Category: News

Callithump! has been our non-profit creative project for the past decade. Callithump! is where we first learned that we could forego traditional venues and still sell our creative products. Now we have embarked on a new venture: Adventure Awaits!

Adventure Awaits! is our (hopefully) for-profit venture. We’ve realized we’re happiest when we’re making things and when we’re working for ourselves. Our new mission is to be able to support ourselves through our own business making wonderful things.

Adventure Awaits! is equal parts steam punk and fairy tales, with big handfuls of magic thrown in. It’s accessories for your fantasy lifestyle. Why stop with a version of your life that’s just slightly better than your own when you can be a hero on a quest, or a princess in disguise?

Callithump! will continue for when we need to make art for art’s sake, but the majority of our energies are going toward Adventure Awaits! (and raising our daughter, of course!)

Find out more at our new website: http://www.adventureawaitsme.com/

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I know the feeling is far from rare, but sometimes when you’ve put a lot of energy into a project, it’s nice to get noticed. I am not doing it for the attention. Not much anyway. I’ve got much loftier goals. But still, it’s really nice to get acknowledged at least once-in-a-while.

I missed it in 2009 when Narelle Hanratty of Melbourne, Australia mentioned me in this entry on art vending machines. Still, it’s really nice to discover it now! I probably need the boost now more than I did in 2009, so the timing is good.

I also recently received an email from Susanne Greiner of Germany. She tipped me off to the fact that art vending machines have been operating in Germany since 1979/80. This is a really exciting discovery and has helped me further flesh out my history of art vending machines. Hopefully I can expand it even further once I get help translating the German text! Google translate only gets you so far.

So thanks for the boost, Narelle and Susanne!

My friend Peter just emailed me a picture of the cookies he’d made for Halloween:

While I always enjoy a good picture of food, I don’t usually get so excited that I want to share it with everybody. In this case, this is something amazing. Revolutionary, even, and that’s not a word I use lightly.

We’re seeing stories of the amazing things that are being done with 3D printers daily. A father making prosthetic hands for his son, for example, or a man designing a 3D printable handgun. Most recently, NASA is sending a 3D printer to the ISS so that astronauts can print the parts they need when they need them rather than wait for cargo to arrive on a rocket from Earth. These are amazing things to be sure, but not quite as amazing as Peter’s Frosted Bigfoot Cookie.

The story is simple. Peter wanted a Bigfoot cookie cutter. Instead of buying one, assuming one could be found that would be delivered in a timely fashion, Peter hopped onto his laptop, designed one, and printed it out.

What’s amazing about this is that it is completely mundane. It’s a totally unremarkable situation, needing an everyday object that you don’t have. It’s a situation we all find ourselves in all the time. Since Peter had a 3D printer on-hand (purchased for less than what a black and white print laser printer cost in the 90s) he simply made a file and printed it.

This is why 3D printing is revolutionary. It’s something that can, and will be used to meet practical needs of our day-to-day life. Real revolutions happen in the kitchens of ordinary people.

Good news everyone! We’re starting a new publication called Naptime, and we’re looking for collaborators.

Naptime is intended to be primarily for and by creatives with kids (or similar afflictions). In the before time, we were two highly productive, creative people. Now, with a 10.5 month old daughter in our lives, our creative time is restricted to when she’s napping. We have no regrets and love our daughter more than we knew it was possible to love. However, it’s still a struggle to retain and maintain former creative practices.

If you’re a creative with children, you know exactly what we’re talking about. If so, we’d love for you to contribute! We’re looking for poetry, prose, artwork, photography and other creative content. It doesn’t have to be about your kids. This is about the moments you steal a bit of time away from all the other demands for your attention to do something that makes you happy, or lets you feel like the you that you used to be.

We’re going back to our roots with the format, back to the 80’s zine “photocopier and a stapler” sensibility that got us started. The general format will be 8.5″ X 11″ sheets, photocopied, folded and stapled. So ideally, content should be expressable in black & white, within the confines of of 5.5″ X 8.5″ pages made of  paper. However, since we have the resources of the IMRC Center at our disposal, we’ll probably stray pretty far from that format. The cover of the first issue, for example, is a wood block print that was cut using the Center’s CNC machine. Upcoming issues will most likely feature laser cutting, embossing, cut vinyl, 3d printing, screen printing and whatever else strikes our fancy, just because we can.

Payment will be in contributor’s copies and initial print runs will likely be just enough for the contributors. If we get a crazy amount of positive feedback on this idea we’ll go bigger, but for starters, this is just a fun way to explore the creative possibilities of naptime, and hopefully get others to join in!

If you’d to participate, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page.

Please tell us what you'd like to contribute and we'll get back to you as soon as Gwen takes a nap!

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It’s time to take things in a new direction.

Callithump! has been, in large part, a research project. Our goal has been to explore the role of the physical object in creativity in an increasingly digital world. Digital mediums raise questions about things we took for granted:

• Why publish a “dead tree” book when eBooks are cheaper and more convenient?
• Why publish a physical newspaper or magazine when websites can distribute that information more timely and to a wider audience, inexpensively and with ease?
• Why distribute music on any physical object at all?
• Why create or distribute any image non-digitally when digital tools offer so much power and flexibility, are non-toxic and require no cleanup, as well as “Undo” to take back a mistake and “Save As” to branch off the artwork into multiple creative directions.

Distributing creative output through through capsule toy vending machines was a way of exploring “why.” It wasn’t just a way of being cute or clever. It was an attempt to provide experiences that could only be had in the non-digital domain. There was that first act of putting the quarters in the machine and turning the lever, the clank of the capsule as it descended the chute, prying open the capsule to reveal the prize within. It was an experience that tapped into earliest childhood memories, and something that couldn’t be replicated on the Web. More important than the means of distribution, the content itself was vital. We always strove to create content that couldn’t be reproduced in any other medium. In a capsule we could include content that was sculptural or was wearable, or included scent. It could be touched, shared, put on a shelf or given away. The process of creating content for, and maintaining these vending machines showed us there’s worlds beyond the computer screen. We also learned that the rise of the digital can be a liberating in terms of physical creation. The gruntwork of communicating information can be shifted onto the web while freeing up physical media to be more interesting, creative and explorational. Meanwhile, the digital medium presents a challenge to the physical: Create something unique. Create something that’s irreproducible in any medium other than what it was created in.

It’s been a fantastic learning experience but it’s time to go bigger. I think we’ve taken the capsule vending machines as far as we care to. It’s time to turn them over to someone new who will make their own discoveries with them.

We want to take what we’ve learned and apply it to a bigger scale and go beyond what’s possible when your creativity is contained in a capsule.

We’ve got a lot in the works, and over the upcoming days (which are likely to be weeks and months, as fatherhood permits) I’ll be sharing those plans, as well as reflecting on the changing nature of media.

Stay tuned!

September 19, 2012 was the official release date of our finest work: Gwendolyn Aurelia LeClair. It’s been a happy, scary, wonderful, stressful time. While everyone who knew anything about babies warned us we’d be incredibly busy nothing could have prepared us for just how every single waking moment would be taken up with our new baby.

Callithump! has been put on a back burner because of this. Well, more like on a back shelf in the fridge, intending to be gotten to just as soon as we have a moment that keeps seeming like it’ll arrive at any moment, and suddenly it’s almost half a year later and that moment still hasn’t arrived.

So, if you’ve sent us a message, bought anything from us, made plans with us or anything along those lines, we beg your patience and your forgiveness. We’ve had way more on our plate than we ever thought possible. We still love you. If you’re waiting on us for something, you might want to remind us, though!

Bangor-area artists transform old newspaper vending machines into art installations

By Katie Day, Special to the BDN

Posted Aug. 08, 2012, at 4:18 p.m.

Terri Sanzenbacher was inspired by Shakespeare and named her piece after his famous quote “All the world’s a stage.”

BANGOR, Maine — Downtown Bangor will be decorated with some unique art installations from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10. The Penobscot Theatre Company, in partnership with several local artists, will unveil Art Outta the Box, a self-guided art installation in which the artists transformed old newspaper vending machines — donated by the Bangor Daily News — into artistic visions.

The project began after PTC board director Mary Budd and PTC staff toured the Bangor Daily News facility last spring and discovered the unused newspaper machines in storage.

“Destined for the trash heap, they seemed ripe for reinvention, so we thought, ‘Let’s turn some of these cool artifacts into art!’” Budd said. With the newspaper’s blessing, PTC took the machines and challenged local artists to transform them into something representative of theater.

“We’re thrilled to be participating in the Artwalk and helping to get great art out of the box and into the community. The creative spirit is alive and well in Greater Bangor,” said PTC artistic director Bari Newport in a press release.

The boxes have taken on a wide variety of new identities, inspired by plays and playwrights. Artist Carol Michaud designed a sculptural piece, bringing Audrey, a bloodthirsty plant from “Little Shop of Horrors,” to life, and making the newspaper box unrecognizable. This piece will be placed in front of the Charles Inn in West Market Square. Carol Brooks covered her box with magnolia blooms inspired by “Steel Magnolias,” a play that PTC has produced in 1995 and 2009.

Terri Sanzenbacher was inspired by Shakespeare and named her piece after his famous quote “All the world’s a stage.” She collaged well-known faces from many eras onto the sides of her box, finishing it off with text. Annette Dodd, co-owner of the Rock & Art Shop and a jewelry maker, created a box called “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” which will be placed outside of the Rock & Art Shop. The Central Street Farmhouse also will display one of the box creations. Amanda Boudreau’s design inspired by “Singin’ in the Rain,” which is topped with a black umbrella, will be featured outside the store.

Also participating in the project is a group of artists associated with the University of Maine’s Intermedia Master of Fine Arts program. Owen Smith, Kate Dawson, Jess LeClair, Matt LeClair, Amy Pierce, Heather Perry, Peg Killian, David Colagiovanni and Neil Shelly all have been working hard to transform the newspaper boxes into functional pieces of art for the community. Kate Dawson, who has spearheaded the project, is hoping to make “Street Art Machine Boxes,” also called “SAMboxes.” Her hope is to create artwork that will stay in the community by getting local businesses to sponsor the boxes over the long term.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to support the Penobscot Theatre while giving area residents and visitors new ways to experience art,” Dawson said in a press release.

In addition to the shops listed above, the art pieces will be on display at Epic Sports, Rudman Winchell, the University of Maine Museum of Art, Thistles Restaurant and other prominent downtown Bangor locations. Maps of the Artwalk will be available in several locations, including the University of Maine Museum of Art, The Maine Discovery Museum, Blue Heron, Metropolitan Soul, Epic Sports, Giacomos and The Rock & Art Shop.

PTC also will be hosting a silent auction of the transformed boxes at the Bangor Opera House during the Artwalk on Aug. 10. More information and instructions are available online at penobscottheatre.org, at the Bangor Opera House or on the Downtown Bangor Arts Collaborative’s Facebook page, facebook.com/DowntownBangorArtsCollaborative.

via Bangor-area artists transform old newspaper vending machines into art installations — Living — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine.