I've written about Baroness Carrie von Reichardt on Extreme Craft before. The Baroness, who you'll recall from her graffiti mosaic'ed residence, The Treatment Rooms, has been busy.
First, in the UK, The Guardian's magazine The Observer ran an amazing four-page article on The Baroness. I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for the article about her... and I even rated a mention in the sidebar, along with Betsy Greer, another close personal friend of Extreme Craft.
The Baroness also has a new Etsy store, where you can purchase her detourned ceramic objects. Reportedly, she has one of the biggest ceramic decal collections in the world. Keep an eye on the Etsy shop and her blog to see how they get used.
She's also curated a show at the Ink'd Gallery in Brighton called Renegade Potters and Extreme Craft that features a group of likeminded subversive crafters including Dan Baldwin and Paul Scott.
The Baroness' newest creation is a mosaic elephant that will accompany 199 other elephants that will take to the streets of London for The Elephant Parade this summer. The parade is similar to projects like Chicago's cows that have popped up all over the U.S. True to form, the Baroness is collaborating with Nick Reynolds of music group Alabama 3 (Sopranos theme song anyone?). The mosaic elephant will call attention to the plight of Indian elephants, whose population has dwindled from over 200,000 to less than 30,000 today.
Beneath the beautiful tiled exterior, an elephant skull will be peeking out. Like everything the Baroness touches, I'm sure Phoolan (that's the elephant's name) will be gorgeous, luring viewers in for a closer look at the seductive surface, then clobbering them over the head with a message they need to hear.
Stay tuned to The Baroness Carrie von Reichardt's blog for more details and video updates. I'll post an image when Phoolan is installed!
