Trunk Show Preview: Jessica Polzin's Quilted, Hand-Dyed And Silk-Screened Fiber Art

 

With the 3rd Ward Member Trunk Show happening this Thursday, we'll be giving you sneak peeks of some excellent, member-made work that will be on display. So without further ado, let's take a look at some fantastic fiber art from Jessica Polzin, who just joined 3rd Ward in January.

"Everything I make I prefer to create from the ground up, meaning, I make everything by hand and prefer materials to be in a more 'raw' state before I begin work on them," Polzin says. She'll be presenting a line of amazing hand-dyed, screen-printed and embroidered quilts, like the ones above, as well as hand-wozen and quilted bracelets, screen-printed table runners and a line of knit and woven box-top dipped hem t-shirts and pull-over boxey sweaters. Check out images of some of those after the jump.

Head over the Polzin's website to see more of her work, and remember to give her a warm 3rd Ward welcome when you stop by the trunk show on Thursday.

-- John Ruscher

Trunk Show Preview: Jake Wright's Repurposed Ammunition Lamps

Friendly Fire by Jake Wright. Photo: Peter DomorakLovers of amazing, beautiful and locally-made objects, you are invited to our first 3rd Ward Member Trunk Show on March 15 from 7-10pm.

You'll have a chance to peruse an amazing selection of sculpture, jewelry, furniture, fashion, textiles and purchase works straight from hands the amazing and talented members that created them. 

One member whose work will literally be lighting up the show is Jake Wright, whose Stockpile Designs lamps you may have seen in our Handmade Holiday Craft Fair. Wright will be presenting an array of his illuminating creations, which he forges out of old ammunition from World Ward II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War.

To the right is one of our favorites, Friendly Fire, which "is made from a recoilless rifle shell used as an anti-tank weapon during the Korean War. Turned walnut finishes the bullet, and a 12" long incandescent bulb casts light through the perforated steel case. Approx. 21" tall, 4.25" in diameter, with a 6' cord. Switch on cord; bulb included."

Check out a few more of Wright's lamps after the jump, and click here for more on his work and the story behind it.

The Beacon is made from Vietnam War cluster bomblets. Six spring-loaded stabilizing fins are nickel-plated for a durable, bright shine. These support the highly-polished shell, which holds a standard light socket. Included is a "squirrel cage" 30W bulb (on the left in the first two photos), which gives off beautiful warm light. Base is 5 5/8" tall (9" with bulb), and approximately 7" across; 8' cord with switch. Photo: Liz Clayman

Made from a recovered WWII bomb casing, the Blitz table lamp showcases the classic "teardrop" bomb shape. The surface has an orange-peel texture, with two serial numbers stamped on opposite sides. Each is burnished to a bright shine, and sealed to protect against rust. Cast iron base, 7' cloth-wrapped cord with vintage-style plug, nickel-plated socket. Approximately 10.25" high (14" with shade), 2.25" in diameter, and 3.2 lbs. Shade included - natural linen, 7" high, 7" base diameter. Photo: JR Delia

-- John Ruscher

3rd Ward Member Goes From Big Bird To Big Time: Meet Illustrator and Caricaturist Cathy Nolan

Cathy Nolan and her showcase table at the Craft and Hobby Association Winter show.3rd Ward member Cathy Nolan made her first illustration when she was 18 months old. "Of course it was a bunch of scribbles and circles," she says. "I waddled up to my mother and my first words were 'Big Bird.' A million years later she still has that drawing!"

By eight she knew that she wanted to be a caricaturist. "As a kid growing up in the Chicagoland area my family would often go to Great America amusement park," she remembers. "When I first saw artists drawing people I was mesmerized. I couldn't get pulled away from watching the process of someone sitting there and getting drawn. My siblings had to drag me away from the caricature booth to ride the cool rides."

At 18 she turned pro. "I did my first county fair drawing people and made $1000 in five days," she says, "so I thought 'Hmmm... I could get used to this!'"

Nolan has been drawing ever since. Her caricatures allow her to engage and connect with her subjects in a unique way. "I love talking to people, putting them at ease to talk about themselves and their passions and then drawing them doing what they enjoy doing in life," she says. Hit the jump to read more about Nolan and see some of her work.

Nolan's career has naturally led to some fascinating experiences, such as her caricature of one Vietman veteran:

I was working at a county fair and he came up to my booth and told me his life story. He asked me to draw all of the aspects of himself with his different personalities.  I wasn't sure if he was schitzophrenic or crazy. I drew him in the middle of the page and drew all the different personalitlies around the main image. When I began to draw his evil crazy side, I was a little bit nervous while drawing him because I didn't want that particular personality to appear. He loved the drawing and later that day his wife came up to me to thank me. She said, "He has NEVER told anyone about his time in Vietnam and of his personality disorder! Great art!"

We often think of a caricaturist as someone that we'll only encounter on a stroll through Central Park, but many major clients have commissioned Nolan's work, from American Airlines and Citibank to Highlights for Children and the New York Rangers.

Working for Scholastic Media she also picked up valuable skills in licensing and product development. She teaches student illustration workshops and has presented her work in showcases such as the Brand Licensing Show in London and the Craft and Hobby Association Show in Anaheim, California. At 3rd Ward she's also honed her skills even further through Photoshop and Illustrator classes.

You can see Nolan's work in person at Connecticut Muffin (423 Myrtle Ave) in Clinton Hill. She'll be hosting a reception there on Friday, March 30 from 6:30-8pm.

"All are welcomed to attend!" she says. "If I'm feeling inspired, I might be drawing caricatures of those who attend too!"

Cathy Nolan with author Elizabeth Gilbert.

-- John Ruscher

Brooklyn's Hyperakt: Making Infographics Look Easy

It's no secret we at 3rd Ward are self-proclaimed infographics geeks. Though last week, I was lucky enough to visit Deroy Peraza and Julia Vakser Zeltser at Hyperakt, their lovely studio in Carroll Gardens. They've created some pretty exciting projects, one being Teach, which you might have heard them live pitch to Kurt Anderson on Studio 360. In just one week they developed a comprehensive strategy to rebrand the teaching profession, replacing the traditional "apple crapple" with a sophisticated brand ID that educators can be proud of. 

As students of illustration in college, Peraza and Zeltser's current work comes packaged with a strong visual sense. Nowhere is this clearer than in the information graphics they've created for GOOD Magazine and The New York Times--not to mention Thomson Reuters Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Acumen Fund, Ford Foundation and Google. Hyperakt makes presenting statistics in an engaging way look simple, though the amount of work that goes into each one is painfully evident. Hit the jump now to see what we mean.

And after perusing the infographics down below, check out the rest of their work--and learn infographics 101 with 3rd Ward's classes in InDesign, Illustrator and Processing: an Introduction to Interactive Media. Oh right, we even offer a course in Branding. We know the next Peraza and Zeltser are reading this...

-- Perrin Drumm

Project Runway Seeks The Best New Fashion Designers For Its 10th Season

Fashion designers, are you ready for Tim Gunn to take you under his wing? Think you've got what it takes to really wow Heidi Klum? If so, get ready. Project Runway is currently casting for its 10th season, and you've got until March 15 to throw your name in the hat.

While we're usually wary of reality television, we've weirdly always loved Project Runway, as its not just a random group of people "getting real" or facing off in ridiculous competitions. It's an up-close look at aspiring fashion designers as they receive guidance from one of the industry's best (Gunn, a former chair of fashion design at Parsons), refine and realize their creative visions and vie for a chance to show their work during New York Fashion Week. Oh, and the $100,000 that the winner receives to launch their own fashion line doesn't hurt either.

For your application (which you can download here) you'll need to whip up the following:

Two recent photos of yourself: one full-length shot and one close-up of your face

A "virtual portfolio" of your work with photos of 3-10 of completed designs, images of detail work that you have produced, images of patterns if you work from them and images of your sketches

A 3-5 minute personal video featuring a personal introduction, a summary of your design goals and achievements, why you need Project Runway to achieve your goals and anything else you think they need to know

Hit the jump to check out the casting flyer and a video mashup of what your Project Runway experience might be like. And if you think you need to brush up on some skills, feel free to peruse our wide variety of fashion classes.

All right designers, you've got two weeks. As Gunn would say, "Make it work!"

-- John Ruscher

Watch This Now // Parsons' DESIS Lab Amplifies Social Innovation in North Brooklyn

 

People in our neighborhood are always up to amazing things, so it's not surprising that last year the DESIS Lab at Parsons The New School for Design focused its lens on North Brooklyn to highlight local examples of sustainable living and innovation.

As part of its two-year Amplifying Creative Communities project, which looked at the Lower East Side in 2010, DESIS (short for Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability) explored different organizations and initiatives in Greenpoint and Williamsburg to learn how they work, help them improve through design service, and share information that will allow others to create their own alternatives to standard commercial and government services.

In addition to an exhibition and a series of workshops about local sustainable change, Amplify Brooklyn also produced some inspiring videos featuring examples of local food, sharing, biking and more, including interviews with the people behind the Greenpoint-Williamsburg CSA, the North Brooklyn Compost Project, Not An Alternative, Times Up!, the Pa-La Loma Bicycle Club and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative.

Check out a few of those videos after the jump and head over to the Amplifying Creative Communities website for more insight and inspiration.

-- John Ruscher

Wheels Up // Industrial Designer Ron Arad Reinvents The Wheel

This one's been kicking (or maybe "pedaling" is more fitting) around the Internet for a few months, but since it combines some of the things that we love most—bikes, design and innovation—we've gotta share.

Last year London's W Hotel asked six creative professionals to create one-of-a-kind bikes to benefit a good cause. All of the rides were interesting, from Benedict Radcliffe's "W New York Bike" to Natasha Law's vodka-equipped "Wyld Bar Bike," but industrial designer Ron Arad's contribution was surely the most mind-blowing. Arad created a bike that forgoes tires and tubes for sprung steel wheels. This is really one of those cases where seeing is believing, so check out the video below for proof that you can cruise smoothly down a city street on nothing but metal.

Visitors to the W Hotel on London's Leicester Square were able to give Arad's unique creation a spin for a couple months, and in December it was auctioned off to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. We don't know who the lucky high bidder was, but you'll definitely be able to tell if you see him or her out for a ride!

Behold, an entirely new meaning for the phrase "pedal to the metal":

Two Nuns Bike by Ron Arad from Dezeen on Vimeo.

-- John Ruscher

Call For Entries // 12 x 12 Gives A Dozen Designers A Chance To Create Furniture Out Of Reclaimed NYC Wood

Want to build a desk out of Brazilian Ipe, Cumaru and Greenheart from the old Coney Island Boardwalk? Maybe a bookshelf made from Eastern Spruce and Vintage Yellow Pine salvaged from the recently demolished East Village dive Mars Bar? Or how about using the Oak and Cypress vats from Queen's Stock Distillery Co. to craft a nice coffee table? If so, you'll want to throw your hat (or portfolio, in this case) into the ring for 12 x 12, a contemporary furniture design competition organized by the Sawkill Lumber Co. 

12 x 12 will supply twelve furniture designers with reclaimed wood from twelve historical New York City sites. Since we are always professing our love for wood, design, reclaimed materials and NYC, we're excited to be co-sponsoring the competition along with Brooklyn Woods, which provides woodworking and cabinet making training for low-income New Yorkers, and Build-It-Green!, the only NYC nonprofit retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials.

The winning designers' furniture pieces will be featured in an exhibition during Design Week in the spring and auctioned off to benefit Brooklyn Woods' woodworking education and job training programs.

You have until January 31 to submit your portfolio. If you're one of the twelve lucky designers, part of NYC history could be arriving on your doorstep by mid-February.

--John Ruscher

BIG DEAL // Museum of Art & Design Offers Discount for 3rd Ward Members

From MAD's upcoming "Hanging Around" show, by Giorgio Vigna, 2002. Gift of the artist, 2009.

Inspiration comes in all forms--books, mood boards, a really good sandwich if you're Liz Lemon. You can't force it, but strolling through a museum is a pretty surefire way to pump up your creativity. That goes double if the museum features handcrafts, functional items, electronics, and jewelry not too far off from what you're trying to create. If nothing else, a trip to a museum is an unimpeachable procastinatory device. 

Which is precisely why we're so excited to give 3rd Ward members 10% off a membership to the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in Columbus Circle. In addition to free admission for you and reduced admission for your nonmember friends, you'll get invites to opening receptions and discounts on educational events and performances. And you'll ensure you never miss shows like "Crafting Modernism," with jewelry, furniture, and textiles by the likes of Alexander Calder and Lee Krazner (this one closes in a week, so run), "Swept Away: Dust, Ashes, and Dirt in Contemporary Art and design" (opening February 7), and "Hanging Around," a collection of innovative necklaces. 

For a visual idea of what can be seen at MAD, just pause for a moment and gaze at this gorgeously crafted Wendell Castle piece:

Music Rack Wendell Castle, 1964 Purchased by the American Craft Council, 1964This all brings to mind a fantastic overheard snippet from an early show at the New Museum. We caught a woman saying: "I could make this, but I didn't. I guess that's why it's art." While we don't necessarily agree with that sentiment in all circumstances, it does hold some resonance when you're in a museum that has a special interest in innovative design and construction. You didn't make an Eames chair, but maybe looking at its shape will inspire you to create the next iconic chair--or earring, or bar of soap. And your newfound world fame will be that much sweeter because you'll know it all started with a discount.

--Layla Schlack

SCULPTURE SCIENCE // 3D Print In Flight

Thinking of how best to conceptualize yourself a mindblowingly complex flying apparatus this year? Or maybe just on the prowl for something visually stunning to help get your inner-designer in gear? We believe we've found your answer--and it comes in the form of collaborative artists, Heather & Ivan Morison's floating 3D sculpture deemed Little Shining Man.

Unreal-looking in the literal sense, Little Shining Man is comprised of 1,700 3D printed connectors, cuben fiber aerospace fabric and carbon fiber rods (their words, not just our astute observation.)

According to the Morisons:

The design of the structure is based around the tetra kites of Alexander Graham Bell, multiplied out into colliding cubes that take their form from the cubic formations of the mineral Pyrite. A double wing module has been duplicated and arranged into a tight cellular structural arrangement that appears as a heavy, un-flyable mass. Utilising lightweight materials and the symmetry of the module and composition, it is able to fly freely and steadily.

Now take 3 minutes and watch an ethereal, completely inspiring document on the sculpture's evolution from fruition to flight:

Of course, if you think you can rival that (and we think you can) take a quick look at our design and sculpture classes and get your ideas off the ground.