Part of moving to a new city is discovering new places and people that make the move easier, more exciting and feel more sane. Many thanks to the awesome Kelly Rand for inviting me along and going with me amidst all the Hello Craft Summit of Awesome scheduling chaos! And, by the way, the schedule is, indeed, awesome.

Last night, I went to an event put on by DC’s “?Transformer Gallery, a panel on sustainability with Nancy Bannon, Bruce Dwyer, Ian MacKaye, Eve Mosher, Abigail Satinsky with moderator Jeff Hnilicka.

While the gallery has nothing to do with the cartoon pic above, I just wanted to reiterate the possibilities and growth that are embedded to the very word “transform.” And how it’s important to keep transforming in your work, because as we all know thanks to a giant toy company that shall not be named, there’s always “more than meets the eye.”*

This weekend Transformer has scheduled a lovely list of events that I wish I was able to go to! Just in case you’re able, I’ve copied and pasted the schedule (text directly from the Transformer site, I added individual links to provide more information) below.

Sustainability Lab back in action!

June 2 – 12, 2010

On June 2, Brooklyn-based cultural worker Jeff Hnilicka returns to DC to continue Sustainability Lab at Transformer. Having just participated in Empire Builder – an epic train voyage to Portland, OR during which over 30 participants created guerilla public programs for fellow travelers while en route to Open Engagement, an initiative of Portland State University’s Art and Social Practice MFA concentration – Jeff & Transformer invite DC audiences to participate in several new, interactive programs that continue to investigate emerging models of cultural production, the sustainability of these models, and their impact within communities.

Upcoming events include:
*Friday, June 4, 5 – 7pm: “Seeding the City” with Brooklyn-based artist Eve Mosher at Fathom Creative
*Saturday, June 5, 1 – 7pm: “A Day of Dischord,” featuring performances by Andalusians and the Aquarium
*Friday, June 11, 1, 3, & 5pm: “10 Dance Moves for Washington, DC – a dance lesson and travelogue”, and
*Saturday, June 12, 1 – 6pm: “Home Grown” – an afternoon of conversation, local foods, music, and art with Jeff Hnilicka and DC-based photographer Cynthia Connolly
Please click here to download a full schedule of Sustainability Lab activities in June.

All events are free, some require advance registration.

EXHIBITION HOURS: Wednesday – Saturday, 1 – 7pm & by appointment

So excited to see such great work being done in my new hometown! Now off to find work so I can stay here… the not sane part about moving to a big city. My grandmother still thinks I should join the Army. For real.

*Sorry I couldn’t help it. It had to be done.

New city. New flat. New. New. New!

Excited about the upcoming WPA Art Parade June 5th!

Leanne Prain, who with Mandy Moore wrote the fantastic Yarn Bombing, is asking for submissions for her next book, Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery! She is accepting submissions until June 15, 2010, and the book will be published by Arsenal Pulp in the fall of 2011.

Direct from the site:

Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery rebels against the traditional notions of quaint embroidery with motifs of flowers and songbirds. The book will feature unusual stitch work on a variety of surfaces and textures. With off-beat patterns including subway maps, feminist Girl Guide badges, and metal band letterforms; Hoopla will demonstrate that modern embroidery artists are as sharp as the needles that they work with. If you describe your stitch-work as arresting, subversive, quirky, or conceptual, Hoopla should feature your design work.

There is no entry fee, and designers are encouraged to submit multiple designs. Please include your complete contact information (email and mailing addresses) with your submission. Hard-copy submissions will not be returned unless an SASE or International Mailing Coupon is provided. The deadline for submission ideas is June 15th, 2010.

Designers who are chosen to participate will receive the materials necessary to create their project, an honorarium, a free copy of the book, and credit for taking part in the book.

For more information, either click on the text above or click over here.

[Photos from top to bottom, respectively from Flickr users peregrineblue and christophererin.]

So being the new girl in a new town, I am actually in the process of downloading the first episode of The Mary Tyler Moore show. As I keep hearing “You’re going to make it after all…” (the only part of the theme song I can remember) in my head, I figured it is an excellent theme to this current move.

I may not have a couch yet, but as of this morning I have cutlery. Using a martini glass as a bowl and a measuring spoon as a “regular spoon” (both left by the previous tenant) the other night was fun, but it has since gotten old. Today I was buying cleaners and light bulbs and plates, all things previously bought and shared with old housemate. Thinking about what I could live without for awhile (the “wants”) vs what I really must have in order to keep things clean (the “needs.”), was humbling beyond belief.

Along with not having a couch, I also currently don’t have internet access. So I’m writing this at a lovely cafe in Alexandria (Buzz) listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, my favorite singing combo ever. Not having internet issues means not being able to look up job listings, so as I need a job to have a couch, I’m looking online at various open positions.

While sometimes these searches send you down the rabbit hole, this one has unearthed an extra bonus surprise, the work of Panmela Castro while learning more about the Global Women Entrepreneurs in Handcrafts Development Program offered by Vital Voices.

The website has a lovely write-up about the work Panmela is doing, using graffiti as a way to bring about social change! Although I’m highly biased, it always so inspiring to learn about people using graffiti and street art as tools for positive activism. You can also see the results of the Graffiteras Pela Lei Maria de Penha here.

My first thought when I saw this was, WTF? Seriously. Laura Ingalls-style move vs. a U-Haul? My second thought was, isn’t all moving (without paid movers, that is) pretty much DIY? And isn’t moving pretty much universal? Why should America get to claim it as a “tradition?”

But I digress. It takes a lot to stop me in my tracks* (HA!) when it comes to advertising, but I really would have loved to have been in the room when the marketing team was pitching this idea:

DIY = Cool.

Moving = DIY.

U-Haul = cool…

Then apparently the dialogue turned into “Little House on the Prairie” = Cool.

And when it passed the team then decided that: “Little House on the Prairie hit it big on TV, so why not juxtapose that hard-scrabble life where everyone was extra-feisty and tough with today’s “pioneering” spirit of moving? Y’know, when you pack up 8 million boxes and then carry them to a truck you drive yourself and then unload yourself and then have to return the truck? Perfect! Beat that, Penske!”

*Get it? Wagon tracks?! Did I mention that moving means lots of lost sleep?