warm bowl of sleeping birds
warm bowl of sleeping birds, by Jay Ryan
Look at this beautiful screenprint I got at the Renegade Craft Fair yesterday! I love Jay Ryan's work--I have a little collection of his posters and there are always more that I want. If you love screenprinting, concert posters, or squishy animals doing interesting things, you could do worse things with your time than to check out more of his work: The Bird Machine.
(Jay is also a very, very nice person--as you would expect of someone whose lastest offering is a warm bowl of sleeping birds.)
Andrew Bird & Calexico at Radio City Music Hall, by Jay Ryan
This poster is printed on olive green stock with fluorescent green ink for the placard and insect, uh, abdomen?
The New Pornographers w/Okkervil River, by Clinton Reno
I haven't bought Clinton Reno's work before, but I liked this. It's printed on turquoise blue stock with navy and silver metallic inks. (His web site is here.)
This was my first time going to the Renegade Craft Fair since it moved from its original location in Wicker Park (the actual park) to Division Street, and I was amazed at how huge it's become. I have to say I missed the trees and grass--it wasn't quite the same experience when laid out in a double line of booths straight down block after block of a city street. There were still a lot of amazing vendors there, though. It's always a fun surprise to meet someone whose work you love, or whose web site you've been visiting off and on for ages.
It's inspiring to see people making a profession out of craft. Of course you can't tell how many of the vendors are doing it part time, or are just barely making it. (I'm still confused why people are still trying to make resin-filled bottle cap magnets into a business. Put down the bottle caps! There is enough crap in the world already!)
But when you do see people who are thriving, building a business and making art at the same time, it's really pleasing. It makes me want to hug everyone!