Etsy Shop

Finally Sharmila and I have combined our inventory and set up an etsy shop.  Three sales so far, my first one today!  yay!  Please check us out, repost our link and spread the word!

www.etsy.com/shop/lovelybagladies

Back in the Game!

So it's been a minute since my last blog... However, I have been semi-productive.  I am in cahoots with my pal Sharmila, and together we are upcycling material into super cute totes and bags.  (see below)  In January we will begin to sell these fancy little items in a Ferndale boutique so get them while you can gang!

Rhino Bag $25  all recycled materials and hand sewn

Bronto Bag $25 all recycled materials and hand sewn

Bronto detail.  Color appears washed out.  Actual color see above photo

Dios Mio! Sangria!

So after a successful preparation, and consumption, of the red wine sangria; I moved onto white.  Trader Joe's is of course the place to start.  Shhhh it's chilling now.  When it wakes I will blog drunk.

          Dexter?!  I should have made the red instead.

Hannah's Big 2-0

Taking advantage of Hannah's (Kelsey's sister) love for sushi, I finally got to try making classic sushi staples from candy.  It was much easier than I anticipated and the materials changed after the trial run.  I think the results were great! 

For anyone interested the ingrediants were the following:

Rice cripie treats for the rice
grape fruit leather for the seaweed paper
marshmellow, laffy taffy and starbursts for the sushi guts
pink starburst ginger
green starburst wasabi
Swedish fish (are an obvious choice)
Orange slices for the salmon sushimi 
and last but not least; a Carmel fortune cookie with personalized message.  Happy Birthday Hannah!

On to the next...

Now that class is over I want to take this opportunity to keep up my blog with little experiments I am playing with in my free time.  I would love suggestions or critiques.  :)

Life Without Art is Stupid!

Sunday from 11-4:30, in what seemed like mid-winter weather was Sharmila and my first shift on location at the Heidelberg Merchandise booth.  Sharmila and I have been a successful team so far with the Heidelberg Project so why break up a good thing!  We thought for sure the weather would guarantee a few curious rolled-up window shoppers, but we were pleasantly surprised.  Approximately 50 people showed up, got out and walked around.  We got a chance to talk to many of them, some students taking pictures others just killing their curiosity.  People truly did come from all over, including northern Michigan, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  We sold almost all of the shirts, a couple bumper stickers and even took a few donations!  It was so great to discuss Tyree's work with so many interested strangers.  At first I felt slightly intimidated assuming people would ask questions I didn't know the answers to.  I was excited to recognize how much I knew about Detroit, The Heidelberg and just the knowledge I have gained about art in my program here at Wayne.  This first shift was the beginning of a hopefully long relationship with the team at the Heidelberg!

Sewing hurts!

One of my new tasks in assisting the Heidelberg Project is helping with merchandise creation and sales.  After hours of sitting over my sewing machine and sweating, I have finished my prototype for Heidelberg Project reusable shopping bags!   It turned out larger than I planned but perhaps it will be a happy mistake.  Tomorrow Sharmila and I go to the Heidelberg office to train for running the merchandise booth on Sunday, and I can premier my product.  Wouldn't it be something if my bags one day show up in the merchandise booth?! 

Sound Garden

After much brainstorming I decided to organize a musical recycled park.  A big influence on my idea is my niece who is so enamored by music.  Even as a baby I can see the calming effects music has on her and what an important role it will play in her life.  Another huge influence is the Heidelberg Project.  Their ideas about sustainability and recycled goods inspired the idea to make my musical part out of as much reusable material as possible.  This cuts down on cost, waste and allows the message of recycled goods and re-appropriation to be impacted.  More park details to follow!

 My Niece Grace, the music expert.  

The Source

Visit to the Heidelberg to re-charge my battery after spring break.  This place is so amazing and inspires me to do whatever I can to help the project gain funding and expand!

 

Chugging away. . .

End of the semester is coming up quick.  I have been thinking a lot about my final project and I really want to put thought into it.  I would love to write a grant proposal with the possibility of having it actually funded.  Perhaps incorporating the Heidelberg's mission and creating something to encourage the work they do.  I have really been amazed and inspired by the city beautification and how much pride and positivity it brings.  I believe that incorporating the community is vital when designing my grant idea....  Think, think, think!

City Building!

This week in class we were asked to build a representation of us, and afterwords in teams,  build cities for our "mini-us" to live in.  What fun!  Intresting as well to see what, as a group, we could determine as prioroties to our city.  In our group; we found the most important things were:

1. to be self-sustainable (food, water, and resources)
2. wind, and water powered
3. car free!! 

While in the end it got a bit silly with our Giraffe for a mayor, it was so much fun and an interesting to see how art and at therapy can create so much good.  Looking back, I felt like a child being silly and laughing, really letting go of inhibitions that many bind adults like myself and letting art take over. 

I was so impressed by everyone in my group!  So crafty and artsy!  I loved our Mayor so much, I took the him home

MMMM......Heidelberg

Sunday Sunday Sunday is the Heidelberg open house!  To commemorate this event?, nothing less than a Heidelberg gingerbread house centerpiece covered in spots (m&m's)!  Cookie pictures to follow!


Finished!  I want to live here :)

Workshop

Jenenne ask that I attend a grant writing workshop at the Detroit Public Library on Monday.  I was not sure what to expect as this is my first bit of experience working with grants and grant writing.  I was so glad that I went!  I learned so much about the process of grant writing and how to approach this project that was so foreign to me.  Unfortunately about half way through the workshop I realized that the particular grant I had been assigned to apply for wasn't a great fit with what the Heidelberg was trying to accomplish.  This means either the program would need to be modified or we would have to research and seek out a new grant program.  Since the ACE program is already well established and modification of it may cause it to lose some of it's identity, it leaves me to do research on grants that work for the ACE program. . . . . . yay research!

Grant writing!

Sharmila and I had our first meeting today with Jenenne Whitfield from the Heidelberg Project.  It was so wonderful to sit in an open forum and discuss ideas and a plan of attack for writing the grant for the Kresge Foundation.  I am so thrilled to be working with Jenenne and look forward to doing all I can to make sure that the Heidelberg is given this grant.  Also I signed up to bake polka dotted cookies for the open house!  Yum!

Heidelberg!

I have been officially placed with the Heidelberg Project, and today was orientation. I will be collaborating with my friend Sharmila and together we will be writing a grant proposal to the Kresge Foundation. During my orientation I watched a 30 Minute documentary called "Come unto me" and it was about the history of the Heidelberg and its founding artist; Tyree Guyton. I was amazed to see the impact that the Heidelberg has had on the city, the community and individuals. I learned so much about the struggles Tyree has endured with the project and pardon the cheesy-ness. . . but it inspired me. I am very much looking forward to working with everyone at the Heidelberg and doing my part to help the Heidelberg Project flourish!

Field Trip!

Yesterday, as a class, we traveled to each of the community organizations with whom we will be working. It only made my decision that much harder! Each organization offered a different experience each rewarding in a different way. I am so thrilled to be able to work with whichever population I am placed.

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