jen woods!!

i had a chance to sit down with jen woods, creator of junkpie jewelry and all things circular. we talked about the process of creating, oil paints vs. acrylics, the future of the arts in charlotte, and the ever unpredictable Juicy Watkins. indeed, a nice way to start the afternoon.

...and in Queens

if you hop on the Number 7 subway train in Manhattan, when you come above ground in Queens, the first thing you'll see is a the five-story, block-long Technicolor industrial complex called 5Pointz. it is a building covered from top to bottom with some of the world's finest street art.

"On any given day, 5Pointz visitors can expect to find prominent artists, musicians, deejays, Emcees (rappers), and B-boys (break dancers) on site, in addition to filmmakers, photographers, and entire tour buses full of admirers soaking in the more than 350 murals."

The building is privately owned and used as a art enclave. 5Pointz gallery curator, Meres, intends to convert the complex into a graffiti museum.

In addition, he plans to open a school for aspiring aerosol artists, complete with a formalized curriculum that imparts lessons in teamwork, art history, and entrepreneurship in addition to technique.

http://5ptz.com/graff/about/

also if you're ever in DUMBO...

walking around in Brooklyn, my attention was grabbed by some really awesome artwork posted in a storefront window. so i walked into the gallery and "OH SNAP! guess what i saw!"

(except from http://www.leaguetreatment.org)
LAND, the League Artists Natural Design, located at 67 Front Street, enables emotionally disturbed, neurologically and developmentally disabled adults to develop and showcase their artistic talents. LAND is the newest project of The League Treatment Center, a non-profit agency that has been working with mentally disabled adults and children for over 50 years. Currently, it hosts arts classes in a variety of other venues.

“Too often the focus is on disability, now we are focusing on abilities,” says Hannah Achtenberg Kinn, executive director of the center.
“Many of our clients have been doing absolutely fantastic work that was not being recognized,” Carol Kasmin, director of Strategic Planning at the center, said. “We needed a venue to display their work, and this is what we came up with.”
“Before this, no one ever appreciated the work our clients did. This gives them a sense of dignity, a sense of self worth that they have never experienced before. Now they are seeing their work being admired, and they are feeling excited for the opportunity to be a part of the community.”
“Everyone responds to color, design, and beauty. How wonderful not only to be surrounded by it, but to have created it.”

Street art in BROOKLYN (DUMBO neighborhood)

"DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a neighborhood in New York borough of Brooklyn. It is located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges." Apparently this is where Mos Def lives, and so this was my first stop in NYC. unfortunately, i could not kidnap the Mighty Mos or Kweli, but while i was in dumbo i saw some awesome artwork.

NYC...

finally... i've been able to edit my pics from my trip. it was good to be back. the trip as a whole was very refreshing. even the "odd" smells. here's some random shots i got while roaming the streets.