Stitch (and various other crafts) and Bitch

Like a lot of folks who take part in Stitch and Bitch, we take "stitch" to mean anything involving crafts. Last night, we had mosaic crafters, a crochet crafter, a recycled arts crafter, and even a bill-payer! Compared to some past Stitch and Bitch sessions, this one was fairly mild. This helped us finish some projects and stay on task. The evening usually starts with an air of studiousness. Observe:

Leona and Jess

 Leona and Jess were both working on mosaic mirrors. They both are such prolific mosaic artists. Both women sell their pieces at Don Drumm Studios & Gallery. And by now you are fully aware that Leona also sells from her Etsy shop. You probably can't tell from the pictures, but Jess is working on a grapevine design. So far, it's looking pretty gorgeous. Leona's is an abstract pattern, and it's off to an amazing start.

And now for something different:

Sara offers her interpretation of Stitch and Bitch by paying bills

Sara, pictured above, opted to partake in the bitching part of Stitch and Bitch by paying her bills. A lot of very weird things have happened at past Stitch and Bitch sessions, but this might take the cake. Her productivity is certainly to be admired.

Carol and Beth decided to give mosaics a try. Leona was there to help them out and answer questions. Their pieces are not finished yet, but they are shaping up to be some admirable bird baths.

Beth working on a mosaic

Carol tried to trick me when she called this a rose

 Julia uses old Christmas lights to make all sorts of creations. It's a good feeling to be able to make an enjoyable piece of art out of something that would probably be thrown away otherwise. Right now, Julia is working on a much bigger version of her Christmas light decorations. If you're curious, her recycled/upcycled art is also for sale at Don Drumm Studios & Gallery.

Julia, making an incredible creation out of old Christmas lights.

After all of this hard work, it didn't take long for the evening to turn to this:

Leona, demonstrating workplace safety by wearing her gloves all night

The session was of course accompanied by some great food. We had some honeydew melon that tasted like lemon. Pretty fantastic sounding, huh? Give it a try. There was also homemade hummus, some wine, and some sensational carrot cake.

Our next Sitch and Bitch might be next week, but it could also be next month or even two or three months from now! The great thing about it is that you can put one together whenever you want. 

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.