SCARETIVITY still happens despite RAIN

weather.com reports rain is supposed to cease by 1pm. however, if you come to the Caterpillar and we are not there because of rain or excessive mud, we will be one block south at 2005 Frankford Ave at GERM BOOKS. GERM is in between the ROcket Cat CAfe and Circle of Hope at Frankford and Norris (CRAFTIVTY’s normal meeting spot). SEE YOU THERE!!

IMPORTANT: SCARETIVITY Inspiration

like any CRAFTIVITY, it is important to show up with some shred, however small or large, of inspiration. many SCARETIVITY ideas are bring thrown around, like celebrity scarecrows or scarecrows of historical people  or even wickermen, but sometimes just looking at images of other scarecrows helps.  you can come with an idea, or just see where the day takes you.

for example…

…scarecrow wedding. is this a “capture your favorite memory”-inspired SCARETIVITY? could be. if so, i would make mine of Bruce Dickinson punching the air singing “Children of the Damned” circa 2002 at PNC Bank Arts Center.

… a little more traditional. i dig the excessive amount of hay protruding from the Lone Scareman’s sleeves. it makes for an anthropormorphic silhouette. posssibly a good technique to scare away the nieghborhood riff raff.

wait, there’s more. posed scarecrows…

there is a GREAT old-fashioned wooden fence at the Caterpilar lot just waiting to be scared-upon. i couldn’t have asked for a better prop.

speaking of props…

animal scarecrows!!what an awesome idea…

and these scarecrows, made by someone in Japan, win the creepy award. i guess they used doll faces, which always send a good shiver up the spine.

there are tons of more images on the net for inspiration. here’s some pop culture too…

yesss!! see you there!

SCARETIVITY

CRAFTIVITY will be having its first outdoor, offsite (kind of) session. On October 10th, 2009 (that’s a Saturday) we will be making SCARECROWS at the Caterpillar on Frankford just north of Susquehanna St. There will be snacks and wicked live tunes from Amesa Spentas and EXTREME FISHKIN!!! for an extra ounce of scary inspiration.

We are collecting old clothing and lumber (for frames) donations this week. We will also be taking supply donations at the event as well. Please email philadelphiasew@gmail.com is you have anything for us. We greatly appreciate it!!

This is also a family friendly event, so bring the  fam! All misfits, familial and non-familial, welcome (as usual).

And, the best part…SCARETIVITY is FREE! Some light snacks will be provided, we may be suggesting small donations for that, but no worries, we really want your creativity and craftiness. It’s going to be  so muchfun!!!

September = Paper Projects

Thanks to everyone who attended this summer’s CRAFTIVITY events. We made some awesome dioramas, mobiles, and a few little pop up books. Unfortunately, we were without a camera, so we are asking that you email us photos of your projects so we can post them. You can send them as attachments to philadelphiasew@gmail.com.

Next month, we are having CRAFTIVITY on the second Monday because no one will attend CRAFTIVITY on Labor Day weekend. Seriously. So on the 14th, we will be making paper crafts, like postcards, origami, simple book projects and we will also be writing love letters to Jarmel (in case you don’t know, she is the better half of CRAFTIVITY, temporarily in CA until the winter). We’ll be meeting the regular time, 6:30 pm, at Germ (2005 Frankford Ave). Bringing supplies always helps. Extra paper of any kind, extra scissors or exacto blades, glue, whatever. We have supplies, but the more the merrier. Also…bring ideas!! That helps too.

And we will be discussing October’s exciting CRAFTIVITY event, which will be at the Caterpiller on Frankford and Susquehanna…it will be SCARETIVITY. and totally rad.

CRAFTIVITY TOMORROW!!!

Don’t forget!

Monday June 1st
Germ Books (2005 Frankford Ave)
6:30 pm

DIORAMAS!!!

Please bring any supplies that you would like to use for your diorama. The CRAFTIVITY staff will be bringing what they can, but this is a materials-heavy project so anything you can bring would be really helpful.

You can contact us at philadelphiasew@gmail.com.

SEE YOU TOMORROW!!!

SUMMER SCHEDULE ‘09!!

MONDAY MAY 4TH- CRAFTIVITY CANCELLED.

Sorry dudes.

Use this month to find a shoebox, collect awesome stuff, come up with awesome ideas.

Come back Monday June 1st and make your totally rad SHOEBOX DIORAMA.

See you then!

we are hex

wow. Monday was incredible. there were many murmers of “this is the best CRAFTIVITY ever!!!” although i think that is said at every CRAFTIVTY; the sessions just keep getting better and better. and honestly, it couldn’t really be the best ever, because of Jarmel’s absence (it’s ok though, we got her back for a little while now, in your face California.) but anyway, CRAFTIVITY did knock my socks off.

as advertised, Hunter Yoder demonstrated and lectured breifly on hex signs. he showed us how to use a compass and simple geometry to create enchanting symmetrical patterns. i instantly felt magickal after completing my hex drawing and felt invincible with my newly acquired cosmic power. he first showed us the rosette pattern which is made through circular drawing.

(the hex artist is seen using a protractor here because of a slight misunderstanding over the difference between a protractor and a compass. David, you can stop kicking yourself for buying those protractors; as you can see, they worked out just fine. part of being a CRAFTIVATOR is one’s ability to accomodate and use whatever is in front of them).

Then Hunter moved on to the star pattern for those interested, which i thought was quite beautiful.

Then….the part we were all waiting for…PAINTING.

Hunter made a few comments about the significance of color in hex signs, noting that red is common in rosettes, while yellow and black are typical of the star pattern. however, he encouraged us to come up with our own color schemes. the colors’ symbolism is often granted by the artist, he said, and urged us to select our colors while also considering our hex sign’s intent.

and having mentioned intent, i should stress that a hex sign does not come with its own power or function simply through its design. nor is it infused with a curse or spell because of what we call it, a hex sign. no, Hunter emphasized, a hex sign will function based on the intent that the artist gives it. and this notion of intent is what makes each hex sign unique.

so let’s check out the mad INTENT going on at CRAFTIVITY that night

and there’s tons more photos.

i’d like to take this opportunity to thank jeremy and michael for helping immensly with supplies and organization, hunter for his demonstration and volunteering his time, david for everything else, and all those who patron the rocket cat to keep caffeinated so they can craft on into the night. jarmel i wish you could have been there.

…

diaroma-TIVITY???

circle yes or no.

MARCH HEX MADNESS!!

That’s right! This coming Monday, March 2nd, all CRAFTIVITY attendees will learn the wonderful workings of hex-signtivity. Like, how to make one.

The best part? You won’t have to suffer through another awkward demonstration held by the CRAFTIVITY organizers, because we’ll have hex artist Hunter Yoder guiding us. We are really excited!

What the heck is a hex sign, anyway? (that’s you asking, cause of course I totally know already).

Some of them look like this

but you know, yours can look like anything you want it to. I think mine is going to have a pitbull, a dust bag and an Arctic Splash.

Also, if you want to check out Hunter’s work, he’s part of an incredible group hex show that’s up at the Germ Gallery right now!

Yeah! Bring your friends!

Monday at 6:30 pm, 2005 Frankford Ave (Frankford & Norris Sts, the second coolest corner in Fishtown).

Stay tuned, because we may need to request that you bring some supplies to this one. But, if so, we will bombard your internet real estate with bulletins listing what is needed.

Don’t forget, we’re on myspace too.