Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What's A Penny Good For?


Last year, I wrote an inspirational email a week to raise money for Pyramid Atlantic.



Folks who received my email were inspired, donated to Pyramid via our website and I raised $5,000 in 13 weeks. The money funded 69 art classes and workshops, 50 internships, studios for 419 artists and events for 7,539 people of all ages at Pyramid.

This year, I am going to raise 1,000,000,000 pennies ($10,000) and I want you to help me.

But first a dose of inspiration:

10 years ago, my brothers and I were cleaning out my dad's house after he passed away. We had been at it for two days and had not made a dent. He was a pack rat. Clothes with the price tags still, business cards from previous jobs, and thousands of promotional "chachkies." My dad was a salesman and sold everything. I was leaving the next day and I remember going through his things and wanting to find something special to always remember him by. I lived in Silver Spring and he was living in Miami when he died. I thought that once I flew back, he would slowly just begin to fade from my memory as I went back to work and my daily routine.

I didn't have a coat at that time and in his closet I saw this beige leather Tommy Hilfiger coat. I can see my dad wearing it. I took it and said this is the thing that is going to remind me of him and everytime I wear it. When I got back to Silver Spring, I wore it out a few times. It didn't fit me very well. It was a 50 year old man's coat and here I was this 32 year old guy wearing it. You get the picture. So I put it in my closet in 2002 and it just hung there. I would look at it from time to time and think of my Dad. Every Spring, we would clean house and get rid of things we didn't wear anymore, I would look at that coat and think of getting rid of it, but I never could. This Winter, they had a coat drive for families at my youngest son's school, Rolling Terrace Elementary, and I donated the coat. I was afraid of forgetting about my dad and the exact opposite has happened. 10 years later, I think about him all the time and in doing so, I remember my Dad was a generous man and remember that he looked out for other people. So I donated the coat, because I think that is what he would have wanted and in giving away my dad's coat, he and I are closer than ever.

I hope I inspired you to join me in my 1,000,000,000 penny campaign today! Its easy:
Join me at Pyramid this Friday, February 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m for my Penny Campaign Cocktail Kick Off. We will be drinking the Brandy Crusta courtesy of Casey Anderson and Mr. Booze. Bring your pennies!

If all this penny stuff is too complicated and you just want to make a contribution, no denomination will be turned away . You can donate in any form of currency to Pyramid Atlantic by clicking here. I will add up your donation in pennies and include it in my campaign.

I hope you will join me on my journey. I promise to take a picture with all the pennies on my way to Eagle Bank. I promise to write to inspire you and not quit until I do.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Best Interns Ever.

Though they still live at home with their parents, Liz and Nora maintain that they are pretty cool kids, and, as the newest crop of winter interns at Pyramid, they plan on bringing that optimism to their time at Pyramid. In their first weeks they have been busy making paper, using power tools, getting messy, and generally having fun meeting new people and learning about the different programs and people connected to Pyramid.


Liz

Squirreled away in the wilderness of Baltimore, Liz occasionally ventures out to the big bad streets of Silver Spring. She graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, in Philadelphia, majoring in sculpture but mostly making books. She likes to read, sew, and make ice cream in her spare time.

Nora

Born to radical communists living in trees in Louisiana, Nora Burghardt, as one might expect, is excited to intern at Pyramid. In her free time she works as a competitive juggler/magician and cares for her panther, Fluffy. Other than that, She studied English lit. and Studio Art at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and will probably eat anything.


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tailgating Party For Artists


















Event:
Artist Tailgate Party
Date: Sunday, February 5
Time: Noon to 5 pm
Place: Fire Station 1, 8131 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
Cost: $5

Join Pyramid Atlantic at Fire Station 1 before the Super Bowl to print, make books and letterpress. Enjoy lunch or a beer while you screenprint a poster or bring a t-shirt to screenprint your team's logo.

Have an artist help you letterpress a sign for the game or create a special football themed artist book. Get creative before the kickoff at Firestation 1 and make art with us on Super Bowl Sunday!

RSVP to jdominguez@pyramid-atlantic.org so I know how many football cards to bring

Image Credit: Source

Monday, January 2, 2012

Fruits of her Labor

Keyholder resident Sarah McDermott has finished the pages for
The Orchard, her book in progress. Find out about her process and progress on the Screenprint Society Blog.