Extreme Craft

Made to ORDER

Halloween!  It's that time of the year when Extreme Crafters' fancies turn to thoughts of Ghouls, Goblins...and ART HISTORY!  Check out my friends Katharine and Aaron rocking the CORINTHIAN and the DORIC look.  That's no CAPITAL offense in my book.  I guess I'll put them in the nice COLUMN rather than the naughty one.  Thanks.  I'm here all week.

Howloween

Ceramic Bowl!

This is a great wakeup video for a Friday morning.  I won't spoil the treat by telling you too much in advance.  Information is sparse at this point....if I find out more, I'll let you know.

Thanks Ayumi!

A Jarring Discovery

Hosanna!  I'm an avid viewer of BoingBoing's new "BoingBoing TV" series of video podcasts featuring the editors of the beloved blog.  In today's episode, MAKE magazine's majordomo Mark Frauenfelder sits down with Mister Jalopy to talk about his garage sale discoveries.  When he's not making mobile guerilla drive in theater projectors or running the most kick-ass garage in Southern California, Mr. Jalopy is out prowling the garage sales of greater Los Angeles.  He's found some pretty amazing things in his time, but none more appreciated than the "Childhood Museum in a Jar", a Skippy peanut butter jar filled with all of the treasures of a kid from the 50's.  Mr. Jalopy inventoried and waxed poetic about his find on his blog, hooptyrides.com, and now you can experience it for yourself via the magic of Boinboing TV!  Also, check out the entire set at Flickr.

Block Rocking

Today is the big day!  A few weeks back, I wrote about Salt Lick City, an exhibition and auction in Oregon devoted to art created by animals licking salt (and other mineral) blocks.  The response was staggering.  Other websites picked up the story and ran with it, resulting in an avalanche of salt lick connoisseurship.  My father still isn't much impressed.  He's spent his life on farms and doesn't quite see what all the fuss is about.

What's the fuss about?  Check out the Henry Moore-esque curves and truth in materials of "Baker City Block", one of the entries.  You'll find entries by cows, deer, goats...and even aliens.  Any freakin' elephant can put a brush in their trunk and bang out a painting, but it takes true dedication for animals to create artwork of the magnitude exhibited at "Salt Lick City".  You've already missed the gallery exhibition, but it isn't too late to get in on the auction.  Head on over to the Crossroads Art Center in Baker, Oregon tonight to get your bidding on.  Of course you'll have to outbid me on my favorite...but I'm not saying what that is.

Also, check out this recent article from the Oregonian about the exhibition.

As Whit Deschner walked through the woods behind a friend's cabin one afternoon, a weathered salt lick caught his attention. What a curious shape, he thought. Could it be art?

A photographer, farmer and the kind of guy inclined to see the humor in everyday things, Deschner had a hard time getting the question out of his head. That's easy to understand when you consider he lives in rural Baker County, where cows outnumber people 5-to-1. Salt licks -- those blocks of NaCl that ranchers use to supplement the diet of cattle -- are about as common as sagebrush in these parts.

LINK to show LINK to article

Football Players on Pot

I saw this promo on ESPN when it first ran, and almost lost my damn mind.  The original is about a minute long and includes plenty of geeky ceramic love.  This short 15-second bit is pretty funny, though.  There are definitely a few athletes out there who missed their calling.  I went to school with a Nebraska Football player who was AWESOME at pottery....he was particularly good at throwing and was great at Conan'ing the clay into shape on the wheel.

Tipping the Scales

I first learned about Gyotaku through my sister Jamee, who is a sailor on research vessels that go to Antarctica.  She helps lead research trips that involve fishing, penguin poop and all sorts of other polar shenanigans.  During some of the fishing trips, she made great "fish prints" by putting paint on fish and pressing them onto paper (or cloth... fish T-shirts are awesome).  The Japanese have traditionally backed up their "THIS BIG" fish stories with rubbings made from the fish.  Burt Lancaster (not the old dead dude who made out on the beach with Deborah Kerr in "From Here to Eternity") learned the art of gotaku when he spent time growing up in Japan.

Lancaster adds colors, textures and other details to his pieces, and will happily create a piece of art from one of your "big catches" or one of your special requests.  Maybe this could be the equivalent of the famous taxidermy pillow for grieving goldfish owners!

LINK via Neatorama

Stained For Life!

What's the most nagging item on your "To Do" list?  Maybe you've been meaning to clean out the garage or organize your sock drawer, and just haven't been able to accomplish it for whatever reason.  I've got a list of artists and crafters a mile long that I want to write about on Extreme Craft, but I want to put the proper effort into the articles and not natter on about sock drawers.  The artist at the top of this list is Judith Schaechter--the world's finest living glass artist.  I would also add the titles of National Treasure and pioneer of Extreme Craft.

I first encountered Schaechter's work on the cover of ex Wall of Voodoo singer Andy Prieboy's 1991 EP "Montezuma Was a Man of Faith".  The image burned itself into my brain, and I followed Schaechter's career from that point on.   One of my biggest regrets is not having seen her work in person.  Schaechter works with "flash glass", which involves fusing very thin veneers of brightly colored glass to other layers of pale glass.  Schaechter sandblasts, etches and paints the individual pieces, creating a layered effect that explodes onto your retinas.  The layered pieces are then put together with other pieces using traditional copper foil and solder techniques.

Glass artists are seduced by light like ceramic artists are seduced by mud and fire.  Most glass artists make work that is either too introspective and navel gazing or vapid and lightweight.  Schaechter is a prism through which centuries worth of stained glass art is refracted into a jarring alternate world of alienated or marginalized figures trying to make sense of the world around them.  Medieval cathedral expectations are twisted into shockingly relevant and touching art.

The figure is central to Schaechter's work, drawing viewers into an empathetic relationship with the characters on the glass.  All of the seeming misanthropy of Schaechter's work is leavened by the stunning beauty of the glass.  The pieces are presented as lightboxes that reach out and demand attention.  Schaechter embraces the concept of beauty, which is often overlooked (or treated with outright hostility) in the art world.  Her love of decorative art only adds depth to her work.

Free News Projects in Philadelphia just published a signed limited edition monograph of Schaechter's work from 1983 to 2006.  It's called "Extra Virgin:  The Stained Glass of Judith Schaechter".  You can order it directly from Free News HERE.  The folks at Free News sent me a press kit with a few galley pages from the book, and I can attest to the monumentality of what they have achieved.  There are mind-blowing detail shots, which help to do justice to the original pieces.  The scale and attention to color will make this book a valuable addition to your library.

Tomorrow also marks the opening of her new show at the Claire Oliver Gallery in New York.  The show, which is titled "Burning Inside" will be on view through November 10th.  There is also a book signing on Octoer 13th, starting at 2 pm and ending at 4 pm.  Schaechter also gives a fantastic interview.  If you're interested in learning more about her worldview, check out this article in NeuesGlas and this interview with Free  News.

Most importantly, get to Claire Oliver to see this show while you can.  You'll never view glass the same way again.

LINK to show  LINK to book

I'd Hit That!

A traditional way to fundraise for an organization in the Midwest is the car smash....all you need is an old beat-up car and a sledgehammer.  Sell whacks at the car for money, and you'll be surprised how many pent-up car owners will line up to beat the bejeezus out of an old Chevy Nova or station wagon (I know I certainly have some stored up revenge fantasies about cars that have wronged me).  If  you think you're above sledgehammering a poor innocent car, and you've got $50 to burn, head on over The Contemporary in Atlanta. 

The Contemporary will be holding a fundraiser on October 16th in conjunction with their new Finding Form exhibition featuring the work of Droog Design (among others).  At the fundraiser, you'll get your chance to "codesign" one of Droog's Do Hit (see YouTube movie above) chair.  The Do Hit! comes as a hollow aluminum black that comes with a special sledgehammer.  The owner of the chair is supposed to attack the block until they have bludgeoned out a lovely repository for their backsides.   Beat a path (sorry...couldn't help myself) to the Contemporary for this inspired event.

LINK

Deep in the Heart (Diease) of Texas

The Texas State Fair is here.  Along with the usual livestock shows and dangerous carnies, the fair has come to be known as the proving ground for the Nation's most extreme fried food.  Last year's quantum leap in fried food technology was fried Coca-Cola--little balls made of batter and Coca-Cola syrup that are deep fried, then topped with whipped cream and MORE syrup. 

You probably thought that deep fried Coke couldn't be topped.  If you did, you're seriously underestimating the moxie of our Texan brothers.  This year's winner for most creative was the DEEP FRIED LATTE.  You read correctly.  Concessionaire Michael Levy concocted the dish, which just debuted at this year's fair.  It consists of a fried pastry topped with cappuccino ice cream,        caramel sauce, whipped cream and instant coffee powder.  Phew!  I'm wired just thinking about it.  In a recent article in the Dallas News, Levy was quoted as saying that he gained ten pounds perfecting it.

Texans also know why the internet was invented....which is to create interactive food maps of the fair!  At the fair's website, Bigtex.com, you can search the food by genre or keyword.  A cursory search for "fried" brought up these bits of love:

• Fried Banana Pudding
• Zesty Fried Guacamole Bites
• Fried Nutter Butter
• Fried Mashed Potatoes Supreme
• Fried Cheese Curds
• Crispy Fried Apple Pie Wrap
• Deep Fried Cosmopolitan (the pastry, not the drink, unfortunately)
• Fried Banana Split
• Fried Bread Pudding
• Fried Marshmallows
• Fried Snickers
• Mama's Fried Sweet Potato Pie
• Fried Oreos
• Fernie's Fried Nacho Ravioli
• Fernie's Fried Frito Burrito
• Fried Peanut Butter, Jelly and Banana Sandwich
• Sky High Fried Strawberries
• Fried Guacamole Bites

Are there any medical stats out there about coronaries during the month of October in Texas?  I have some inherited cholesterol issues, (thanks, Mom!) so I won't even let myself fly over Texas during State Fair month.  I did get to visit State Fair Park for the Cotton Bowl earlier this year, and if you don't go for the fried foods, treat yourself to a visit for the train ride from the parking lot...or at least the creepy "Triumph of the Will" style architecture and sculptures on the grounds of the park.  Fry 'em up!

LINK