Handmade Meaning

In December I installed this piece for a show called "Handmade Meaning - the value of craft in Victorian and contemporary culture" at the James Waltrous Gallery in Madison, WI. The show showcased many contemporary Wisconsin artists and crafters interspersed with Victorian arts and craft pieces. My piece was from the "Rat King" trypdych that I first installed in 2008 at Paper Boat Boutique and Gallery in Milwaukee.






The piece is a collage of relief printed cut-outs. The rats on the wall had to be re-printed for the installation. So much has changed in the past three years. In 2008, because of my studio circumstances the rats had to each be hand printed with a barren using water based inks. Now I get to use the facilities at RedLine- printing with a press with so many inks to choose from (I still had to use water-based to emulated the look of the original framed piece.)



The original Installation at Paper Boat:




Handmade Meaning runs until February 6th.

(Handmade Meaning photos by Monica Gorko)

Poketo/ Handmade Nation Art Auction

If you happen to be in LA...

Mr and Mrs Ostrich

Don't they look so majestic and crabby?!

You can see Mr and Mrs. Ostrich and 13 of their closest friends at the Art Bar November 9th- December 27th for the show "Tiny Art at Tiny Prices".

Etsy Poster Contest

I really wish I could have participated in this poster contest on etsy but alas- that was the week my home internet connection was down and I totally missed out. But I still love looking at all the entries! Each "curator" had to pick sixteen items for sale on etsy that complimented each other. The winning combos are being printed on promotional posters for the site that will be handed out at craft fairs. These are my favorite from the winning 60 designs:


by Emmalynne


by InseineCreations


by ergodesign


by TillyBloom


by skullknocker

arts.n.crafts

Here are some pictures of our booth from art vs. craft #6:


Happy sellers- me and Erin

Erin's goods.

A close-up of her porcelain fossil brooches.

My swans.

My display.

art vs. craft

these craft fairs really sneak up on me! I'm going to be at Milwaukee's own art vs. craft fair July 7th and 8th at MSOE selling my birdie plaques so stop by! Milwaukee's The Little Friends of Printmaking designed a great poster for the event, which I'm sure will be for sale. This time around they are incorporating live music with the fair- Calvin Johnson will be there on Saturday at 6:30. Pretty sweet!

little paper planes

The awesome blog Bloesem tipped me off to the online artist's gallery and store Little Paper Planes. This site really sparked my interest because of the quality of the work and a lot of it really appeals to my sense of aesthetic (that is- a little on the creepy side). I had to keep myself from blowing some serious bucks on the prints. Here are some examples from the site that I like, the fisherman print seriously makes me weak in the knees!


Daria Tessler


Jillian Tamaki


Rachell Sumpter


Daniel St. George

Eek Design

My good friend Erin at Eek Design has finally updated her etsy shop! And what an update it is! Erin is an impeccable crafter and designer and has an eye for quality and presentation. When Erin and I do craft fairs together I have a hard time not buying half her stock, check it out:





Featuring famous hand model: ME

Feedsack Fabric

Love Forever has a great piece today about feedsack fabric, something that I previously knew nothing about (growing up in the suburbs without a crafty grandma around). I have a gorgeous feedsack skirt with vintage hand-made lace from rural Wisconsin creators blindhen and it is probably my most prized piece of clothing. I love this bit of American textile history, if only more companies (and consumers) today put that kind of thought into the life of a product's packaging.