Extreme Craft

In Which I ask for your Pity, Dear Readers

If you weren't already jealous enough of my new Nannerpuss shirt, I thought I'd twist the knife by showing you this panoramic photo I took of the campus where I teach.  To see a larger version of the photo, just click on it.  College of the Redwoods has to be one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. What it lacks for in ivy-covered brick buildings, it makes up for in natural beauty.  It's right on the Humboldt Bay, and is nestled into some amazing redwood-covered hills.  There have been TWO bear sightings on campus since I moved to Eureka in August, which definitely wasn't the case at my last school in Huntington Beach.

Here's a typical sign from one of the kiosks at school, though:

When I first moved to Eureka, I asked my wife why I felt so happy each time I stepped on to campus.  She hit the nail right on the head when she told me it was because being on campus felt like summer camp.  Now, my favorite class project is taking my class into the bathroom to play "Bloody Mary".  We follow that by short-sheeting the associate faculty's beds.

When the Nannerpuss Hits the Fans

Somehow, in between all of the craziness of hosting Handmade Nation in Eureka, I managed to have a birthday.  My dear wife, who made mind-blowing Yo Gabba Gabba T-shirts for me in the past, pulled out all of the stops, taught herself to EMBROIDER, and customized a button down shirt with NANNERPUSS for me.  Ladies and gentlemen, this is Claire's FIRST attempt at embroidery....and it's nearly perfect.  As someone who is naturally craft impaired, this makes me crazy jealous...until I remember I'm married to her.  YOU just have to deal with the jealousy.  She claims the shirt isn't finished yet.  I think she might be thinking about some syrup-drip pinstriping.  I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to Kate Bingaman-Burt for taking the photo, which she put up on her amazing website, Obsessive Consumption.  Speaking of Kate, Claire and I just got around to framing some of her amazing "daily drawings" that she gave us.  They hang in a place of honor right below our Wesley Willis drawing.  In addition to doing illustration and graphic design work for Handmade Nation, Readymade, and other publications, she's going to be publishing a book of 365 daily drawings published by Princeton Architectural Press.  She's also one of the amazing contributors to 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse!

Appetite for Re-Construction

Are you there craft?  It's me, Garth.   I've been a neglectful blog dad for the past couple of weeks, and I'm trying to make up for it.  I want to do better than just buying a stuffed animal at the airport.

One of my proudest recent achievements is the past months is the release of the Re-Construct DVD, a project that I did with mega-crafter Jeanee Ledoux, author of Abode a la Mode, and Eyekiss Films.  Eyekiss is best known for their series of how-to turntable videos, DJ 101, and Re-Construct was born when Dave from Eyekiss and Jeanee hatched the idea of doing a "how-to" craft DVD that would be a viable alternative to all of the how-to books on the market.  I was honored to be selected as co-host of the DVD.  As you all know, I'm a big fan of crafting with reused and thrifted objects.  Re-Construct takes it to the next level.

Even though this thing looks like a million bucks, This DVD is a true independent, D.I.Y. project.  We're taking on the TV networks and publishing industry, and proving that there is an audience out there for fun projects like the ones we have to offer.  The DVD walks you through eleven projects clearly and methodically.  As longtime readers of Extreme Craft know, I can barely stick two postage stamps together, so I'm the bumbling co-host to Jeanee's cool, collected craft genius.  None of these projects require fancy equipment aside from some basic power tool.  Basically, if I can do these things, you can too.

You can order the Re-Construct DVD directly from Eyekiss Films.  If you've got a boutique or craft store, and you're interested in carrying the DVD, drop me a line.  I've got a copy of the DVD to give away to one lucky Extreme Craft reader.  Just email me at garth (at) extremecraft.com with a link to the most extreme example of extreme craft you can think of.  I'll accept entries through Wednesday, April 22nd. 

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Have a Norse Day!

While I'm on the subject of Dudecraft, Paul also posted a link to Tricot Chico at Splendor Knitting's knitted Viking hat and bearded tocque.  Holy cow!  Nothing keeps a Viking happier and healthier than having some snuggly knitwear.  It tends to cut down on the whole looting and pillaging thing.  If medieval Europe had only known how to pacify the Viking hordes, we might all be praising Thor and knitting our collective asses off.

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Instructa-BALLS

For obvious reasons, I've been enjoying the "Dudecraft" blog of late.  In addition to being a tireless comber of the internets for fascinating content, Paul also gives great TWITTER.  On a tweet this morning, he pointed out the Instructables "Manly Crafts" page, asking if anybody else found it mildly offensive.  While I see his point (medieval cords?  flat braids?), any website that shows me how to make A VIKING SPOON is okay by me, no matter what you call it. 

Instructables might not be your one stop shop for all of your manly needs, but Dudecraft certainly is.  Right on, brotha!

Duct and Cover

Oy yoy yoy.  I just got back from the handmade screenings, panel discussions and all around craftiness that Portlanders dubbed "Craftgasm '09".  I got home, turned on the computer, and this bit of fun came up when I checked the news on CNN.  I'm guessing this young lady might be the president of Drama Club in her school.