January 31, 2009

2pm-3:30pm

Resolve to no longer be stumped by color mixing or paint choices.

Resolve to step away from your dependence on color-used-straight-from-the-tube.

Resolve to expand your personal palette, make vibrant those shadows, make pop! that pear in the bowl of cherries you’ve been stressing over for months… make lively and lovely the looking-rather-macabre portait-of-young-girl that you’re ready to toss over your shoulder….

We might have the keys to help you.

So don’t despair just yet. Come on by with your thinking cap and perhaps your own personal puzzler to ask us about.

We will provide the tools and the paint to demonstrate [be warned: you may get rather dirty].

We do have some aprons if you happen to toddle in wearing your top-dollar digs.

We may also provide cookies if we ourselves are feeling rather peckish.

See you there!

Curious to try pastels?

Stop in sometime– we have a little testing station set up so you can stick your toe in the pool before taking the plunge…

[That was a metaphor by the way]

You never know– maybe these could be the sticks that shake up your creative fruit juice…

[yes– another metaphor]

Check out our learning center topics http://www.utrechtart.com/community/index.cfm?commentID=173,

http://www.utrechtart.com/community/index.cfm?commentID=171 for more inspiration.

BLACK BAG FRIDAY

This is a super sale that we have adopted from our brother store in Pittsburgh [Thanks, Tim!]

Rules of the sale:

• Date and time: 28 November 2008 BLACK FRIDAY 10AM-7PM

• No Rainchecks.

• All merchandise that fits within ONE Utrecht black tote bag [we will provide at the door] will be 20% off regular pricing.

• Clearly, this excludes furniture and easels and large canvases [but, never fear– these will be covered under holiday sale pricing!]

• Also excluded: all sale items and CLEARANCE items [which we have oodles of– we have made most of this more than 20% off…

• Cannot be combined with other discounts [MARTA, student, bicycle]

• WE WILL PROVIDE THE BAG. Please leave your gym duffle and steamer trunk at home. If you already own a Utrecht black bag, and are concerned with environmental waste, by all means, bring it in….

• call us if you have any more questions!

Everybody VOTE!

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/bestof2008

We have never one this before and I think it’s about time– so put in your 10 cents worth!

We would fit the category Art Supply Store [on page 3]

ges·so

/ˈdʒɛsoʊ/ [jes-oh]

–noun, plural -soes.

1. gypsum or plaster of Paris prepared with glue for use as a surface for painting.
2. any plasterlike preparation to prepare a surface for painting, gilding, etc.
3. a prepared surface of plaster or plasterlike material for painting, gilding, etc.

————————————————————-

[Origin: 1590–1600]
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Our Acrylic GESSO can be used as a ground for both acrylic and oil paintings… as opposed to oil grounds which can ONLY be used under OIL paint [or encaustic]… I repeat: our acrylic GESSO can be used as a painting surface for both acrylic paintings and traditional oil paintings [not together, of course]…

We also have this new “green” stuff called SLUDGE-thick which is made from 100% recycled pigments [which otherwise would be dumped] to prepare a darker ground color….

And of course if you are trying to build up heavier textures try the Utrecht brand Modelling paste and Extender [in tubes, tubs, and gallons] which is less expensive than [and I think superior to–] the major brands of texture mediums [which we also carry] such as Winsor & Newton Liquitex and Golden…

Atlanta is blessed with hordes of creative folks and many of you are interested in redesigning your look– or even redesigning the concept of “fashion” altogether.

bless you.

Being a costume designer myself i appreciate the need to create that shirt that dress that doublet that fabric or even those shoes that are lodged on the periphery of your thoughts.

Please do pursue these creative paths. The fashion world needs a regular shake-down, and people need to distinguish themselves from the ready-to-wear mobs that strut these city streets. Don’t get me wrong, I love the traditional fashion empire, and I myself wear tons of standard brands, but nothing beats the creative flash of inspiration zinging off an individual’s unique pieces. If you have been in the store you’ve probably heard me ooh and aah over various spectacular pieces that my customers have toddled in wearing.

I also love that blurring of the “fine art,” “fashion,” and “craft” borderline. Blur away, baby.

I love that stuff.

So how can WE help you? Well, we DO have a small assortment of really high quality fabric inks and paints. Following this blurb is a listing of alternative suppliers and notes if you need what we don’t currently carry.

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Styrene/Polyester/Plexiglass: large sheets
+ pour-able 2-part plastic resin

for Building Models or the Printmaking technique of Monoprinting [or plastic-forming using molds or vacuum-forming devices]

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Plexiglass

We carry 12″x24″ completely clear Polyester sheets in three different thicknesses: .030, .040, .060. These are perfect for model building and mono-printing techniques.

We also do sell 6”x12” sheets of the various plastic products [polyester, lexan, styrene, PVC] in various thicknesses and various colors which are useful for small models.
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Polystyrene

We sell smaller sheets of the polystyrene which can be used for the vacuum-forming process. This will handle any small job you guys can come up with. The sheet size that we carry is 6”x12”.

However, especially with the fantastically wacky Georgia Tech professors and graduate students, many of you have designs for building robots, cars, or houses out of vacuum-formed plastic. For you, I list the following resources.

Our sheets of polystyrene make a really neat boing-y noise when you wave them in the air. So they also would be useful for wacky sound effects.

I have been un-able to find larger sheets of polystyrene available at any of the traditional consumer hot spots [ACE, LOWE’S, Home Depot]
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Plastic Resin

We do sell an assortment of the smaller quantities of the 2 part plastic resin which can be poured into a mold. The product is by SMOOTH-ON. Their web site is at address:

http://www.smooth-on.com/

I have had no complaints about its usefulness. I have, however, had complaints about the small quantities that we carry. The sets that we carry will make 1.8 lbs of plastic. The gel time is 2-3 minutes. The castings can be de-molded in as little as 10 minutes. They can also be dyed/color-matched.

There are some listings below for those of you that have designed a whole new set of ½ scale army men and soldiers who will guard your grave when you have passed. You know who you are. I am also impressed with the inner-city baby-doll designer. A little saddened, but impressed.

At Lowe’s and Home Depot they sell a 2-part Epoxy Resin [TABLE-GRADE—do NOT get “Floor grade”] which can be used in the lower-detail casting—or the flat pour-in sort of molds to make medallions. This stuff is relatively clear. It is also useful for varnishing 2-dimensional pieces that are on a rigid support.
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