when you combine things together in a different way:
magna tiles, fresh flowers, a light table, and wonder
you can’t help but create beautiful art that is new, even to you.
—
“art must take reality by surprise”
- – francoise sagan
May4
Category Archives: art
Apr21
sailing off.
mac does its part with loose parts: an earth day art show
—
the children have been learning for weeks
about recycling, reusing, and repurposing
many kinds of materials
in honor of tomorrow’s holiday (earth day)
using the voice of art as expression
each child created an original sculpture
repurposing used items
finding new beauty in these discarded things
putting them together in new ways
inviting their families
to their ‘gallery opening’
each child filled with pride in their work
and a realization that they are artists.
“art is a form of exploration, of sailing off into the unknown alone, heading for those unmarked places on the map. if children are not permitted-not taught-to be adventurers and explorers as children, what will become of the world of adventure, of stories, of literature itself?
– michael chabon
Apr20
finding sprinkles.
how lucky am i to find this downtown, on a walk on a beautiful day?
—
“i’m well aware. a world without rainbow sprinkles is a world without happiness.”
-l.m. augustine
Mar23
nests.
robin’s nests created by the kinder using natural materials
clay, twigs, pinecones, clippings
any robin would be happy to raise her babies in one of these beautiful homes
—
“wildness we might consider as the root of the authentic spontaneities of any being. it is that wellspring of creativity whence comes the instinctive activities that enable all living beings to obtain their food, to find shelter, to bring forth their young; to sing and dance and fly through the air and swim through the depths of the sea. this is the same inner tendency that evokes the insight of the poet, the skill of the artist, and the power of the shaman.”- thomas berry
Feb22
art-o-mat.
The Art-o-mat in Milwaukee is an art installation and interactive exhibit that used to be a retro cigarette vending machine, but now it’s an art dispenser. For just $5, people can get a print, painting, jewelry, statue, and so much more.
“It is so much more than a vending machine. It’s an art experience, but it’s also an art object in and of itself,” Samantha Timm, the curator at Saint Kate The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said.
Since Saint Kate opened in 2019, the Art-o-mat has been a huge hit.
The first Art-o-mat was built by Clark Whittington in 1997. He refurbished an old cigarette vending machine after it became more or less illegal. He displayed it at an art exhibition, and it became a huge hit. Now, he leases them out to galleries, libraries, and hotels.
It’s not cheap to have one. It can cost $5,000 per year. Plus, it costs $2.50 plus shipping to stock the machine. However, it’s not about making a ton of money. These exhibits are designed to be a fun way to interact with art and the past. Furthermore, it makes art collecting accessible for buyers. All the art inside the machines is made by different artists from around the world.
“It’s so unique. It’s so different. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Kami Strunsee, an artist and owner of Timber Lane Studio and Gallery in Wales said.
Strunsee also has an Art-o-mat in her gallery. She estimates more than 500 pieces of cigarette box-sized art has been purchased since she opened in April 2022. Strunsee also discovered that there is an entire community of people who collect pieces of art from these vending machines.
“I have several people from California come in. They came to Wisconsin, and they just drove east, and were trying to hit as many Art-o-mats as they could,” she said.
Strunsee has even hosted Art-o-mat nights. People come in with their friends, buy a few pieces of art, and then sit around a table looking at each other’s collectibles and making trades with each other just like one would with basketball or Pokemon cards. “It’s kind of random as to what you get but it’s always something really unique,” she said.
—
“i do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.”
-william morris
—
Feb16
gallery.
the kinder have begun to create their own art gallery in the space where they play.
—
-romero britto
Jan13
under the rainbow.
my classroom is chock full of
multi-age kinder (3s-young 5s)
who stay with us for two years.
one of the very best things
is watching the older kinder
who were the younger kinder
just one year before
as they quite naturally and organically grow
to become the leaders/teachers/helpers/mentors
to the new group of younger kinder
who were at home
just one year before.
what a joy it was to watch someone older
spend a very long time
finding all the special markers she needed
to create an easy to see linear rainbow
for someone younger
who wanted to create
her very own rainbow picture
in her very own style
using all the special colors.
judging by their faces
when she finished her very own rainbow
they were both equally proud of the results.
—
“nine tenths of education is encouragement.”
-anatole france
Dec18
big breakfast.
A Single Giant Froot Loop for $19?
A single serving of Kellog’s Froot Loops cereal clocks in at one and one-third cups, weighs 39 grams, and contains 150 calories, according to the nutrition facts printed on the side of the box. Though we’ve never actually counted how many loops are in that single serving, we assume it’s more than one. Oh, you only want one? OK then. Big Fruit Loop is here to deliver.
The Big Fruit Loop is just as the name implies: a single massive loop. It’s also a very much unauthorized version of the longtime breakfast cereal, and it’s the latest drop from Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF.
That one big loop contains 930 calories and weighs around half a pound, or the equivalent of about half a box of regular Froot Loops mashed into one bowl-filling monstrosity. There’s absolutely no reason for it to exist, which seems to be exactly why MSCHF decided to create it.
“With MSCHF, we are always looking at cultural readymades we can play with,” Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF’s co-founder, told Food & Wine via email. “Cereal is, of course, one of those things. When looking at the object and thinking about what we could do with it, enlarging it to fit the size of the box seemed too perfect to pass up.”
Greenberg declined to explain what the production process for the Big Fruit Loop was like, other than to admit that “it was not easy.” He also said that the company had to reverse-engineer its loop to match the flavor of the Kellogg’s originals. To Greenberg, the two kinds of cereal taste “almost identical.” You know, minus one being gigantic and all.
—
“you may not know this but it’s impossible to open a box of ‘fruit loops’ and just eat the fruit,
let someone else have the loops”
― n
—
credits: food and wine magazine, stacey leasca, photo credit: MSCHF
Dec17
get messy!
so,
after working on
a few holiday projects last night
i noticed at breakfast
that i may still have a bit of collateral glitter around the house.
—
“take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”
— Ms. Frizzle, “The Magic School Bus”
Nov12
from the heart.
a child in my class made this drawing
and there is something about
the honest simplicity of it
eyes wide open to the world
that i absolutely love
—
“if i create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.”
– marc chagall
I didn't have my glasses on.... 