Tutorial: Area 718 TagPads!

Completed Area 718 TagPads

Last month, my Australian artist and designer pal Holly Eva posted a tutorial on her blog about using simple materials to transform notepads into works of art. This week, I decided to do a graffiti fusion spin on the same idea, after my kids came home from Lowe's with another paint inspiration card to add to their collection:

I loved the details, the graphic lines, and the contrast of light and dark, particularly in the middle image.

So, I set to work combing through the previous Sunday's newspaper, looking for interesting images that reminded me of the inspiration card, and adhering them with Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage.

I covered a few sections with painter's tape...

...and painted them with acrylic glazes.

Next, I stenciled, blotted the glaze, and removed the painter's tape.

For the next layer, I adhered some old collage scraps left over from other projects and doodled some more.

To cover the backs, and the inside cardboard covers of the TagPads, I used sheets of duct tape in various colors and patterns.


I'd been wanting to mix metal and fiber in a project for some time now, and this seemed like the perfect time. Metal chain + carabiners + fringy fibers and ribbons + charms + shoelaces = textural bling with a cool, urban feel.

Practice your tag. Write random, rambling thoughts. Sketch something, tear it out, and hide it in a library book as guerrilla art. Jot down a shopping list. Use it as a cat toy, even. Pick up an Area 718 TagPad at Art Carnage Saturday night at The Soundry, from 6 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.

I'MPOSSIBLE -- Street Art Meets the Gallery

DC street artists gathered at The Soundry Friday night for the opening of I'MPOSSIBLE, a show highlighting the works of Matt Riegner. Inspired by old school hip-hop, funk, and electronic culture, Riegner meshes graffiti and gallery art in bold bursts of color, strong lines, and stencil work. Other area graffiti artists donated works for a silent auction benefiting creativity-based programs of Albus Cavus.

A look at selected works in the exhibit:

Collaborative work between Matt Riegner & Pore

Collaborative work between Matt Riegner & Ivan Collich

I'MPOSSIBLE will run through June 10th at The Soundry.

Ready, Set, Spray!

As expected, it was another great night of art, indie music, improv, and dance at The Soundry. But Art Carnage - Urban Edition took creative chaos to new levels with DC members of Albus Cavus, a collective which aims to strengthen communities through public art projects and creative collaboration.

Albus Cavus members trucked in plywood walls and quickly set to work painting murals in the driveway. Over the course of the evening, they and other DC-area graffiti and street artists added their own contributions. ViennaPatch ran a great article on it on May 5th.

DC street artist Alicia Cosnahan, aka Decoy, and Albus Cavus founder Peter Krsko

Yep, that's me. Admittedly, I felt a bit out of my league here, since I'm used to working on smaller surfaces (and not usually with spray paint), but it was a fun experience!

It was great meeting such talented people dedicated to improving the community through public art projects. Having grown up in Queens, I'm well aware that many people view graffiti in a negative light, looking at it as evidence of gangs, or that a neighborhood is going downhill. Just last week my father called me to complain that someone had tagged his fence yet again. And yes, when it comes to personal property, that remains an issue. However, why not use street art  -- and much of it truly is art -- to our advantage as a creative outlet through which to beautify and unify local communities? Honestly, I'd rather look at a brightly colored mural than an abandoned building or a crumbling brick wall. The more young people work together and take ownership of a creative project, and the more they invest themselves in it, the less likely they are to deface it. I applaud Albus Cavus' efforts in bringing public art to local communities. Albus Cavus founder Peter Krsko was recently featured in an interesting DC Double Lives article, explaining how the organization came about, and what it's trying to accomplish.

This Friday marks the opening of Matt Riegner's solo show, I'MPOSSIBLE, at The Soundry, from 7 to 11 p.m. Local artists will be donating works for a silent auction at the show, to benefit Albus Cavus. I'll be donating two works:

Graffiti Reef: Sunrise Under Nassau

12"x4" graffiti fusion collage painting

Graffiti Reef: Exuma

12"x4" graffiti fusion collage painting

Music in the studio this week: Reggaeton, My Chemical Romance (saw them live at the 9:30 Club last night in DC. Awesome show, but that's for another post!)

Urban Carnage!

Get ready to shake your cans, folks -- Art Carnage is going urban this Saturday night at The Soundry!


This month's indie adventure will feature over 15 artists and craft vendors celebrating graffiti, urban, tattoo, and pop culture. Just a sampling of the lineup: Ivan Collich, Sticky Comics, UC Studios, Melanie Newlon, Underground Tree Projects, BrigaBauble. In case that's just not enough for you, how about four hours' worth of continuous entertainment? Live music, performance art, rap, poetry slams, burlesque, hula hoopers, and belly dancing brought to you by Belladonna, The Neon Rush, and Kym Spins, to name a few. Plus, The Improper Imps of Improv will find out what happens when they step blindfolded and barefoot onto a stage with 200 loaded mousetraps. Did I mention that all of this creative chaos was absolutely FREE? (Well, after you fill up your tank at $6.04/gallon to drive here.)

Here's a look back at February's Art Carnage:

The sibs from Ten East Read. They'll be back this time, too, selling their awesome handprinted textiles.

Deb's erotic art

Natural bath and body products -- including the MAN line -- from Herban Lifestyle

Interactive performance art by Cloudism. (Um, I don't know, either, but where else could you find Zorro carrying around a mannequin torso to be tagged?)


Here's the part I'm looking forward to MOST of all. Drumroll, please....  Albus Cavus, an international collective of artists that creates interactive public art projects with local community involvement, will be sponsoring the event. The organization, with branches in CA, DC, and NJ, will be bringing in walls for LIVE graffiti demos at Art Carnage by local artists! Not exactly sure how they're going to do that, but it's definitely something to check out!

I've been busy making a slew of new Area 718 notecards, along with some more graffiti fusion headband designs, to feature at the event. Here's a peek at two of the backgrounds for the notecards:

Member artist Matt Riegner will also be at this month's Carnage, gearing up for his solo show, I'MPOSSIBLE, to hit the walls of The Soundry on May 13th. In line with this show, Matt and several local artists will give back to the community by donating their works to a silent auction. Forty percent of the proceeds will go to fund Albus Cavus' creativity-based programs here in the DC metro area.  I'll be mixing up some special 3-D graffiti fusion for the auction, so stay tuned!

Building the Reef Through Community Outreach

Chances are, if you give kids some paint, they'll smile. Give them some paint -- and some things they never knew they could paint with -- and they'll grin.

Recently, the League of Reston Artists (LRA), a local art organization to which I belong, asked me to design an art activity for Terraset Elementary School in Reston, VA. Each year, Terraset holds its Earth Day Carnival to celebrate its history, which is uniquely rooted in the environment. The school -- which features a rooftop garden -- was constructed into a hillside in 1976 as an energy conservation measure.  This year, the school wanted to expand the environmental theme into one that also encompassed good nutrition, exercise, and creative expression.  Terraset had approached LRA in hopes that our organization would be able to feature some artists at work during the event.

I decided to take things one step further. Because caring for the earth is everyone's responsibility, why not design an interactive eco-art project that would let both students and their families leave their marks on a larger work? And so, "Build the Reef" was born. A take on my sea-themed Graffiti Reef series, this activity would mesh with the carnival's environmental theme. Cardboard panels (measuring about 4'x3') would serve as the background. Students and passerby would help depict a coral reef using basic art supplies and everyday household items as painting and textural tools.

On the day of the carnival, fellow LRA member Ursula Griessel brought to the school a large drywall panel, along with lots of paper towel and toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, netting, and even some plastic packaging for apples. Before the event, we set to work cutting, assembling, and gluing some of the items into forms resembling coral. The apple packaging made for great "bubbles." Ursula's daughter even made little "clams" out of discarded plastic!

Good weather made for a great turnout. Kids -- and their families -- had fun scraping paint onto the cardboard panels with old gift cards; spraying fabric paint through doilies; carving into paint with chopsticks; and using scrub brushes, cut up bath mats, and toilet paper rolls as stamps. The smallest reef builders decorated cardstock sea creatures, which we later glued to the panels.

So many people stopped by our booth! In fact, four panels -- enough for an installation -- were painted by the end of the carnival. Ursula and I added some finishing touches and donated the panels, on behalf of LRA, to Terraset after the carnival. What a great experience -- thanks, Terraset!

Tutorial: Easy Graffiti Canisters

If you're looking for a way to bring a bit of organization to your studio without losing any of the creative chaos, try this idea. It's quick, inexpensive, and a great way to leverage your artwork, upcycle something you may already have, and personalize your workspace.

One of my favorite -- and most useful-- things in the studio is a wooden lazy susan from IKEA. On it sit a bunch of old baby formula cans, which hold many of my paintbrushes, beloved Sharpie poster paint markers, brayers, and whatnot. One of these days I'll get around to painting the lazy susan, but figured I'd tackle the cans first.

For this project, you will need:

• Old canisters (from coffee, baby formula, Costco-sized cans of veggies, etc.) 
• Photocopies of your artwork. Try enlarging sections of your original work for interesting effects.
• Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage or other paper adhesive
• Ruler
• Scissors

1. Look through photocopies of your work and decide which would go well together. Don't be surprised if it's a combination you never thought would! This is also a great way to use up paper scraps. 

2. I love the look of alphabet stencils, and wanted to incorporate the one on this enlarged photocopy of my original work in this project. Because the canister I was working with was large, it was easy to work with a large photocopy. Wrap the photocopy around the canister to get a better idea of which areas you'd like to highlight, and other areas you may want to cover. Then, measure the photocopy and cut to fit. 

3. Apply Collage Pauge or other adhesive to the back of the photocopy and spread with a foam brush. I preferred using Collage Pauge for this project because it has a thinner consistency and quick drying time. 

4. Wrap the photocopy around the canister and smooth. Because I wanted to add texture, I chose to leave the paper "wrinkles" in. 

5. Rip pieces off other, contrasting photocopies of your work and collage them onto areas of the canister.  Experiment with different textured looks and colors. When you are happy with your new design, finish by sealing entire surface with Collage Pauge.

***

Here's another example. For this one, I chose another background derived from the same original work. However, I'd photocopied it in a different color. To provide contrast, I incorporated brightly colored scraps of graffiti.   

Done, and done!