Pack Rat is one angry dwarf…and don’t forget our black t-shirt.

Imagine if you still lived life like you were in the second grade. Your boss denies your vacation request? Demolish him on the 4-square court. Know your multiplication tables up to 10? You’re a freaking genius! Have a blue foil star. And you glued a stack of popsicle sticks together in one fire-hazard sized pile? Instead of sad and slightly disturbing, it’s artistic. Looking at the stash of reclaimed art supplies at the Materials for the Arts warehouse in Long Island City, NY brings back those grammar school feelings of standing in front of the open art closet–big possibilities. MFTA opens their art and crafts treasure chest to artists and groups who need cheap or free swag in order to make their creative vision a reality. For 31 years, MFTA volunteers and staffers have been saving perfectly good arts supplies from the landfills and playing matchmaker, pairing them with the appropriate causes. Their warehouse is a veritable candy land of paint, glitter, yarn… So, actually, maybe not so much like a land made of candy, but definitely as good. Just seeing it will make you feel like a kid all over again. And knowing that a bunch of schools benefit from the MFTA resources, means that they’re helping today’s kids have that same kind of excitement. So support them how you can. Live near by? Volunteer: volunteer@mfta.org

However,  unlike second grade, if you eat the paste there will be repercussions. You know who you are. Actually, depending on the kind of paste you ate, maybe you don’t.

photo copyright by MFTA/Susan Springer

photo copyright by MFTA

Pack Rat magazine is boo-tiful

Note: Dear readers, this article was slated to appear in the next issue of Pack Rat. Due to time and budget constraints, we have chosen to post it here. Enjoy!

They say that great minds think alike. Perhaps they should also say that great hands make alike, because that seems to be the case with crafters Betsy Greer and Faythe Levine. In 2004 Levine (co-proprietor of Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery) came across Greer’s website, craftivism.com and found there a social concern, as well as a creative drive that mirrored her own. Since then, she has been paying close attention the use of craft methods and materials playing a role in politically motivated art work and projects.

This autumn, Levine has the opportunity to bring that awareness to the rest of us. She is the guest curator of Craftivism: Reclaiming Craft and Creating Community, running from October 9 to October 30 at Lawton Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus. The exhibition showcases the work of such artists as Kate Bingaman-Burt, Amy Carlton, Cinnamon Cooper, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Jennifer Marsh, Cat Mazza, Handmade Nation, Lisa Solomon, Stephanie Syjuco, and Melissa Vogley Woods.

“Creative expression has always been a way to express resistance, voice opinion and raise awareness. I believe the work coming out of our generation is a part of a time-line of socially aware artists and makers,” Levine says. The pieces she has picked for this show are from artists working at the intersection of craft, activism, feminism, environmentalism, DIY, street culture, and more.

Both Levine and Greer continue to give a voice to a new wave of crafters who are using their hands as much as their mouths when they have something to say. Levine’s book (co-authored with Courtney Heimerl), titled Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design is available now as she prepares to show the accompanying documentary of the same name in the coming months. And Greer, who is featured in Levine’s book, has her own book coming out in November, called Knitting for Good!: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch. Together, they are boosting the world of handmade goods up from personally functional, to socially utilitarian.

Read more of our interview with Faythe Levine

photos from Lawton Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Pack Rat’s campaign platform is nothing but crafts.

In this highly charged election year, everyone is gearing up for a major change in the way our goverment does business. Show your support for a candidate, or start your own grassroots movement for yourself by making a vector political poster through Vectortuts’ Photoshop tutorial. Design so good, you could get your dog elected. (Editor’s note: Please do not get your dog elected.)

Photo by Vectortuts

Pack Rat Magazine likes to stir the stew

Well, we here at Pack Rat are pretty much across the board omnivores, but we have our misgivings about the meat industry and have nothing but love for our vegan brethren and sisteren. So, coming across the Post Punk Kitchen, a public access show devoted to tasty vegan meals even made me excited. Delicious sounding recipes like black bean and sweet potato stew, brown sugar fruit cakes, and roast squash pasta have me drooling. If you’re vegan this sounds like a sure thing, and even if you aren’t, who can resist a yummy new recipe?

Pack Rat Magazine loves its readers

It’s easy to think that the statement “You are beautiful,” is just some cheesy attempt at self-love, an affirmation mantra a la Stuart Smalley.  But it’s actually an artistic movement encouraging people to let go of the constant external and interal doubts.  The concept is simple: if a barage of advertisements can make us buy things like soda and laundry detergent, then they could also be put to good use, like making us realize our own self worth.  Repetition, bright colors, and visibility are all tactics used in this consumer driven age to convince us of the things we need. This artistic movement employes all of these strategies, and also tries to catch people in a moment of unawares and penetrate their cynacism through the unexpected.   Does it work?  Who can say, but there’s certainly something to be said for trying to bring a bit more positivity into the world.