Take GOOD's 30-day challenge: Art Every Day

Alright, obviously we're about halfway through March, but we love this idea and think you should do it, so we feel implored to point you in its direction:

In January GOOD Magazine helped you start the year off right with daily tips for sound (and actually doable) financial practice. In February they tried to get you to support a worthy cause with another month-long dose of practical tips. Are you seeing a pattern here? In keeping with their year of inspired, sustainable and very attainable advice for personal betterment, they've made a creative declaration with their March "Art Every Day" challenge.

Chances are you're a creative person to begin with, but do you actually do something art-related every single day? We know, sometimes we work all day long and we're tired or grouchy, but that's no excuse, especially since their daily checklist includes some simple activities like "Take a photo" or "Doodle for 10 minutes straight." Other tasks are a little more involved, like "Create a floral or stone arrangement" or "Make an inspiration board," but it's not like any of the these suggestions are painful. If you don't have stones just lying around, begging to be arranged, take a trip to the park or walk on over to the East River and start collecting (though you're gonna want to thoroughly wash the river slime and dead body residue off those before you start).

Sign up for the 30-Day Challenge email to stay motivated, and chime in on GOOD's Twitter page with #30DaysofGood to let them know how you're doing and to see what others are up to.

3rd Ward can help you fulfill task #6, "Sign up for an art class." With over 275 classes to choose from, it's bound to be a very GOOD month. 

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

Your Daily Insight as told by Natalie Clifford Barney

Entrepreneurship is the last refuge of the trouble-making individual.

Coffee Break: Winners of the KRUPS Best Brew Awards Announced

Every year KRUPS makes a nationwide coffee shop sweep in an effort to find America's best new spots that brew a mean cup, and guess what? Not one single Brooklyn coffee shop made the list! We kind of thought we had the coffee thing down, Brooklyn. What happened? Okay, we realize this isn't the definitive list (voting was done by the public through KRUPS' Facebook page), and we're not trying to sound like sore losers (good job, Dallas!), but our borough pride is a little hurt. Last year we swept up with five wins from MUDTruck, Gimme! Coffee, Beans and Berries, Java Den and Sweetleaf. And yes, this year at least the city's 9th Street Espresso made the list, but listen up Brooklyn, next year we want some WINS. In the meantime, hit the jump to check out the rest of the (we're sure, very deserving) 2012 winners.

Atlanta, GA - Condesa Coffee: Condesa Coffee is a café and espresso bar located Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward that specializes roasting-great counter culture coffee.  They are very bike friendly and accessible, offering discounts to people who bike over. (480 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue)

Boston, MA - Thinking Cup: Since opening its doors in December 2010, Thinking Cup has proven their commitment to providing the premier coffee experience in Boston.  Located just steps from the Boston Common, Thinking Cup is the first coffee shop in Downtown Boston to serve "Stumptown Coffee," exclusively named “Best Coffee in the World” by NPR, The New York Times, Food & Wine Magazine, and USA Today. (165 Tremont Street)

Chicago, IL - Metropolis Coffee Co.: The second win for the Windy City shop, the Metropolis Coffee Co. aesthetic is rooted in the belief that great coffee comes from a line of respect, beginning with the farmers and their respect for their land. Founded by a father and son team, the small batch artisan roasters have been serving the area since 2003. (1039 West Granville Avenue)

Dallas, TX - White Rock Coffee: Taking home the title for Dallas two years in a row, White Rock Coffee is a locally owned coffee shop specializing in hand crafted, small batch, micro-roast coffee, freshly roasted on the premises. (10105 E Northwest Hwy)

Washington, D.C. - M.E. Swing Co.: Another repeat winner, the legendary M.E. Swing Co. was opened in 1994 at 1702 G Street, across from the historic Old Executive Office Building. Filled with the original mahogany and mirrored fixtures, vintage burr grinders, wooden coffee bins, and counter-weight scales that graced the Mesco Building on E Street, their Mesco Blend coffee was given a patent in 1918 and is still one of Washington’s best selling coffees. (1702 G Street Northwest)

Los Angeles, CA - Café Dulce: Home to such creations as green tea and bacon donuts, Café Dulce knows the importance of pairing pastries with the best coffee available. The shop brews their drip coffee cup by cup, offering single origin coffees and exclusive blends expertly roasted LAMILL Coffee, purveyors of the world’s finest organic coffees & green beans. (134 Japanese Village Plaza, Bldg E)

Miami , FL - Tinta y Café: Miami Cuban café meets bohemian coffeehouse at Tinta y Café. Outside, an unassuming window dispenses powerful Cuban coffee to daily commuters in need of a morning jolt. Inside, locals enjoy lazy afternoons sipping coffee in the living room like setting filled with mismatched couches and bookshelves. (276 Southwest 8th Street)

New York, NY - 9^th Street Espresso: With a short, yet worthy drink menu, 9^th Street Espresso proves why its no-nonsense approach to coffee has become a staple for New Yorkers. Located in Chelsea Market, in Alphabet City (its most popular blend is named after this neighborhood) and in Tompkins Square, Ninth Street Espresso serves up intense cups of coffee that look like little works of art. (Various locations in New York City, flagship location at 700 East 9th Street)

Philadelphia, PA - Elixr: Located in Center City, Elixr has become a mecca for desperate coffee lovers. Though relatively new, this coffee shop has already developed a reputation for serving real deal coffee in a modern, yet relaxed atmosphere. (207 S. 15th St)

San Francisco, CA - Four Barrel Coffee: Serious about sourcing the best beans for their brews, Four Barrel Coffee goes to great lengths to obtain the most flavorful beans from farms in Colombia, Costa Rica, Sumatra and more. Four Barrel roasts on the premises, and also offers classes for customers who want to learn how to brew better coffee at home. (375 Valencia St.)

-- Perrin Drumm

This Sunday: Joshua Kirsch Fills Art Mana Fest With The Sounds Of 'Sympathetic Resonance'

In 2010 Joshua Kirsch turned the 3rd Ward lobby into an incredible musical instrument with his interactive installation Sympathetic Resonance. We actually asked him to install it again when we curated Wired Magazine's holiday pop up store that winter. So for those that may not have caught his work in our lobby (or those that just want to see it again) Kirsch will be presenting Sympathetic Resonance once more this Sunday as part of the Art Mana Fest in Jersey City.

"I had a blast deciding where all the different marimba key modules would go," Kirsch says of his time with us back in 2010. "The 3rd Ward lobby provided an excellent canvas in which to explore the different possibilities." Since that installation, Kirsch has had the chance to overhaul and refine the piece to improve the functionality and durability of Sympathetic Resonance. "Also, I've added the ability to fine tune the angle of each module to a degree hundreds of times more precise," he says. "This allows me to create installations with perfectly sweeping curves, something which would have been impossible before."

For the Art Mana Fest he will also present Oculus, which features 18 leg-like extensions that can all be manipulated by turning a central hub. "I knew it would work, but I did not know exactly what it would look like until the piece was finished," Kirsch says. "What resulted in the end was something that resembled an 18-legged spider a lot more than I expected, which I really like."

For his exhibition's opening, which takes place this Sunday, March 11 from 1-5pm, Kirsch will perform a three-minute piece that he composed specifically for Sympathetic Resonance, and jazz and classical musicians will also use it in ensemble performances. "Of course, a lot of the afternoon will be left available for guests to try their hand at playing the installation," Kirsch says. "From experience, I can tell you that some 'heart and soul' will definitely make an appearance or two."

Sympathetic Resonance will be on display through April, and musicians can even enter to win a $1000 cash prize by performing their own music on Kirsch's sculpture.

-- 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

Your Daily Insight as told by Howard Aiken

Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats.

Satisfy Your Inner Curator: Select The Walters Art Museum's Next Exhibition

No disrespect to The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, but its collections of watercolors, Renaissance statuettes and ancient Chinese teapots haven't exactly inspired any recent trips to Maryland. It's not that we don't like religious artifacts from medieval Europe, but their exhibitions aren't what you might call "visually progressive." So that said: pleasant surprise to learn about "Public Property,"a participatory exhibition opening this June. What's on view depends completely on what you want to see. Don't care for Japanese military armor but just love yourself some rare books? Try and make it happen. The Walters wants you to see only what you want to.

How to do this is mighty simple: Head on over to their voting site, where you'll be prompted to decide between two objects. Click on the one you like best and you'll be given the choice to decide between two more. The more items you vote for, the more curatorial impact you have.

As far as we know, The Walters is the only museum to throw caution to the wind and let their visitors curate a new exhibition themselves. Not to sound like a commercial, but we find that pretty forward-thnking. So far there's a staggering 41,000 votes on 840 objects. The top ten contenders are little surprising, actually; two of them are old Chinese teapots (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not our thing.) Luckily, we have until March 11th to rock the vote.

-- Perrin Drumm

Essential Event: An Art-Filled Saturday Night In Bushwick With Beat Nite & Brooklyn Armory Night

After you've gotten your daytime art fix out of the way this Saturday (whether at the Guggenheim, Whitney, MoMA or Armory Show), it'll be time to head back to Brooklyn for the seventh installment of Beat Nite, Bushwick's "half art stroll, half bar crawl. For the bi-annual event, which L Magazine named "Best Neighborhood-Wide Gallery Night," 19 local art spaces will be open from Saturday night from 6-10pm. On top of that, additional local spaces will also be staying open late as part of Brooklyn Armory Night. This will definitely make for a great, art-packed Saturday night.

Below we've highlighted a few exhibitions that we recommend checking out. You can also take a look at the entire Brooklyn Armory Night list and download a handy map to help you plot your journey to all of the Beat Nite spaces.

• Dreaming Without Sleeping at The Active Space - Dreaming Without Sleeping allows viewers to glimpse the artist’s view of our waking world: a bent, slightly pessimistic and occasionally hostile place populated by animals and people who are often reluctant to be interrupted by the viewer." Curated by 3rd Ward teacher Robin Grearson! Check out our preview of the exhibition.

• Skewville's 80th Birthday: A Retro Retrospective at Factory Fresh - "The Skewville twins have been making things since birth, from building club houses in the 70's, graffiti in the 80's, then on to commercial ventures in the 90's. In the past 13 years, they have been making innovations on the street and in art galleries with their stylized work and installations."

• Jesse Hulcher: The Remaster Cycle at Interstate Projects - "Through a wide range of digital and analog mediums, Hulcher explores the ways that corporate media influences how we view such disparate cultural experiences as the Vietnam war, Groundhog Day, and the Grateful Dead, among others."

• Tim Spelios: Scissors, Paper, Glue and Books I Can't Cut Up at Studio 10 - "Spelios's original source materials become the means to mine obscure connections and create irrational associations through juxtapositions of images and objects." There will also be a musical performance by Mr. Klopp,  a group that plays "an unpredictable amalgam of Cajun, Blues, Country, Psychedelic and Free Jazz."

• Tamara Gonzales: Untitled an exhibition of new paintings at Norte Maar - "The exhibition will feature the artist’s new series of works that combine her use of spray painting through lace.  Her new paintings spring to the optical extreme through her unique process of spray painting through found lace tablecloths, doilies, and curtains."

• Marking The Ridgewood Line at Cojo Art Space - "The focus of this show is brought to light by the nearly 30 artists who work with line, or with a lens capturing the hidden underdrawings in our everyday world."

-- John Ruscher

Call For Entries: Core77's 2012 Design Awards

Full disclosure: 3rd Ward's Perrin Drumm also writes for Core77, which just means she knows first hand how important their annual Design Awards are. Not only is it a chance for young designers to have their work seen by an impressive jury of local and international experts, but just being nominated means major exposure in an internationally respected design forum. Before I get to the first six jury teams that were just announced, write down this date: March 13, as in next week. That's the deadline for early bird entries, which gets you 20% off the entry fee.

There are 17 categories in all, and so far the Jury Captains for Consumer Products, Visual Communication, Writing & Commentary, Educational Initiatives, Food Design, and DIY have made their team selections. "Each jury team consists of highly regarded industry leaders representing a wide range of design expertise, who will gather in the JuryCaptain's home city to judge the submissions. Their results will be broadcast live in July to reveal their choices "in person" via an online video announcement."

Head over here to check out past winners, the dedicated student fields and essentially everything else you need to know about the awards.

So let's go, design gurus of the future, we know you want this.

-- Perrin Drumm