DIY Exhibit in Sheboygan, WI
July 27, 2008 Sheboygan, WI
Do It Yourself at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center
This summer and autumn, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center offers a
unique exhibition and series of community collaboration workshops
about the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) movement. The DIY craft movement
emphasizes sustainability, individuality, and living simply. DIY
craftspeople strive to stop the homogenization of American culture and
to create work driven not by capitalism but rather by a sharing
community. This project promotes DIY ethics to make craft technologies
and skills accessible to all and to encourage individuals to create
their own material goods.
DIY “Do It Yourself” Series: An Exhibition
The DIY “Do It Yourself” Series exhibition features the work of the
eight do-it-yourself crafters who will be in residence in the summer
and early autumn for a Connecting Communities collaboration. The
exhibition is accompanied by a short preview of Handmade Nation: The
Rise of DIY Art, Craft, and Design, a soon-to-be-released film by
artist and documentary filmmaker Faythe Levine (WI). Providing an
introduction to the emerging indie crafts movement, Levine’s work
records the marriage between historical craft technique, punk culture,
and the DIY ethos. The exhibition runs through September 23.
Other artists of the DIY movement whose works are on display are
Heather Cameron (CA), John Murphy (NC), Jonathon and Valerie Nicklow
(CO), and Betz White (MD). They take old clothes, fabrics, and even
plastic bags, and give them new life as quilts, stuffed creatures,
soft sculptures, and totes. Vinyl records, old garden hoses, drums,
vacuums, and hubcaps are transformed into lamps, coasters, and clocks
under artist Jeff Davis’ (PA) and Rodney Allen Trice’s (NY) direction.
Artist Sarah Kate Burgess (MI) believes the value of jewelry comes
from the process of making it, such as distinctive rings made of
simple paper. You and community participants of all ages have the
opportunity to create DIY works, and selected works will be added to
the exhibition throughout the series.
DIY “Do It Yourself” Series: A Connecting Communities Collaboration
The artists whose works are featured in the DIY exhibition also are
leading a series of weeklong workshops devoted to do-it-yourself (DIY)
crafts. Join them to learn new skills, to create fabulous objects for
your personal use, or even to generate additional income.
Participation in the open studio sessions costs $5. Each open studio
session will take place in The ARTery, located on the left as you
enter the Arts Center. Ages 13 and younger must have an adult
collaborator.
Saturday, August 23, 10:00–4:00 p.m.
Workshop: Everyday Jewelry-Making Open Studio
Among her many artistic talents, artist Sarah Kate Burgess (MI)
creates rings made from an inexpensive and fragile material—paper. She
believes that often the preciousness of an object, especially jewelry,
has little to do with its market value and that the preciousness of
her rings comes from the experience of making them with her own hands.
Use some of her techniques to create your own “precious” jewelry and
in the DIY tradition, even share your design so others can make it.
For more information, go to www.adorneveryday.com.
Saturday, September 6 – 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Workshop: Vinylux Open Studio.
While literally billions of long playing record albums (LPs) still
exist in the world, most will soon become garbage. Artist and designer
Jeff Davis’s company, Vinylux, harvests obsolete piles of records and
gives new life to this neglected, but not forgotten, material. At the
open studio, explore the myriad reuses of vinyl records under the
guidance of the artist. This open studio is part of the Arts Center’s
continuing series of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) workshops. For more
information about Vinylux, go to www.vinylux.net.
Saturday, September 20 – 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Workshop: MYOB (Make Your Own Bag) Open Studio
Betz White, artist and author of Warm Fuzzies: 30 Sweet Felted
Projects, recycles wool sweaters to create felted pillows, baby
blankets, felt-covered journals, bags, and more. She is passionate
about recycling, specifically of plastic bags. In the open studio,
White will teach participants to make reusable bags using an endless
variety of recycled materials including plastic disposable bags,
sweaters, sheets, jeans, juice pouches, Tyvec mailers, vinyl banners,
and anything else participants have on hand. For more information
about Betz White, visit her website at www.betzwhite.com.
Saturday, October 4, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Workshop: Handmade Nation Embroidery/Appliqué Open Studio
Photographer, entrepreneur, artist, and prominent figure in the Do-It-
Yourself (DIY) ethic indie craft movement, Faythe Levine will share
her unique embroidery/appliqué techniques along with her savvy
marketing skills and knowledge of the emerging self-reliant movement
during her residency. A twenty-minute preview of her film Handmade
Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft, and Design, will be featured at
the open studio and a discussion session on how to market your
newfound DIY talents. For more information about Lavine’s film, go to
www.handmadenationmovie.com.
Saturday, October 18, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Workshop: T.O.M.T. (The Other Man’s Treasure) Open Studio
Artist Rodney Allen Trice created T.O.M.T. with the vigilante mission
to recover and reassign the purpose of objects considered too
“difficult” to recycle. This open studio gives you the opportunity to
save your own trashed or forgotten objects or anything else you might
throw away or overlook in your garages, pantries, and other storage
spaces, and give them new life. For more information about TOMT, go to
www.tomtinc.com.
DIY in The ARTery
The ARTery space is your DIY headquarters through September. Adults
and children, you are welcome to drop in any time during regular
ARTery hours to experiment with DIY crafts in the ARTery and to make
your own material goods.
Become a collaborator
If you would like to participate as a collaborator for any of the DIY
residencies and work with artists-in- residence in the days leading up
to the workshops, call Community Arts Department Head Amy Horst at
920.458.6144. Look for information about more workshops on DIY crafts
at www.jmkac.org.
Connecting Communities projects are supported in part by an award from
the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great
nation deserves great art, and by an anonymous foundation.
For more information about the DIY Series exhibition and community
collaborations, please telephone 920-458-6144 or http://www.jmkac.org/DIYDoItYourselfSeries
and http://www.jmkac.org/DIY.
Fri, Aug 29 2008 — Comments (17) | 
