Help Save Funding for the Arts in Pennsylvania

Normally I try to keep my political opinions to myself and separate from the world of arts and crafts, but this topic is far too important to keep quiet about.

The Pennsylvania Senate, in their recent budget bill, propose to eliminate ALL funding for arts and culture, which includes museums.

From the Pittsburgh Arts Council website, "On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, the Pennsylvania Senate passed its version of the FY 2010 state budget (SB 850) with a 30-20 vote. The bill, introduced on May 4, eliminates all arts and culture grants in the state through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). While this is an unfortunate occurrence, the budget process isn’t complete yet."

The arts enrich our community and are part of what makes Pennsylvania the wonderful state to live in that it is. In these times of economic hardship, the arts give people hope and funding is now more important than ever.

Please, take the time to visit the Arts Council website and learn more about what you can do.

Take the time to sign the petition at the very least. Let's make our voices heard!

Join me as I vow, "I will not let the arts go quiet into this dark economic night!"

Team Glass Fusing workshop

 

We had another Glass fusing workshop in April. It was really fun. We have plans to hold another glass workshop soon. Lz will bring her great supply of glass bits and we'll all go crazy. Check out our yahoo group if you're interested in becoming a member and sharing our fun. All you have to do is start leaving messages.

Etsy Pittsburgh Team Invading Artists & Fleas Market June 27, 2009

The end of June, the Etsy Pittsburgh Street Team will be taking a road trip to Brooklyn, NY to vend at the Artists and Fleas Market.

Participating Members include:

Charmed By Nature offers handcrafted jewelry with a sense of humor. Celebrate this colorful season with a piece of jewelry that reflects your love of nature and fun! Each of the leaves in my leaf necklaces is hand molded in clay using a real leaf. * no bugs were harmed in the making of my necklaces - they were sculpted from scratch...:)

Funvelopes offers fun envelopes, hence the name. Each funvelope is made from found paper and matched with a sheet of stationery (salvaged) & stamped with an matching image from my vast collection of rubber stamps. (Proof that she didn't fritter the 80's away doing something silly - she collected rubber stamps).Each funvelope are made by a person and not a machine. She even uses lick and stick glue on the flaps so you can seal them up.

BarkerBell offers a number of artistically created unique items. She combines vintage images and other favorites from the past with current trends and recycles and repurposes items whenever possible, creating many Steampunk, altered art, vintage image, & upcycled items.

Silentlotus has a deep fondness and appreciation for gems and minerals which makes creating with them a very spiritual process for her. She loves to blend them with sterling silver and pure brass because it enhances both the beauty and the properties of the stones.

19 Moons limited edition jewelry incorporates vintage and recycled materials to create wares that are both unique & eco-friendly. Your source for original Steampunk, Neo-Victorian, Retro & Industrial designs.

The team will have space inside the market as well as outside at McCarren park on Saturday, June 27th.

If you're in the New York area, take advantage of the opportunity to stop by, say hello, and perhaps even buy a unique item direct from one of the artists.

Etsy on the local news

The Etsy selling news story is going to air this Monday the 18th! 5pm show tune in around 5:45pm on channel 11. There will be a text version on the WPXI website after it airs. (Going to tape it myself) I hope it's a good piece and gets Etsy Pittsburgh some exposure!