disappointed. Where else can you see the work of more 1,700 artists within 3 square miles for free?

A very special thanks to WZZM Channel 13′s “Take Five” team for doing a piece about my ArtPrize entry. While it was strange to be on TV without the security of my craft table, I appreciate the opportunity they gave me to tell the story behind the quilts that were created to raise money for Safe Haven Ministries, a domestic violence agency based in West Michigan. Below is the TV clip if  you want to check it out.

Ok, folks. Here they are, the much hyped (by me) quilts that I have been obsessively laboring over for weeks and months in order to get them done the international ArtPrize competition that kicks off tomorrow here in Grand Rapids. I have no plans to win this competition, so the pressure is off now that the quilts are done. (Scroll down for more quilt photos.)

I finished the quilts Saturday and then immediately loaded them into my car to deliver them to the venue, so seeing them up on the wall at the David D. Hunting YMCA was a kind of like viewing them for the first time. And I’m pleasantly surprised that I actually like them. I was worried because several of them gave me fits.

As many of you know, the quilts are made of neckties donated by West Michigan community leaders using an English paper piecing technique. The goal is to sell them off during the show. The proceeds of the sale will go to Safe Haven Ministries, a local agency that assists survivors of domestic violence. It’s important work that they do and they need funding to keep it all going.

Here’s a quick look at “Power Ties In Bloom,” quilts 1-5.

I’ll be at the opening reception at the David D. Hunting YMCA, 475 Lake Michigan Drive NW Grand Rapids, Mich., from 6-8 pm. tomorrow and will be passing out free English paper piecing sample packs supplied by PaperPieces.com, (THANK YOU!) the company that I purchase all my hexagon templates from. So stop on by if you want to know how to paper piece. I LOVE to encourage hand-piecing addictions.

If you still want to know more, you can read the column I wrote about this experience that was published in today’s edition of The Grand Rapids Press. (My apologies to those of you who looked for this article yesterday. I looked for it, too.)

Thanks for all your support, dear readers. Your e-mail messages and and comments helped me complete this artistic mission. Thank you so much!!!

Finishing this quilt project came down to the wire as expected, but boy am I happy to be done. Crossing the finish line was very unceremonious and that was expected, too. I just left the quilts in a pile on a table at the David D. Hunting YMCA and went home. If I had not been exhausted and suffering from a massive sinus flair-up at the time, I probably would have high-fived a stranger on the way back to my car to celebrate the end of a very long artistic journey. It feels very strange to work on a project every day for days and then abruptly stop.

It’s important to note that I would still be working on the quilts without the kind assistance of the awesome people listed below who helped me take apart ties and stitch hexagon blooms in the early stages of this project. Thanks to all of you!

Anneke Benison, Julie Benison, Breanna Bush, Jamie Bush, Lois Carpenter, Cydney Colvig, Mel Creager, Deb Dieppa, Sarah Eggebraten, Beverly Gapczynski, Jennifer Fretz, Jessica Keller, Suzannah Knust, Gloria Kirk-Hanna, Susan Halteman, Abby Haywood, Amelia Haywood, Holiday, Bethany Levandowski, Nathan Levandowski, Susan Mills, Peggy Patterson, Cheryl Rendak, Dianna Thompson, Laurie Vance, Valerie Vranish and Joy Upper

I was disappointed to learn Saturday that I will not be allowed to post the names of these volunteers on the wall with the quilts because they are not officially registered ArtPrize collaborators. But all the volunteers and necktie donors will be named on a flier that Safe Haven is producing to explain the project. This flier will be available at the venue.

Thanks again to everyone who helped stitch blooms for the quilt. We did it!

Thanks to you, dear blog readers, for posting words of encouragement. Reading your comments kept me motivated and inspired. Thank you!

And an extra special thanks to my husband, Jeff, and our two daughters who lost me to this project for a while. It’s done and we made it!

I will post more photos of all the quilts soon. In the meantime, I’m scrambling to catch up on sleep and all the work that piled up while I was sewing.

If you’re local or headed to Grand Rapids for ArtPrize, you’re invited to stop by  the David D. Hunting YMCA to check out the quilts and art by 21 other artists. There will be an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. I’ll be passing out English paper piecing sample packs from PaperPieces.com, so stop by if you’d like to learn how to paper piece. Surprisingly, I still LOVE paper piecing. I guess this means my love for this quilting technique is true.

Either that or I have completely lost my mind. :  )

More soon…

I won’t be selling at the market every single week, but I will definitely be back soon. I’ll post updates on the blog as soon as I settle on some dates. (If you’re local, you can order looms from me anytime via e-mail and arrange for pick-up to save on shipping.)

The only bummer of the day (besides forgetting my hand-stitched CraftSanity sign at home) was that I wasn’t able to take my time visiting with fellow vendors. This is always a problem when I’m selling, too. On the bright side I did spot several future column possibilities, so stay tuned for those.

A special thanks to Dulce, of sock monkey fame, and Catherine, of JustJaynes, for showing me some craft love and buying large 26-peg CraftSanity looms. I will be adding this size to my online shop in a day or two, so keep an eye out for those. They’re great for making fun summer bags and patchwork rugs out of recycled t-shirts or bed linens. So fun!

I brought the whole family to the market today which was a little hectic, then I went running after dinner. I’m feeling pretty wiped out, so work on the next podcast and newspaper column will resume in the morning.

Cheers to summer, crafty conversation and outdoor art markets! (Nice work, FSAM organizers!)

First off, we LOVE this free-standing popsicle stick frame. I found the tutorial on the DIYfamily blog. Abby drew a crayon drawing to put in the frame and then colored the frame with markers. These frames can be embellished with wood-burned text, paint or stain to celebrate Dad on Father’s Day. This frame is great because it’s designed to stand up on a desk or shelf. Download pdf instructions to make your own frame here.

We like to bake, but you don’t have to to enjoy making these super fast Father’s Day cookies. We spread white Wilton ready-to-use cookie icing on vanilla wafers and animal crackers and let it harden for 45 minutes. (For best results, let the frosting harden overnight.) Then we used FoodWriter edible color markers to decorate the cookies with text and random designs.

This last project is Amelia’s favorite. I was given a box of of business card size magnets a while back. You can use any business card sized magnet for this project. First cut a piece of paper the same size as the magnet. Draw a picture or write a message  for Dad on the paper. Paint one coat of decoupage medium on the front of the magnet. Use it like paste to secure your artwork to the front of the magnet. Cover each magnet with two to three more coats of decoupage medium.

You can buy magnetic sheets from many craft supply stores, but recycling is so much cheaper. If you’re local and you don’t have any magnets on hand to do this project, come and visit the CraftSanity booth (#6) at the Fulton Street Artisans Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday (June 13.) The girls and I are planning to host an art magnet make-it, take-it project for kids at the market, so be sure to stop by and say “hello.” (I will be selling CraftSanity weaving looms in all sizes, too, so come on out if you want to learn to weave on one of my looms.)

Here’s the video from today’s TV segment:

We were on our spontaneous post-ballet class, pre-ArtPrize adventure and this was our first opportunity to explore the mural by Chicago artist, Tracy Van Duinen on foot. The piece includes includes small paintings created by children and adults in West Michigan.

Once in front of this bricolage mural, my daughters began to spontaneously count tiles and point to their favorite colors. I love the way kids soak up everything they see and have no qualms about shouting, “Wow! I love it!” It’s so different than the reserved way many adults react to art.

ArtPrize kicks off in a matter of hours. If you’re interested in sharing the story behind your entry, say the word.

See anything unusual in the photo above? Like a table and two chairs waiting for some Greek gods to share a meal up on the bridge? No need to rub your eyes, the furniture set is real. I’m not that good at Photoshop, trust me.

Unusal sightings like this are about to become the norm here in Grand Rapids, Mich. where more than 1,262 artists from all over the globe are vying for a $250,000 award in the first ArtPrize competition. The event officially begins Wednesday, but installantions are well underway.

I’m still fighting off a most stubborn sinus flare up which has prevented me from getting out there to start interviewing artists, but I hope to shake this thing by Wednesday. My plan is to post photos and ArtPrize tidbits everyday, so check back for coverage mixed in with the usual CraftSanity content. I’m very excited about this competition and all the art I’m going to see between now and Oct. 10. I’ll collect as many stories as I can and share them here with you.

Last Friday, my daughters and I went on a walking tour of some of the outdoor installations after their ballet class. It was kind of a spontaneous art adventure, so the girls were running around the city wearing tennis shoes and dance clothes. But one of the cool benefits of being 3 and 5 is that you can pretty much wear whatever you want and still look cute. I wrote my Sunday GR Press column about our pre-ArtPrize adventure and my feelings about living in a place that celebrates art this way, so stay tuned for that.

Okay, back to the super-sized table and chairs titled, ”The Furniture City Sets the Table for the World of Art.” This 15-ton set is the result of a collaboration between architect Stephen Fry and Des Moines artist Sarah Grant. As reported in the Grand Rapids Press, Fry spotted Grant’s whimsical “Sticks” furniture line at Good Goods, in Saugatuck and asked her to paint the giant table and chairs with the affirmations and happy drawings that have become the trademark of the collaborative art studio she founded in 1992. 

I love the story behind this piece because, like Fry, I’ve become familiar with Grant’s work via my frequent visits to Good Goods. I’ve lost count of how much time I’ve spent admiring the Sticks brand furniture. I have yet to add one of these fantastic pieces to my home collection, but I’ve really enjoyed the browsing experience because I always end up reading the affirmations off every piece of furniture. It’s really that fabulous. And maybe someday, I’ll own a piece.

So imagine my delight when I was able to stop in the middle of my favorite Grand Rapids Bridge and read affirmations from the underside of a table that seems tall enough to touch the clouds. It was kind of like Alice in Wonderland only better.

There’s talk of using the table and chairs as picnic shelters at a park after the competition. Don’t you just love that idea?

See what went into making this set here. Pretty cool, eh?

Great idea, Mr. Fry.

Okay, folks, check out the ArtPrize site and tell me what intrigues you. If you can’t be here to see this yourself, let me help bring the competition to you.

This lovely blue piece was made by Heather Robinson, a Holland, Michigan artist who often fields questions like this at art shows:

“But what is for?”

People get her ceramic buttons and paper bead jewelry, but passersby often want to know what pieces like the blue one above “do.” And they look to Heather to provide them with a satisfying answer, a reason to buy. If it doesn’t hold flowers or serve some other kind of obvious purpose, why should they buy it?

Heather is a polite woman, and not one to criticize her public for lacking imagination. (My assertion, not hers.) Instead she explains her art and the influence nature has on the things she shapes from clay with her bare hands inside a studio that occupies the second floor of a small yellow barn behind the house where she dreams up these whimsical forms.

Since interviewing Heather, I’ve thought a lot about the things people say when they look at art, the way many of us seem to fight to justify our responses to intoxicating pieces that appear to lack function. The economy tanked out a long time ago. Money is tight. Why should we buy something that doesn’t do anything?

Because sometimes art does everything.

If a piece of art stops you in your tracks and triggers some kind of response in you, it  just did something. You might not be able to plop a dozen roses in it, but maybe there’s something about its shape or color that brightens your life or lightens your mental load for a bit. What better function can there be, really? I already have too many vases anyway.

What do you think?

You can read more about Heather and her art on my newspaper blog and check out her online shop.

If you’re local, mark your calendar for Alynn’s spring open house. She will open her studio from 5-9 p.m. May 15 and 12-4 p.m. May 17. Alynn will selling her work and so will her fellow artist neighbors Carlos Aceves, Elaine Dalcher and Nikki Wall. You’ll find them all at the Tanglefoot building, 314 Straight Ave SW, Door K, in Grand Rapids, Mich.