hey everyone,

there’s a lot going on in the city this weekend. Craft fairs-a-plenty EVERYWHERE!
here are 2 that we’ll be representing at…

SATURDAY May 30
Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar
1200 E. Passyunk Ave (around the corner from Pat’s and Geno’s)
1-5PM

Stop by and say hello- I’ll be selling my jewelry (Aviaire Timepiece Jewelry)- necklaces (for guys and gals), earrings, cufflinks, tie tacks, lapel pins, etc. SUPER DISCOUNT PRICES!
also new leather cuffs and some close-outs such as guitar straps and hats!

then SUNDAY May 31
Fleisher’s Artspiration
A Free Community Arts Festival
for the Whole Family
10am-4pm

Our wonderful pal Erin will be selling some of her cute wares as well as some of ours- stop by and say hello!

Fleisher Art Memorial presents the third annual ARTspiration! — a FREE community arts festival. This outdoor festival will take place between Fleisher’s 719 Catharine Street and 705 Christian Street buildings and along the 700 block of Catharine Street. Family-oriented activities will include free art-making activities, a plant and herb sale, bake sale, book sale, art and craft sale, free performances, and a prize raffle. Neighborhood food vendors will also be on hand selling refreshments and treats for the whole family.

Booths will include new and familiar faces. Eggplants, cantaloupes, peppers, bananas and tomatoes will make their return at the popular “Play with Your Food” booth, where young people can transform them into zany creatures and colorful characters. Other returning booths will include face painting, printmaking, button-making, sidewalk chalking, portrait drawing, and more.

Come one, come all, and bring your bike!

Bicycle-art workshops for all ages are new this year. Festival-goers are invited to bring along their bikes for an artistic makeover — just in time for National Bike Month!This year’s festival will also feature several guests: The Please Touch Museum will arrive with their Play Patrol, a travel-sized version of the museum; The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Division of Education Community Program will offer sunflower hat and medieval crown-making activities; and master muralist Cesar Viveros and Fuego Nuevo will lead an Aztec hieroglyph art-making activity in both Spanish and English. Performances will spotlight family-based Yaretzi, a Mexican folk dance group; a teen break dance demonstration; and Cambodian Classical Dance pieces. On the music front, DJ Jesus Soto returns as MC — spinning music for the whole family, with interludes by accordionist Benjamin Laden.Bring the kids, and tell your friends!

Also stop by the Art Star Craft Bazaar down at Penn’s Landing- a handful of our artists will be selling their wares both Saturday and Sunday!

See you out and about!- Carolynne

hello everyone,

just wanted keep you all updated on all of the going-ons here at MEW.

Stop in and check out our current exhibit: “Lessons Learned: New Artwork About Old Things” by Lea D. Sorrentino.

the exhibit runs thru May 7, so don’t miss it! in addition to all of the really great (and AFFORDABLE!) artwork on the walls, Lea has also constructed a really awesome 6ft. tall cut paper tree and a silhouette clothesline strung across the gallery.

I create art to understand the development of human perception and emotion. I use my artwork to tell stories, and use those stories as a vessel to create emotional connections with people. Many of the themes I use in my work are personal experiences that I feel are emotionally charged, but are universally related to. I am trying to guide my viewer into seeing that struggle is not defined by the cause, but by the emotion that cause leaves behind. I also use my artwork to explore the connections between a person’s class and their behavior.
Visually I try to make my work approachable. I use bright colors and simple drawings to express difficult experiences of my life. I want the viewer to assume that what they are about to see is secure and familiar, but in reality deals with adult subjects that can be awkward or uncomfortable. I use a “comic” style to make my artwork feel youthful and inviting, which helps push the juxtaposition of the content. I also try to use text not just to inform the viewer or push the story, but to guide them through a path around the piece.
My current work specifically deals with my experience becoming the person I am today. When you are younger you have the same emotions that you currently experience daily, but you do not have the knowledge to understand those emotions. With this work I am trying to make a time line of human growth and development. I want my artwork to be used as a way to discuss the aspects of emotion and struggle that are not individual, and are shared by all humans. -Lea Sorrentino 2009

Tuesday night workshops,
with instructor Rose Drew

April 21: Intro to Color Theory
Learn how to mix the colors you want

May 5: Intro to Gouache/Watercolor Painting
Get familiar with handling these paints

May 19: Greeting Card Painting
Create original cards with painted images

$25 per class*
*includes materials, light refreshments, and a 10%
discount on Mew Gallery boutique items.

Space is limited. Pre-registration is required no later than the
Friday before each class: 215-625-2424 or mewgallery@yahoo.com

*Coming up in May & June: Tuesday night workshops with Miss Koco!
More info to come!

Join us for our Spring Fling Co-Op Artists’ Reception!

Friday April 24

Just in time to get those mother’s day gifts! come in and meet our amazing Co-Op artists, have some drinks, eat some snacks and get some great discounts!

- more info to come!

-carolynne

 

Tomorrow Saturday March 7th, come to Mew Gallery and SAVE SAVE SAVE!!!

just look for the signs and slashed prices on select merchandise- save up to 50% off on some items including but not limited to scarves, hats and knitwear, cards and stationary, accessories!

Some of the participating artists:

Nicole Rae Styer (20% off EVERYTHING!)

Phreedum (All adult tees $20 or 2 for $35 & 20% off all Baby items!)

Glo Bug (slashed prices on select merch.)

Eleanor Day (15% off EVERYTHING!)

I Like it Too Too (discounted prices on select merchandise)

Wooley Bear Wear (50% winter knit pieces)

Pet Scribbles and A Punkin Card Co. (50% off select cards!)

So, really, it’s just Carolynne and I that run this place. We do, however, have a few trusted people who help us by taking on weekend shifts here and there. We really, really, really appreciate them. A lot. We also can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen; so the family of Mew Gallery helpers is tiny. It’s just a couple of people we know we can rely on to run the shop smoothly while we are not here.

Unfortunately, our tiny family of trusted helpers is really busy this weekend. Also unfortunately, Carolynne is throwing me a shower tomorrow (obviously not a surprise and yay! thanks Carolynne!!). So, duh, neither of us can be here!

Luckily for us, we have this great intern now. His name is Jaime and he is a student at Art Institute. He usually comes in and helps out with marketing stuff, web things, and general this and that. He’s great! And trustworthy! So guess who’s been added to the family of store helpers?!?! Jaime! And his girlfriend Cecilia! Yay!! they will be running the store tomorrow from 10 until 4. Totally trustworthy. And they’re big lifesavers.

What is the point of this post? I don’t know… Just making conversation. Also want to let you know that we may not be open until 7:30 tomorrow. We may only be open until 4, when Jaime and Cecilia have to leave to babysit. So get your shopping on early, boys and girls!! Make a plan to go out to brunch at Sabrina’s, grab a coffee at Gleaner’s, and march your butt into Mew to check out our new stuff before 4. Please make sure to say hi to Jaime and Cecilia for me! and “Thanks!”

-Lauren “Bridezilla” Parker

P.S. Please vote for us on MyFox Philly’s Hotlist: Click here to vote
You might have to go through a slightly annoying 1 minute login process but please do vote for us!!

P.P.S. We also have another intern named Valerie and we LOVE her. She’s a student at Art Institute too and is in a couple of the classes I teach. But I seem to recall Valerie saying something about being busy this weekend. So Valerie will get her own post one day about how much we love her. Because, really, we LOVE her!! Valerie is awesome!! Can you tell I felt guilty writing a post of praise to Jaime? How could I not talk about our other intern, Val. as well!!??

P.P.S.S. We love interns!! Wanna intern too? Write us at mewgallery(at)yahoo(dot)com!

We have to get this webshop up and running. It is not as easy as we had imagined. It is taking some time. Once it is up and running we will notify you if you’re on our mailing list or our friend on myspace. you can join our mailing list by contacting us at info(at)mewgallery.org. Or just be our myspace friend.

In the meantime - Check out our individual websites and etsy pages here and here!

I SWEAR!!! We will at least try to post some highlights of our delicious assortment by then. Please check back on that day. I’ll also try to get our mailing list under control so y’all may be getting emails about our web shop soon too.
Yeah 21st century!!!

In the meantime,
HAPPY TOFURKEY EXTRAVAGANZA TO YOU!!!

we are so happy you found our ad and were interested in seeing what this site is all about. unfortunately, our shop is still not together!! we are working on it. you might even find some good stuff in the shop next week so please do bookmark us and check back. we would be thrilled. it will definitely be up and ready by the end of the month, so save some of that holiday shopping moolah for mew gallery.

some stuff you’ll find in our future online shop, just to entice you:
-hand bound journals made from antique leathers and trinkets from all over the world by Margaux Fried of The Black Spot
-hand-dyed and spun yarn by Nikki at Tiny Airplanes
-Nikki also makes teeny stuffed matryoshka dolls and cutesie gnomes!!
-oh and the best necklaces ever
-Neato clothing by Adrienne Mannow of Feast
-More neato clothing by Kurt and Kylie at Kinked Works
-Delicious wix wax candles
-Scrumptious hand made natural body products from Black’s Soap and Sundry
-funny pin packs from plaid pony vintage
-like, a zillion other great things.
-really. we have a lot of stuff and it is all wonderful and it is all made by Philly folks!!
revisit us to shop in our various categories:
jewelry, bags, knit accessories, tee shirts, plushies, paintings, ceramics, housewares, baby stuff, zines, phototgraphy, and lots else.