A charity art auction, ‘Art Aid: Embrace‘ will be taking place on Saturday 21st June to raise money to support poor communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America adapt to climate change.

The work of around 50 artists from the East Midlands will be displayed in the View from the Top gallery in Nottingham from Wednesday 18th June until the reception and auction on Saturday 21st June.

The many artworks available are:
Painting and Drawing
Mixed Media
Original Printmaking
Ceramics and Sculpture
Photography
Signed Print

So there’s something for all art lovers out there!

If you’d like an evening of culture, treat yourself to a beautiful piece of art and help raise money for those affected by climate change then pop along to the website www.art-aid.org to find out more.

I know that there are places where you can take your cards to be recycled but if you like crafts or know someone who does then here’s a genius idea. Turn your Christmas cards into gift boxes with the power of origami!

The boxes can then be used to put gifts in next year, especially those small, special items like jewellery. Alternatively you could ask your local craft group if they would like to use them for anything.

If you think that all origami is complicated and difficult then think again. Here is a video that shows you how to make these boxes - it’s very simple I promise.

I’m so impressed that I’m going to make them for our wedding favours. Admittedly I won’t be using Christmas cards, they might look a bit out of place in April!

Give it a try!

Sharon Porteous, a textile design graduate from Derby Uni discovered a way to turn those horrible, ugly bags into funky fashion accessories. It was by chance that she melted a plastic bag with an iron but soon realised that this could be part of a process to weave them into handbags and wall hangings. Clever eh? And better than going in the landfill!

This article got me thinking about eco-art generally and reminded me of another artist called Sandra Walmsley whose work I saw in a gallery in Norwich last year . I  thought that her styles and designs were so beautiful, unusual and intricate that I bought a couple of her prints. Based in my second home, Norfolk, Sandra who has studied both print making and ecology not only creates her own work but runs workshops to teach others how to be artistic in an environmentally friendly way. Why not book in Sandra and Jeff’s (a fellow artist) guest house and learn how to make something as lovely as this? Visit their site Impressions Prints at www.impressionsprints.com

there’s a new online art show in town!

Or even better - there’s an online art show - from recycled materials. Yes - they are talking trash here..

from the website:

This show is about taking things that are destined for the landfill and turning them into art. Yep, we’re talking trash here. This is “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” on steroids and your challenge for this show is to take what would normally never get a second look, what most people would throw away, and create. It can be anything from a coffee filter to a broken chair. An old, spare wheel or an abused and broken toy. Box tops, cans, scraps of fabric, cd cases, jars, coolers, old oven racks… you get the idea. Anything that has found its way into the dustbin or onto the curb is fair game. What you do with your finds - what other things you combine them with, is entirely up to you and limited only by your imagination.

last chance of entry is 4/15/2007

make some art people !