the auction piece

For my auction piece, I wanted to create something that not only alludes to what BICAS is all about, but also says something about where it is and who makes it happen: the Tucson community. The effect of Mexican culture on Tucson’s looks and lifestyle is hard to deny: the colors, the cuisine, the festivities have an effect on everything around us in this city. The Dias de los Muertos celebrations in this city are really amazing, a collective community effort, and one of the biggest ones in the whole country. It is also one of my favorite things about living here and love facepainting, so I decided to dray a Skull decorated with bicycle parts.

It is on watercolor paper and I used sharpie markers to draw the image and to color the bike parts, and watercolors to fill in the skull and the background. I finished it off with a classic black frame & named it Dias de las BICAS.

the workshop!

After all that talk and preparation, it finally came time to hold our coinpouch/sunglass case making workshop on the UA mall!

Since I had class up until 15 minutes before the workshop and was not able to help set up beforehand, I volunteered to create the how to instruction sheet for the workshop. The group that held their workshop a few days before us focused on making bike bags, and had a how-to instructional sheet that I got some great inspiration from. It made me think about sewing instructions, which I have always thought of in a visual manner because I would always watch my mom while growing up. I found that it was little difficult to put it into words, so I relied heavily on diagrams and minimal written descriptions.

It felt really good to see all of our work come together for the event. Though there were not as many people walking around at the mall as there had been a few days prior, our workshop did gain the attention of a good amount of people. Though not everyone that stopped by decided to parttake in the crafting, I think the event did what it was set out to do: bring attention to BICAS and their annual auction. Most everyone was interested int the organization and took the pamphlets and information that we were offering.

The Art Auction is Finally Here!

The art auction is tomorrow and I'm pretty darn excited! I've never participated in something like this so I'm very excited to see how it works. I signed up to work the kids corner during the auction so I'm curious to find out what that entails and what other help I can offer. I also was surprised yesterday in class when I learned that the auction isnt until sunday. I thought that saturday was the only day the auction was going on. Oh well im excited to help both days. For the auction I donated an ink and water color work I made, the zombie one, and my roommate Aaron Schottenstein donated two photographs of my bike.

The semester is basically over and of course the stress is hitting me in the face like a waterfall. I have like 4 projects due next week two papers and I almost forgot our symposium! School is intense sometimes. Speaking of the symposium I am kinda worried about how that is gonna run my group is making a power point so I'm not necessarily worried about that as much as I am worried its going to be really boring. The only problem with that is Im not exactly sure how to make it fun. I'm sure ill think of something...

What would a boy corsage look like?

The BICAS Art Auction is drawing nearer! I've been getting more and more excited as we get closer and I just can't stand it any longer, it's a good thing it starts tomorrow. Yesterday in class we all worked on making corsages for ourselves and the BICAS staff to wear at the art auction. This was one of the most fun days we've had in class. Being able to craft together as a class is one of the best parts about this experience and really creating a community within our group by working towards a common goal has been an extra aspect of this class. In our endeavors to make the most of the bike tube as a material for the corsages, we looked at a few really spectacular tutorials online on how to make ribbon roses and palmetto roses which ended up being more fun to watch for their comedic value than in actually teaching us how to create the roses. We were able to kind of figure it out and a lucky few people will be able to wear our more successful attempts as corsages which will be fun. Now all I have to do is finish my own corsage...I think I'll attempt to make a poppy out of bike tubes for my corsage. And then maybe some red glitter for a little dazzle.

Art Auction is Around the Corner!

With the workshop behind us, we have had some time in class to reflect upon what aspects of it went well and better than we might have expected, and what we wished had gone a little smoother or turned out a little differently. We all agreed that it would've been great to have a little larger of a turnout from people not involved in our class, who had either seen the fliers or just been walking by the tent and been intrigued. It brings up the issue of how you can foster interest in a non-profit such as BICAS on a busy place like the UA mall, because everyone is so busy and pre-occupied that, if your tent isn't giving away free Levis or a makeover (which was the case on our workshop day), it's likely many people will not take the time to stop.

What we were really pleased with was the relative ease with which we were able to set up and actually hold the workshop, and get everyone making panniers without much trouble or confusion. As mentioned in the previous post, we got a lot of bags donated for BICAS to sell, so it was great that everyone found the directions easy to follow, the materials easy to work with, and the activity entertaining.

Now, our class has already dropped off art for the art auction and is getting prepared for the big event in a few days. For my donated piece, I printed a photograph of my bike, parked on "A" Mountain, using the traditional black and white darkroom, and had the photo matted and framed so that it'd look super shnazzy in hopes that it will bring in a little bit of money for BICAS. Below is a scanned version of the photo.



Lastly, our group is now also preparing for the symposium, during which we will discuss the experience we had working with BICAS, and our specific workshop, including: why we chose to hold a workshop on the mall, what our goals were, the successes and failures of our workshop, what we've learned from the experience, and just a general overview of what our time in this class has brought us. We are going to talk about all this with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation; we had considered having a mini-workshop as part of our presentation, but decided it might be as fun or fulfilling if it is too hindered by time limitations that go along with our presentation length. But who knows, maybe we can pull some tricks out of our sleeves and hold a small activity!

Excited for the Auction!

The BICAS Annual Art Auction is just around the corner! Tonight, the ARE 520 class had a wonderful symposium at Dr. McClure's home. It was a fantastic way to gather as a group and share our creative endeavors with BICAS that are coming to a close after an entire semester of hard work. It was so interesting to see each person's personality reflected in the project he or she developed. By having an enormous amount of freedom in regard to our involvement with BICAS, each student was able to take a concept that spurred personal excitement. I was very impressed with the ideas that emerged from our group and believe that each project helped BICAS in a different way.

It was especially great that Casey could join in our celebration! Listening to her speak about BICAS immediately revealed her deep love of her job and how important the relationship is with the U of A. Many of the participants in our class will be continuing to work with BICAS next semester and beyond. Working in the community centers on building lasting relationships between the non-profit and the participant; therefore, fostering a lasting presence in the community cannot happen if participants fade in and out with each passing semester. Speaking for myself, I am truly excited to continue involvement with BICAS throughout my time in Tucson. Experiencing Casey's heartfelt passion has had a great influence on me and I hope to be able to follow my own interests in the future as she has.

I have participated in non-profit art auctions before and, although they require an enormous amount of work, they are very enjoyable. I am looking forward to the first of many auctions with BICAS!

Finished!!!

Finished At LAST!!!

(Ana Putting Last Bottle Cap)

After a long battle to complete our group's art piece it is finally finished...(what a relief)

Our art piece is made up of bottle caps that were drawn on by the U of A community and we then glued each one to a piece of scrap wood and formed the negative space of a bike. i am truly happy with the way it turned out and I hope it sells at the annual BICAS Art Auction!!!

I would like to thank all of the participants who helped make this piece and all of those who designed a bottle cap.