Third Annual Local Yokel Yuletide Craft Swap!!!

"I want to live in a society where people are intoxicated with the joy of making things." -William S. Copperthwaite

Artists, crafters, makers, tinkerers, and hobbyists of all creative disciplines and ability levels are invited to bring their wares to trade and sell at the third annual LOCAL YOKEL YULETIDE CRAFT SWAP on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, kindly hosted by Paradigm Coffee & Music, 1202 North 8th St, Sheboygan. Whatever your creative niche...knitting, baking, pottery, poetry, jewelry, stationary, photography, drawing, origami, macrame, lapidary, lithography, papier mache...bring some to trade!

WHY A CRAFT SWAP AND NOT YOUR TYPICAL CRAFT SALE? Good question. Our intention for this event is to encourage our community to express their creativity and give locally handmade gifts for the holiday season. Although we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE bartering for other handmade goods (more fun!), you can also buy and sell for money if you choose (boring).

SET UP BEGINS AT 10AM! NO SOONER PLEASE! The swap takes place from 12pm-4pm. Approximately 4' of table space will be provided for each vendor.

Oh yeah, and ADMISSION IS TOTALLY FREE! No booth fees either. What a deal!

RSVP is not necessary, but STRONGLY ENCOURAGED so that we know how many swappers to expect. Please send a shout out to: paradigmbooking@gmail.com. Thanks!

{a}nn @ paradigm

Jewelry now available for purchase at Paradigm Coffee & Music, 1202 N. Eighth St, Sheboygan. $15 for necklaces, $10 for earrings.

Use It or Give it Away

My current mantra as I sort through all the material I've collected over the past 2 years. Destination: minimalism.

A Tribute to Esme

A Tribute to Esme: Journey of Grief & Healing
October 1- January 14, 2011
YWCA Women's Art Gallery

Opening Reception
Friday, October 1, 6-8 pm

On March 7, 2009, just weeks after her 13th birthday, Esme Louise Kenney was abducted and killed while jogging across the street from her home by a known murderer and sex offender. Outraged by this crime against a vibrant young woman, friends, family and community reached out to honor her memory by submitting quilt squares for the Esme Kenney Memorial Quilt. Esme's mother, Lisa Siders-Kenney has bravely and generously stepped forward in organizing this exhibit for the YWCA Women's Art Gallery.

The YWCA supports all efforts to stop violence and make our community safer for women and children and is honored to present this exhibit including the first showing of the Esme Kenney Memorial Quilt. Quilts by Esme and her mother, Lisa, will also be on display as well as works by other fabric artists paying tribute to her memory.

Other Artists:
Leslie Alexandria, Amy Bogard, Ruby Brooke, Denise Burge, Judi Langewish Clausen, Kelly Frigard, Ali Hansen, Terry Hancock Mangat, Michelle Miller, Tina Westerkamp, Sherry Lynn Wood

The Women's Art Gallery is located in downtown Cincinnati, 898 Walnut Street, 45202, at the corner of 9th and Walnut across from the Public Library. For more information, call the YWCA at (513) 241-7090.

Earthfest Photos

The plastic bag vest commissioned by Chris Kuehnel earlier this year.


Now that it's Labor Day Weekend, signifying the close of summer, I'm so relieved to be done with the heat and done with shows for a bit. Holiday show applications are all in, now I just wait and see. September will be spent breaking in my new studio space and working on a very special quilt.

The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary

EARTHFEST!

{A}NN will be there both days, sharing a booth with up-and-coming crafter extraordinaire, Willa Leannah.

Cardboard Box Postcards

Workshop Photos

from the Plastic Bag Balloons Workshop held at Vollrath Park, July 31, 2010. Sponsored by the Sheboygan Visual Artists. See more photos on Frank Juarez's flickr site.









Due to rain in the morning, for the AM session we had a plastic bag rope challenge to see who could make the strongest rope out of plastic bags. To test the strength of the ropes, we had children of increasing weight swing from them. Two teams combined efforts to create a rope that held an 80 lb. 6th grader.

Art in the Parks

Plastic Bag Balloons Workshop
Saturday, July 31 at Vollrath Park
AM Session: 9:30-11:30
PM Session: 1:00-3:00
sponsored by the Sheboygan Visual Artists

Participants are encouraged to bring their own disposable plastic shopping bags from home to use in the construction of temporary inflatable sculptures. Bags will be recycled after the workshop.

And check out sheboyganvisualartists.com for other exciting Art in the Parks projects throughout Sheboygan this summer!

{A}NN @ NOMO Expo

Celebrate the shift from petrol-powered to people-powered transportation at this Nonmotorized Expo! See bicycle choreography, hear a bike orchestra, learn to repair your bike or make handlebar streamers, pinwheels, spoke cards and more in a Bike Bling workshop. Carry all you can in a Load-A-Bike contest to benefit local food pantries. Plus open mic, live music with Peter Mulvey and different fun activities each day celebrate Sheboygan as one of just four U.S. cities chosen for a federal NOMO pilot project. Not all activities are offered all days, so please check the John Michael Kohler Art Center's website for additional information.

I will be at the Expo on Sunday, July 11 from 10-4 selling my wares. I also have a bicycle basket made from disposable plastic shopping bags, (soon to have a matching pair of paniers), in the NOMO exhibition.

Elkhart Lake Farmer's & Artisans Market

Saturdays (beginning June 5) from 8:30am-12:30pm
In downtown Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

I'll be at the market on June 12, 19, 26, and July 3 selling my recycled wares. Expect to see lots of market bags, some made from T-shirts, and others made from disposable plastic bags. I'll have plastic bag baskets too.

Read more at the Elkhart Lake Chamber of Commerce website.

Spring Craft Swap

June 13, 1-4pm
Paradigm Coffee & Music
1202 N. 8th St, Sheboygan, WI

Artists/Crafters/Makers: Bring your wares to trade and sell. All ability levels welcome! Set-up begins at noon, swap & sale from 1-4.

RSVP encouraged, but not necessary: paradigmbooking@gmail.com

Admission is FREE (no booth fees either!)

Good News and Bad News

The bad news: I’m giving up the blog for a while. As evidenced by my inconsistency in posting, I just haven’t been feeling it. My inspiration is elsewhere, and the honest decision is to follow where it leads me. I don’t want to force anything.

The good news: Erica Jane Huntzinger and I are started a craft coalition! Made In Sheboygan will meet the first and third Wednesdays of each month; the first Wed we will meet at Erica’s house (email ellemimller@gmail.com for an address) and the third Wed will meet at Paradigm Coffee & Music, 1202 N. 8th St in Sheboygan, from 6-8ish pm, beginning January 6. All mediums and ability levels welcome.

Also, I’d like to note that during the holiday season I took on a seasonal position at a big box retailer (whom I will not name but will hint that it is a retailer that provides high-end design at low-end prices). It may seem ironic, contradictory perhaps, that the artist who didn’t buy anything new for a year is now working big box retail. However, I really like the job. I like the meditative repetition of shelf stocking, I like the early hours so that I have my day to myself, and I am excited about the possibility of health insurance in my near future. My art-making explores consumerism objectively so working for a successful national retailer actually makes a lot of sense. I’m learning from the inside how it all works, and so far I’m finding it all fascinating.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for my latest project…there’s always another one waiting in the wings.

Take care,

Michelle