Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market

It's happening again! The Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market at Big Bear Cafe in Washington, DC, will take place on Sunday, December 18, 5–9pm.

Shop local and support your favorite artisans and designers at DC's best coffee shop. Vendors include Sean Hennessey, De*Nada Design, Tigerflight, Van Wagoner Studios, Leafyhead Lotions & Potions, Highway to Hill, and Goshdarnknit.

We'll help you finish your holiday gift shopping list as you pick up some treats for yourself, sing along with the carolers, and enjoy everyone's favorite winter treat, spiked cider!

Details:
What: Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market
Where: Big Bear Cafe (First and R St NW, DC)
When: Sunday, December 18
Time: 5-9pm

Invite your friends!

west elm + Etsy: Handmade Holiday

I recently announced that I'd been selected by Etsy and West Elm to participate in their Holiday Pop Up Shop. Well, that day is almost here! This Thursday, December 1, find me at west elm, Tyson’s Corner, in McLean, VA, from 6–9pm.

The Tyson's Corner west elm + Etsy pop up event will feature Goshdarnknit along with Pickwick Papers, Naked Decor, Herban Lifestyle, and Rachel Pfeffer Designs. The featured local charity for the Tyson's Corner event is Jill's House.

From the west elm blog:
It’s time! Join Etsy + west elm on the evening of Thursday December 1 for a Handmade Holiday Workshop in your local west elm store! We’re super excited that all 37 of our stores* will be hosting a workshop to create handmade ornaments and there will be a mini-market of local Etsy sellers set up to share their wares. Come find something for everyone on your list and contribute gifts and decoration for a tree that will be donated to a local charity. Each store chose a charity in their community!....


Knit Dress VIII . 2011 . by Rania Hassan . Available here

I hope to see you there!

Similar events are happening at all west elm shops, so if you're not in the area, maybe you'll find one nearby. Click here to see the full list.

Details:
What: Etsy + West Elm Holiday Pop Up Shop
When: Thursday, December 1, 2011
Time: 6–9pm
Where: west elm, 7866L Tyson’s Corner Center, McLean, VA 22102
Click here for a mall directory.

etsy+west elm.

I'm thrilled to share that I’ve been selected by Etsy and West Elm to participate in their Holiday Pop Up Shop at West Elm, Tyson’s Corner, on December 1 from 6–9pm. And I would love for you to be there!

I’ll have notebooks:

...and lunchbags:

....and even some of my new Knit Dress pieces:

If you see something specific in my shop you’d like me to bring for you, please drop me a message I’ll be sure to save it for you!

More about the event from West Elm:
On December 1 from 6-9 p.m. we are hosting a Handmade Holiday Workshop and Mini Market with Etsy in every single one of our West Elm stores. At these events you can enjoy drinks and snacks while you shop from local Etsy sellers and make ornaments with Etsy to help decorate a tree we’re donating to a local non-profit.

Details:
What: Etsy + West Elm Holiday Pop Up Shop
When: Thursday, December 1, 2011
Time: 6–9pm
Where: West Elm, 7866L Tyson’s Corner Center, McLean, VA 22102

I hope to see you there!

crafty bastards 2011.

Super excited to announce I'll be participating in this year's Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair. Save the date! Saturday, October 1, 10am–5pm, Adams Morgan, Washington, DC.

Above are the limited edition buttons I designed for a Hello Craft promotion at Crafty Bastards 2010. Other packs were designed by El Jefe Design, and Kelly Towles. To the right of the buttons is my Castaway illustration, shown here hand printed on a Moleskine notebook:

This pocket size notebook is available in both ruled and plain pages in my shop.

My hand printed notebook collection has been growing. To make more of the cover artwork visible, Sean designed and built these awesome display racks:



Only 62 days to go till the best event in DC. This will be my 5th year as vendor, and I'm just as excited as I was for my very first Crafty Bastards show.

What will this year bring? What are you doing to prepare?

Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market

Get your Art! Drink your Rum and Cider! Buy your Christmas Trees!
The Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market Returns!

On Sunday December 5th, from 4-9pm, the Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market returns to the Big Bear Cafe in Washington, DC.

A small sampling of Artists and Artisans selected from the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair will be setting up their work to sell. Big Bear Cafe will be open, Special Holiday Drink will be served, and fresh cut Christmas Trees will be available.

Vendors Include:

Goshdarnknit:

Ghost writers, imaginary friends, runaways, unite! Goshdarnknit is illustrated notebooks for your pockets and knit paintings for your walls, all by DC artist Rania. She knits, paints, embroiders, and gocco prints every surface imaginable with swirly tales of cherry swallowing, bunny spinning, arm doodling fun.

Sean Hennessey:

Sean Hennessey creates beautiful wall sculptures from upcylced glass combined with concrete and steel. Using common and slightly nostalgic imagery, he presents work as archeological remnants of our present world and ways of thinking, with hopes to inspire and make your life better.

60bugs:

"60 bugs" is a punk rock song written by a 5 year old. 60bugs is the line of awesome hand-embroidered and gocco-printed stuff inspired by it. Sometimes funny, sometimes absurd, mostly always cute, Debbie Lee of 60bugs makes fun items for all ages like tee shirts, pins, greeting cards and reusable coffee sleeves.

Tiger Flight:

I have a compulsion to make stuff. Lately (at least for the past 2 years) I have been really taken with making stuff out of other stuff. I use recycled materials in the creation of my animals which forces me to incorporate the patterns and shapes inherent in the found materials and work within the limited size and availability of the materials. Each piece I make is unique and done mostly without pattern which helps to reinforce the idea of originality inherent within each creature.

Eve VanDalsen:

Since taking summer classes at Parsons many years ago and apprenticing for a leather smith, I have slowly developed my own business of designing, making, and selling handbags, wallets and dog collars. I use material from deconstructed old leather bags and clothing as well as odd lot remnants and past season skins. Very rarely are two pieces the same. Every single piece is made by me from start to finish in my Capitol Hill basement and dining room table.

Figs & Ginger:

Figs & Ginger makes recycled Sterling Jewelry for all stages of life. Pieces are inspired by Forests and designed to grow with you. A new line of charms & family critter necklaces has been added to the Figs family. Pieces start at $10 and none go above $80. We're affordable, well made, and oh so cute!


And more! Here are the details, we hope to see you there!

What: Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market
When: Sunday, December 5, 2010
Time: 4-9pm
Where: Big Bear Cafe: 1700 1st Street NW, DC [First and R NW]

Crafty Bastards!

Yes, it's that time of year again! Crafty Bastards, the best show in the DC area, is this Saturday, October 2nd, 10am–5pm. If you’ve been, you know how awesome it is.

Sean has a new series of small glass sculptures that are ready to hang on your walls. I'll have knit paintings, a whole new collection of notebook designs, and a really cool new series...a surprise that you have to show up to see.



You'll find Sean and I on the tennis courts, at 18th Street NW and Wyoming Ave. NW. Here's a handy map on where to find us:

goshdarnknit will be in booth #117, Sean is booth #118. Hope to see you there!

Come early for the best selection, you won’t want to miss this show!

workshop: june 5.

Undocumented Border Flowers
image from consuelojunderwood.com

If you're in the DC area, and interested in the fiber arts, here's an interesting workshop for you.

The James Renwick Alliance have organised a fiber workshop by Consuelo Jimenez Underwood this coming Saturday, June 5. The Renwick Alliance are offering a reduced rate for fiber artists interested in taking the workshop. Details follow below.

There will also be a related lecture [free] by the artist on Sunday, June 6, 3pm, in the Grand Salon of the Smithsonian Renwick Museum. Artist Talk is titled "Political Threads/Hilos Politicos—A Contemporary Perspective on Issues Regarding Spirit, Land and Art” Fiber artist Consuelo Jiménez Underwood has been producing artworks expressing her memories of the indigenous peoples of the Americas for more than thirty years. Join the artist as she discusses the historical, societal, and personal references in her work.


Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, Virgen de los Caminos, 1994
Image from craftinamerica.org

More about the Workshop, from the James Renwick Alliance:
Consuelo J. Underwood has exhibited and lectured and given workshops nationally and internationally for more than twenty five years. She was born in Sacramento, California, and received her BA and her MA from the San Diego State University. She developed the Fiber/Textile program in the School of Arts and Design at San Jose State University after receiving her MFA there in 1987. Her contributions to the contemporary Chicano and Fiber Art movements have been referenced in multiple critical publications and her work is in several museums, including our own Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Shifting from brushes and paint to needle and thread early in her career, she has infused her woven and embroidered textiles with historical and political images from her personal and familial past. She has said she has felt empowered by the voices of her maternal ancestors to cross the intellectual borders that separated the hand and the mind from the “fine” art spirit, and that her “work reflects the quiet rage that has permeated the Americas for more than five hundred years.”

This hands-on workshop will be an interactive journey with Consuelo, revealing how threads have context, meaning and power. Participants, using miniature flags, needles and thread, will learn how to transform basic sewing materials and process into powerful statements that deal with contemporary social and political events.

Date: Saturday, June 5, 10am–3pm
Location: The Art League School
305 Madison Street, Alexandria, VA 22315
Fee: This workshop is being offered to visual and fiber artists at the discounted price of $45.
To register: Call Sarah Frey at the JRA Office at 301.907.3888
or email at admin@jra.org.

tribute to fiber art exhibit.

This Saturday, join me at an artist reception!



My piece titled Knit Circle will be on exhibit at the 3rd Annual Tribute to Fiber Art juried exhibit at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland. The show opened on March 3 and will run through March 27. The artist reception is Saturday, March 6, 5.30–7.30pm, hope to see you there!



BlackRock Center for the Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive :: Germantown, MD 20874
Artist Reception: Saturday, March 6, 5.30–7.30pm
Click here for map

Art Gallery Hours:
March 3–March 27, 2010
Monday to Friday, 10am–5pm
Saturdays, 10am–2pm
Free Admission

tomorrow: artists' talk.

Left: Drop Stitch [detail] Right: Anchored II

If you haven't made it to see my newest artwork at Gallery Neptune in Bethesda, tomorrow is your last day! Be there at 2pm to hear Joyce Zipperer and I talk about our work. Details at the very bottom of this post. But first, I have some press to share!

Some press mentions for my exhibit this past month at Gallery Neptune include: dcist, DailyCandy, Washington Post Express, a Gazette conversation and review, as well as a 'Don't Miss' recommendation in the 'Must-See Events of the Week' in the Washington Post Magazine:



Details for tomorrow:

Artists' Talk:
Saturday, November 14, 2pm

Gallery Neptune
5001 Wilson Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 [2nd Floor]
A few blocks from Bethesda Metro Station [Red Line]
Click here for map


Anchored I [detail]

Fashion. Art. Cocktails.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to my opening last week, what an amazing turnout!

The show continues to receive great press mentions, including NBC [thank you!], DC Art News [thank you!], and Washington Post Express [thank you!].



Here's another Saturday night opportunity to mingle around my newest works of art at Gallery Neptune. In addition to being surrounded my art, tonight's event also features models in De*Nada Design's fall/winter collection, shoes by ShoeFly, fashion photography by Violetta Markelou, and yes, complimentary cocktails.



Special Event: Fashion Art Cocktails
October 24, 7:30-10:00 PM

Gallery Neptune
5001 Wilson Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 [2nd Floor]
A few blocks from Bethesda Metro Station [Red Line]
Click here for map

Gallery Hours:
Thursday–Saturday, 12-5 pm, also by appointment
Please see web site for details and additional event information.

My show will be on exhibit through November 14.

opening tomorrow.

My gallery show opens tomorrow night!

All the pieces are up, and I can't wait till the world gets to see them up close. Here's a peek at one of my newest pieces, titled Drop Stitch.

Drop Stitch [detail] size approx 3'x7'

My newest installations are larger than ever before [Drop Stitch is 7 feet tall!] and I've also introduced some found objects and wood into the pieces.

The show opens tomorrow, Saturday, October 17, 7-9pm, and will run through November 14. According to dcist [thank you!], and Daily Candy [thank you!], you'll really want to see this show.

Gallery Neptune
5001 Wilson Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 [2nd Floor]
A few blocks from Bethesda Metro Station [Red Line]
Click here for map

Gallery Hours:
Thursday–Saturday, 12-5 pm, also by appointment
Please see web site for details and additional event information.

my upcoming show.

I'm working on new pieces for my upcoming show that opens next weekend, Saturday, October 17! The exhibition at Gallery Neptune will feature new directions in my Knit Together series in a two-person show with metal sculptor Joyce Zipperer.

Show opens Saturday, October 17 and runs through Saturday, November 14. Here are the details:

Opening Reception:
October 17: 7 PM

Location: Gallery Neptune
5001 Wilson Lane :: Bethesda, MD

October 17-November 14

Gallery Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 12-5 PM

I hope to see you all there!

Crafty Bastards!

...is tomorrow!
Saturday, October 3, 10am-5pm.
Find me in booth #18, right here

Today I was featured in the Washington Post Weekend:

Yes, those are my hands knitting on the cover! The print edition has great pics for the full spreads!

Can't make the event? I keep an updated list of upcoming shows on the right. You can also find me everywhere online, and visit my shop where I ship around the world.

ps...don't forget to vote goshdarnknit Craftiest Bastard 2009!

raniahassan.com

Introducing my brand new web site: raniahassan.com

There you'll find selected art work from the past four years, as well as news, resume, and press details. It's quite interesting to see how my knit paintings have developed.

Please update your links!

And now, I'm of to knit some more...

James Renwick Alliance Award

See the blue ribbon? I won an award!

This past Friday was opening night at Artomatic. As it turns out, there was an award and golden ticket waiting for me in my space. I received a Craft Award of Distinction from the James Renwick Alliance [JRA] for my Knit Together installation.



From the Washington Glass School blog:
The judges were Mrs. Deena Kaplan, long time art supporter and world class craft collector, Mr. John Kotelly, Esq., former President of the JRA and avid craft collector, Dr. Paul and Mrs. Elmirina Parkman, both Past Presidents of the JRA, founding members of the JRA and long time craft collectors, Ms. Judy Weisman, JRA Acquisitions Chair and long time craft collector and consultant.

Thank you to the James Renwick Alliance, I'm so honored to have been recognised and selected for this award.


Visiting Artomatic? You'll find my work on the 9th [top] floor, section 3. The show is open through July 5. Please see web site for hours.

JRA awardees, by craft category, were:
Fiber: Rania Hassan [me!]
Clay: Laurel Lukaszewski
Metal: Michael Sirvet
Glass: Phil Vickery
Wood: James Long
Mixed Media: Eric Celarier

ACC baltimore.

Have I mentioned I'm in the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore?

Yes, yes I am.

The Craft Council defines the section I'm in, 'AltCraft,' as: This section features rising indie crafters whose work illustrates the innovative techniques and materials of the burgeoning new handmade movement...

The show started on Friday and is open today [Saturday] from 10am-6pm, and then tomorrow [Sunday] from 10am-5pm. For more details, please visit the American Craft Council's show web site.

Stop by and say hi! If you can't make it, here is a quick peek at my installation of all new knit together paintings.

In the next week I plan to update my Etsy shop with new works. Stay tuned!

POOL.

Goshdarnknit is at POOL! It's an art+design+fashion show in Las Vegas. Our first trade show, and our first time on the west coast with our brand. We've made some amazing contacts, and gotten to know some great exhibitors. And of course, we've had lots of fun. Here are some pictures of our booth:

Saturday.

This is it, it's your last weekend to Buy Handmade from local indie artists and designers before the holidays!

Lucky for you, tomorrow the Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market returns for another fun show at the Big Bear Cafe.

Our vendor list includes:
Andrea Haffner
De*Nada Design
Sean Hennessey
goshdarnknit
Kristina Bilonick
Neighborhood Fiber Co
Realm Jewelry
Tiger Flight

Skip the mall and join us for some last minute holiday shopping at the second annual Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market:

Saturday, December 20th, from 4-9pm, at the Big Bear Cafe, First and R St NW in DC.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!


Thanks dcist and washingtonian for writing about us!

ps...if you absolutely can't make it tomorrow, Sean and I will also be at the Black Cat Rock'n'Shop again on Sunday!

bloomingdale holiday art market.

Arts! Crafts! Cider! Fun!

Yes, it's happening again! The Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market returns for another fun show at the Big Bear Cafe. We're looking forward to our second annual handmade art market in the neighborhood and hope to see you there!

Save the Date! Saturday, December 20th, from 4-9pm at the Big Bear Cafe, 1st and R St NW in DC.

Come shop with amazing local artists including: Andrea Haffner, Sean Hennessey, Realm Jewelry, De*Nada Design, Kristina Bilonick, and more!


Buy Handmade this holiday season and support your local artists and designers! Have you taken the pledge yet?