Anthology

Holiday Craft Lounge 2010

All right, I'm a little giddy.  A successful end to months of preparation will do that to you.  Our first ever Holiday Craft Lounge wrapped up yesterday in the late afternoon.  We cleared out of the Overture Lobby and the artists and shopgirls returned to their studios and homes and stores. 

I feel SO grateful and blessed!  LOOK at all that food!  We have a cartload to bring to the Second Harvest Foodbank AND our generous customers have provided enough for over 500 meals.  Hooray! Hooray!

Thank you to everyone who came out and enjoyed the Downtown Holiday Open House and the Holiday Craft Lounge.  I don't usually carry a can of food with me when I go shopping so I am amazed at how many people remembered.

Meanwhile, on the crafting front, judging by the stragglers who just didn't want to leave, paper wreaths and stamped metal ornaments were VERY popular activities.  We are so thankful to all the artists who took time to bring their wares and their inspiration to the event: Forrest & Co at Artterro, Jane Fasse, Emily Keown, Debra and Lily Greene, Karen Kuhn & Co, Melissa Brumm and Willa Leannah, Cynthia Wadsworth, Alisson Burda, Naomi Richardson, Andrea Thorson, Michelle Pieterick, Kim Lapacek, Mindy Kuen, Norma Jean Buchanan, Rosy Hawbaker, Kaeti Lindquist and Diane Knauff.  There were so many wonderful activities!  I'm feeling inspired to go and make things for Christmas.  Now to find the time...

 

This is a picture of the Craft Lounge from above.  We had a pretty steady stream of people all day long and a nice mix of shopping, crafting, chatting, and laughing. In all, in addition to Anthology's table, we had 17 artists with projects and products to share.

The space of the Overture Center lobby was so wonderful to be in.   So often we just walk through there in the evening on our way to a performance; we don't usually get to linger and enjoy the space.  Initially we were planning to use the Promenade Lounge on the second floor but we wouldn't have been able to fit nearly as many artists or shoppers in there.  Plus the Overture Lobby is so light and open.

A HUGE thanks to the Overture Center Community Arts Access Program.  There is great debate over the value of the Overture Center to the City of Madison, and an even larger debate over the value of art in our lives.  Personally, I think that art is an integral part of living, that creating is essential to sanity and that Art is not something that is set apart from Life.  It is meant to be touched and made, to be messy and underneath your fingernails.  The Holiday Craft Lounge was a great opportunity for us to do on a larger scale what we started at Anthology - to get supplies in the hands of shoppers and get them creating.  This kind of event is a prime example of how art is at work in our lives, and how the Overture Center is an integral part of the community.

Thank you! Thank you!

 

 

 

Holiday Craft Lounge: Zentangle Art

  Another activity at the Holiday Craft Lounge is the art of Zentangle.  Diane will be there giving mini lessons on the process; she also has kits for sale as well as her own work featuring Zentangle art.

Holiday Craft Lounge: Jane's papers

For those of you who have long been admiring the paper stars and ornaments that we carry at the shop, the Holiday Craft Lounge will be an opportunity for you to make your own. Jane will be bringing her wonderful assortment of papers and demonstrating the ball paper ornaments, the star ornaments , paper wreaths, and paper garlands.  She will also have kits for you to purchase and take home.  I am especially fond of the stars for decorating... and they also make a simple package look quite fancy!

 

 

Holiday Craft Lounge: Kim's Crafty Apples & book page wreath

Ok, I am seriously amazed with everything that this woman gets done!  Not only does she make quilts and a zillion other crafts, she is mom and apple-grower extraordinaire (see Lapacek's Orchard).  Whew!  That tires me out just thinking about it.  And the book page project which I started but kind of lost interest on, was completed by her, times two or three, in as much time. You can check out more pictures of the process here, become a fan, and also check out the wreath that she made from magazine pages.  A-Mazing!

And happily for everyone, she consented to share this project at the Holiday Craft Lounge.

Holiday Craft Lounge: Mindy Kuen

Mindy K. is an Oshkosh artist whose work we carry at Anthology.  She has great stamped bracelets, earrings and necklaces, and just added bookmarks and ornaments to the mix.  I'm a little envious of her colletion of fonts for stamping.  She will be bringing her own creations to the Holiday Craft Lounge, as well as the tools and supplies for you to stamp your own - a great opportunity to make some customized presents!

 

 

Holiday Craft Lounge: Anthology

When we first starting planning for this workshop, we had tons of project ideas and not enough hands.  Typical.  In the end, some of these projects are being shared by other artists, and some of them will have to wait for another time.  Two Anthology projects will be there on Saturday:

The first is making enamel earrings.  No, we won't be teaching you how to enamel, seeing as we don't know how to do that ourselves.  But we are stocking up on tons of lovely enamel pieces from a Duluth artist.  We'll have plenty for you to choose from, plus someone on hand to help you with assembly.  This picture is an example of pieces that I have assembled, just to give you an idea. 

  

 

The second Anthology project are our paper pennants.  We have ready-made kits or you can select your own papers, cut them into triangles, punch them and string them onto ribbon.  Papers are a mix of cardstock and transparencies.

Holiday Craft Lounge: Space Oddities

Andrea of Space Oddities has been busily gathering paper scraps and tidbits for the Holiday Craft Lounge.  She will have some of her own great creations for sale, AND she's bringing the button machines.  We kind of covet her great big button machine... Now you can use it and make a pocket mirror!  OOOHHHH!

Andrea will have pre-cut paper circles as well as other paper scraps so you can do a little collaging and create magnets, pins or mirrors.

 

 

Holiday Craft Lounge: Cynthia W.

Cynthia W. has her delicate knitwork at Anthology and will be present at the Holiday Craft Lounge demonstrating freeform crochet.  Freeform knitting and crochet uses scraps of yarn to create small motifs of different color and shape.  These can be pieced together to form interesting and varied appliqués for sweaters or used to embellish purses or pillows.  Learn to make crochet bullions such as shown on the purse and other freeform shapes.

 

Holiday Craft Lounge: Recreative Crafts

Another installation of crafty projects for the Holiday Craft Lounge:

The very clever Rosy is gathering fabric scraps as we speak.  Her booth will feature some of her great repurposed t-shirt works.  She will be sharing a fabric brooch project, incorporating vintage jewelry. 

 

 

Holiday Craft Lounge: Artterro

With November begins the countdown to our Holiday Craft Lounge.  This event is intended to give shoppers the opportunity to get started on their own holiday crafting.  Local artists and crafters will have items and kits for sale, but will also be demonstrating and teaching various affordable projects.  The event will take place at the Overture Center on Saturday, November 27th from 10 am - 3 pm.  Admission is a can of non-perishable food or $1 for the Second Harvest Foodbank. 

Anthology is pleased that the local and crafty company Artterro will be participating in our Holiday Craft Lounge.  Their activity comes from one of their many great kits: "Make a Decoupage Decoration."

This family-friendly activity involves decorating fun shapes with beautiful tissue paper, then glazing and embellishing with ribbon.  The ornaments are not holiday-specific, but they do make great Christmas ornaments.  You can also use them to construct a mobile, fill a bowl for a centerpiece, or decorate a gift.