THE CRACKED POTS ARTIST CHALLENGE

Every year, several months before the show at Edgefield McMennamins, Cracked Pots issues a challenge to its member artists: Make art from the chosen recyclable materials. Last year the materials we were to use were Cd's and coat hangers. The year before that, small appliances, and (I think) garden hoses.

This year's challenge was to use lids, caps, and/or non-motorized tools, in any combination. I didn't enter, but seeing what the other artists had come up with was a must--it's always so amazing, what people can do with the most unexpected, unpromising of things. The entries this year were nothing short of spectacular.

It's a contest, with people, artists and show attendees alike, filling out a ballot with their favorite on it, but I didn't get to find out who won, so I'm just going to put up pictures of some, actually, most, of my favorites.




Whimsical birdhouses covered with smashed bottle caps






Fishes of cut mirror glass swim a river of rock and cork





Contrast--soft, matte cork and hard, shiny stone





A curtain of corks





A Bulbous Band





Pickaxe heads connect towering wooden curves





Steel hand tools come together to make a musician who plays typewriter


I think the last one is my favorite, but I loved the pickaxe arch, too, and there was an office chair completely covered with smashed bottle caps that was 100% fun. I just don't know how anyone could vote for one favorite in the bunch.

What an amazing group of artists, to have come up with such wonderful art.

CRACKED POTS FAVES TA DA! & RUBY RESOURCERESS

More of my favorites from the Cracked Pots show at Edgefield, starting with a perennial favorite, Megan Klepp. Her business name is Ta Dah which I also love.

Pictures:



Even her sign is art







Megan covers things, mostly orbs, with old marbles. I love the ones she does that have things springing from the top the most, but they're all great fun. It's quite a process to make them. I asked her how she kept all the marbles from sliding down the balls as she worked and she was kind enough to explain it, but (I'm chuckling while I type, here) it isn't something I'd have the patience for myself!

Next is Ruby the Resourceress, who makes clocks, primarily, but other things as well, from old tins. I adore the whimsy of her work, and when she said she loved barter best, I quickly arranged to trade for her owl clock. It's going above the archway in my kitchen.

Ruby also told me she plans to get out of the business of selling her work, and just start teaching other people how to make them, with the goal of fostering the creative spark in people who think they don't have one. Isn't that the coolest thing?


"Whoo's your little whoosis?" (A song Mama sang to us often)









Now a man whose last name is, I think, Luz. I tried to read the card on the piece I got from him last year, but it was too faded, and he wasn't in his area when I came by with my camera, and didn't have business cards out. If I find out his name, I'll update this entry with it.


Amazing what you can do with old garden hoses



Scrap metal chairs for little folk


Last is Elliot Works, who made some strip bulletin boards from molding and corks. What a great idea! (His wife, Sarah, and I had a great conversation, which is one of the hugest benefits of doing shows. I SO look forward to meeting her again!)






Next blog entry will be pictures from the Artists Challenge. There were some amazing pieces put together by the Cracked Pots artists this year. I walked around with my camera blinking and my jaw dropped.

Now, for me, off to the printer's. I have some things to (hopefully) jury in tomorrow, and since I'm seriously low on the actual items, I'm taking a folder full of photos. (Now, wasn't that just about as alliterative as anyone should be on a Monday morning?!)

CRACKED POTS AT EDGEFIELD, MY FAVES

The Cracked Pots at Edgefield Garden Art Show is easily my favorite such event of the year, and not just because it's been a good show for me personally. No, I love that show because there are dozens of artists, and an almost overwhelming variety of garden art to look at, all of it from recycled materials.

I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting away from my area (no booths at the show, as they want the art to flow through the grounds) very often, as the show draws serious crowds, and DH was out of town, so I'd be flying solo. I wanted to see everything, though, so got there several hours early the second day, camera in hand. I wanted to share my favorites. Unfortunately, I don't have names for all the artists, though, because many hadn't yet arrived. If you know who did the uncredited art, please let me know!

First up is a new Cracked Pots artist. I love, love, love her art and will probably have to have a piece. The artist's name is Janet Julian. Here are several of her pieces, made from salvaged posts and wood, and hand-painted.










Joe and Mackie Clifton make wonderful creatures and creations from scrap metal oddments, including toaster, spatual handles, old rebar, etc.



I think I'll do the other artists tomorrow. I keep falling asleep at my keyboard! No, wait. One more. I don't know her name, but isn't this wonderful?

I'VE BEEN PROFILED!

Yay! Cyndi L, of Layers Upon Layers, profiled me in her blog! I just had to shout it out, I'm so excited and pleased. Go take a look:

http://www.layersuponlayers.com/artist-profile-anitra-cameron/

There are lots of pictures. And quite a few words, so thank goodness the photos break up the text, lol.

DeLILA RETURNS!

One of my favorite Coffee Pot People is back! I've always loved DeLila, but DH knocked her off her shelf maybe two years ago and broke her hat off, and she has stood on a high shelf in my shop ever since. Finally, this week, I took her down and surveyed the damage. It wasn't as bad as I'd remembered, and I still had a box full of the broken stained glass piece I'd made the hat from. A little engineering and a yard or two of copper wire later, and there she stood, as good as new. Actually, maybe better than new.

Meet the ultimate, original, party girl. This girl has got it goin' on, and if you put a candle at her feet, and a tea light behind her hat, she will happily get lit every single chance she gets. (Responsibly, of course. DeLila is full of joie de vivre, but her mama didn't raise no dummies.) Her favorite quote: "If there's anything half as much fun as being alive, I don't know what it is!"

WESTERN SPAGHETTI, THE MOVIE!

I was perusing http://www.52projects.com just now and ran across this video. It's just too good not to share! Enjoy!

TURTLENECK TO VEE

A while back, someone gave DH a tie-dyed mock turtleneck shirt. He wasn't too thrilled with it, but I thought it was cool, and, lucky me! after a few washings it no longer fit DH, but was just my size.

The only thing was, the style wasn't really flattering. I decided to change it from a mock turtleneck to a vee-neck. Then, after I was all finished, I decided it might be nice to share the transformation. After it was finished. No process photos!

So I did the first part on another turtle, with photos, and took pictures of the last steps and finished shirt of the tie-dye.

Here's how:

Start by cutting the collar off a turtleneck shirt. Leave the serged edge on the shirt. That gives you a finished edge that won't fray, and isn't raw.



Cut Off the Collar


Now fold the shirt exactly in half, lengthwise, matching side and shoulder seams. You want to be very careful here, or your center cut will run off askew, and your new neckline along with it.

Figure out how deep (low) you want the vee to be. You could try the shirt on 5" (12.7cm) seemed right for me. Mark that point, then carefully cut straight down from the center of the old neckline to the mark.










Turn the shirt inside-out, and turn the edges of your downward cut back until you have a straight line on each side that ends at the shoulder seam.



Turn back the edges


Pin them in place and turn the shirt right side out. Embroider a running stitch near the edge of the vee with heavy coordinating floss, and add a couple of buttons to finish it off.



Gotta cut that label out, lol


That's it. You've converted a turtleneck shirt to a vee-neck.

Now, if you'd like to have some more fun, you can do the same with the sleeves. Truthfully, I'm scrambling to get ready for the Cracked Pots Garden Art Show at McMennamins Edgefield, with set-up happening tomorrow, so I didn't complete the sleeves, but I did get a good start.

If your shirt has sewn-on cuffs, you can cut them off just as you did the collar, again leaving the serged edge on. Decide where you want the sleeve to be slit. I decided on the outer arm, rather than at the top or bottom of the wrist, for instance. Create a vee just the way you did at the neckline, but not so deep, maybe 3" (7.6cm), turn back the flaps, embroider, and trim with a button.

Voila! You now have a vee-neck shirt with 3/4 length slashed sleeves!



Doing the same to the sleeves