Featured Friday: Etsy find

First, some romance:

I saw you for maybe a second or two.
I've read missed-connections before and wondered why people just didn't say something then and there. Now I understand... perhaps it's because the moment is extraordinary; containing a fullness of its own... and the thought that this person across from me is not a part of my everyday life, and at any second will disappear, didn't even occur to me... it seemed that we were in whatever it was together, and that sort of connection rarely, if ever, happens between strangers, so my mind was a little slow on registering that there would be no "some other time" if neither of us asked for the others phone or email.

This week's Feature can be found in the Etsy shop Sophie Blackall. Here is a picture of the print that the above text accompanies:

We Passed Each Other When the Sky was Pink

If you've never read the Missed Connections on Craigslist, they can be entertaining, touching, perverted, embarrassing, and everything in between. Likewise, if you've never read the blog missedconnectionsny, you should definitely check it out. This artist, Sophie Blackall, has lived and worked in Brooklyn, NY for the past ten years. I read about her missed connections blog in BUST magazine and I simply have not been the same since. Lately, I've been thinking about the missed connections left on the Akron-Canton Craigslist page. What do you think Blackall would do with this one: "Ok, I'm drunk and in....one im one of thosse moods, all I want is to be happy,,,, I have met so many people in my life, why have I not met you. ( the one) ..... I'm a good guy, I'm cating and super fun loving, I have a great family relationship.... But no one to share it with, did I miss my connection ?...... I have friends and every material poasesion I ever wanted... Why not u? (sorry for spelling/ I'm been drinking and my iPod only correct so much) but in cSs u wanna know
I'm 5"9 brown hair 165lbs w/ job and car, super sexxy blue eyes and my life in order , I love movies and enjoying life,,,, if I'm ur type hit me up, I'm ok w/ 420 but I can't smoke cause of my job, but I can drink 2 days a week or soo "

Will this guy ever find love? Or at least some great artwork to accompany his missed connection post?

Here are some more missed connections ny

  These are some of my favorites. The sooner you check out this blog and etsy shop, the sooner you will have your own favorites, I promise.

Enjoy this overcast day! Look forward to some future posts about upcoming area art festivals and new arrivals on Glass by Leona.

Rain Delay

Today's Featured Friday has been postponed. Happy holiday weekend, everyone!

Featured Friday: Artist Profile // Michael Garrett Manes

Welcome to another Featured Friday, written by Emily. Today's feature is an artist profile on Michael Manes, an incredibly talented artist and all around funny guy. As a constant admirer of Mike's work, I'm thrilled to showcase his art on this blog. Sometimes it's nice to be able to connect a name with a face, so I hope this picture of Mike gives you an idea of what he's about:

Not a bad looking guy, huh? Okay, okay, here's what he really looks like:

Normally, he wears glasses. Sometimes a hat. Currently an Akron, Ohio resident, Mike studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design where he majored in Fine Arts with a concentration in painting and printmaking. He minored in art history, so make sure to ask him lots of questions to test his knowledge. For the past year, he was the artist-in-residence at Gilmour Academy. He is also currently part of the sales staff at Don Drumm Studios & Gallery At one point, he worked as a security guard at the Akron Art Museum. This means he got to wear a uniform! All of his jobs have involved art, in one way or another. He hopes to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in arts education so that he can continue to educate, inspire, and create.

Mike's work encompasses many mediums and focuses largely on social commentary, which involves political, environmental, religious, and social issues. Through his work, most notably his collages and mixed media creations, he assumes the role of a social commentator. Often, he takes familiar images with existing meanings and strips away the original context in order to construct new meanings. The end result is a tension created from opposing forces at work. Maybe this example will help explain:

Speculations, mixed media

A repeated image of a man with a gun. An American flag. We've all seen these things before, so we come to this work with ideas about these images already implanted in our minds. These ideas work together to shape our understanding of the elements at work here. We are able to understand the new ideas that are conveyed precisely because of our relationship with the appropriated images. To see more work like this, check out his portfolio.

MGM (isn't it cool that his initials are already famous?) also does a lot with recycled books, paper, and mixed media. Here are some of my favorites:

Print

The above piece is on display at Don Drumm Studios & Gallery in Akron, Ohio if you want to see it in person. If you get there before August, maybe you can meet Mike before he moves to North Carolina. You should be reassured that he still plans to display his work in Ohio after he moves.

Print

If you want to check out more of Michael Garrett Manes, you should put his website on the top of your to-do list. In fact, maybe you should do it now.

Featured Friday: Etsy find

Welcome to the first Featured Friday. This post is not written by Leona; instead, you are being treated to Emily, Leona's handy little helper. I hope you don't mind. Leona gets pretty busy making all that glass, so we decided it would be okay for me to handle some of the Featured Friday posts. Two treats in one, basically.

This week's feature can be found on the absolutely adorable etsy shop called truche. Here is the necklace that I'm pining for:

How awesome is that? I heart Ohio and this necklace. The shop owner, Stevie, offers a huge selection of different state and country necklaces. She also has some cute bird earrings. In fact, all of her jewelry is gorgeous. You should really check this stuff out. All of the fine silver she uses is .999 pure. According to her etsy shop, her choice of fine silver is more pure than sterling. I can't wait to order one, but with the heart placed a little closer to Akron. That's where my heart is.

I first heard about this shop after reading an article on Huffington Post about how the popular chain store, Urban Outfitters, quite possibly (and most likely) ripped off this necklace design from the truche etsy shop. Here's a link to an Urban Outfitter's "destination necklace." Pretty similar, right? When I first read the article, it seemed that UO was selling a variety of different state necklaces, but they don't appear to be on their website currently. In the etsy shop product description, the artist tells us to "Wear your love." Urban Outfitters' product description says to "Wear your locale love." Pretty low, Urban Outfitters. Pretty low. I won't lie--I've shopped at Urban Outfitters many times, but not since reading that article.

One thing is for sure: I will definitely be purchasing the handmade real deal on etsy in the near future.