Brooklyn Renegade 2009

I went to the Renegade this past weekend, and the variety of goods cannot compare to Art Star last weekend. Regardless, here are some vendors that I came across:

• The Intuitive Garden - jewelry
• Vivi Sun - jewelry
• Fluffy Goodness - unique fluffy creatives
• Modati - chalkboard tees
• A.S.I.S. - crochet embellished clothing
• King Popcorn - embroidery
• Destroyed by Design - clothing
• SKT - ceramics
• Blue Barnhouse - letterpressed goods
• My Zeotrope - prints
• Wren Handmade - crochet jewelry and decorations
• nervous system - experimental jewelry

Other artists I've come across lately:

• Colette Fu - photography / pop ups
  
• Blacklava - tees
  

Arts Birthday Extravaganza!

This past weekend was full of arts and crafts and is a taste of this coming weekend (Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn). I started the weekend with an art show at B2 Cafe, and a flea market at a nearby park. Highlights were crochet earrings (which I intend to make) and offensive Haiku La La cards.


JR and I then headed to the Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn's Landing, featuring 100 artists with handmade goodies. We got there just in time for the giveaway bags. The vendors, music, and venue were lovely. Though many items were too expensive for me, I fully enjoy browsing and dreaming of the things I can make. On a side note, don't forget to check out my awesome creations thus far at Little Chai Guys. These were some sellers that I enjoyed:

• Pinkkiss Pottery
• Tasha McKelvey - clay goodness
• motobus - buttons and cards
  
• Kim Fraczek - jewelry
• Marilyn Patrizio - crochet toys and stationery
• Recycle My Dress
• KnitKnitKnits

Afterward, we made it to the 3rd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration at Franklin Square Park. We signed up for some raffles, made friends with the cosmetic ladies for some free suntan lotion, and said hi to the 2008 Olympic Fuwa dolls (with real people inside!).


Arriving home following the day of festivities, I took a nap while JR made banana chocolate chip ice cream. Don't you know, all delicious desserts come from the KitchenAid stand mixer.


We then headed out for the evening, with a play featuring several talented artists involved with the Asian Arts Initiative. The show, called Edge of the World, featured speed plays ranging from 1 to 5 minutes. The plays were pretty hilarious and/or thought provoking. Actually, I am missing out on a summer open house right now from AIA.

We also topped off the night at Johnny Brenda's with A Camp. A Camp was formed by Nina Persson, the lead singer of The Cardigans. There are only a few singers with voices I adore. This list includes Nina and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab.


On Sunday, JR and I woke up bright and early to make cupcakes. The cupcakes were for a bake sale at Fleisher Art Memorial. We were also volunteering in the arts fair hosted by Fleisher Art Memorial, where we take ceramic classes. During the morning, kids came to our potato stamping table to play with their food. JR cut out some creative stamps, such as a dinosaur, a flame for the dinosaur, a turtle, a duck, a sailboat, a Mr. Peanut, and an island. I stuck to more traditional shapes for my potato stamps, like hearts, stars, circles, squares, diamonds, flowers, and bells. It was a fun day, and aren't the cupcakes colorful?

Memorial Day Weekend

My weekends in May have been full of excitement and adventures. Take, for instance, memorial day.

On Thursday, I went to see the Barnum & Bailey circus, advertised as the best show on earth. I haven't gone to the circus since the age of 8, and I thought that I better go again before I get too old! The show was good, but I'm afraid that I set my expectations too high. I enjoyed the circus primarily for the acrobats and the animals. In the past few years, I saw a couple shows performed by Cirque du Soleil in person and on film, and this circus troupe in the ultimate acrobatic delight. In Thailand, I witnessed elephants play soccer and paint self portraits, so those animals exhibited a level of intelligence that I could never hope to see at the circus. Of course, my level of enjoyment could have also been diminished by the overall stickiness on all surfaces of the floor at the Wachovia Spectrum, soon to be demolished. I still had a good time.
On Saturday, we decided to enjoy the warm weather at the beach at Cape May. I've never been to the tip of New Jersey, and I wondered how was life at the shore. It was nice at first, until the wind picked up in the afternoon. There was an unfortunate wedding party on the beach, but an airplane came by with an early congratulatory greeting. We had an awesome seafood dinner, and stopped by AC on the way back. It was a late night.The next morning, we went outside for a sidewalk sale! I made my first ceramic sale, at grossly understated prices. However, the purchaser informed me wholeheartedly that the pieces will be making its way overseas to Norway! My work is so good that its international! Anyway, we sold over $50 worth of junk lying around the apartment. I enjoyed myself, and continued to struggle against my developing t-shirt tans (in place of the already nice tan from Jamaica). We met some neighbors, and talked some shit.
On a side note, there is a site in development to discuss the crafty hobbies of J. and myself (update - see link here). Also, don't forget to celebrate the 1/2 birthday of this blog tomorrow, on June 1st! I hope to post my own weekend celebrations soon, and will be heading out shortly. Good night!

Foods by Vivi!

I've been cooking a tiny bit. I had made pasta sauce when tomatoes in the market was $1 for 1 pound, or cheaper. I love tomatoes, and the sauce stays good in the freezer for weeks. In this dish, the sauce was cooked with ziti and sausage.

I also made a grape and strawberry salad with pistachios and gorgonzola, as pictured here.


J. made these rice fritters with mangoes. I like to eat.

The Blue Note 7

On April 3rd, I went to see The Blue Note 7 at the Kimmel Center. Fortunately, Philadelphia shows do not frequently sell out (unlike in NYC), and I was able to purchase rush tickets for $10. The band was tour to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. Pretty amazing.

Hyperbolic Crochet

It was another First Friday, and I went to learn about hyperbolic crochet at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. I first learned about these amazing creatures at the World Financial Center in NYC (see youtube video).

I have always wanted to learn to crochet, and brought J. along for the mathematical motivation. The ladies in attendance were kind enough to teach, and I started my own coral reef (referred as the double hyperbolic plane in this pdf). For more inspiration, refer to the presentation on TED. For an exhibition on the relation of yarn to math and science in NYC, go to the P.S. 122 gallery.

I also came across the "Small Favors IV" gallery at The Clay Studio. Hopefully, my ceramics creations will be posted soon!

Phillips Sonicare Flexcare Toothbrush with UV Sanitizer

I went to the dentist at the beginning of 2009, and I was diagnosed with receding gums. Since then, I've been trying to brush my teeth gently, to avoid excess stress on my gums. John claimed that my teeth were starting to yellow, but I do not believe him. His cousin in law is a dentist, and he got a Sonicare for us.

This toothbrush is amazing! I've always thought that only lazy people use electric toothbrushes, but I can really feel the difference. However, it does take some getting used to. The first time I used the Sonicare, I got toothpaste all over the sink! Also, if you wanted to see a commercial in Japanese on Sonicare, click here.