Invites

Here are photos of previous Factory 14s opening invitations. Anyone is welcome to make the invite. If you have any ideas or sketches post them.




See you guys Saturday!
-Eileen

Visual Stimuli

Photos from the Opening

Secret Pockets Opening This Week!

hello all,

if you haven't seen them yet, do try and stop by the Mattress Factory to pick up some invites for our opening this Thursday...spread the word far and wide!
i have a small amount of cash to offset your expenses in purchasing food for the opening...do save receipts, and remind me at the opening to give you your reimbursement, if i haven't yet.

a small crew of us worked steadily through the weekend, and are meeting one final time today to put the finishing touches on the installation...it is looking really wonderful already.

most of you have not yet brought in your final handmade books for the installation. please try to arrive at the opening half and hour early (4:30) so we can arrange all the books in the room. this also goes for any refreshments you are bringing, so that we can set them up.

hope you are well and staying cool, it has been so great working with you, and i look forward to thursday.

best,
maryTee

The Mattress Factory has housed the creative minds of 13 teens over the past 12 weeks, all of whom signed up eager to explore the idea of public art. With the instruction of Mary Tremonte, a local artist, the class was given an opportunity by the Central Northside Neighborhood Council to paint on boards that were going to be used to cover windows of abandoned houses down the street from the Museum. Through working on this project the class began to examine the beauty of the natural decay occurring at the houses, as well as the mystery of their former inhabitants. Intrigued with overlooked spaces since creating a Secret Pockets zine at the onset of the class, students have been exploring abandoned houses, factories and such on their own time, and bringing their discoveries to class.
This inspired the installation the class has created at the Mattress Factory. The piece was also inspired by a workshop with book artist etta cetera who owns a miniature library that houses miniature books, and a street art workshop with ladyboy, whose wheatpasted silkscreen prints can be seen all over town.
To celebrate the class’s rollercoaster ride of creative thoughts and ideas they will be having an opening of their installation at the Mattress Factory on June 1st. 5:00pm-8:00pm. Come and enjoy a homey-take-your-shoes-off-environment, where all are invited to sit in a simulated living room environment, hear the sounds of everyday life, and flip through handmade books. Enjoy live music by Kevin Clancy and Chris Fazio, and refreshments, including a toast bar.
Factory 14s participants: Tom Fannie, Jenna Boyles, Kevin Clancy, Sowda Darbane, Amina Muya, Raynesha Hart, Jessica Ippolito, Samantha Barnes, Audra Wist, Hannah Landesberg, Tristan Cimini, Alexa Helbling, Eileen Joseph, Gretchen Gally

Call for Artists: Cut & Paint

a forward from Josh MacPhee, editor/author of Stencil Pirates:

Hey Y'all- Colin and Nicolas and I are hoping to finish up and print the next issue of Cut & Paint sometime in June, and we are sorely lacking in pittsburgh stencils!!! Do any off you have anything lying around you could send our way?? Any new blood over there making cool stuff that you could rope into sending something our way? We need your aid and assistance! xoxo Josh & Nicolas & Colin

So even though the deadline has passed they can still accept submissions for this beautiful zine. check out the full call for submissions here:


We’re almost sold out of the 400 copies we made of Cut&Paint #1 and we barely did any promotion, the zines sold themselves!
We’ve decided this success demands a follow-up, so we’re putting together another issue of Cut&Paint and we need your help. Once again, Josh MacPhee, Nicolas Lampert and Colin Matthes are putting together a zine of stencil templates. This time around we plan on scaling back the size of the zine a little (legal size folded, so 7″ x 8.5″), but to make up for the shrinking size we hope to include a set of die-cut stencil templates with the zine. That’s right, pre-cut stencils ready to use!
Like issue #1, most of the zine will be filled with some of the best and most exciting stencil templates out there (black and white stencil images that can be cut out and used), so we’re looking for your best stencil template ideas. This time around we’re also open to multi-color pieces, so if you are interested send a clean black & white print of each layer, as well as a composite image.
In addition, we would like to expand the rest of the zine, too. This means more in the how-to section, so send along any new tips you’ve got. We want photos of stencils from your area, we’d like to run a couple spreads of regional stencil action, particularly from places we usually don’t hear from. We’ll also be including some writing on stencils as well, so if you have any articles you’ve been working on that deal with stenciling, public space, politics, etc., feel free to submit them.
Here’s what we are looking for:
— All designs should be 7×8 inches— Templates should be clean sprays of stencils on clean white paper. Flat black paint is preferable. We’ll be photocopying these templates, so keep the lines and edges as crisp as possible. In order to get a really clean print, you can spray little bit of spray-tack (like light spraymount) on the back of the stencil so it lays flat on the paper.— No racist, sexist, homophobic designs. Also, we’re really looking for smart and creative takes on what’s going on in the world, not copied portraits of movie stars or Japanese robots. Keep it original.— Stencils don’t have to be hit-you-over-the-head political (i.e. Fuck Bush, although that’s fine too), but they should be interesting to more than just you and your friends! The goal is to have stencil templates that other people will want to use.— Feel free to submit more than one template design— Tell us if you want your template credited to a name, and if so, what name (and contact information if you want, i.e. website, email, address, etc.)
The best designs will be used for the die-cuts, so send in great stuff and we might make 1000 pre-cut copies of you’re stencil! We hope to keep the price at $5 or below, and distribute Cut&Paint #2 much further and wider than #1.
All templates that are chosen for the zine will become copyleft/copyriot (i.e. they can be freely copied and used by anyone, public domain). Everyone who has a stencil chosen for Cut&Paint #2 will get a free copy of the zine.

Send templates, photos, and writing to:
Josh MacPhee
53 Third St.Troy, NY 12180

or email hi-res (preferably 600dpi greyscale or 1200dpi line art) templates, photos (300 dpi) or writing to: josh@justseeds. org

If you have any questions, drop an email to animaltrap@yahoo. com or josh@justseeds.org

notes from meeting...

last week's class was awesome! i am thrilled with how the boards turned out and the ideas we came up with for our final piece. Great innovation with the lacey drapes and plants! Here are the final installation ideas that we came up with, organized as best I can. Feel free to add to the discussion this week, and don't forget to bring items in!

The overall installation will be a kind of living room-reading room---creating our own 'secret pocket' kind of old house space. Here are some of the main elements:

-material saved from the board painting: painted plants, paint can lids, photos, will be made into large books. the plants could be ironed between sheets of waxed paper to make some of the pages. we can use some of the many hardback book covers that have been gutted as covers
--->kevin has also suggested that each person make a book for the installation, so that each can put their own spin on overlooked places, and this space in particular. i like this idea, and would like to suggest that you could work in pairs if you like, too.

-many chairs. perhaps one per book
-end tables. also perhaps one per chair
--->i think we should look at the space again next week and figure out how much we can actually fit in there
--->the mf has a rocking chair, couch and chairs in library that we might be able to use.

-dig up some of the plants growing around the house, including daffodils in back, repot them as 'houseplants'...include some of the lovely weeds of course!

-frame painted pieces of lace, or hang them on wall as wallpaper. frame bits of wallpaper and other flat things we have found near the houses

-make some more refined stencil paintings, on board or paper, to hang on walls. we talked about a cluttered, homey look to hanging framed pices on walls, like your grandmother's wall of portraits

-recreate pet collage in a corner, but with cats instead of dogs. Eileen will being in cat mags.

-video of dandelion puff blowing playing on a tv...kevin might shoot this

-sound: please see also kevin's previous post. we talked about playing old records on my janky old record player. also kevin will record some ambient sounds that remind us of 'home': crickets, children playing, cooking, wind chimes, cars passing, rain.

-FURNITURE/SUPPLIES: here is what folks offered to bring:

eileen: wicker table, old blankets, lamps
tom: lamps, blankets, end tables, small bookshelves
gretchen: blankets, coffee table, area rug
kevin: end table, lamps
tristan: end table

anyone::: picture frames, boards/surfaces to stencil onto, additional images, artifacts from your own secret pockets...

We also have the railing posts, wooden clock, mosaic bowl, and other items we plundered from the backyard of th ehouse on that first day we explored it.
We also also have beautiful photographs that Eileen and Kevin took...they could end up in a book or blown-up inkjet photographic prints on the wall.


What I see the overarching idea of this installation to be is that we are creating our own 'old' lived-in space that tells the stories of what we created in class, through artifacts of our projects, as well as our personal visions and ideas about secret spaces...

Please add your own inputs, continue to read and post on this blog!

Take care,
Mary

Oh, The Possibilities...

The reading nook concept really offers endless possibilities. I have been thinking about the sound aspect, and it could become more than just one record playing in the whole room. There could be a record to provide the basic atmosphere for the room, but I believe that each "station" (chair, lamp, and end table) could have a pair of headphones which have their own sounds.
I think that the different chairs should each offer their own feeling. The lighting and the music should each reflect this theme. This can become very conceptual. For example, there could be a tiny little kid's chair and table with a bright unicorn and rainbow lamp, playful pretty music, and a nonsensical book. There could be a modern chair and table with an abstract art book, bright lamp, and hipster jazz playing in the headphones. There could be a beat up old chair with a dull lamp, oldies music, and a book of aged photos. The possibilities go on and on. What I am saying is that each station can become a microcosm of the whole space. Each space would have a totally different atmosphere for the viewer to become immersed in. This piece has the potential to be extremely interactive for the audience.
Each person in the class could have their own individual station. You could represent yourself, or an idea, through the chair, the lamp, the music, the scent, accessories, and most importantly the book.
I hope I conveyed my vision well enough. If you have no clue what I am talking about, post a comment. I am really excited about this piece, and I hope we can pull it off. Please post your ideas for the installation. Communication is the key to a successful group installation.

-Kevin

it's a brave new world

hello friends,

this is my first foray into this blog-tastic new world.
i hope it will truly be useful in enabling us to discuss ideas for the final pieces outside of class.

as i mentioned towards the end last week, i would like you to make more stencils this week so we are ready to paint at the beginning of class this saturday, to wrap up the boarding up project. what are folks' thoughts on this? are you satisfied with stencilling, or do you have other ideas for ways to approach covering those boards quickly and stylishly?

keep up the chatter,
mary

Stencils for Windows Idea

+ + + + +

I found these images online while doing a Google search for Etta Cetera, (our guest
this coming Saturday April 22) The image one the left is Etta's, the image on the
right is by Shaun S. Nutmeg

Check it out: cutandpaste.org

The idea of creating stencils for the windows is an approach that some of you
may want to consider. You could repeat the pattern or make one large image.
The paint could be applied with a brush or sprayed on. The graphic quality of
an image created in this fashion, has a strong visual impact, dont'cha think?

Etta Cetera

Etta Cetera will be a guest artist on April 22nd and will lead a recycled journal-making/binding workshop from 2-4pm.

She makes miniature wee tiny teensy little books and creates small scale
libraries to house them in.



Serving Sentences
Local activist Etta Cetera gets books through to prisoners. Getting through to the public is another story.
By Chris Potter
Pittsburgh City Paper

Excerpt....
If you've seen any of the local protests against the War on Iraq -- or just about anything else -- you've probably seen Etta and her compatriots. A self-described radical cheerleader, Etta performs chants that critique U.S. policy. How much peace can a peacekeeper keep if a peacekeeper is carrying a piece?� is one of my favorites.

Click here to read More....

Ideas

This is the basic idea for my board. I want to create a time-based sound piece by attaching pieces of metal, glass and plastic with holes drilled in them. When it rains the water will flow through the holes creating interesting tones as it hits the different objects. I still need to find a few more objects and I need to finalize the layout.

This is my take on the history theme. The rain symbolizes the flood at the Mattress Factory, the newspapers and phone book just represent people (past and present).

Materials: Metal, Plastic, Glass?, tea/coffee-stained newspapers and phonebooks, found objects

I encourage you to post your sketches or ideas so that we can all get on the same page while we are away from the class.

-Kevin

microcosmonaut

microcosmanut03
Originally uploaded by Kaunda.

This photo of Kevin was uploaded through a site called FlickR.
You can create a page of your own for free on FlickR, so it's an easy way to upload photographs and scanned images to a blog.

If you make your images "public", other people can upload your images to their blog and it will automatically put a titled link under the photo (which takes you to their portfolio of images). It's a great way for artists and photographers to present their work on the web and connect to a wider audience.

Click Here to visit The House of Pingting (my portfolio of images on FlickR).

Los Angeles Center For Digital Art

When I was a student in college (in the late 1980's) we had one computer for the
entire school of about 500 students. It was in the photography department. I never
had to wait to use it because no one else wanted to. Today it is almost
unthinkable for an artist to not use a computer in some way. Many artists work
exclusivley with digital media and there are lots of galleries which show the
work of "New Media/Digital Artists".

The Los Angeles Center For Digital Art is dedicated to the propagation of all forms of digital art, supporting local, international, emerging and established artists in our gallery. We have an ongoing schedule of exhibits and competitions, and produce editions of wide format archival prints.

I think you will find it an inspiring place to visit online. Enjoy.

Off the Page! From Book Arts to Public Art

Factory 14s Youth Art Course
Off the Page! From Book Arts to Public Art
Session II: Saturdays: March-May 2006
Instructor: Mary Tremonte
For ages 14-18

Let's Begin

It's always best to begin at the beginning.