Made It: State Pride

Growing up in Kansas means you get the full gamut of state history from day one.  Kansas Day, January 29th, is a big deal--dressing up in prairie garb, making your own soap, taking a bite out of the upper right corner of a Graham cracker (the inventor is a native Kansan) and smearing honey (made by the Kansas state insect!) on the Kansas-shaped treat.  The older you get, the more you delve into the rich and sometimes bloody history of the Sunflower State.  John Brown! Bison! The Wizard of Oz! Brown v. Board of Education!

One of the most important things we learned was the state motto:
Ad Astra Per Aspera -- To the Stars Through Difficulty

As it turns out, only Kansans understand this, and it is quite perplexing to outsiders why we even care.  I'm not sure why it's so precious to us, but it is, SO LAY OFF.

 Vinyl on reproduced found fabric.

So...if Kansans love their state, Missourians probably do, too?  Well, most other states don't require intense state history in their public school curriculum, but natives still get the warms and the fuzzies when they see their state elevated to art!  (Not everyone's motto is as awesome as ours.)

Vinyl on reproduced apron fabric. 

 Often, I have sold these pieces as gifts for people who have relocated.  An artist friend told me once that everyone wants to be homesick, and there might be something to that.

Hey, there, Iowa!

Iowans don't just live in the state that has MIMAL's* nose, but they also love a good, super long party that involves biking across the whole damn state.  Ragbrai just ended in Iowa and the addition of cycling to state pride is not only a great thing to learn about, but it lends itself to some fun visuals as well.

I'm not hardcore enough to be an Iowa cyclist.

Tomorrow I travel to Minnesota for the first time ever (!), and I took the opportunity to make some Minn-centric frameables.  This uff da business will be fun to hear from a native, unless my northern friends have all lied to me and this is a big joke. 

Vinyl on reproduced found upholstery fabric.

Today is the first day for marriage equality in Minnesota, and I'm pretty happy about it.  (Shout out to Rhode Island, too!)  At first I didn't know if making some celebratory pieces was pandering, or if it would be appreciated.  Survey says: do it.  So I did it.

Hand cut vinyl scraps on a book page, 4 x 5 inches.
Minnesota in all its rainbow glory!

I love being able to learn about the new places I visit and pass on knowledge to my browsers about other states in their region (I've had to explain Ad Astra Per Aspera a dozen times at least).  I'm looking forward to hitting the road for The Star of the North (Minnesota) and learning even more!

Just incase you were wondering, see me at Booth 71 in Loring Park, across the from the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Saturday and Sunday.

*MIMAL: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Lousiana
Our social studies teacher gave us this trick for learning the states bordering the west side of the Mississippi River...he's the dude who helps us learn!

Found It: Magazines

I went down to the farm today after picking up some aluminum blanks so I can make some more clocks for this weekend's art show at Loring Park in Minneapolis.  It's my first time there and I'm really excited.  But, since I was down there I thought I'd take advantage of our freakishly mild weather (70 degrees in July?  WHAA?) and peek in the sheds.  I won't have a show until the middle of September, so I'd better collect some stuff to put up on The Retro Ranch's Etsy page in the meantime.

Today was a day for magazines! 

American Girl, July 1967//Inside advice column asking question about fixing
your hair after a 50-mile motorcycle ride with your main squeeze!



Co-Ed magazine, March 1968//Inside spread of EXCITING ROOMS.  Are you excited?



Movie Teen Illustrated, July 1967
Get me a ticket on that train!

Woman's Day, August 1966
If you know me at all, you'll know that this is my thing.

American Girl, April 1968
Quite the souvenir, darling.



Quinto Lingo, June 1966
Five languages, one magazine.

So, where did I dig these up?  Well, one of the open-sided sheds has lots of storage places, and lots of junk in those places.  Someday I hope I can get this all cleaned out so my parents can either use it as a better storage area, a garage, or tear the mother down and start fresh.  It's already sorta falling down, so it wouldn't take much to demolish.



The locker on the left was holding a box
(Right picture) That box had the magazines in it.
The red arrow is pointing to the box, if you couldn't tell.

There are hazards to picking, one being small stingy critters.  Today it was cool and there weren't many mosquitos or bees, and this shed doesn't generally harbor as many ticks as the others, so I felt comfortable not having to suit up in full HAZMAT gear to go in.  But...they always leave reminders that they have reigned over the space, even if it was long ago:

Okay, stay cool man, stay cool.

Looks good, right?
Here's one for scale:

Pretty awesome.  Glad this has been abandoned, but it was quite
a shock the first time I saw it.

I'm going to use the magazines as inspiration, backgrounds for frameables, and maybe take them apart and sell the ads (I found some nice Reader's Digests, too).  Considering they've been in a box in a locker in a shed for at least twenty-five years, they're in great shape. 

Found It: Diseases of Cattle!

So...gross.  These are gross, at least the colored ones, but, actually, also pretty cool?  And the black and white illustrations are quite exquisite just as pieces of art.  Check it out and if you stick around you can learn about how I got these things.



Who wants Tuberculous Lungs and Contagious Pleuro-Pneumonia?!





Ergotism and more tuberculosis!





The miracle of birth...? Sold to a lucky buyer in New York.



And my favorite: MONSTROSITIES!

I pulled these pages from the book “Special Report on Diseases of Cattle” by Dr. Atkins, et al., 1908.  As our farm used to be an actual working farm, this book may really have been used at some point.  It was, however, buried deep in the barn under many other things, including several other books, so who knows when it got there, let alone saw the light of day last.

Considering that all sorts of critters probably scuttled across the binding of this book over the last century, the pages are in great shape.  There's a nice patina along the edge and a few pages that have some water spots, but otherwise, perfectly frameable!  I've sent three sets of these plates to New York and Texas, and although I don't know what finally happened to them (framed or used in a piece of art or something), I'm glad that I could save them from their inevitable demise.

I'm keeping the Monstrosities page, though.  It's too cool.

The book pages I pull from worm-eaten old books or papers I find are in my Paper Ephemera section of The Retro Ranch's Etsy store.



Found It: Cans!

As a farmer, Grandpa was quite scrappy: waste not, want not.  He loved to organize his nails, bolts, tacks, and all other small things in old coffee cans, because, why buy an organizer that's basically the same thing?  Usually, he would then immediately forget about them and start again with more cans, filling them with whatever weird little doo-dads he ended up purchasing at an auction.  I get a wild hair about me, too, and organize ALL THE THINGS, then forget where I put them, and entropy reigns until I feel I need to dig around again for that thing I just KNOW that I have SOMEWHERE AROUND HERE.

Anyway, I found some cans on my excursion to the farm months ago and finally have a break in art-making to sort through it all, shoot some pictures, and list them in The Retro Ranch's Etsy shop.

Behold!


I love the blue and orange on this one!

 


Wish I had the lid for this, but who needs lids on a farm?
Pansies, that's who!

 


Large Mobiloil can...fancy gold for your fancy garage.

 


Fleming's was a Kansas City based coffee!
I hear it was rich in flavor.

 



The 1970s loved to put the real thing in the ads.
I find it unnecessary.

Hopefully I can send these out to folks who want to reuse some old cans for planters, pencil holders (I have one on my work desk for this purpose--bonus: it's magnetic), or their own nail/washer/bolt organizers just like Grandpa Bill.

See the whole collection here.

June Art Shows

I've been pretty busy this month--three art shows in two states covering over a thousand miles on the road.  It's been great!  As I am just starting out in this business (relatively speaking), it has been so nice to have a show goal to make work for, try new things out, and learn about different shows and cities. 

With every new show comes a new set up.  Even if the conditions are the same, I'm always tweaking and rearranging my booth, trying to strike a balance between showing my work, being available for customers, but not in their faces (because...awkward). 

Notice I had both clocks and wall art for sale here.

 So, I don't love the way this looks from far away, but it does the job.  I added a set up of my Frameables on the right side above the bins, which helped.  But being able to see into my "back stage" area under the panel legs bothered me.  Also, my table in the back was too big, so I actually bought a new one!  I never buy stuff, but there are some things that the 21st century has done right, and it's collapsable plastic tables with telescoping legs. 

This was my second time at Liberty Arts Squared, where I was awarded Best of Show last year.  My set up was similar last year.


Looks less like a yard sale!

Much better!  I added a drape to my back stage table and brought new "smallies" (art and individual letters) to sell.  As I hadn't used them in a set up before this, I was forced to wing it when I got to show day.  I added some different tables and coverings (it's amazing what you can find in your basement).  I still feel like the wall behind my check out table is a little empty, so I might play around with something to put back there.  Penants are SO HOT right now...dare I take the plunge that so many party-decorators have been inspired by from Pinterest?

This was my first year at Iowa Arts Fest and, can I just say, Iowa City is a great place with nice people and a lovely college town feel.  The show runners were very attentive, as well!

Throw a wrench into it: indoor show!

Des Moines has two art shows the last weekend of June: the Des Moines Art Festival (a.k.a. the Downtown Show) and ArtFest Midwest: "Other" Art Show, indoors at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.  Aside from being a more economical show for artists and patrons alike, one doesn't have to schlep a whole tent with walls and stabilizing bars and all that when admitted to The Other Show.  Or, at least I don't bring those things.  SO. MUCH. EASIER.  Except I had to figure out just how to set up here, since I didn't have those mesh walls and whatnot to use.  So I switched it way up and put myself out front to better showcase my Frameables against a black background.  I got lucky that my neighbor was using their fancy ProPanels to hang their art and our work wasn't fighting (visually).  I had to use my brain a little more since it was my first time with this configuration inside, but I'm pleased with the result.

My second visit to The Other Art Show was great and I exceeded my sales from the first time I participated two years ago, which is all I ask for most of the time.

I have July "off"--which means I'll be playing catch-up from June, and then I'm off to Minneapolis for the first time!  Loring Park Art Festival is one of three festivals that weekend in Minneapolis, and I'm excited to see what that's all about.  I'm sure I'll change my set up again, because I just can't help myself.

Made It: Frameables

Because I just can't stick to one thing, I started making these 8 x 10 frameable 2D art pieces before my Oklahoma show.  I mean, two days before the show, because I didn't have enough to do.  As with most of what I make, these pieces confuse patrons.  So here I'm going to share with you about how they're made, because if this saves me from explaining it just once, I'm going to call it a victory. 

I found all this cool old fabric!  Tucked safely in a metal garbage can since the '40s (I found it all with a newspaper from June 17th, 1945 and feel pretty confident in its legitimacy) I knew it could be sold via The Retro Ranch and that some talented people could use the material to make something awesome.  So far I've sent yardage off to Michigan, Alaska, and The United Kingdom!  So anyway, I have all this old fabric and thought it would be cool to photocopy it and use as a background for this idea I had during a power nap.  FRAMEABLE!  This way I can make some non-clock items to shake it up a bit and not have to hassle with lugging around heavy work, smudged and/or broken glass, or scratched paint on frames.

POWER NAPS SAVE LIVES, YOU GUYS.

Ok, so...

Found material, including hankies and yardage.

The photocopied fabric...looks like the real thing.

Rubber cement!  So. Much. Rubber. Cement.

Left over matte board sold in large bundles at a "craft" (shutter) store.
Conveniently, they're 8 x 10 inches, which is just a little under the standard
page size of 8 1/2 x 11 inches.  Meant to be.

After letting the cement dry on both surfaces, slap them together!

Flip it over, trim off the excess paper, peel off the cut vinyl decal, make 100 more.



I particularly like this one.  And, no, that actual fabric isn't for sale because
I get to keep whatever I want, and I want that.

 


Remember that application technique from the Union Jack project? 
It makes and appearence here, too!

 

Black cat on cute reproduced vintage fabric.  This piece sold in Iowa City.

Tiny love for my homeland.  This is approx. 4 x 5 inches on a French-to-English
dictionary page from the 1920s (? ish).

Letters!  Spell yer name or something.  On "fabric paper" and found papers/
book pages (you didn't need that math book from 4th grade any more, right?)

The display of smallies in Iowa City.
I found that wooden thing in one of the barns,
of course, and turns out it works perfectly for this!

The size is perfect to just throw in a standard frame, or you can matte it out and get all fancy.  I like the "smallies" because kids love digging through to find their initials or spell their name, and I can use images from magazines and illustrated books as backgrounds and cut my hoarded papers down a little.

I've been doing/will be doing several shows this month, so I've been slacking here.  I've also been slacking on uploading stuff to Etsy and, oh dear, especially my website.  But you can see what I'm up to on Facebook, especially at shows, since I now have a "smartypants" phone and can do the posting and updating and whatnot.

Tell everyone you know to head to the Other Art Show in Des Moines June 29th and 30th!  I'll be there!

Made It: Custom Heart Clock

A customer from the OKC show wanted a custom clock to commemorate a loved one.  Needless to say, I was excited and flattered to work on this piece for her.  First I sent her a mock up based on our conversation at the show.  She wanted brushed aluminum with hearts in different colors, saving a random heart to be red.

Brilliant photoshopping here...that's why I make work with my hands!

Out of a few to choose from, the image above is the one she liked the most, so I got to work sanding down the aluminum to give it a nice brushed texture and cutting out hearts the old fashioned way.

This is how my aluminum comes--industrial flatness.

Left side: unsanded.  Right side: sanded.

I used a circuitus motion to get this look. It makes it a bit softer than
just straight back and forth sanding.  Worth the sore tricep.

Turn over that vinyl and put down a stencil!

Trace it!  Best, most useful thing I learned in first grade, bar none.

Once I cut out all my colorful hearts, I had a nice pile of love to work with.

Ready and waiting.

Then I got to work laying them out, matching as closely as I could the design we agreed on.

Pretty much set.

Stick it!

I was very pleased with the final result:

12 x 12 Brushed Aluminum Custom Heart Clock

I might just have to make some more heart-themed work!  I've probably cut more hearts in my lifetime than any other shape, due to my obsession with homemade Valentines starting all the way back in my elementary school days.  I was so happy to be able to make a special piece for my client (thanks, Angie from OKC!).  Knowing that something I helped bring to life gives another person warm-fuzzies gives ME warm-fuzzies.  Not to get too goopy here, but lately I've been feeling sentimental, and this really made me feel great.

Last weekend I was at the Liberty Arts Squared event in Liberty, Missouri.  It's a young show (only four years old), and the crowds picked up since last year, so maybe we can keep the ball rolling in years to come in that adorable little northeastern suburb of Kansas City. 

This coming weekend I head off to Iowa City for the Iowa Arts Festival.  I've never been there and am looking forward to meeting a whole new group of people and seeing a new town in my dear Midwest.  I'm even going to make some special Iowa themed items just for them!  And I'll keep the corn jokes to a minimum...we all know it's mostly grass up there, anyway, just like Kansas and Missouri.  So, spread the word and get all those Hawkeyes out to downtown!