Adam Juresko + Catcher in the Rye = Making Richmond proud

First the Penguin clothbound classics by Coralie Bickford Smith, and now this. Newly vamped book covers are a hot design trend, and I am super stoked to see a Richmond not-so underground art powerhouse making his mark in the literary world as well.



Adam Juresko has long been a figure in the Richmond art scene, and I have to say I am extremely pleased with his newer works and the direction in which he's headed. I've always been a fan of his collages and paintings, and to see his work take a more tightly-knit focused approach to layering paper and assemblage techniques is way exciting, to say the least. Even from across the country it's apparent that he's headed for big things, and I'm sure this won't be the last we hear of him.

Not to mention Catcher in the Rye is a badass book. Nice first choice!

Jason LaFerrera

Two big reasons why he's the artist of the day: 1) I've already gotten 2 emails about him, and to get even 1 in a day is a big deal. 2) He's from Richmond, which automatically bumps him up a notch in my book. Other reasons include his use of maps (which I am a HUGE fan of and use many maps in my work as well), along with his complex use of collage and paper to create creatures that jump off the page with simplicity of shape, yet intricacy of detail. Jason LaFerrera's work effortlessly achieves everything that I wish my work would embody; subtle pallete tones tie each image together with ongoing detail in each animal that keeps the eye on a continuous train around their forms. It's a delight to consider the travel and geography of the earth shaping these beautiful beasts, and his Etsy shop is open and available for you to bring one of these great pieces home today!

Here's some of my favorites from his Bird Series, followed by some work from his Fauna series- I didn't alter the size on some of them so you can click on each one to fully appreciate the scope of detail present in each individual work.

Day by Day

Remember the DMV incident that sparked a nationwide overhaul of identification applications? Or how about the Klown Klux Klan? And who can forget the smash hit "Bum Rock"? Well, the classy guys from DaybyDay who brought you Teenagers from Marz and Teenagers from Uranus now bring you THE BEST OF THE BEST! The last 3 years have been busy for the Richmond collaboration, working on new material for Stupidface and now bringing you the creme de la creme of their efforts. Richmonders, if you love laughter, gratuitous gross out comedy, or collar-pulling antics, don't miss the premiere at Empire (corner of Laurel and Broad) this Friday for FREE. Don't miss what will be the most hilarious event in the city since the premiere of Teenagers from Uranus at Alley Katz!

In Stitches- Teresa Cole

Crafting is at an all-time peak interest, with fantastic organizations like local Craft Mafias and independent crafters worldwide offering handmade goods on private sites and Etsy. Teresa Cole of In Stitches (and Richmonder!) offers hand-dyed yarns for the DIY knitters at reasonable prices, along with hand-knitted baby items and made-to-order knitted goods. Check out her iCrave store to pick up some fantastic custom dyed yarns for your next project!

Photo: Western Sky Knits Collab.

Noah Scalin

Noah Scalin- Richmond legend, owner/creative director of Another Limited Rebellion, and most famously known for his Skull-A-Day project; recently he had an exhibition at none other than Quirk Gallery, and just to make sure his work continues to be appreciated here's just some more note-worthy work to feast your eyes upon!

Design and Design recently awarded him with recognition for his work seen here.

Actor's Choice Book Covers


The Richmond Vegetarian Festival 2009 Poster


Fair Share Campaign


First Vote Postcard


Artseen Invitation

It's hard not to envy such talent.

All photos courtesy of Design and Design.

Benjamin Jones at Quirk

Every city with any sort of arts community has their version of First Fridays- the nights when wine flows, friends gather, and galleries open their doors for monthly openings and small shows. Quirk is always the toast of the town in Richmond with their ongoing commitment to unknown artists and big names alike, as long as they are innovative and bright stars in their niche.

Friday, September 4th from 6-10 Quirk opens their Main Gallery to Benjamin Jones, "an internationally acclaimed artist whose small drawings are full of deep emotion and intricate, yet ambiguous, story lines. The images walk a line between humor and horror, seducing the viewer as he sees bits of themselves, the artist, and the fictional collide." His show of small works runs until October 17th, so there is no reason why you should miss this great show.

Best Friends Day- The Ocho!

I'm pretty sure any and all of the Richmond readers are familiar with the BFD escapades of years past, but this year carries on the tradition of being bigger, better, and more badass than the year before! Best Friends Day 8 is poised to blow all years out of the water, returning to its 4-day glorious extravaganza of bands, buds, and beer!

Thursday, August 20th, kicks it all off at Plaza Bowl, where they are welcoming us back after a 6-year hiatus. Young Widows, Ultra Dolphins, The Measure, Future Virgins, and Pysched to Die will rock your face off starting at 7 pm.

Friday things get into full swing with the annual Scavenger Hunt starting at 12 noon at Vinyl Conflict in Oregon Hill- but be sure to get there early to sign up your team! That night, prepare to have your mind blown at Alley Katz, where for $12 at 6 PM the show goes on with Strike Anywhere, None More Black, Off With Their Heads, No Friends, Blotto Ringers, and Gatorface. A not-to-miss show.

Saturday your mind will continue to be blown at the free Magrudergrind show in the parking lot of Fine Foods before heading to the main event- Hadad's Lake! The centerpiece of the weekend, if you can only make it to one event, I'd say this is the place to be (except for the None More Black show because they are awesome.) Don't get drunk too early or you risk missing the group picture! 12-7, with bands like Torche, Pink Razors, No BS Brass Band, Gull, Lemuria, Wasted Time, Tubers, and Sexy Crimes.

Sunday be sure to drag your hungover ass to the Bike Lot to see the final event at 1 pm, Asshole Parade, Cannabis Corpse, Snacktruck, Monikers, Virgins, and Constrictor. FBM bikes will also be hosting a world class event- a bike jump contest over the world's biggest plate of nachos! This event will be MC'ed by Oderus Urungus of Gwar, so DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW!

RVA was good enough to put out the promo video with Tony, Shelley, Ward, and (insert dude's name here because I'm not cool enough to know it)...

BEST FRIENDS DAY 8 PROMO from RVA TV on Vimeo.

Bicycle Film Festival comes to Richmond!

Bike enthusiasts unite! This weekend (starting tomorrow) the Bicycle Film Fest makes its way to Richmond, VA, where I'm sure it will be met with rabid enthusiasm from the bikefans of River City. Hosted by Gallery5, the festival consists of 2 shorts and 1 full length film, each $10 or $23 for all 3 with 2 showings of each. Here's a note from the founding director about the fest:
The Bicycle Film Festival celebrates the bicycle.

We are into all styles of bikes and biking. If you can name it-Tall Bike Jousting, Track Bikes, BMX, Alleycats, Critical Mass, Bike Polo, Cycling to Recumbents- we've probably either ridden or screened it. What better way to celebrate these lifestyles than through art, film, music and performance? We bring together all aspects of bicycling together to advocate its ability to transport us in many ways.

Ultimately the Fest is about having a good time.

We have been fortunate enough to include works of established artists such as Jorgen Leth, Mike Mills, Jonas Mekas, Blonde Redhead, Swoon and Michel Gondry among others as part of our programming.

Many of the artists who have participated in the Bike Film Fest such as the Neistat Brothers and Lucas Brunelle are gaining more and more recognition for their work.

Sign up for the email list or just come out and enjoy our 9th Annual Bicycle Film Festival.

Thanks.
Brendt Barbur, Founding Director

P.S. bikes rule

Check out this great trailer for the event, and be sure to check out the RVAMag article about it here. OF COURSE when it comes to San Diego I won't be here, but that event is August 8. Sign up to be a volunteer and get info at their site BFF.

Virginia Weekend

Apartment 5 Version 3.0.

Noah Scalin at Quirk

Everyone's seen the images- Skull-A-Day became an international phenomenon when Richmond artist Noah Scalin took on the task of creating a skull image every day in 2007 out of common materials and taking a photo of it on his blog. Now in year 3, Skull-A-Day now boasts a book and 2 other skullfan contributors. His project has been featured in Mad About Design, Boing Boing, HOW Magazine, Suite 101, Style Weekly, RVA Magazine, and also on the Martha Stewart show?! Now Quirk Gallery adds his work to their Main Gallery for July and August, so don't miss either First Friday events as they are sure to be insane crowds for this hometown hero.

Quirk Gallery
311 W. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
804-644-5450

Born Ugly mag

Holy cow. What a week. Things have been absolutely insane for me, so TGIF to the maxxx! Still, a bright spot in the week came from the news that Issue 1 of Born Ugly mag is now a reality! Jim Callahan (aka Barf) is already a Richmond underground icon with his memorable Municipal Waste art, Nowhere Skateboard line, and Tales from the Underground comic (check it out at Velocity- best place in Richmond for your comic and graphic novel needs). The link above is to the online .pdf of the mag, so be sure to snag a print copy wherever you can. Michael Brock of Wilted Roses was kind enough to pop one in the mail for me, so whenever I get that will be a happy day. If you're in the Richmond area, be sure to get to the launch party tomorrow, Saturday May 9th at Holly Street Park at 4 pm. I'm sure it will be a debaucherous event filled with only the finest of Richmond's youth!

SWEET!

Dennis' bike joust from Slaughterama!!!! VICTORY!

Joe's Inn

I took this off Google Maps. I miss this place!

NOWHERE Skateboards

Barf is a Richmond art icon who has got his tentacles wrapped up in most aspects of Richmond life. His work includes Barf Comics, Nowhere Skateboards, Municipal Waste, and a plethora of other underground independent things. I'm happy to say that his print of a cat vomiting a stream of undesirable objects graces the wall in our kitchen next to the refrigerator. It pleases me to stumble in blindly before work, attempting to get some orange juice before facing the day to look up and constantly be startled by the intensity feline face.

Anyway, Barf's got some new jamz going on, with his new Nowhere "Stab Bat" decks, available here for $45.




My only encounter with Barf was at a Municipal Waste show at the Canal Club, where I proceeded to take shots of whiskey with him since I always forget Anica's inability to consume the deadly beverage and continued to buy unwanted shots. It was a good night.

SD Punks for Presents

Punks for Presents is a great Richmond based organization that is creepin' into San Diego via my very own cupcake Ashton! It's basically the newbie of the San Diego scene, and here's the site to check for updates. The Tower Bar in City Heights is the first participant, and mas events and flyers coming soon, so collect your pop tabs and stay tuned!

The Handmade Holiday

What: A New Juried Indie Craft Show in Richmond, Virginia that will exclusively feature the work of local crafters & designers.

Why: Buy Handmade & Buy Local this Holiday Season!

Who: The Richmond Craft Mafia, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond and some of Richmond's most talented indie crafters and designers.

Where: The Visual Arts Center of Richmond (formerly the Hand Workshop) at 1812 Main Street

When:
Preview Party - Friday
December 12th from 7 - 10 pm
Ticket Info

Open to the Public - Saturday
December 13th from 10 - 5
Free & Open to the Public

How: Come on out and support local carfters and designers this Holiday Season!
Vendors:
Amy Weiks Jewelry
April Scott Kids
Avant-gourde
Avenue Handmade
Bee's Knees Studio
Claire McDermott Designs
Crystal J Silks
Erin Taylor Designs
Ernst & Thistle
Essential E Paper
Face Metal Design
Gabriel Craig Metalsmith
Gwen's Garden
Hearts & Needles
Hershey Is My Baby
Jackson Sage
Jude Glass
Keen Designs
Lark Studio
Lorcom Lane
Maslodesigns
Miss Pickles Press
Modern Atelier
Modern June
Moneky & Me
My Precious Studio
Nicole Lee Designs
oelle m.
Phil Barbato
Popidiot
Pretty Silly Things
Serious Whimsy
Sew * Ono Apparel
Shannon by Hand
Silver Tree Art
Solos Glass
Tasha McKelvey
Team 8 Press
The Cupcakery
Twist Style

LINK TO HANDMADE HOLIDAY WEBSITE LINK LINK LINK LINK!!!!!

WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING.

Thursday: Surprise Cookout
For weeks I'd been planning on attending a pre-wedding cookout for our friends Jason and Amanda at our mutual friend and catering co-worker Ian's house. Earlier in the day Ashton "went to go eat lunch with his mom", which I didn't think anything of, so I called Andy to get lunch with me. He gave some stupid random reasons to not do so, so I called him over and over again with mounting frustration and confusion as to his lack of interest in lunch. Who doesn't like lunch? I eventually got Mike to come have lunch with me, where I bitched the whole time about Andy's lack of lunch participation. Blah blah blah, the day goes on, and when I finally get to Ian's I am pleased to see many of my friends are already there. Andy looks at me for a minute like I'm an idiot, and then has to tell me, "Hey, surprise. This isn't for Jason and Amanda, it's for you." OH! It was pretty much the most wonderful feeling ever. Half stupid, half surprised, half speechless, half embarrassed, and half pleased. Many halves, it was a complicated emotion. It was such a great night. I loved every second of it.

Friday: Amanda's bachelorette party.
We kicked it off by going to the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus at the Sycamore Rouge in Petersburg. Jeri and Poops and I got there first and of course being the uber classy broads we are, headed straight for the bar, where the extremely pleasant bartender created a "circus" special drink for us that was supposed to be blue and taste like cotton candy, but really just looked brownish gray but magically tasted good anyway. Once everyone got there we got in we got a couch and table and watched the show, which was not what I expected but good times were had by all. I don't recommend the food. It was overpriced and mediocre at best, except for Amanda's dessert sampler was a tastebud explosion.

We went back to the city and met at Empire where we had many drinks and shooters, despite the broken AC. By this time I was about to commit hari kari in my dress and heels so I was pleased to go to Helen's for last call, where at least there was moving room and a working AC. Keep in mind, it's very rare for me to stay out all the way to last call, so that in itself is a monument to my dedication to Amanda and her good time. We spent the night at the Berkeley hotel downtown in Shockoe Slip, which was way too ritzy for any of us in real life, but hey, it's a special night so we did whatever the hell we wanted to. Many mimosas were had, until I passed out in perhaps the most comfortable bed of all time. I woke up to hear Bryon... and how he got there or when he left I have no idea. I was in a junk food/mimosa coma.

Saturday: I woke up and went back to the fan for hangover remedy Starlite brunch. Saturday brunch is kind of an abomination to me, but Andy never gets to have brunch and was leaving for the Outer Banks the next day, so I made an exception. I got two eggs with American cheese, which really seemed to be more like five eggs with a block of cheese on top of it. Good... but a bit of an overload. I slept for 3 hours after that and then I realized I had to book it to Jason and Amanda's wedding (different Amanda) since I already missed my ride due to being in the shower. Theirs was an outdoor wedding at Tredegar Iron Works by Brown's Island, and besides being hot as dick was a beautiful wedding with amazing food and a fantastic bar selection. I was about done in by my 2 day dress binge, so before things got TOO wild I went home. Joe, Jen, and I watched Eastern Promises at her house until the DVD decided to barf itself up and refuse to play, so we watched Aladdin instead. Practically the same thing.

Sunday: Today
I went to REAL brunch at the Black Sheep with Stephanie and Lauren, where half of my co-workers were also dining. Their fruit/yogurt/granola bowl looked too good to pass up, so we split one and I got sausage gravy and biscuits which were DIVINE.

I also got a side of cheese grits, and here's why. I have only had grits one time that I liked, and those were made by Ashton's sister Virginia when we were in Boston earlier this summer. I have on several other occasions tried to enjoy this southern delicacy, to no avail. I was very very pleasantly surprised today with some absolutely delectable grits. Highly recommended. I figured I needed to give them one more try before I leave the South for California, where there will be many more highly wonderful types of food, but I can say with all confidence that nowhere in San Diego will there be grits as good as any grits I could get in Richmond.

Tonight is my second to last shift at Joe's Inn, and tomorrow will be my last. I kind of wish I could work there forever, but I don't want to be a waitress forever.. so I suppose all good things must come to an end. I hope I'll be lucky enough to find a job like that in California, but it will be a pretty hard one to top.

I'm realizing now this sounds very much like a diary entry that no one but me cares about. Ew. I need to start publishing my brunch exploits separately, seeing as it IS the greatest meal of the week. More to come.

dang

i knew i was going to be busy the week before we move... but it's only saturday night and i'm pretty dead already. last night was amanda's bachelorette party (more details later) and tonight was jason and amanda's wedding, which i was so happy to be at because THAT was a wedding a long time in coming!!! so i'm tired, hungover, full, and my feet are killing me from 2 days of heels. actually, the line that my strapless bra made digging into my skin hurts the worst. i can take my shoes off but i just switched bras. sometimes it sucks having boobs. mostly they are cool though.

food!

Okay, few people crack me up like my Joe's Inn co-worker and foodie Sarah. She had a previously-linked food blog that was quirky, but apparently couldn't cut the mustard in her opinion. Now she has started an entirely new venture cataloging her sandwich tour of Richmond, which basically makes me want to throw myself off a cliff with pure envy. I, too, love the sandwich. (David Sedaris quote, anyone?) Anyhoo, her new blog "Give me a bite" makes me laugh out loud with regularity. Her extremely conversational descriptions make even the most bland of eaters' mouths spill over with longing drool. Not to mention she documents every sandwich with appetizing photos which make every fatty food lover such as myself want to run out and sample every morsel she describes. Enough talk. I must go eat a sandwich now before I die.

Change for a Ten!

Art 180 is an absolutely fabulous nonprofit organization in Richmond dedicated to art-related programs for inner city and at risk youth, encouraging self-expression and community growth 180 degrees. In their own words, they:

"ART 180 partners with other nonprofit organizations to serve children living in challenging circumstances in Richmond, Virginia. Through our programs, youth discover ways they can positively engage in and influence their surroundings.

Professional artists and volunteers work with youth after school for 12 weekly sessions. Each program grows from the needs and interests of the group of young people being served.

The young artists are asked to explore crucial personal statements that reinforce their sense of identity and purpose, such as: What is a hero? What do I want people to know about me? How can I make my community a better place? Programs culminate with some kind of public presentation of artwork. These have included billboards, art exhibits, poetry readings, CDs and DVDs.

By merging the private creative experience with a public showcase, ART 180 offers youth a safe way to talk about what matters most to them, while offering the community a compelling way to hear it."

Pretty good, huh?

The "Change for a Ten" campaign is their current project. Please visit their website at www.changeforaten.blogspot.com.
"Money can do a lot. Art can do a lot more. That’s why, on this 10th anniversary of ART 180, we’re asking for both — a $10 donation along with your artistic vision for making your community a better place.

Our goal is for 1,000 people to give their artistic and monetary gifts to ART 180. It’s these same gifts that will make it possible for at-risk youth to discover their own voice through creative expression. Will you help us make Change for a Ten?

1. make
a statement. Make a donation. Download the template at www.art180.org/ten (or just keep it the size of a dollar bill) and create artwork about the kind of change you'd like to see in your community. Paint it. Write it. Sketch it. Sculpt it. Sew it. Whatever it. Then, submit it.

2. send
us your creation (mail to 0 East 4th St, Studio 56, Richmond, VA 23224) and your $10 by 9/22/08, or drop them off at participating locations (see art180.org/ten for details.)

3. see
your work exhibited and sold along with the other submissions on 10/10/2008 at VCU's Brandcenter. People from all across Richmond will view your artistic vision for change.

4. tell
others to send in their own art and their $10 donation. Help us reach our goal of 1,000 people and together we'll all see true change for a ten."



Please add this to your blogs to help spread the word.