Call For Volunteers: Help Create Giant Puppets For The PEN World Voices Festival

Processional Art Workshop's "Bibliobats"

This year's PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, which runs from April 30 through May 6, features an amazing array of participants, including Salman Rushdie, Colson Whitehead, Margaret Atwood, Laurie Anderson and the Kronos Quartet. And guess what? You can join them.

The internationally acclaimed Processional Art Workshop, whose work you might have seen in the annual Village Halloween Parade, and the PEN American Center, the nonprofit organization that presents the annual literary festival, are looking for volunteers to help craft huge "bibliomorphic" puppets and other literature-inspired props. These "bibliomorphic" creations will be featured in the Parade of Illuminations, the festival's opening celebration at the High Line on April 30, as well as in ongoing performance throughout the week.

Want in? From April 21 through May 2 artists Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles will be leading workshops where volunteers can help "translate the sensual anatomy of bindings, folios, paper and print into bibliomorphic puppets and performing objects." All you have to do is fill out the volunteer form. No experience is necessary, and kids ages 10+ can help out as well if accompanied by an adult.

Below is the full schedule of workshops, which all take place at the Westbeth Center for the Arts. We can't wait to see the amazing puppets that you help create:

• Saturday, April 21: Noon–6pm
• Sunday, April 22: Noon–6pm
• Wednesday, April 25: 2–8pm
• Thursday, April 26: 2–8pm
• Friday, April 27: 2–8pm
• Saturday, April 28: Noon–6pm
• Sunday, April 29: Noon–6pm
• Tuesday, May 1: 2–8pm
• Wednesday, May 2: 2–8pm

-- John Ruscher

ESSENTIAL EVENT // Brooklyn Night Bazaar Returns With A Massive Three-Day Extravaganza Starting Thursday

All images © JDS.

Back in October we told you about the first Brooklyn Night Bazaar, which took over the Dekalb Market for a lively Sunday evening. Now the bazaar is returning to Brooklyn for an even bigger blowout. This Thursday, Friday and Saturday the bazaar will take over a 40,000 square foot warehouse along the Williamsburg waterfront to present more than 100 local vendors, art installations, three solid nights of live music and plenty of local beer and wine. And all of this goodness (except the ticketed music space) is free and open to the public.

Check out the long list of vendors that you'll find at the bazaar here. If you still need to grab some gifts following our Handmade Holiday Craft Fair this past weekend, here's your chance! Pick up a Playbutton, some regionally adapted seeds, a killer skateboard and much more. And of course there will be tons of delicious local food as well.

The music program will include a DJ set by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy on Thursday, an epic rock lineup featuring Fucked Up, DOM, Big Troubles and more on Friday and a double whammy with The Hold Steady and Titus Andronicus on Saturday. Grab tickets for those shows here.

The most exciting part of this edition of the Brooklyn Night Bazaar, though, is where it'll take place. Renowned Danish architecture firm JDS have designed an incredible masterplan for the huge warehouse, drawing inspiration from Lars Von Trier's Dogville. Additionally, the folks behind Greenpoint's Bring To Light: Nuit Blanche festival will be curating an array of video installations and light projections.

Hit the jump to see renderings of JDS' Brooklyn Night Bazaar masterplan.

-- John Ruscher

HANDMADE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA #81 // Kids In Love Collective: Where Avant-Garde Design And Organic Hand Craft Collide

The Handmade Holiday Craft Fair is getting closer and closer but we can't stand to keep all of the goodness to ourselves. That's why we're previewing some of the amazing gifts that you'll be able to pick up this Saturday.

Founder Cathy Hsiao describes the aim of the Kids In Love Collective as "the marriage of avant-garde and graphic design with organic hand craft techniques...Avant-Craft!" Combining dye and print techniques, she's created an array of unique and vibrant apparel and accessories. "I love aesthetic dualities, nature's forms and textures contrasted with the abstractions of design, things that are unkempt and raw but still very natural and soft for my super sensitive skin," she says.

The philosophical perspective that Hsaio takes with her work is natural, as she was a philosophy teacher before starting the Kids In Love Collective. "I left my PhD program to be an artist and designer, to be able to work with my whole body, eye, hand and mind," she says. Her experiences with learning music and art in a DIY community inspired that decision. "The idea of a collective is important to me," she says. "I want to think 'invert the corporation, join the collective.'"

This will be the Kids In Love Collective's first craft fair, and they're debuting with a bang! Stop by their booth for hand-dyed and hand-painted scarves made with organic cotton, modal tops, printed canvas clutches and a hand-printed and hand-died calendar. They've also collaborated with Tom Tom Magazine on hand-painted drumsticks and will be offering a $10 discount when you buy two Kids In Love items.

Hit the jump for another look at Kids In Love's Avant-Craft goodness.

-- John Ruscher

THIS THURSDAY // Holiday Photo Op: Say Cheese And Get Your Own Holiday Photo At Etsy Labs

Photo by sinstuff

With their seemingly infinite range of unique items, our friends at Etsy are an essential stop on your holiday gift hunt. But for those of us in the NYC area, they're offering up another way to spread the holiday cheer. This Thursday, December 8 from 6-9pm Etsy Labs in DUMBO will be hosting Making Smiles Bright: A Holiday Photo Card Event.

Bring along your family, friends, apartment mates, coworkers and whomever else you can think of and pose for a classic holiday portrait. You'll get to choose from three hand-curated backdrops featuring merchandise from Etsy sellers, and Magnolia Photo Booth Co. will be their to print and send your pictures. If you want to turn your photo into a proper holiday greeting card, printshop Moo will also be offering a 15% discount on their services. Etsy will be leading workshops to help you make your own envelopes, so bring along your favorite paper, old or new.

In addition to walking away with a timeless snapshot, you'll also have the chance to win some of the items featured in Etsy's backdrops as they'll be raffled off throughout the evening. So pull on that ugly holiday sweater, gather up your friends and grab your ticket for Thursday's event. We'll most definitely be seeing you there.

-- John Ruscher

GO HERE NOW // Unconsumption, Your Daily Dose Of Creative Reuse And Mindful Consumption

A few years ago author and journalist Rob Walker coined the term "unconsumption," first writing about it in his Times Magazine column:

Getting new stuff can feel really good. Most everybody knows that. Most everybody also knows — particularly in the aftermath of the consumption-frenzy holiday season — that utility can fade, pleasure can be fleeting and the whole thought-that-counts thing is especially ephemeral. Apart from the usual solution to this problem (more new stuff!), it's worth pondering whether getting rid of stuff can ever feel as good as getting it.

Half a decade later, that idea has blossomed into much more. The Unconsumption Tumblr blog is daily proof that, when you can find a new purpose or home for something, "getting rid" of it can indeed feel wonderful. And so can exploring the countless ways that people around the world reuse and repurpose things.

Walker and a handful of other contributors populate the Unconsumption Tumblr with inspiring examples of creative repurposing, recycling, upcycling, mindful consumption and more. They can be pretty much anything, from a world map made from recycled computer parts to Brooklyn's own Dekalb Market to a plan to recycle decommissioned satellites to resources like Hipcycle.com and ManualsOnline.com. A couple of our favs are the iMacquarium, an iMac repurposed as an aquarium and a chair made out of 10,000 plastic drinking straws.

In addition to its Tumblr, Unconsumption has a wiki, which provides helpful info and tips on the best way to get rid of things you don't want. Walker and company also recently started The Uncollection, which features recycled creations that incorporate Unconsumption's logo, from patches and earrings to dinner plates and stationery.

-- John Ruscher

HAPPENING NOW // Etsy Social Media Week

Photo by Brian Tamborello

If you're here reading this post, we're assuming you know how to make something--maybe even something someone would want to buy. But if you've ever tried, you realize that selling your indubitably gorgeous product (we're not being facetious--we've seen what you guys can do) isn't as simple as just posting a pretty picture of it. Maybe your business plan looks something like this:

1. Open Etsy store

2. ????

3. Profit!

Well our friends over at Etsy are swooping in to help you with that second step. It's Social Media Week there, and they'll be hosting both live workshops and Online Labs to help you utilize Facebook and Twitter to your shop's advantage. 

The main event is tonight--Almost Internet Famous will be divided into two sessions: During the first half, comedian Eugene Mirman (Flight of the Conchords, Delocated, Bob's Burgers) will talk about how he's used Kickstarter to fund projects and utilized Twitter to build the audience for them. The second half of the night will be a panel discussion with Twitter brand guru Elizabeth Weil, Etsy Social Media Coordinator Laura Chin, Amy Turner Sharp of Little Alouette wood toys, and Jen Rubio of Warby Parker Eyewear.

Etsy requests that you RSVP for any and all events that you're interested in--and of course tweet about it and post it to your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+. Then sing about it and listen to the song on Spotify. And then, at long last, profit.

--Layla Schlack

BEST OF // Our Top 5 Etsy How-Tuesdays

It's no secret that our friends at Etsy know good crafts and DIY projects when they see them. And now they're spreading the love. Every Tuesday, the Etsy blog posts How-Tuesday projects, so you can learn a new skill without ever leaving your computer, as it should be. We've formed something of an addiction to the feature and we thought we'd share 5 How-Tuesdays we think are tops (presented in no particular order of course).

Via Etsy1. Sew a Skirt in One Hour: For those of us who are not quite whizzes on the sewing machine, the title of Brett Bara's book is, in itself, awe-inspiring. The How to Sew In a Straight Line author stopped by Etsy studios to show us how to sew in enought straight lines to create a wearable garment--in five easy steps.

Yarrow, pre-tea2. Urban Herbalist: Ok, it's no secret that 3rd Ward likes urban farming. But what we like even more than farming is learning what to do with those plants that grow wild all over (sometimes called weeds). Irina from Phoenix Botanicals gave us the scoop on plantain bandages, yarrow tea, mugwort pillows, and more. It's a great intro to her Foraging Herbal Medicine class at 3rd Ward.

Hit the jump now for three more amazing ideas.

3. Build Your Own Seltzer Maker: You know who doesn't like seltzer? Nobody, that's who. But no one likes piles of plastic bottles or the accompanying environmental effects. So your options are to buy a fancy seltzer-maker, or McGyver your own with a trip to the hardware store and a handy tutorial by painter Randy Stoltzfus.

4. Spread the Word for an Event: This feels like one of those things that you're just supposed to know. You think that if you tell friends, they'll tell friends, and bam, packed house. But there's method and skill to tailoring your invite to your event and getting people in the door who aren't already in your circle (if you're into that sort of thing). Danya Cheskis-Gold of Skillshare shows us the way.

5. Mustard: It turns out making your own mustard is easy enough that it might be worth doing even if you don't like the stuff (at the very least, just for bragging rights.) We also love projects like this where we can make a big batch and give everyone we know a homemade gift. And once you've learned how to pack your event, you could even have a mustard party (trust us, they happen.) Michelle Fuerst, formerly of Chez Panisse, gives us the recipe and walks us through it with a video.

Honestly, we could've made this list 300 ideas long, but then we may have broken the internet. So do yourself a favor and get How-Tuesdays bookmarked for your weekly project inspiration.

--Layla Schlack

INNOVATION IN CRAFT // Michael Fleming's Driftwood Creations

 Photo Credit: Trent Bell for The New York Times

You may recognize Michael Fleming's name from a much-circulated article that appeared in the Times' towards the end of August.  The piece focused mainly on how Michael and his wife Jennifer (who share a combined annual income of $17,000) decorated their gorgeous 1800's house in Phippsburg, Maine for under $4000. Spefically: By turning to the town dump for virtually everything; their ironing board, flour sifter and coffee grinder, mirrors, tables, chairs, tablecloths, lamps and books.

Photo Credit: Trent Bell for The New York Times

An inspiring and impressive feat, we agree. But we found ourselves almost equally struck by Michael's compelling carpentry and sculpture, constructed almost exclusively from driftwood.  

Of his chosen medium, Michael tells us, "Working with driftwood is an unhurried process.  I can look through thousands of pieces and select only a few. Some of the material will sit in my yard for a year or more until it has achieved the desired color I'm looking for.  It's very different than driving to your local lumber supply and picking out what you need.  I simply search along the coast of Maine to find what I need.  Once the wood has the right color, I dry it in my solar kiln and from there I can work the material."

Michael shied away from more conventional carpentry jobs to start his own business, Designs Adrift, because he was "unsatisfied with traditional furniture."

"I needed to make more unique and beautiful objects rather than machines and common mass produced designs," he says.  "I feel very connected to nature working with driftwood and giving the wood a new life and purpose.  I [love] to create unique, beautiful objects with low technology and impact."

Right up our alley.  

Hit the jump to see a few more of Fleming's gorgeous creations. And for those who feel inspired, you might say 3rd Ward's got a few woodworking classes of our own.

Club Chair -- Courtesy: Designs AdriftSpring Tide -- Courtesy: Designs AdriftArey; Custom Driftwood Mirror -- Courtesy: Designs AdriftLinekin -- Courtesy: Designs AdriftRogue -- Courtesy: Designs Adrift-- Margaux Weisman

MEMBER FOLLOW-UP // David Yepez Featured In American Craft Magazine

You may have met woodworker and 3rd Ward member David Yepez in our PLAY NOW video back in June.  Yepez quit his job to join 3rd Ward and pursue his passion.  His Mingei Table -- made entirely from local wood -- was featured in the Aug/Sept 2011 issue of American Craft Magazine.  As were his words:

"As a furniture maker, I find the most important current events are the local movements in the New York City area.  My colleagues and I have made a conscious effort to only use locally available hardwood, lowering our carbon footprint by eliminating countless gallons of gas used by getting wood to our door."

You can read the entire article here and be sure to visit the website for his new furniture collective Re-Co Bklyn.  By partnering with local arborists, the three craftsmen involved can find out when a tree must be removed.  Rather than letting it be chipped and thrown in a landfill, they mill it for their unique and eclectic pieces.

-- Margaux Weisman

ENAMELING UP CLOSE // Learn How to Make Champlevé Jewelry In 3rd Ward's Enameling 2 Class

We're back with the second in our series of posts highlighting the techniques that you'll learn in 3rd Ward's Enameling 2 class. We started out with cloisonné and now we'll take a look at champlevé!

Champlevé involves carving out or casting a piece of metal so that there are recesses in its surface. These recesses are then filled with enamel and then fired in a kiln. The technique was first popularized in La Tène, a style of early Celtic art during the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC.

Below you can take a look at the creation of a champlevé piece by jewelry maker Kira Scott, a friend of 3rd Ward teacher Max Goodman. Check out more of Scott's work on her blog and AnimaMetals Etsy page.

Want to create your own champlevé jewelry? Learn how in Enameling 2!

-- John Ruscher