NYC: Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum

Anyone who knows me knows I have a love and fasincation with folk arts. It does not matter what country we are talking about. However, I have a special place in my heart for Hungarian folk arts (especially Matyo).

While in NY, I went to the American Folk Art Museum where they are having a fantastic 12 month series of exhibits of quilts. My friend Judith and I headed over to take a look. I was so happy I was allowed to take photos.

one of my favorites-dated 1876

dated 1930-1935

dated 1876

I am fascinated by the hand detail. I like that the whole quilt is white. dated 1800-1820

dated 1930-1940

This one looks like it is made from felt. Where the colors meet it is very meticulously stitched together.

The museum is located next to the Moma. The weather was awful that day so it was perfect for a museum. If you are in NYC head over and take a look at this exhibit-it is worth the trip!

Night of Museums

Saturday was "Night of Museums". This is an annual event held around the summer solstice during which museums in Hungary keep their doors open until late night and offer special programs. We headed over to two of my favorites places to check out what was happening.

First, we went to my friends gallery, Eventuell, where they were having an exhibition about Marimekko. The colors and patterns of Marimekko looked great in her gallery! They had a singer and a wonderful pianist perform. (The pianist also happens to be her 12 year old daughter - a master pianist in the making!)

I actually showed up a day early to get a few good photos of the exhibit before the crowds showed up. Glad I did or I would have no photos.

A new Marimekko fabric called "fox" to be released this fall.

I love this print! The colors and painterly feel make it a bit different for their collection. I am use to the more graphic 3 color prints.

Next we headed over to the Iparművésyeti Múzeum. They had so much going on! Along with their permanent exhibits, there was artists selling their handmade items, a room reserved for watching Bollywood movies, and live music. The below pictures were taken at around 11 pm. The place was hopping! (I ended up buying a beautiful silk painted top from the artist! I will post photos soon.)

Mitsoura - a Hungarian band with a very unique sound. Check them out on last fm here. They sounded great on Saturday!

To wrap up the evening we headed over to one of out new favorite bars, Jelen. It reminds us of Seattle with its relaxed atmosphere and arty feeling.

If you are in Budapest next year for this event. I would really recommend going. You pay one price (1200 ft - about $5.25) and this gets you into all the museums for the day. You get special exhibits and events, music and craft fairs. A great deal and an exciting and inspiring evening!

rododendron art & design shop, color inspiration board and more...

February is here! And, so far so good! Usually this weather (cold and dark) starts to get to me. Not this year. Maybe the snow is helping-it brightens everything up. Maybe its the tulips and gerber daisies I keep buying to brighten up my home and studio. Or maybe it is all the exciting projects I have been working on. Either way, I feel good about 2010.

I do have some exciting news to share if you live in Budapest. You can now find my cards and notebooks at a cool store called Rododendron Art & Design Shop. The owner of the shop found me during the holidays while I was at WAMP. We meet on Tuesday and had a good meeting. She selected my spring card collection and my notebooks for the store. If the month goes well, I will be a permanent artist in the shop! So, go buy some cards and notebooks-they are great for Valentines day!

The shop is located on Madách Imre út 3. (district 7). Click on the photo below and it will take you to their website where you can find store hours and other info about the shop.

Below are photos of the items you can find in the shop.
notebooks

cards

Back in August on worked on a color & inspiration board. Sort of ironic that we were heading into fall and the colors looked very springy-lots of pale blue and pinks. Now we are heading into spring (some day soon I hope) and my new color board looks more like fall with oranges, warm soft reds and bits of apple green. I really like the way the board turned out. What do you think?
Well, the drawing board is calling me. I started a new project this week that I am very excited about. It is taking allot of my time at the moment. You'll have to wait a bit for the details...stay tuned.

Printa Akadémia

Since the day I arrived in Budapest, I have been researching and asking about what printing capabilities are available..."none" is the answer I receive. The country use to have many printers but with Asia producing products at such a cheap cost, Hungary can not compete.

I would love to create a small production run of fabric-say 50 meters. Small and affordable-this is almost impossible! (FYI: to print fabric with most printers you need to print a minimum of 1000 meters (1093 yards!). I know digital printing is possible but it is still very $expensive$. I am currently selling pillows that were digitally printed on Etsy and the pillows actually cost me more than what I am selling them for! I digress...

I received an email from a friend last week announcing a store opening she heard about. I just stopped by the opening not really knowing what to expect. I knew I found the place when I saw this from down the street.

Printa Akadémia

1075 Budapest, Rumbach Sebestyén utca 1ö.
www.printa.hu

Printa Akadémia is multifunctional ‘concept store’, a combo of a gallery, a workshop academy, a store and a café. They aim to promote print and paper-based art to popularize eco-friendly design.

Their workshops provide an ideal forum for designers and artists to cooperate and share novel ideas in the field of environmentally-friendly, socially-aware art.

Could this be the possible small run production set up I have been looking for? I don't think they can print yards of fabric but maybe they have future plans? maybe I can plant a seed in somone's head:)

When I walked inside to the opening I was so happy to see familiar equipment. I was hoping to talk to someone but it was so crowded! I have a gut feeling that this place is going to do well!

I plan to pop back into the gallery in the new year and hopefully learn more about what they offer. When I do I will let you know what I find out.

4 color print press-great for t-shirts and paper!

I have no idea what this is but I really want to learn!

If you have any information on possible small run printers in Eastern Europe please contact me!