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www.the-IDEA-store.org
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'The Bottle Cap Lady' is coming to town!
Artist-in-residence added to the 'Hatch' roster
Momentum has been building as Hatch - The I.D.E.A. Store's first-ever creative-reuse art festival - continues to add new features to the festival line-up.
The latest development is the addition of Baltimore, Ohio-based artist and designer Michelle Stitzlein as festival artist-in-residence. Hatch, which takes place in various locations in and near downtown Champaign March 1-3 (including
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Michelle Stitzlein will visit Champaign-Urbana as the Hatch artist-in-residence March 1-2. One of her amazing reused-materials moth sculptures appears at the top of this newsletter.
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at The I.D.E.A. Store) also features a juried art exhibition, which continues on view through March 17, and an art fair, Saturday, March 2.
Stitzlein, who is known for her mammoth moth sculptures created using all manner of discarded materials - from piano keys and slide carousels to license plates and bicycle parts - began reusing trash to make art in 2003 when she discovered a trove of rusted junk and weathered plastic items in the ravine of a local park, which had once been a dump site.
The eco-artist also has a dual identity as "the Bottle Cap Lady." In that role, Stitzlein takes her passion for repurposing on the road, presenting residencies all over the country at schools and libraries. During her hands-on residencies, she shows schoolchildren how to transform the humble bottle cap into an art-making material that can be used to create murals, garden ornaments and even jumbo refrigerator magnets.
Caps on Tap ... and then some
Stitzlein will have a packed schedule when she comes to town March 1-2 as the Hatch artist-in-residence. On Friday, March 1, she will lead a school mural-building project and present a public slide lecture; lead a workshop for teachers and other adults on Saturday, March 2. In addition, two of her smaller moth sculptures will be featured in the Hatch art exhibition March 1-17.
Transforming trash to art
Stitzlein, who graduated from the Columbus College of Art & Design, has exhibited her work nationally in museums and galleries, including Carnegie Mellon University's Miller Gallery. Several of her behemoth sculptures are on view through October 2013 at the Center of Science and Industry, Columbus, Ohio; other smaller ones are featured through early March in a group exhibition at the Mansfield (Ohio) Art Center.
Stitzlein's moth series evolved after she realized that the rust and peeling paints on her dump-site finds "might lend themselves to patterns and textures of subject matter derived from nature." At this same time, she'd begun noticing "more varieties of exotic moths in my own back yard than I ever knew existed... and a series developed."
"I enjoy the idea that the materials are being recreated anew and that the imagery of a moth, as insect, is also a recreation of the caterpillar."
Nurturing a new generation of reusers
Stitzlein also relishes her role as an environmentally conscious art educator. When she takes her show on the road, the message she hopes children will ultimately take home with them is simple:
"Wastefulness is wasteful ... for the earth, our wallet and our very souls."
Stitzlein originally began using bottle caps in her work with children when she realized she'd amassed a sizeable stockpile of them, thanks to friends and family who were always sending recyclable materials her way.
"Inspired by artwork and techniques utilizing metal bottle caps from American tramp art - as well as folk art from developing countries such as Mexico, South Africa and Guatemala - I developed several whimsical project ideas for my garden and home, as well as projects using simple techniques for the children's classes."
What lurks within . . . your fridge
According to Stitzlein, "at any given moment the average household fridge has between 20 and 40 products with plastic caps that are destined for the trash can in as little as a week."
Multiply that by the more than 115,000,000 households
in the United States and, well, that's a lot of waste. But what's an environmentally conscious person to do with all those bottle caps? Few recycling companies accept the caps, either because handling items that small is too tedious, or because they are made from chemical compounds that vary from cap to cap, making i t difficult to know just what is in them.
"Kids love working with caps," she said. "They are colorful and plentiful and they are fun to sort. But after the project is said and done, I think all involved walk away not only having had a great collaborative experience between the community, teachers, parents and peers, but with a beautiful final product that proves that materials found in the waste stream CAN be successfully utilized and reused."
While Stitzlein may not have all the answers for solving the big-picture problem of what to do about all that potential waste, she enjoys sharing her inventive techniques for reducing the volume of what goes into the wastestream, one bottle cap at a time.
See sidebar below for detailed information on what Stitzlein will be doing during her Hatch residency and how you can participate. We'll be announcing the complete Hatch schedule soon! So, keep your eyes peeled on the newsletter, as well as The I.D.E.A. Store website, our Facebook page (and event page), and on the Facebook community Hatch page.
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The Details: What, When, Where
Stitzlein's residency activities at a glance . . .
Public activities and events planned in conjunction with Michelle Stitzlein's Hatch residency are listed below. Please note: Some events have admission charges or fees, which benefit The I.D.E.A. Store/Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation.
* As festival artist-in-residence, two of Stitzlein's moth sculptures will be featured in the Hatch art exhibition at Indi Go Artist Co-op, 9 E. University Ave., Champaign.
The exhibition opens with a free, public reception, from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 1. The exhibition will be open during the festival from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, March 2, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, March 3. The exhibition will remain on view beyond the festival dates, through Sunday, March 17.
* Slide lecture, 7 p.m. Friday, March 1, McKinley Fitness Center (2nd floor yoga room), 500 W. Church St., Champaign.
Stitzlein will discuss her work with reusable materials. She'll also share images of her sculptural work and selections from her collection of art made from recyclables and acquired during trips to developing countries. Admission: $5.
* All-day, hands-on workshop for teachers, art therapists and other interested adults (age 18+), Saturday, March 2, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at The I.D.E.A. Store (includes one-hour lunch break).
Participants will be making a "Mini Bottle Cap Mural." They will learn step-by-step procedures on how to collect, clean, design with and attach caps, and coordinate a working schedule to create a full-sized project through the creation of their own mini-mural. Participants will be able to take this mini-mural back to their respective schools and display it as an example of the project for their principals, other teachers within the school, parents and students. Most materials (including bottle caps) will be provided, but participants are asked to bring:
* old aprons/paint shirts, old gardening gloves, old pillows/blankets, goggles and hair ties (for those with long hair).
* battery powered drills with batteries/chargers
* some of your own pre-cleaned bottle caps to add to the mix and/or share
Fee: $30. Advance registration required; call 378-4936 to register or register in person at the store. Your payment at the time of registration reserves your spot.
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DO try this at home!
Lots of tips on tops right here for the taking
 Capping off our excitement about Michelle Stitzlein's residency ... here are a few links that we hope will inspire YOU and your hatchlings to get creative with these plastic toppers/upcycled art materials, too!
* Check out this video featuring Stitzlein demonstrating how to make a colorful mural using plastic bottle caps. * From bottle caps to bottle tops, this proves human resourcefulness and imagination knows no bounds. * Some more top ideas from Pinterest (including examples of some of Michelle Stitzlein's work) * Make jewelry from bottle caps and fabric. |
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Warm up to workshops
Come on in out of the cold and learn new tricks
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Learn to create your own 'cuttting edge,' valentine like this one at the Feb. 2 'Share the Love' Make & Take.
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Gray skies and winter weather leaving you with a case of the blues and blahs? We've got the perfect antidote! Chill out, meet new friends (or reconnect with old ones) and learn new skills!
The following activities and workshps are planned in January and February at The I.D.E.A. Store, in our classroom area.
* "Iris Paper Folding" Make & Take, Saturday, Jan. 26, 10 a.m.-noon. Learn simple, fun techniques for reusing scrap and wrapping papers, i envelopes and magazine pages to make greeting cards, wall hangings and other and decorative items. The fee is $10 per person. Advance registration is required; register at the store or call 378-4936 to reserve your spot.
* "Share the Love" Make & Take, Saturday, Feb. 2, 10 a.m.-noon (drop in anytime, but be sure to arrive by 11:30 a.m. to have time to complete your project). We'll have lots of great raw materials on hand to transform into cards, corsages and boutonnieres, party and romantic dinner décor, and keepsake jewelry. Of course, such a "lovely" gathering would not be complete without chocolate, so we'll have that, too - to stoke the creative fires that burn within you!
The fee is $5 per person (including children age 8+; all children must be accompanied by an adult). Space may be limited at times, depending on how long participants stay.
* "Soldering 101," Saturday, Feb. 9, 3-5 p.m. Back by popular demand! If you've always wanted to learn how to use a soldering gun, here's your chance! This is an introductory workshop taught by Store Assistant Sheila Daniels.
The workshop will cover basic skills and safety information, and will include a take-away project - a glass pendant with embellishment. All supplies will be provided. Class size is limited to 10 participants, so early registration is advised. Register at the store or by calling 352-7878 (your advance payment reserves your spot).
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The I.D.E.A. Store Village Green: Form AND function Choosing art with a fine design and a purpose By Carol Jo Morgan, MSW, MS Environmental Outreach Coordinator Our household members are facing the dilemma of not wanting or needing more stuff, while actively being drawn to collecting handcrafts. One realization is that we can reduce our load by replacing single-use items in our home with pieces of "functional art and craft" of all vintages.
Functional art can be sat upon, it can contain things, show us the time, or hold a light bulb. It is simultaneously utilitarian and aesthetic, and because the forms often are handcrafted  from all kinds of materials by all kinds of people, there are plenty of choices that allow us to express our personal style. You can find more traditional items, or really "out there" creations. Check out the latter Santa Monica, Calif.'s Gallery of Functional Art. Ultimately, functional art has great potential to be a desirable vintage, and eventually antique, collectible. In other words, it's less likely to see the landfill after a single owner. My ongoing goal is to figure out how to shift my own casual, sometimes wasteful - and usually fairly temporary - crafting toward higher quality, made-to-last-and-be-more-than-pretty results. And as I purchase things to grace our home in the future, I'll be applying the same considerations we use for selecting other household items: Get the highest quality we can afford; will serve dual functions well for many years; and have parts that - at the end of the object's useful life - can be salvaged for creative reuse or recycled rather than sent to the local landfill. I'm saving my pennies to shop at Hatch for a clock! |
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So, What's This All About?
The Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation saw a need in the community to accomplish several things: 1. Support the arts and arts education, 2. Support environmental education in our communities, 3. Impact the environment by reducing the rate of waste disposal, 4. create a place for everyone to have access to quality materials and 5. Support itself in light of the difficult economic times. So donate your discards and shop re-use. Its about making a difference!
www.cuSchoolsFoundation.org
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INVEST. DEVELOP. ELEVATE. ACHIEVE.
The I.D.E.A. Store is an earned-income social enterprise
of the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation,
a full 501c3 non-profit organization supporting K -12 education in
Illinois Community School Districts Unit 4 and Unit 116
Phone: 217-352-7878 Store hours: Tuesday - Friday, 2 pm - 7 pm and Saturday, 10 am - 3 pm
28 E. Springfield, Champaign, IL 61820
2nd Floor - handicapped access and loading dock available on north side of building
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