We're still feeling inspired by everything we saw at last weekend's East Austin Studio Tour. We tried to capture the diversity of the event and visited painters, metalsmiths, woodworkers, printers, ceramicists, mixed media artists, and many others. As always, Blue Genie Art Industries, BigMedium, and Pump Project made our jaws drop. We can't wait to see what's in the works for next year's tour! Photos taken by Andrew Stalick, Callie Richmond, and Kristin B.... [continue]

The WIM Group stands for Woodworking, Innovating, and Manufacturing not only in name, but also in practice. Their team of skilled woodworkers includes designers, finishers, and craftsmen that work together to further their mission to "leverage modern technology and engineering to promote old world craftsman values". The WIM Group has created impressive conference tables, restaurant dining sets, intricate coffee tables, and custom kitchen cabinetry. Although their work has a sleek and classic feel to it, many of the projects are made with assistance from a CNC machine (essentially a computer guided programmable controller that can make advanced cuts that would be impossible to do by hand). The WIM Group's team wears many hats and together they tackle the design, construction, assembly, finishing, and installation of their work. The WIM Group's studio (located at 801 Springdale Dr.) will be open for this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour. ... [continue]

We're eagerly preparing for this weekend's East Austin Studio Tour; we're plotting our destinations on the map and figuring just how much new artwork can fit in our homes. Although the studio tours don't begin until Saturday, the event kicks off on Friday evening with the Official E.A.S.T. Pre-Party. The party starts at 7pm at the Bolm Warehouses (5305 Bolm Road) and is being hosted by E.A.S.T. organizers from Big Medium studios in collaboration with Bay 6 Gallery. Attendees can pick up an official Tour Guide, snack on refreshments, and enjoy music and dancing courtesy of DJ Anthony Romero. The green-thumbs over at Big Red Sun (1102 E. Cesar Chavez) are also hosting an E.A.S.T. kick off party on Friday from 6:30-9pm. The nursery is celebrating the opening of Judy Paul's new exhibit at the store with art, wine, and a fire in the fire pit. ... [continue]

Screen doors are a fixture of the South, and after a summer like we just had, it's little wonder why. A handful of stylish Central Texans are luck enough to have a custom screen door designed and constructed by Susan Wallace. While a screen may seem like a silly item to invest in, Wallace's sleek construction and creative designs propel the utilitarian door into the realm of functional art. While her screens can be seen at various private residences around town, Wallace has also created sculptural work with the aluminum banding that she uses to create her grillwork. Her large Tree of Life is installed in the lobby of UT's Department of Psychology Building. ... [continue]

This weekend, the Blanton Museum of Art is celebrating the completion of the Blanton complex by unveiling the Edgar A. Smith Building. The new facility, which is adjacent to the James A. Michener gallery building, houses the museum's cafe, a gift shop, an auditorium, and classrooms for art and education events. The Smith building also provides much needed administrative offices for the Blanton staff. The opening of the new structure makes the Blanton the largest university museum in the United States. The Blanton has plans to use the auditorium and classrooms for both UT and community events, and is working with the Austin Film Society to screen films in the 300 seat theatre. ... [continue]

The Decoder Ring Design Concern is a giant among the visual communication world that happens to be based in our humble little town. We've long enjoyed the multidisiplinary studio's fine art prints and screenprinted rock and roll posters, but a perusal through their online portfolio speaks to how ubiquitous and powerful the Decoder Ring design team is. They've done the CD packaging for some of our favorite albums, designed Shiner billboards, developed the SXSW logo, and even made Whataburger look retro-cool. Decoder Ring recently moved all of their design and production to an East Side studio space, and are consequently opening their doors to participants in this year's East Austin Studio Tour. In accordance to their penchant for team work, the Decoder Ring designers all took turns in answering some questions for Austinist. ... [continue]

The 7th annual East Austin Studio Tour will take place on November 22nd and 23rd. The free event serves as a comprehensive open house for studios and work spaces through out the East Side. This year, more than 150 studios are participating in the tour, allowing interested appreciators of the arts see how talented craftspeople create their work. Many of the EAST studios have art for sale and all offer a unique behind the scenes glimpse into the creative process. Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting artist interviews and profiles of a few of the participating studios. ... [continue]

Before heading to your final party destination this Halloween night, stop by Domy Books to celebrate the timely opening of their latest exhibit, Monster Show 3. The mixed media group show is being billed as a "compendium of awesome monster drawings" and a similar show has run at Domy's Houston store for the past few years. Artists who have submitted their devilish doodles include Okay Mountain co-founder Sterling Allen, and queen of embroidery Jenny Hart. Cody Ledvina and Justin Goldwater, two artists who have recently had solo exhibits at the Domy gallery space, will be back with their best ghoulish depictions. ... [continue]

Maker Faire had us feeling both completely inspired and totally inadequate; here are some more pictures to prove it.... [continue]

If you stopped by the Austinist table at last weekend's Maker Faire, we might have convinced you to fill out a map of the places or things that are important to you in our fair city. Submissions ranged from informative to sassy to just plain colorful, and we're presenting some of our favorites here. ... [continue]

We had a blast at last weekend's Maker Faire. Here's our first set of photos from the event.... [continue]

The second annual Austin Maker Faire kicks off tomorrow at the Travis County Expo Center. Today is the last day to buy discount tickets to this fabulous celebration of all things do-it-yourself. Discounted tickets are available at the Whole Foods on Lamar and at the Austin Children's Museum until the close of business today. If you can't make it downtown, tickets are available online and will be sold at the door. The number of awesome exhibits, projects, demonstrations, and of course robots is somewhat daunting, but the organized folks from Make Magazine have put together a comprehensive schedule, map, and program guide for the event. ... [continue]

Avi Hartman is the mechanical genius behind Carmadillo, a 100 pound, gas-powered art go-kart, which he’ll be showing off at Maker Faire this weekend. The thing, which took about 400 hours to build, really does look like an especially well-fed armadillo and, yes, that’s real fire shooting from its eyes. We had a little chat with Avi about his art. ... [continue]

Science and Engineering will be at the heart of many of the exhibits and activities at this weekend's Maker Faire. Far from overly nerdy or too cerebral, many of these projects are inspiring and entertaining applications of some complex calculations. Even if math sometimes makes our brains hurt, we're excited to check out the many brainy, techy, creations that will be on display. Academy Award winning special effects and stunt coordinator Steve Wolf will be demonstrating how science is used to create special effects and help with stunts. The local chapter of the American Chemistry Society will be supervising a dozen hands on chemical activities in the Maker Kids area. Prospective scientists will be encouraged to check out the Therm Fire Sculpture Robots show complete with four flaming robots, a gigantic Tesla coil, and a turbine powered fire sculpture. Don't try this at home (or, as Maker Faire might suggest, do try it at home with the appropriate safety precautions). ... [continue]

On his Maker Faire profile, Peter Ruck, creator of mousetrap catapult guns, states: “With a broken back from a train-hopping incident over 7 years ago, I need ways to stay busy and avoid the pain. Teaching after school and creating is what I do for that.” So he splits his time up volunteering at the YMCA and Make-a-Wish Foundation and “building random things.” The guns he makes are “powered by mousetraps and bungee cords [and are] ready for action. They are generally made of found objects and store-bought goods.” The guns can shoot all sorts of “ammo”—pencils, for example. They’re customized, too—“Some even have a beer opener.” Others incorporate forks and spoons. ... [continue]

Mark Winkler will be at Maker Faire, with Mongo, his trebuchet—that’s catapult to those of you who aren’t familiar with medieval weaponry. When not building a catapult capable of hurling a fifteen pound watermelon 240 yards, Winkler is a layout design engineer (aka chip designer). He answered a few questions for us about Mongo. ... [continue]

Like the myriad of exhibitors at the year's Maker Faire, the arts and crafts offerings will be far from ordinary. At the center of all the craftiness, Swap-O-Rama-Rama will give everyone a chance to become a fashion designer. Anyone attending Maker Faire is encouraged to bring a bag of clothes to alter, modify, or exchange at the Swap. Local designers will be helping out with sewing stations, on site screenprinting, and all manner of clothing mod tricks. There will even be a Swap-O-Rama-Rama reuse fashion show. ... [continue]

This year's Maker Faire will feature many exhibits that focus on sustainability and green technology. Do-it-yourselfers of all backgrounds will be at the event to show off their eco-friendly creations. Intrigued tree huggers should start at The Green, Cost-Effective, DIY Extravaganza where attendees can learn how to make a solar oven, build a low-cost graywater system, make a pedicab, or set up an indoor garden. Visitors can also explore and talk to the makers of a hand built earthen oven and a solar powered water distilling device. ... [continue]

Tina Sparkles, member of Austin Craft Mafia, DIYer extraordinaire, indie designer and imminent author will be setting up a sewing station at Maker Faire 2008 with First Samples, an Austin sewing and design studio. We caught up with Sparkles to find out about her Maker Faire plans. ... [continue]

We've launched our Maker Faire mini-site! Stay on top of event information and previews as well as coverage during and after the festivities. We'll have interviews with participating makers as well as extensive photos. ... [continue]