Posted by georgebath on 2008-09-16 15:17:40
Post Subject: Wanted: Crafters for Smithsonian Initiative!
The Smithsonian American Art Museum just launched the creative initiative Ghosts of a Chance. We''re looking for creative artists and crafters to make artifacts and send them in to be included in an interactive display. All objects that are received will be on display in the museum on October 25, and selected ones will even be entered temporarily into the online collection! The deadlines for each artifact are not critical -- as long as we get everything by the week before October 25 we''ll be happy!
Please see http://www.ghostsofachance.com for details of the different artifacts and for information about the initiative in general. Contact me if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Georgina Bath
Interpretive Programs Manager, Luce Foundation Center for American Art
Smithsonian American Art Museum
T: 202-633-8532
E: BathG@si.edu
Posted by karikazo on 2004-09-17 12:12:00
Post Subject:
I usually like to buy cards from art museum gift shops to support the museum--MOMA usually has some very cool ones, as does the Met.
I would LIKE to buy cards from http://www.fredflare.com , but can't justify the expense....but please somebody else do it so I may live vicariously through you! I don't think they have xmas cards up yet, but last year they had really cute dachshund cards. Check them out a little later in the season.
Posted by bessiemae on 2005-05-15 08:54:43
Post Subject:
One day???Hmmm..since you'll already be at University Circle for the symphony, put on your walking shoes and check out the NEO show/May show at Art Museum. Botanical Gardens within walking distance of Severance. Lovely. Natural History museum has "Lucy", and a fun planetarium.
If downtown, some nice galleries tucked away. Rock Hall of Fame on Lake, and Great Lakes Science/Imax next door.
Check out the West Side Market- largest and oldest continually operating produce market in US. Vendor stalls are passed down through families. Go inside the building for an amazing array of artisan foods. Very yummy, and a fav. for us. Surrounding neighborhood, Ohio City, diverse and vibrant.
Flats, along river, OK, but kinda trendy bar scene. May be dull during the day.
Other side of Downtown, adjacent to CSU campus, is Asian section. Lots of yummy restuarants and and Asian mall. #1 Pho (Vietnamese)on Superior is tres yummy. Dim sum resturants on Payne?
Stinkerbelle would know more than me...I'm south of Cleve. If you have a car, more options.
Posted by erinina on 2005-07-26 09:22:12
Post Subject:
i think the american folk art museum is pretty great, as well as the museum of natural history, which has a number of international showcases with costume, animals, and traditional arts and crafts. a number of fashion designers have used the natural history museum as their inspiration for an entire season's colletction. i could spend days there, there's so much to see and draw and be inspired by!
and, remember, public museums, including the met and natural history museum, have a suggested price of admission. you do not have to pay the $12, but rather can choose to donate what you'd like, if anything (i ususally pay $1).
Posted by BionicGirl on 2004-12-29 16:34:06
Post Subject:
I grew up on the outskirts of SA but haven't lived there in 14 years now. The family's still there though. I'd recommend...
Barney Smith Toilet Seat Art Museum
Blue Star Arts Space
the other missions besides the Alamo, especially San Jose
thrifting (SA has great thrifting, especially on the South side... just pull out a phone book & a map and go)
Buckhorn Hall of Horns (if you like campy stuff that is, not anywhere near as good as it used to be when it was at the Lone Star brewery, but there is still some crazy stuff; it's expensive though)
a haunted tour
Restaurants:
Shiraz (great Persian restaurant, on McCullough Ave)
La Calesa (interior Mexican, on Broadway in Alamo Heights)
Shilo's (pronounced She-loh's, yummy german food on the river walk so you can hit some of the downtown stuff at the same time)
Posted by kazoogrrl on 2004-09-12 11:05:19
Post Subject:
Hi Jean!
I don't know what time you're reading, but the 18th is also Hampden Fest, in my neighborhood (about 10 min from the Book Fest). I'll be out to see you, then heading there - I'm fire dancing at 7pm with the Baltimore Calefaction Society. It runs until 8pm, with bands and vendors, so come check it out if you have the time! There's also a park very close, so you can have chill out day time if you need.
You might want to contact the Atomic Books people (Rachel runs a knit night in town). They may be able to help you out promo-wuse, or steer you in the right direction:
http://www.atomicbooks.com/
Their site also lists things that are going on in town.
What kind of stuff do you want to do?
Museums:
http://www.avam.org/ (not sure what show is up right now)
http://www.portdiscovery.org/ (kids)
Fells Point for good independant shopping, Hampden for brunch/wandering, Holy Frijoles is great for dinner and their new bar is nice, Golden West is a fantastic Brunch Spot. Federal Hill for a fancier dinner - Federal Hill park which overlooks the Harbor is a great place to take a lunch/coffee, relax, and it has a non-dog fenced playground and overlooks the American Visionary Art Museum. Charles Street from The Washington Monument up to North Ave (but NOT North Ave, bad bad bad) for restaurants, the great Charles Theatre, bars (Club Charles, Brewers Art).
I don't know when you're leaving, but Sunday afternoon is one of our regular craft ons:
http://epistolary.org/mailman/listinfo/honcraft
Lulabelle (Lynda) and I plan on coming out to see you, and some of our Honcrafters are vending.
Posted by picapica on 2004-10-11 14:49:04
Post Subject:
Becky65301 said:
<quote>"One year for my g-gma, I organized a surprise open house for her, at her own house! .... It was funny cause we were 2 or 3 hours into it before she realized it was *planned*, everyone just kinda acted like they were in the neighborhood and remembered her birthday all by themselves!" <quote>
My mom and my uncle would both love this type of party - they always let people know that they are "at home" for their birthday and friends and family just come by with food and drink to visit and say hi. It is very non-stressful type of surprise party and I think it's a good plan since many people can't visit with everyone in the 2-3 hour timeframe of a party-party with organized events. If you wanted to add some structure to it, you could say something like "cake and tea (or vodka) at 3 - come by anytime 2 hours before to two hours after" and ask folks to bring food/wine/etc. instead of gifts (unless you think your mom really wants gifts - but that opens up the whole "over the hill" gag gifts thing...)
If you don't want to do it at your home or her home, you might look into other sites around town: museums, zoo, parks (many have meeting rooms), bowling alley, etc. instead of a traditional hall or hotel. One of the nicest wedding showers I went to was at the Art Museum.
Posted by artgeek on 2006-02-11 16:17:31
Post Subject:
Well, first off, if you're at Atomic Books, feel free to ask the staff. They're very helpful and, well, opinionated. :>
My graphic novel tastes are somewhere in the middle--not really into Superman, but also no knowledge of superunderground stuff. I'll usually pick up anything with Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, or Andi Watson's handprint. On to the recommendations, though...
"Sin City" (Frank Miller), "A History of Violence" (John Wagner/Vince Locke) and "From Hell" (Alan Moore/Eddie Campbell) were recently made into movies; if you've seen and liked the flicks, maybe pick up the comics they're based on. Or read Moore and David Lloyd's "V for Vendetta" before it becomes a film!
On my to-read list are the following: I Never Liked You by Chester Brown
A Child's Life and Other Stories by Phoebe Louis Adams Gloeckner
Berlin by Jason LutesDo let me know if any of those three work out for you, and I'll bump them up higher in the to-read queue! ;)
Finally, if you and you BFF want free admission this weekend to a local art museum near Hamden, PM me. I've yet to meet a craftista or craftster and would love to do a favor. ETA: Strike that; closed due to snow.
Posted by BumbleV on 2004-06-09 15:21:18
Post Subject: Must See in NYC?
(I could have sworn that I saw this topic a couple days ago but I searched for this topic and nothing came up...I'm beginning to think that maybe I've got my message boards switched up! )
We're heading off to NYC this weekend and I thought I could ask my fellow craftistas if you had any suggestions on fun indie shops, toy stores/comic book stores, what tourist attractions to stay away from and so forth.
Since we really only have three days there, we're probably only going to be able to squeeze in one art museum. I'm leaning toward MOMA but I read that quite a few of their more famous pieces are on tour, any suggestions?
What about the Ellis Island Museum? And how is the Central Park Zoo?
Ahh, so many things, so little time! I *really* appreciate the input, thanks!
Posted by palegreen on 2005-02-01 20:15:41
Post Subject:
i speak up. i speak up when it isn't even my business. basically because violence against women becomes my business, especially when used so much in public.
the other day my dad and i were at the whole foods in art museum and there was a man screaming at his wife. it went on for a good twenty minutes before my dad and i stepped in and said something to the man. boy did that piss off that guy. he got six inches from my dad's face and called him a gentleman. he was saying awful things about leaving her for my dad to take care of. and how this is what happens when you are married to twenty years and never talk.
i spoke up and got angry with the man. he was just scummy. i felt terrible for the woman. she didn't even try to talk back to the man, she was just walking around grocery shopping.
violent and aggressive behaviors against women always need to be called out.
Posted by nataxia on 2006-05-29 19:37:00
Post Subject:
1) my jar o' tools...the jar is mason & was originally used for pesto... at the bottom of the jar are tons of glass marbles and charms from the summer before third grade when i learned about archaeology & spent 3 months metering out & digging up my back yard... such a neat little girl i was, i miss me & the tools are great too!
2) my pinking shears in their original 1950's box...i don't break these babies out too often 'cause they're so pretty but when i do...man!
3) my chest of buttons... they were fun to dig through when i first started collecting when i was a teenager, they're still inspiring now
4) my paper goddess...i used to work at the portland art museum with my best friend maria & when we'd be bored we'd cut up the spare museum brochures & make little things for each other... no matter where i call my home this lovely little winged women hangs above my work space
5)my collection of bead dishes...some are delicately painted antique sauce bowls, one is jadeite that glows like a luna moth, a couple are industrial strength squares of metal, all are awesome & perfect!
Posted by strawberryjulius on 2004-09-10 19:29:22
Post Subject:
yeah, the only thing you can really do in my area (pensacola) is go to the beach. like i said we have a great cafe and our art museum is (slowly) coming up to par.. but other than that it is pretty limited
Posted by kungfugirl on 2004-07-17 23:32:11
Post Subject:
I have nothing to add except that I was Sexy Nixon for Halloween a few years ago. It was my own satire on how women use Halloween as a chance to wear as little clothing as possible, coming up with ridiculous sexifications of kitties, nurses, bunnies, etc....
My costume was a Nixon mask, a tie, a red bra with American Flag pin pasties, blue short shorts, an open white sleeveless dress shirt, and lots of body glitter. Everyone thought I was Nixon in drag, but whatever, I won best costume at the art museum.
Posted by kindarana on 2006-02-20 10:33:14
Post Subject:
Are you going to rent a car? Skip the twistiest street in the world, and go over two blocks (south, I think) to the world's steepest street. No line, and it's much scarier. We take everyone there, and my heart still goes aflutter. Also, another good with-car thing we always do is to drive up Twin Peaks, you can really get a good overview of the city.
I really liked the Asian Art Museum and the SFMOMA last time I was up there. There's a dimsum place that isn't in Chinatown that is really good, but the boy's asleep so I'll have to ask him later. I also have to second the idea that non-tourist Chinatown (go up the hill a block) is amazing for the pastries alone, if you're experienced or adventurous.
I almost forgot! We took my parents to <a href="http://asiasf.com/">Asia SF</a>, a gender illusionist restaurant. Definitely get reservations, also a bit on the pricey side, but you're also paying for your waitress to do a show!
Posted by Nancy Flynn on 2006-02-23 11:51:25
Post Subject:
I wonder if Athos sent you the list of crafty/fabric shops already? If so, forgive, but if not:
Britex Fabrics-- amazing, gorgeous, VERY spendy, but worth a visit--it is right off Union Square on Geary:
http://www.britexfabrics.com/Location4.html
Discount Fabrics Warehouse on 4th street at Bryant-- there are a few Discount Fabrics in the Bay Area, but I like that one the best (there is also one on Haight a few doors down from Mendel's, which someone else mentioned). It is a bit of a haul to get there and under an overpass and by a few abandoned spots, but not unsafe at all(in case you're walking along and think it might be, don't worry).
There are also lots of great little boutiques that sell indie designers, both in the Haight and in the Mission, so if you feel like shopping, PM me and I'll pass along those names too.
And I don't think anyone mentioned The Legion of Honor, which is one of my favorite museums in SF-- it is not a contemporary art museum, so if you prefer contemporary, scratch that. It is in a really pretty spot, though!
Posted by Athos on 2006-02-23 18:56:36
Post Subject:
restaurant and culture recommendations:
(if you let me know if you're looking for veggie, ethnic, or meat places i can be more specific)
there's a really great thai place in the lower haight called thep phanom http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/903999?cslink=search_name_noncust
for italian, the place i like best is actually sort of a hidden spot for locals called valencia pizza and pasta. it's tiny and cheap and you get a ton of food. i've been there at least a dozen times. i find the north beach italian places just too touristy and crowded with frat boys and businessmen, but you can dig around there too! http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/889405?cslink=search_name_noncust
there’s a bunch of different crepe places. you can pretty much get whatever you want in 'em, so it's good for a lot of different kinds of eaters. there's one in the mission that's pretty popular called ti couz that actually serves crepes in the breton style. it's a pretty hip place, too.
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/868137?cslink=search_name_noncust
there's also a ton of the other style of crepes, like crepes ago-go - the one we went to was on college ave near the rockridge bart.
for sushi, there are cheaper places, but blowfish sushi is a really fun place.
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/customer_website/889348
christian and i went there for his birthday. there's japanese anime drawings on the walls, really incredible presentation for everything from appetizers to desserts. i'd get reservations for this place and the thai place - the others you could walk into (though you will have to wait some).
my favorite sushi place is actually in half moon bay. If you have a rental car for even a day it would be a really nice drive about half an hour outside of town. The place is called sushi main street. http://www.sushimainst.com/sushi/
oh, if you go out in the haight, there's a couple really good restaurants there i like. magnolia (which is right down the street from my church!) is a great brewery/restaurant. http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/904041?cslink=search_name_noncust it's not expensive and they have a lot of organic veggies and meats. they sell nieman ranch cheeseburgers!
and the middle eastern place on the end of haight street - kan zaman is great. they have belly dancing at 9 pm on thurs-sat, all kinds of hookah pipes. call for the other nights, i'm not sure about those. it's cheap too. i don't think they take reservations for groups less than four, so be ready to wait.
http://sanfrancisco.citysearch.com/profile/904029?cslink=search_name_noncust
there's a ton of stuff to do - you could go ice-skating in yerba buena, rent boats on stow lake in golden gate park, go to the moma. the asian art museum is incredible, and the japanese tea garden is pretty cool too (though this time of year, it might be cold). fillmore street has a lot of upscale botiques if you'd like to window shop, and you should definitely do the tourist thing with going on a cable car. the garden restaurant at the palace hotel has a really great high tea service, and it's right near the cable cars.
depending on when you’re in town, the ACT (at the geary theater) has pay what you wish nights. Check their website for details. http://www.act-sf.org
if the play gets good reviews, you may want to check it out. there's also the symphony, opera, and ballet, which are all in season.
Posted by robotgirl on 2004-04-30 13:01:05
Post Subject:
I've had a lot of jobs!
Cashier at McDonalds: Blah! I only lasted 3 months.
Video store clerk: This was a great job at a mom-and-pop video store. I sat around and ate candy and watched movies all day.
Checker: This was interesting, to say the least. It was at an upscale grocery store. Lots of good stories.
Server/Fry gal: I worked at an on-campus diner-type place my freshman year of college. There would be three or four students on one shift, and we'd usually trade off doing different jobs like serving, assembling burgers, doing deli sandwiches. No one ever wanted to do fries because it was hot and greasy, but I figured out that if I did fries I didn't have to deal with any assholes. I perfected the art of french fries that year.
Quality Control at a frozen-pea processing plant: Worked from 7pm to 5 am 6 days a week, counting peas. wow. I got really tan and really skinny that summer because I slept outside every day and I never ate because I wasn't hungry in the middle of the night.
Front-desk person at dorm: Enough said. Cooshy job.
Barista/Milk shake lady: Another on-campus job, this one at a place with espresso and milkshakes. It was usually pretty slow, so I played pool and watched tv a lot. I worked here for a couple years.
Work-study in an education dept. at an art museum: great job, got me where I am today I suppose. I worked there for 2 years.
Production assistant at campus NPR-affilate: another awesome job. perhaps my most favorite job ever. I worked during All Things Considered.
Marketing assistant at an art museum: my first real-world job!
Education coordinator at same museum: after layoffs I got shifted to this position. I registered school tours, coordinated teacher workshops, and registered students for the art school. Lot of phone, lot of data entry. it sucked.
Communications Assistant/Editor at PBS affiliate: My current job! I am in charge of the member magazine and what ever else they throw at me.
In college I usually worked two, maybe three jobs. That's why there's so many.
Posted by jean on 2004-04-30 15:25:32
Post Subject:
I've had a lot of jobs!
Cashier at McDonalds: Blah! I only lasted 3 months.
Video store clerk: This was a great job at a mom-and-pop video store. I sat around and ate candy and watched movies all day.
Checker: This was interesting, to say the least. It was at an upscale grocery store. Lots of good stories.
Server/Fry gal: I worked at an on-campus diner-type place my freshman year of college. There would be three or four students on one shift, and we'd usually trade off doing different jobs like serving, assembling burgers, doing deli sandwiches. No one ever wanted to do fries because it was hot and greasy, but I figured out that if I did fries I didn't have to deal with any assholes. I perfected the art of french fries that year.
Quality Control at a frozen-pea processing plant: Worked from 7pm to 5 am 6 days a week, counting peas. wow. I got really tan and really skinny that summer because I slept outside every day and I never ate because I wasn't hungry in the middle of the night.
Front-desk person at dorm: Enough said. Cooshy job.
Barista/Milk shake lady: Another on-campus job, this one at a place with espresso and milkshakes. It was usually pretty slow, so I played pool and watched tv a lot. I worked here for a couple years.
Work-study in an education dept. at an art museum: great job, got me where I am today I suppose. I worked there for 2 years.
Production assistant at campus NPR-affilate: another awesome job. perhaps my most favorite job ever. I worked during All Things Considered.
Marketing assistant at an art museum: my first real-world job!
Education coordinator at same museum: after layoffs I got shifted to this position. I registered school tours, coordinated teacher workshops, and registered students for the art school. Lot of phone, lot of data entry. it sucked.
Communications Assistant/Editor at PBS affiliate: My current job! I am in charge of the member magazine and what ever else they throw at me.
In college I usually worked two, maybe three jobs. That's why there's so many.
this reads like a short story! i love the pea-counting job. f-ing brilliant!
Posted by happydaisydoo on 2007-09-02 10:17:15
Post Subject:
I'm in Philadelphia visiting friends. Yesterday was the art museum and today is a trip to Independence Hall and such. It is good to be away from home for the weekend.
Posted by Katrin on 2005-06-12 15:45:56
Post Subject:
When my sister was an art major in college, she worked in the frame shop. A guy who was also an artist would come in to get his work framed - she found out he worked at the art museum's coffee shop, so she started going there for coffee (she didn't even like coffee at the time).
Now they're married, and he's the professional framer (who still does art on the side), and she's the artist who gets all her work framed for free.
And she gets her coffee from me, the wannabe-artist who works at a coffee shop.
Posted by Selah on 2005-06-12 20:24:00
Post Subject:
When my sister was an art major in college, she worked in the frame shop. A guy who was also an artist would come in to get his work framed - she found out he worked at the art museum's coffee shop, so she started going there for coffee (she didn't even like coffee at the time).
Now they're married, and he's the professional framer (who still does art on the side), and she's the artist who gets all her work framed for free.
And she gets her coffee from me, the wannabe-artist who works at a coffee shop.
Posted by scarletgenesis on 2006-02-02 17:42:39
Post Subject:
-Go to the flea market and just look around.
-go to the library.
-Read old magazines and cut out ideas that inspire me or I want to try for my idea books.
-watch one of our many movies.
-go to Forest Park (in St. Louis)- there is a zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, Science Center, tons of beautiful landscaping and more....all free!
-Go to a cheap diner near us, eat a cheap breakfast and chat w/ the owners.
-Work on homework (since I'm in grad school), which isn't going to be cheap once I have to start paying back my loans, but at least staying home to do that keeps me from going out and spending money!
-Playing role playing games (or card games, board games, etc.) with friends.
-Come up with a project I can do at home, for cheap, and without having to go buy anything else (e.g. reorganizing the linen closet, hanging the bamboo shades we've had for 2 years and never put up,etc.)
-cooking a wonderful dinner (fun and relaxing, and usually there's leftovers!)
Posted by kitchenvixen on 2004-12-31 13:57:24
Post Subject:
This is my first time ever posting on here. Weeeeee!!!!
Overall happiness:
1. My wonderful husband who makes me laugh every day!
2. My wonderful brother moving back in with hubby and me!
3. Got a new job in the field I've always dreamed of working in: archaeology
Crafty inspiration:
1. learned to knit ala SnB!!! am completely addicted!
2. New York American Folk Art Museum
3. Joseph Cornell
Best Movies:
1. Garden State
2. Lost in Translation
3. Equilibrium
Best Books:
1. Time Traveler's Wife
2. Devil in the White City
3. Marco Polo
Best Music (new albums by):
1. Franz Ferdinand
2. Postal Service
3. The Stills
4. The Shins
5. Sleepy Jackson
6. Grandaddy
Family stuff:
1. Seeing my new nephews (twins!)
2. Redoing my brothers room under the influence of wine, IKEA, and the band Prozzak
3. Spending the weekend at Mar and Poppa's house in Santa Fe
Favorite Foods this year:
1. sweet potato anything but especially french fries!!!
2. chamomile peppermint tea
3. mojitos
Favorite TV Shows this year:
1. Carnivale
2. Veronica Mars
3. Simpsons
Bad habits I picked up this year:
1. knitting
2. belly dancing
3. heroin (just kidding!)
Good habits I picked up this year:
1. knitting
2. belly dancing
3. SWAT (southwest archaeology team)
Posted by rissaroo on 2006-01-02 22:18:49
Post Subject:
I read that if you write them down you are statistically more likely to keep your resolutions. the teacher in me also is insisting that i quantify everything ("eat healthier" is kind of vague.)
So, my resolutions, which i posted on my fridge:
1. Visit the art museum, symphony, opera, and a play.
2. Exercise at least 2-3 times per week.
3. Cook something from scratch at least 1-2 times per week.
4. Read at least 3 books per month. (I'm not in school but am hoping to go back for my PhD soon and need to get more reading under my belt.)
None of these are heroic, but if that can at least be the baseline then i figure i'm doing OK.
My mom is a huge inspiration. After my friend's mother died from a sudden heart attack last spring, my mom got real serious about being healthier. At first she was a real pain in the ass about it, but now she's chilled out and found a great balance. She has started eating healthier and bought an elliptical and runs on it at least every other day. I was home for a week for the holidays and was really impressed. She has lost a lot of weight, and her skin and hair and everything about her just looks so much more vibrant. She is also a lot happier. Now when she eats out it is for a purpose (like to go someplace special or for a kind of food we don't know how to cook) and she is really smart about it. Her whole lifestyle has changed and it is great to see her like that and it is really inspiring to be around her.
She is trying to save $, as am i. I always feel guilty about buying organic because it is so much more expensive, i feel like it is "name brand" when the responsible thing is to buy "generic." A stupid twist on that whole "you're paying for the label" mentality. But, my mom has chilled in that respect too, basically with the idea that if it is better for you and you will eat/use it, it is worth it to pay for good things you need. So for some things she buys the better stuff when it's do-able and helped me chill enough to do the same.
Plus i am now addicted to fresh blueberries on flax bran flakes with soymilk for breakfast!
