Tag: Vendor

  • Meet New ASCB Vendor Aaron Powers of New Antlers Illustration

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    Thanks to both of my parents, I was born as someone with a compulsion in his blood to visually describe the world to others. There was always a story to tell in a meticulously rendered portrait or a quick accidental brush stroke resembling something familiar.

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    Playing to my strengths, I was focused by my teachers and honed by my years at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s illustration department. After college and the requisite years that a twenty-something guy spends in a van playing music with his friends, a series of events pointed me towards a job in New York City that evolved over years into a position at a better known apparel catalog as a head fashion photo retoucher/compositor. Though grateful for the experience over those years, there came a point where I realized I needed to spend the majority of my time creating rather than concealing. Although it was mildly rewarding to have a god-like command over reality through Photoshop, it felt unnatural to be largely defined by covering the tracks of others so that it seemed as if no work needed to be done in the first place.

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    Every night I would come home and scrub dried up pixels from my hands and try to squeeze a few minutes of drawing in before sleep takes over and the alarm resets the day. So when the corporate belts started tightening and heads needed to roll, I opted for the fresh air of Central Massachusetts so someone else could have my desk instead of an unemployment check.

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    It’s been an exciting year since then, from teaching myself the craft of screen printing to publicly displaying my work for the first time. The din of a midtown office has been replaced by the sounds of migrating birds and the echoes of my past professors/peers while considering my compositions.

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    In addition to my personal work, there have been the opportunities to produce hand-printed gig posters, music packaging, greeting cards, and entire suites of custom wedding invitations as well as the chance to teach youth printing workshops.

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    I find inspiration in old friends and new strangers, and in the varying levels of connections we all have with nature, technology and each other. These prints are a blend of vectors and gestures, flora and fauna, and the coping with (and preparing for) equal parts of both happiness and loss. Even though my back is sore and the hours are long, it’s now ink I’m washing off my hands every night and it still feels like I’m getting away with something. Thank you for taking a moment to visit the Art Star blog and I look forward to meeting passers-by at the New Antlers booth #54 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar.

  • Meet New ASCB Vendor sPACYcLOUD!

    spacycloud3sPACYcLOUd was born in DC, from the mind of designer Tatiana Kolina (AKA Tati) with a focus towards the sui generis spirit that lives in all of us. The ethical core of sPACYcLOUd is built on self expression, love, and positivity. Its visual aesthetic breathes from the world of break dancers, hip hop artists, street artists, skaters, and motorcycle riders. Those whose wardrobe exists in a state of counter-culture, carving through life to the rhythm of their own choosing. sPACYcLOUd reflects political and social currents though clothing, artwork, and attitude.

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    sPACYcLOUd ‘s jackets are made of custom printed fabric using Tati’s and other artists’ art work. From the choice of commonly overlooked fabrics to the colorfully designed prints displayed on each garment, sPACYcLOUd is a social rebellion of creativity. sPACYcLOUd life and street styles are imbued with movement: biking, skating, evolving, but also creative, rebellious, musical and artistic lifestyles.

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    Leftover jacket fabrics are used for patches on T-Shirts, string bags, hoodies patches, skirts, and other apparel. No fabric is being wasted. Tati is also using a screen printing technique to design her own collection of skateboards and mini cruisers.

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    Tati’s journey is a testament to her spirit. Born in the Soviet Union, she was without a mother and father after age 7, she grew up with her grandmother, often times taking care of herself. While a teenager, she joined a number of tusovkas (street groups) to survive. The group which affected her life the most was “farsovshiki.” It was a group of kids, the first wave of black marketers in Soviet Union, who ran around big cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Tallinn, etc.) and traded Levi’s jeans, t-shirts, gum, etc. for matreshkas, black caviar, and KGB paraphernalia with American tourists. Doing her best to avoid the attention of undercover militia and the street mafia, Tati spent time in Russian jail several times for possession of foreign currency and talking to foreigners.

    In the Summer of 1990, her life changed dramatically. Meeting an American family in St. Petersburg, she sold them two lacquer boxes with Russian fairy tales depicted on them. Touched, they took her contact information, later sending her an invitation to come to the US. It took some time and convincing before she made one of the biggest decisions of her life.

    In January of 1991, she landed in San Francisco with no money, a tiny backpack, and a present for her new family, a cuckoo clock. More important than the room and board she received was the love and support, that echoes in her spirit to this day. One day Tati was moved to ask her host father, “How can I ever pay back for all you have done for me?” His answer was simple, “You pay back by helping others when you have an opportunity.”

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    The sPACYcLOUd family has been proud to have organized and participated in a number of events and groups that share a spirit of creativity and alacrity. Always with an eye to the future, sPACYcLOUd moves to involve and inspire the younger generation through surf and snowboarding camps, longboarding rides, internships, and skate events. From celebrating local heroes like Maryland Stunt Rider Alonzo and local DC Skater Angelina to BBoy Atomic Goofball, sPACYcLOUd moves to reflect what’s happening now.

    Tati launched Skate Girls Tribe after being inspired by Skatistan, realizing that skateboarding, and action sports overall, can be used to build communities and help building confidence in girls, free from the limitations society tries to hinder them with.

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    Thank you Tati for sharing your incredible story with us! Shop her collection online here and visit her in booth #50 at this weekend’s Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn’s Landing Great Plaza!

  • Meet ASCB Vendor Faryn Davis of Fernworks

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    Hello my name is Faryn and my little biz is called Fernworks. I grew up on a farm in western North Carolina and I spent many afternoons there collecting little odds and ends that I found on our land like bird nests, feathers, interesting clumps of dirt, moss, leaves, bones, fur, twigs, bugs, and other tiny things. I continue that tradition of collecting and gathering in my paintings and line of resin jewelry today.

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    My mixed media paintings and jewelry combine hand painted scenes and found natural ephemera into layers of polished resin. Each piece is painted with toothpicks and tiny brushes, embedded in multiple layers of resin, then cut and polished into delicate, dreamlike 3-D landscapes populated by plants, birds, bears, foxes and other woodland creatures.

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    My studio is a modified 8’x8’ garden hut in our backyard. This is where I paint, pour resin, and store all my many boxes and jars of found objects.

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    Here are a few pics of me making some new resin rings. I embed little found objects or tiny hand painted scenes into silver settings and then layer resin on top. I then polish and sand each piece by hand on my tabletop sander. (A really dusty, messy process.)

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    You can find me and my creations at galleries, shops, and craft shows all over the US. I’m always on the go. I recently returned to live in Asheville, NC with my husband and 5 year old son after an 8 year hiatus in the Pacific Northwest.

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    This is my first time showing at the Art Star Craft Bazaar and I’m so excited! I’ll have tons of new necklaces, earrings, rings, cufflinks, little paintings and more! Please come say hi at booth #30.

  • An Interview with New Academy Press

    New Academy Press, founded by Justin George and Michael Burch, is a collaborative screen printing shop in Pittsburgh, PA.  New Academy Press will be vending at our Art Star Craft Bazaar for the first time this year, so we were interested in learning more about them.  Check out our interview and come visit them at the bazaar at booth # 110!

    Art Star: What will you be selling at the bazaar?
    New Academy Press: We will be selling screen printed paper goods, such as illustrated prints, postcards, bookmarks, and paper sculptures.

    AS: Describe your process.
    NAP: We take original illustrations and designs and screen print them by hand.  Some of our prints are then cut, torn, folded, and glued to create 3-dimensional paper sculptures.

    AS: Are you professionally trained?
    NAP: Justin holds a BFA in printmaking and Michael has one in photography.

    AS: Are you able to make your work full time?  If not, what do you do for your day job?
    NAP: We work full time hours for New Academy Press, but to stay afloat we also spend additional time as a bartender and restaurant manager.

    AS: Where would you like to see your art/craft business in the next 10 years?
    NAP: We would like to move our operation out of our living room and into a larger, dedicated workspace allowing us to increase our creative output, and eventually spread our love for art making through teaching classes and workshops.

    AS: Any exciting projects in the works?
    NAP: We are currently working on a suite of new prints for a gallery show in August at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination here in Pittsburgh.

    AS: What are your favorite things about Philadelphia?
    NAP:  So many things! Michael spent a brief time living in Philly, and the things he misses most are the Museum of Art, bicycle lanes and beautiful old buildings. Justin enjoys the Mutter Museum and Ben Franklin.

    AS: What are some of the inspirations for your work?
    NAP: We are heavily influenced by past eras of scientific exploration, design and manufacturing. We love learning about the people who have spent their lives searching for answers and discovering new things about the natural world.

     

    AS: What are you reading / listening to?
    NAP: That is a very big question.  We love talk radio, podcasts and audiobooks that teach us about this crazy universe, but when it comes to getting thing done we like really loud rock music.

     

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