Out with the Old, In with the Awesome

If you read my blog often or follow me on Twitter you know that I like to party with a purpose. You may recall my post about the Art Raffle we held a few months back? Well, me & the same group of friends held a YART Sale this weekend @ BiRDHOUSE Gallery. There were maybe 15 people total who brought out their unwanteds for the public to dig through. Clothes, books, records & nicknacks galore! Everyone also brought some art they'd made. Small zines, large paintings, photographs, prints, greetings cards, & even some sculpture pieces. It was really amazing, totally inspiring & quite profitable! I sold a bunch of old clothes, lot's of my new jewelry & a few prints, yay! We sat on the porch soaking up the sun, haggling our tails off drinking Tito's all day. Oh did I forget to mention that Tito's sponsored YART & gave us a case of vodka?! The folks at Tito's are mighty generous. I'm thinking of asking them to sponsor my next breakup... Anywho... Let me show you some of the incredible booty that I scored at YART. Prepare to turn green with envy!

First off Larissa Swindle put this little shindig together. Round of applause for her! I know that getting all of us together had to be a lot like herding cats. She had these amazing photographs she'd taken with her Holga and I was lucky enough to make three of them MINE! I came home & directly hung this shot in my kitchen, so I can see it every day. The kitchen - most popular room in the house.

Clayton Kalman created these "semi autobiographical" greetings cards - which I instantly fell in love with! Sure, Clayton is sort of my brother-in-law, but that doesn't make me biased. Cross my heart. I love that these cards are written on left-over sticky pages from an old photo album. You get the sense that he just had to tell someone this RIGHT NOW & found whatever was near by. I can't count how many times I've run into an X & thought this exact thing. If only I'd had this card or the balls to tell them. This next one is straight out of a movie. "I almost lost my job because I over slept... because you were in my bed." This is a note anyone would love to find on a pillow in the morning. It'll give you goose bumps & make you blush. I purchased a third card that reads "I surrender... I'll do anything you say". See what I mean about the goosebumps? The other amazing thing about these "greetings" cards is that they require no signature. I'm trying to convince Clayton to put these up on Etsy... If you would like to help me persuade him please leave a comment here so I can point wildly at them and make my case. I do have one item for sale in my shop that was created by Clayton - The Sinking Ship earrings. There are only 10 pairs - so when they are gone, they are gone.


Last but certainly not least - I picked up this Fake Steak that was created by a cute little vegan girl named Michelle. This makes me so happy I can hardly tell you! A screen print of a steak resting in a styrofoam shell & saran wrapped for your giggling pleasure. Finally! A steak that is good for something!


YART was so incredible AND we will be doing it again! I hope this post inspires you and your friends to get your YART on!

xo!
Bonnie Rue

I want you to have the best time ever

Saturday's art raffle was a super success! All that attended had a great time & some starving artists (including yours truly) walked away with a belly full of beer and what my great grandmother called "folding money". It was a party with a purpose. I felt proud, inspired, & grateful to be involved in something so simple and so fun.
Because I love you and want you to have the best time ever I am going to suggest that you, yes you, throw an art raffle of your own! Here's what you will need:

1. A handful of creative friends (10-12)
2. One room with plenty of wall space
3. One empty Kleenex box for each participating artist.
4. Raffle tickets
5. Pens
6. Cash Box
7. Fliers
8. Beverages *of course you could tell people that your event is BYOB* but as you know, if you buy a keg - they will come. If you don't want to buy a keg all on your lonesome you could ask each participating artist for $5-$8, that should cover a keg


Give all the participating artists a due date for their artwork. I would suggest at least a day before the party, that way you have time to play with the presentation. While your friends are busy creating something special for your soiree, it's time to
get the word out! Give a few fliers to each of the participating artists. Put stacks of fliers in coffee shops, print shops, vintage boutiques, dive bars, art galleries, local bulletin boards, your co-op, where ever you can! Make sure to take advantage of Twitter, Flickr, Myspace, Facebook, and all your friends blogs to let people know about your event.
Now it's time to open your doors and Raffle! Make sure you have a door person. If you are your own door person then you get to see everyone who attends, which is rare when hosting a party. Take money at the door ($5-$6 a head) and give everyone their tickets then. You get to decide how many tickets the entry fee will get them and how much more additional tickets will cost. Explain that they need to put their names on the back of the tickets and place them in the kleenex boxes under the piece they'd like to win & let them know what time you will be doing the drawing. Midnight is a good time for the weekends. You'll also need to decide if someone must be present to win if their name is drawn.
Then let the fun begin! At the end of the night you divide up the door between all the artists. Win Win!

So get to it! Raffle your brains out!

*all pictures were provided by Summer Anne Burton. Check out her flickr photo stream for awesome concert photos and her loverly face! She is an all around talented girl, she writes songs that will make your heart warmer and gooey than you ever knew possible.


**Thanks Jen for hosting and inviting me to participate! Best Time Ever!**

pictures, top to bottom: Bitches by Bonnie Rue, Sinking Ship by Clayton Kalman, Under Starry Skies by Summer Burton, Unknown by Amarin Enyart, & a photo of Larissa Swindle taking pictures of everyone's work.

Event Of The Season

Tomorrow night (January 10th, 2009) my dear friend Jen Morris will be hosting an art raffle! She asked all of her crafty, creative friends to do what they do best and make something for the event. Tickets are $5 - and that gets you in the door with a cold beer in one hand & a raffle ticket in the other. I did make something for this event, but Im not going to unvail it now! No way. You have to get your tookus down to 3100 King St and buy a raffle ticket. 14 other artists work will http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifll also be available. And what event in Austin TX would be complete with out live music? So yeah 8pm-2am, Art, bands, & beer. Come support your favorite local (and starving) artists. We will love you more for it (I know - seems impossible right?).
Other participating Artists include, Clayton Kalman, Larissa Swindle, Flip Soloman, & Amarin Enyart, to name a few.
be there or be square...