Steampunk Artist Transforms Ocean Trash

  

 

  Artist Claudio Garzón found himself picking up plastic debris gathered from walks along the Los Angeles River and creating beautiful sculptures out of the debris. 

 

He began teaching art students how to make their own with the intention that they’d learn about ocean conservation at the same time.

 

The L.A. River stretches almost 50 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. Claudio Garzón lives several blocks from the river, not far from the area where it meets the Pacific. A net there is supposed to catch ocean-bound debris, but small plastic particles still get through, Garzón said.

 

Garzón co-founded a nonprofit called Save Oceans and Seas, or SOS for short to bring attention to local debris accumulation. In addition, he’s collaborated with several ocean advocacy groups, including Heal the Bay in Santa Monica and the San Francisco-based organization Sea Stewards to support awareness campaigns.

 

“The awareness and attention these pieces have received has been overwhelming,” he said.

christmas calander for the kids.

Advent Calander 
 

what you'll need:

ordinary grocery-store matchboxes 

hot-glue            

wrapping paper      

number stamps

candy   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

1. hot-glue the tops of the matchboxes (empty) on to one another to form rows. ( nine boxes for the bas and decrease by two until you have a single box.)
2. cut wrapping paper to cover the matchboxes (so they look pretty )
3. secure with hot-glue
4. Next, hot-glue the rows in a pyramid shape
5. use number stamps the stamp the ends of the matchboxes. (1-25)
6. then fill the boxes with candy. (or whatever you'd like)

Macbeth Curse?

                  Apparently there is a curse on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. There are two superstition that float around Macbeth. The first is it's bad luck to even say "Macbeth" unless you're rehearsing or performing the play. Instead you should call it “the Scottish play” or “Mackers” or perhaps “the Scottish business” or “the Glamis comedy.” Some say that the rule only applies if you're in a theather, so that it makes it ok to say it in a classroom setting. The second superstition is that the play itself brings bad luck to the cast and crew. The supposed story for this curse is that because there are fake witches chanting in the play real witches got mad and set a curse on the play, condemning it for all time. If ledgends are true the bad fortune with the production of Macbeth have started from the very first production.

• On the first production, on August 7, 1606, the boy playing lady Macbeth got very sick and died backstage. The story is that Shakespeare himself had to take his spot.
• In 1672 in Amsterdam the actor playing Macbeth used a real dagger instead of a fake one and killed the actor playing Duncan right in front of the audience.
• In  1703 on opening day of London they were hit with one of the most violent storms in history.
•   In 1775, Sarah Siddons was nearly attacked by an angry audience. In 1926, Sybil Thorndike was almost strangled by a fellow actor. And in 1948, Diana Wynyard decided to play the sleepwalking scene with her eyes closed and sleepwalked right off the stage, falling 15 feet. After her fall she continued her performance.
• On April 9, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was reading a section of the play to his friends. A week later is when his assassination.
• A more recent performance gone wrong was in 2001, a production by the Cambridge Shakespeare Company, Macduff injured his back, Lady Macbeth bumped her head, Ross broke a toe, and two cedar trees from Birnam Wood topped over, destroying the set.

Do you think the curse is real or is it simply coincidence?






Source: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2267/whats-the-story-on-the-curse-of-em-macbeth-em

Calling All Artists!!

  At new york, in 2012 many people gathered together to creat a recreation of Van Gogh's Starry Night. "painting in mosaic and stained glass requiring nearly 2,000 cut bottle bottoms, and countless man hours to gather, cut, paint and assemble."

  now in 2013 they are doing it again. "We're looking for talented artists to submit original art work for selection to be recreated and displayed in a public location in Central New York." noted the main page for this project.

  Artists are invited to submit a drawing, ink rendering or painting for juried art selection by a panel of judges. all work most be approximately 8'x12' in recycled sheet aluminum.

Here are the rules:

1. This must be an original piece of art work from the artist submitting it.
2. Artist must donate this piece of artwork and surrender all licensing rights to CNY Arts Center.
3. Artist must sign a waiver of release for promotional consideration.
4. Original pieces may not contain violence, nuditiy or profanity of any kind.
5. Artists will be credited ("Original artwork created by...) on commemorative plaque mounted near the displayed mural.
6. Artist is invited and encouraged to help in the creation of the mural throughout the entire process.

Go here for more information - http://www.cnyartscenter.com/community-mural-project.html



source ( http://oswegocountytoday.com/?p=105084 )

would you consider baking an art?

you've seen the shows; cake boss, ultimate cake off, ace of cakes, and more!
do you know how much time and effort they put into these creations, so much that people consider it an art.

here are some cake art:
     

Shakespeare In Our Schools

Why is it important that we read shakespeare in school?

The study of Shakespeare connects a link to our culture, our history, our language and other factors. It's important that Shakespeare is taught because when teens read his plays they usually can feel a great connection to modern day. His writings provide essential context to our modern language and his influence is extrodinary.

Here are some common sayings that have devloped from Shakespeare:

All of a sudden

All's well that ends well

It's all Greek to me!

Eaten out of house and home

I will wear my heart upon my sleeve

Love is blind

We've seen better days

For goodness' sake

Haven't slept a wink


Have you heard any of these before?






Sources: http://shakespeare.about.com/b/2009/11/09/keep-shakespeare-in-our-schools.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-sayings-shakespeare.html

pop-up art gallery?

 
This gallery is hosted by an artist named Frank Kara of Bethel and Michael Seri of Danbury. This gallery is open through Jan. 6. And the admission is free.

  In this gallery you will see types of fantastic art such as, oil paintings, pottery, sculpture, ornaments, musical instruments, jewelry and furniture.

  Pop-up art is a way to shout at the audience, a way to catch their attention. "Its meant to cheer up buildings that have closed or downsized due to the challenging economy." commeneted Sandra Diamond Fox the author of "Pop-Up art gallery comes to Bethal"

  "Artists will utilize empty spaces in buildings and storefronts in an effort to bring art and culture back to an area that was affected by the recession," said Seri, 54, a mixed-media artist. The way it works is they see an empty building and call the owner of that building and try and rent it out for an art show in that space. In exchange for a minimal or no charge.

  most of these art galleries have had up to 300 visitors over a two month period.

  "Sculpture artist Eric Camiel of Danbury, whose work can also be found at the gallery, said he enjoys creating pieces that are left up to the imagination to interpret. While one of his creatures -- which is made from aluminum -- has dolphinlike characteristics, it actually isn't a dolphin. It's a creature that doesn't exist." noted Fox.

 
  "If you're too literal about a creature that is a dinosaur, for example, it becomes all about learning the names of the dinosaurs, instead of imagining what it was like to live in the time of the dinosaurs," Camiel said.


source: (http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Pop-up-art-gallery-comes-to-Bethel-4097570.php#photo-3792109)


 

Are Teens Reading?

 Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.Also, on average,  Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.Because Americans are reading less reading scores having been dropping. Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers. We need to start reading!






Source:
http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/trnr.html

TSO is coming to you!!

On  Dec. 07, 4:00 PM and Dec. 07, 8:30 PM they will be here to put on a great show for you.

   a little bit about them: Trans-Siberian Orchestra was formed in 1996 by Paul O'Neill who immediately approached long time friends and collaborators Robert Kinkel and Jon Oliva to form a core writing team. Paul O'Neill is a rare talent; a prolific writer and producer with a tremendously varied career in the music industry.
   "When Paul O'Neill first conceived Trans-Siberian Orchestra, his goal was as straightforward as it was ambitious. "The whole idea," he explains, "was to create a progressive rock band that would push the boundaries further than any group before, following in the footsteps of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, the Who...but take it way, way further."" explained TSO's official website.  with more than 7 million albums sold, they have become one of the worlds top acts.

Love You Hate You Miss You

I just finished this book a few days ago and it was pretty good. I wouldn't call this book amazing but it kept me engaged. It's about a girl who's best friend dies and she blames herself. She also has a very strong alcohol problem and parents that act like shes invisible. I think the only reason I didn't like this book as well as others is because in the middle of the book I could guess how it would end. It was very predictible and when I read I like books that keep me wondering whats going to happen next. I like books that have me unable to stop reading. This book I was just reading to make sure I was right about the ending, which I was.

Different Types Of Art.

1. Pastels-  used in drawings and paintings. They are available in three varieties: hard, soft and pastel pencils. artist use them by smudging them into a rough type paper. (smooth paper doesnt really work for this type of art.) benefits of using pastels is the blending ability. they can smudge/blend by using their finger or even a blending stick. Soft pastels are for covering large surface areas with color, whereas hard pastels and pastel pencils are for fine detailing. It is possible to blend all three pastel variations together seamlessly.
2. Ink- the most cheapest, and low-maintenance way for art. (other the pencils.) this is used in comic book printings, drawings, and black and white sketches.
3. clay- used in making projects ranging from sculpting to fine-art ceramics. clay art started in approximately 25,000 BCE. there is a four-step process for working with clay is forming, firing (baking in a pottery kiln), glazing and then re-firing to complete the process by hardening the glaze.
4. mixed media- contains oil paints, ink and pastels. many people choose to create their designs with basic art materials, such as paints, pencils and more unconventional items, such as painted gears, origami (Japanese folded paper), old vinyl records and more.

Upcoming Art Fairs In Michigan.

Do you wanna go see some art near you? Well i have pulled together some art fairs for you.

Upcoming events.

December 1
Lowell
30th Annual Rogue River Artisans Fine Art and Craft Holiday Sale
Lowell High School, 11700 Vergennes Road
9 am to 4 pm
120 Artists
Admission: $1

Battle Creek - Art Center of Battle Creek - Holly Mart, 265 E. Emmett St., November 1 to December 23*

Detroit - "Art for the Holidays" at the Detroit Artists' Market, 4719 Woodward - November 9 to December 22*

 

 

 

 

sources (http://www.artfaircalendar.com/art_fair/michigan-art-fairs.html )

Books Into Movies

It seems that the new trend is turning books into movies. Some that have gotten a lot of attention include The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games. I have a small list of books that I want to read or have read that will be turned into films.

Catching Fire

Mocking Jay

Beautiful Creatures

The Host

13 Reasons Why

Warm Bodies

World War Z

The Mortal Instruments : City of Bones

Life of Pi

The Great Gatsby

Any of these intrest you as well?

 

Nepali artists transform Everest litter into art

 15 of these nepali artist were stuck for a month in a moutain of 1.5 tons of trash picked up from mount everest, they had to make it into art.

   "The trash used in the art works was picked up from the mountain by Sherpa climbers in 2011 and earlier this year and carried down by porters and trains of long-haired yaks." said msn's news article. by wall painter Krishna Bahadur Thing, is a Tibetan mandala painting showing the location of Mount Everest in the universe -- made by sticking yellow, blue and white pieces of discarded beer, food cans and other metals on a round board

  people were amazed by the trash that were put into these pieces of artwork and how awesome it looked. the sale on the art is $15 to $2,300 a part of the money goes to the artist and the rest goes to Everest Summiteers' Association, which sponsored the collection of garbage from the mountain.

   "Garbage on Everest is shameful. We are trying to turn it into gold here," association chief Wangchu Sherpa told Reuters.

source-(http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/26/uk-nepal-everest-trash-idUSLNE8AP00S20121126)

Its Auguste Rodin's 172th birthday!

  Auguste Rodin was always very interested in art, and took up drawing when he was ten years old. then when he was 14 he enrolled himself into Petite École, a school that specialised in art and mathematics where he studied drawing and painting for three years.

  his first statue was "a man with a broke nose." The scultpure featured a head that was "broken off" at the neck, the nose flattened and crooked, and the back of the head was completely absent. Needless to say, it was not very well received by the critics.

  his greatest statue was The Thinker. The Thinker is a marble and bronze sculpture, which is now on display at the Musee Rodin in Paris. And now sits at his grave in replace of his headstone.



 In honnor of Auguste Rodin's 172th birthday google has made their homepage his most popular sculpture. Be sure to check it out.

source's ( google homepage and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin )

Ellen Hopkins

Ellen Hopkins is my favorite author. I enjoy her books so much because she writes about teens who are struggling with real life issues such as drug addiction, pregnancy, eating disorders, diseases and molestation. I have read the following Ellen Hopkins books:

• Crank
• Glass
• Fallout
• Burned
• Perfect
• Identical
• Tilt

If anyone was looking for a good book to read I would highly suggest any of those. I think I love her books because once I start reading I can't stop. The hard copies may seem sort of intimidating because they're all around 600 pages but they're really not overwhelming. She writes her books in a poetic way, so with her spacing there isn't too many words on each page. Her books are very easy to read and very easy to relate to. The longest it took me to read one of Ellen Hopkins books was 2 days. My personal favorite is Identical. It's my favorite because it's the most twisted. It has a lot of things that I wasn't expecting and it left me feeling different after I put the book down.

Graffiti: is it art or vandalism?

   In Toronto people are questioning the spray painted work on the grounds and walls of buildings all around their city. "Even if your Picasso, you’re not allowed to paint on other people’s walls,” said Elyse Parker, a city official who is heading Toronto’s crackdown on graffiti.
  But lately some people have been opening their eyes to these acts of urban design. although others still continue to say that its "Graffiti" and "vandalism" and that they despise it.
  i belive Graffiti art is a form of self-expression. It’s another way artists can show their talent and opinions to the public. It’s the ones who run around town with a thick marker, scribbling their “crew name” on anything they see who give graffiti artists’ a bad reputation.
  Every new wave of art starts somewhere. Our generation’s art just happens to start on a wall.
  what do you think? is it art or vandalism?

here are some examples:

 

sources: (http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Graffiti:-is-it-art-or-vandalism?/28040 )

Welcome to Our Blog!

Hey! Thanks for visiting our blog! We're very excited to start posting about art and literature. We're going to post things like our favorite authors and artists, some books and art pieces that have been getting a lot attention recently and upcoming things. So stick around!