Musik meiner Freunde: California Stars

or The Window Concert Series: Expat Edition

Friday, September 27th, 8:00 pm

 

After a year abroad, Maggie Hasspacher guest-curates a show at the Window of über-talented composer and performer friends of Los Angeles. This little electro-acoustic gathering mixes new music, jazz and House Band and features Amy Bormet, Sarah Gibson and other cool California Freunden.

Craft & Ingenuity at Space 15 Twenty Tonight

Please join Craft in America in celebrating the Hand-Eye Supply Pop-up Institute for Craft & Ingenuity at their opening party tonight, Friday, August 16th. The party will run from 6:00-9:00 pm and will feature live letterpress demos by Tabletop Made, plus tunes provided by DJ Neil Schield of Origami Vinyl and free beers from PBR. It's going to be an awesome gathering of LA's craft community-- we'll hope to see you there! More info about tonight's event can be found here, but also be sure to check out the full list of fun stuff going on at Space 15 Twenty throughout the rest of the month.

Two Cool Craft Events This Weekend!

First check out Craft in America's Director Emily Zaiden speaking on a panel called Is Food Art? at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium. The panel will run from 10:30 am-12:30 pm tomorrow, Saturday, August 10, and will feature an awesome lineup of speakers-- you can find more information about them and the event here!

Then, on Sunday, stop by the Study Center at 7:00 pm for The Window Concert Series: Pack Up Your Sorrows. More info on who's playing can be found here, and there are a ton of YouTube videos of past concerts to get you warmed up for Sunday's tunes. 

The Window Concert Series Returns!

Join us next Sunday, August 11th at 7pm at the Craft in America Center for an evening of original songs and eclectic covers. The UK's Dean Frances-Hawkesly (Grist/The Temple Cloud Country Club) has been writing dark country folk songs for over 30 years, and he will be performing with Terry de Castro (The Wedding Present/Craft in America House Band) for another installment of the Pack Up Your Sorrows Window Concert Series.  Terry and Dean will also be joined by Melinda Rice (Wild Up/Homesick Elephant/Craft in America House Band) on vocals and violin.

Everyone is invited and no RSVP is necessary-- just show up, sit down and listen in! You can get a sense of what concerts are like by checking out footage from past shows on YouTube.

Restricted metered parking is available in surrounding neighborhoods, and West Third Street valet parking is available at Orlando Street, in front of Magnolia Bakery. 

For more information, please feel free to get in touch with us by emailing info@craftinamerica.org or calling (323) 951-0610. 

It's a Wrap! Artisanal Chocolate & Monotype Printmaking Workshop 6/15/13

 As part of our recent exhibit, Good Enough to Eat; Food as Medium for Craft,

The Craft in America Center held a print-your-own chocolate bar wrapper workshop!

 

Attendees got wrapped up in making monotype print candy bar wrapper to go around a chocolate bar made by Jonathan Grahm of Los Angeles artisanal chocolatier Compartés. Participants learned the fundamentals of the monotype printing process with Christina Carroll and Jonathan Grahm got their creative juices flowing with samples of his artistry.

 

Hungry for chocolate and art-making, participants settle and take in
the works of art made from food.


Compartés Chocolatier Jonathan Grahm gives an introduction about his handmade chocolates AND a generous sampling of flavors to each attendee for artistic inspiration.



At each place, a printing plate, materials for mark-making and textures, paint and a palette ... AND several samples of delectable Compartés chocolates.

 

Making a start on the plate ...

... and here's the result! Mmmmm



Decisions, decisions ...

Center director, Emily Zaiden, makes finishing touches at the press.

 

Amy Shuster of Backyard Bite blog came to play!  www.backyardbite.com



Mmm ... to wrap around a bar of cool, dark chocolate?

 

 

Jonathan Grahm applies some extra pressure on his first print/wrapper ...

Which variety of his own chocolate bar will Jonathan Grahm wrap this print around?

 

 

To wrap around a caliente spicy chocolate bar?

 

For colorful, fruity, gingery chocolate?

I wonder how many artists are inspired subconsciously by other people's socks?

June Events

We're making the most of the final days of the "Food as Medium for Craft" exhibition.  Please join us!

TOMORROW, Saturday June 15, 2013, 12pm or 3pm

The Craft in America Center will hold a print-your-own chocolate bar wrapper workshop and chocolate tasting with Los Angeles artisanal chocolatier Compartés.

Printmaker Christina Carroll will teach students the fundamentals of the monotype printing process. Jonathan Grahm, chocolatier extraordinaire, will discuss the artistry of chocolate-making and lead a tasting that is sure to get your artistic juices flowing.

$45 fee, includes materials, tasting, and one chocolate bar.
Sessions will be held on Saturday, June 15 at 12pm and 3pm.

To RSVP: http://www.craftinamerica.org/press/story_2244.php 

Thursday June 20, 2013, 7pm
"The New Luxury: Perspectives on Craft in an Evolving Marketplace"

Regina Connell, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Handful of Salt magazine discusses the significance of luxury in this day and age and how it relates to craft. From food to home to clothing, she will explore the dimensions of what it means to be luxurious, and how luxury enters into the concept, creation, and sales of today's craft and artisanal products.

Handful of Salt (digital and print editions) covers the modern artisanal movement at the intersection of craft and design. By exploring the craft of modern design, Handful of Salt brings new energy to the world of craft and humanity back to design. Handful of Salt connects its audiences with the best in high quality contemporary artisanship and the trends and ideas shaping craft and design today.

To RSVP (free): rsvp@craftinamerica.org


Saturday June 22, 2013, 5 - 8pm
Celebrating Innovation with The Furniture Society

5pm - Reception
6pm - Lecture by Jo Lauria, "Furniture Trend-setting: The Evolution and Continuation of Innovation in California Design"
7pm - Craft in America screening

The center proudly welcomes members of the Furniture Society who convene in Los Angeles for their symposium.

Independent curator Jo Lauria will explore how the California Design exhibition series at the Pasadena Art Museum during the years 1954 - 1976 was the incubator of modernism and experimentation in California design, especially in furniture design. Fast-forward to the 21st Century, where artists are breaking new ground in design and fabrication. A screening of Craft in America's furniture footage will follow.

Jo Lauria is an Independent Curator/Writer specializing in decorative arts, design and crafts. In 2011-2012 she curated Golden State of Craft: California 1950-1985 in partnership with Craft in America. Lauria is currently part of the Mentor Faculty at Otis College of Art and Design. Her publications include Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000; California Design: The Legacy of West Coast Craft and Style; and Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects.

To RSVP for the reception & lecture ($10): furnsoc.org/shop/craft-in-america

To RSVP for the screening (free): craftinamericareception.eventbrite.com

Chocolate Tasting and Wrapper-making Workshop

The Craft in America Center will hold a print-your-own chocolate bar wrapper workshop and chocolate tasting with Los Angeles artisanal chocolatier Compartés on Saturday June 15th. 

Surprise your dad with the ultimate gift, a Compartés chocolate bar wrapped in your own hand-printed creation. The wrapper will be a keeper, but he won’t be able to keep his hands off the chocolate for long. Printmaker Christina Carroll will teach students the fundamentals of the monotype printing process. Jonathan Grahm, chocolatier extraordinaire, will discuss the artistry of chocolate-making and lead a tasting that is sure to get your artistic juices flowing.



$45 fee, includes materials, tasting, and one chocolate bar.
Sessions will be held on Saturday, June 15 at 12pm and 3pm.
Restricted metered parking available in surrounding neighborhood and West Third Street valet parking available at Orlando Street, in front of Magnolia Bakery.
For more information: info@craftinamerica.org or (323) 951-0610.
To make your reservation, please click here. 

Compartés has been a Los Angeles chocolate tradition for over 60 years. Founded in 1950 on the principle of bringing European chocolate techniques, recipes and artistry to the United States, today Compartés gourmet chocolates continue to appeal to gourmet food lovers worldwide. Helmed by chocolate prodigy Jonathan Grahm, Comparte Chocolatier’s premium organic gourmet chocolates are made in house from scratch daily using all natural ingredients. Compartés Chocolatier uses only the world's best ingredients, primarily using single-origin chocolate from South American countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru and combines this with the freshest locally sourced ingredients including fruits and spices from local Los Angeles farmers markets or organic nuts that are roasted in their own kitchen. 

Christina Carroll began experimenting with the monotype process and it triggered a delightful synthesis of the artist’s intrinsic qualities and temperament. Sometimes ideas and emotions expressed while inking the plate indulge a free, unordered, untamed and impulsive energy. In the finished print, with its pristine edges and clean borders so crisp and polite, another satisfaction is found in its neat balance. The monotype’s printed image is a foundation in her work as she explores three-dimensional forms, artist books and cut paper collage.