Category: DesignPhiladelphia

Jen Corace Opening + Our 10 Year Anniversary Party THIS SATURDAY!

We will be celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary and the opening of Jen Corace’s solo exhibition, Within, with a party at Art Star this Saturday from 6-9pm + you are all invited!

There will be beer, booze and food aplenty – including snacks donated by Soy Cafe + Honeygrow!

Nick + Danielle of All Boy / All Girl will be playing an acoustic set throughout the evening.

Cut and Paste Photobooth will be here with her fun props and backdrops. Cram in with all your friends and take some fun pics!

Jen Corace will be exhibiting new, original paintings all done in gouache, ink and pencil on Rives BFK. Corace states, “Within explores the practice of bringing the outside indoors. I’m interested in representation of nature through home decor, the restraint, patterning and control that occurs within a space, what it means to internalize the external and the private world of quiet reflection and imagination.” This will be Jen’s 3rd solo exhibition at Art Star.

Please contact us if you are interested in being on our collector’s preview list for the show. We will be sending out a email preview of the work on Thursday before the opening.

ABOUT JEN CORACE
Jen Corace was born and raised in the not so wild wilds of suburban South Jersey. She attended RISD from 1992-1996, graduating with a BFA in Illustration. For the past few years Jen has been focused on children’s book illustration. She’s worked with Amy Krause Rosenthal on the Little series, with Cynthia Rylant for Hansel and Gretal and The Steadfast Tin Soldier and most recently Mac Barnett for Telephone.

Jen currently resides in Providence, RI. When she’s not children’s-booking-it-up she’s doing something else in her studio … like drawing for fun or working on projects with her brother. Or she’s gardening … or wrangling a dog named Leonard … or eating too much toast … or laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling.

Thank you to our Partners:

October 5, 2014
Art Market at Tyler this Friday and Saturday!!

Erin and I were honored to jury this year’s Art Market at our alma mater – Tyler School of Art. We were so impressed with the pool of applicants and think we picked out a strong group of artists that include Tyler alumni & student groups. The show takes place this Friday from 12-7pm and Saturday from 12-5 at Tyler School of Art. View Map / Directions here. 26 artists will be set up selling their handmade goods, which include fine art, jewelry, accessories, glass, prints, pottery and more! Get started on your holiday shopping while supporting a talented group of artists & Tyler. A portion of the proceeds from the Art Market at Tyler benefits scholarships to the Tyler School of Art. Here are some highlights of participating artists’ work to get you in the spirit. A full list of participating artists can be found here.

Steven Hagan Designs

Dianne Koppisch Hricko

Mira Ramchandani

J.A. Christensen

Michael Neville Design

October 10, 2013
Spotlight on Audrey Cooper

I will be posting a spotlight on each of the participating Farmhaus & Friends artists now through October 20th. This first spotlight features potter Audrey Cooper. We weren’t familiar with Audrey’s work until Ben introduced it to us and we are so happy he did!

AUDREY O. COOPER (b. 1971) has been working with clay since 2005. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Audrey graduated with a degree in literature from the University of Pennsylvania and studied sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She has studied with potters in Maine and Pennyslvania, and worked for two years at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. She lives and works in Northern Liberties.

Audrey is interested in using local materials, creating as little waste as possible, and in the life cycle of materials. She embraces the unpredictability, combined with the control of craftsmanship, inherent in the ceramic process. For this project, Audrey made functional tableware, hand-thrown on her electric wheel. She fired one group of porcelain pieces in a wood-fired kiln, fueled by scraps from Ben McBrien’s woodshop. These pieces are unglazed, fired in the salt-chamber of the kiln, colored by the intense atmosphere created by wood fire. The other group was fired in her electric kiln. They are stoneware glazed entirely or partially with ash glazes she made by burning woodshop scraps, applied in combination with commercial glazes.

Check out all of Audrey’s pieces from Farmhaus & Friends online here but if you can, please come and see them in person. The photos do not truly capture the richness and beauty of the glazes PLUS they all feel great in your hands.

October 9, 2013
DIY Silkscreen Kit Debut / Make + Take with Julie Lange

The lovely Julie Lange of On3Designs has been hard at work creating a new line of DIY Silkscreen Kits, which she will be debuting at our DesignPhiladelphia Celebration / Closing party for Farmhaus + Friends on Friday, October 11th from 6-9pm. Guests will be able to sample one of the kits on a piece of muslin to create their own one of a kind scarf to take home with them. The make & take is completely free but we encourage visitors to purchase a kit to take home with them!

Each kit will include a screen, 3 stencils of 1 design, small package of textile ink (which can also be used on paper), a squeegee and directions. There will also be refill packs for purchase that will include 3 stencils of 3 designs. These kits are great for kids 10+ up or beginners who would like to learn how to silkscreen. By using the kit, you will learn what you will need to do to create your own one of a kind designs!

Here are some samples of what your finished scarf may look like but there are endless possibilities of what you can create!

We did a wonderful blog feature on Julie & her line of hand printed purses and bags. Click here to learn all about her and her work!

October 2, 2013
Farmhaus + Friends Opens this Saturday!!

The installation for our upcoming Farmhaus + Friends exhibition is in the works and we couldn’t be happier with how it is turning out. There is so much detail to each piece in the show, so I thought I’d take some quick shots of my favorite details so far. Come out to experience Ben McBrien’s “Urban Beach Loft” in its entirety this Saturday from 5-8 and meet all the talented artist “friends” who contributed work to this fantastic show!

And let us know if you can make it to the opening via our Facebook Invite!

September 19, 2013
Upcoming Exhibition: Farmhaus & Friends

September 21st – October 20th
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 21st, 5-8pm
DesignPhiladelphia Reception: Friday, October 11th, 6-9pm

Art Star is pleased to be hosting Farmhaus & Friends, a group exhibition which is presented as part of the 2013 DesignPhiladelphia Festival, a program of the Center for Architecture. The 9th annual citywide celebration of all things design will run for nine days from October 10-18 in unique venues and spaces throughout the city.

Ben McBrien of Farmhaus will bring his signature rustic modern style into Art Star where he will install a version of his dream home, starting with a handmade bed and dining room table made from reclaimed and responsibly sourced wood. The pro-surfer turned wood worker will also include carefully chosen pieces handmade by Philly friends, which will finish off the look of the urban beach loft that McBrien will create.

The friends of Farmhaus include: Project Runway Season 1 winner Jay McCarroll, ceramicist Audrey Cooper, graphic design/ tattoo artist Mike Ski, sculptor/designer Bill Curran, photographer Trevor Moran, woodworker Rachel Fuld, photographer Dominic Episcopo and master knitter Jane Likens who will lend their skills and work to help realize McBrien’s vision. Together they will create a home truly made by hand from quality materials and expert craftsmanship, reflecting Ben’s love and respect for his friends and the work that they create within his community.

August 18, 2013