Fabulous postcard design by Derek Toomes.

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Join us on May 12 (Mother’s Day) from 1 – 5pm for our semiannual open house! This time around we thought we’d try something a little different, so we are hosting a Collage Part in the main gallery where everyone can come collaborate on a twenty foot long collage. We love that you come look at our art, now let’s make some together! (We’ll also have supplies handy to make your Mom a card if you’re an uber procrastinator like we are.)

We’ll still have all the regular stuff too: refreshments, art, merriment. Don’t miss this event! It won’t happen again for at least six whole months!

for Bonded Llama’s Fall Open House

Explore the studios and art of

• Luke Buchanan
• David Eichenberger
• Rachel Herrick
• Ann Marie Kennedy
• Sean Kernick
• Cayce Lee
• Jennifer Partridge
• Shelley Smith
• Matt Scofield
• Derek Toomes

The Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in Portland, Maine, is part of the very cool Publication Studio (PS) network, which spans around the US, Canada, and soon Europe. You can learn more about PS here, but the main thing to love about them is that they publish books about art– more specifically, books about Rachel Herrick’s Obeast Project!

Rachel is currently writing/designing/editing/finishing a two-volume book set about the obeast project. Both books are due at the printer’s before the end of  October. They could be available as soon as early December–though early 2013 seems likely.

The first book in the set will be a complete overview of the North American Obeast from within the narrative of the project. It will describe obeast biology, history, conservation, and will be an extension of the project itself (which can see more of at the project’s site).  In addition to Rachel’s own writing, book one will include two articles about obeasts written by a real-life religion professor and an anthropoligist. Additionally, two local artists are contributing their own obeast art: Michelle Lyon has made an antique children’s obeast doll, and Bonded Llama’s own Derek Toomes is creating old circus paraphanalia featuring obeasts.

The second book in the sett will locate the obeast project in a cultural, scholarly context through a collection of articles by smarties writing from the places where their current interests intersect with the obeast project. Since the obeast project incorporates many academic fields (including science, cultural identity, satire/hoax/comedy, nature conservation, fat activism, and feminism), the contributors to this second book represent this range in their backgrounds and topics. Here’s the roster:

• Chuck Dyke (Philosophy Professor @ Temple University)
• Marilyn Wann (Fat Activist & Author)
• Stefanie Snider (Art Historian + Fat & Queer Activist)
• Jenny Hagel (NYC Comedian & TV Writer)
• Carl Dyke (Associate History Professor, Methodist University)
• Jennifer Denbow (Assistant Political Science Professor, University of New England)
• Rebecca Duclos (Curator, Writer, Art Historian, Graduate Dean at Art Institute of Chicago)

For more news on the books’ progress visit Rachel’s blog: http://rachelherrick.wordpress.com

Matt and Derek working in the Bonded Llama gallery space on a project for Winston-Salem

Sunday, April 22 (Earth Day). 1-5pm

Be there or be square. You don’t want to be square, do you?

Join us as we open the Llama doors for our Fall Open House 2011!
Great art, even better people. See you there!

Time flies when your making art. Our Spring Open House is already at hand. Join us as we open the doors to our studios. We have some incredibly talented new members of the Llama family, Derek Toomes and Garrett Scales. Come by, say hi and check out some art on a fine Spring Sunday.

Sunday, April 10

1 – 5 pm

NCNC [North Carolina New Contemporary]
October 8, 2010 – March 13, 2011
From SECCA: “A recent movement in art-making is fusing seemingly disparate elements of history painting and collage with graffiti, video gaming, folk, anime, advertising and film. In a state of continual muta-tion, this movement congregates a variety of practices under one amorphous umbrella – speed-ing through titles as quickly as it does styles… Such efforts found immediate traction in major urban centers, and intriguing interpretations outside the mainstream. Such is the case in North Carolina, where a generation of young artists from across the state are animating “new contemporary” with painting and sculpture that traverses the aesthetic spectrum.” Featured artists: Darren Goins, Hieronymus, James Marshall [Dalek], Brian Mashburn, Sean Pace [Jinx], Taiyo la Paix, Parail, Mathew Curran, Derek Toomes, Gabriel Shaffer

Visit SECCA’s site for images of the show and more information.

Ben Franklin once said, “There can’t be good living where there is not good drinking.” I find that quote highly debatable and slightly ironic. Sure, most of my best stories begin with “I was so wasted this one time that….” but for each legendary story I have compiled I am plagued with 50 liver-soaked, hang-over ridden, bruise bearing all-nighters that have probably shaved a considerably slice off the lifespan.

It is this dichotomy that I have chosen to explore for my first solo show, “DRUNK Illustrated”. I will be detailing my rancid, adventurous and mayhem ridden drinking stories as well as a collection of gems from friends and family. Each colorful story will be hand-painted and illustrated on a full 40oz bottle of bottle of Old English malt liquor while slowly rotating on bottom lit, revolving display platforms.

Drunken pink elephant style. Juxtaposing these stories with a cartoonish, colorful execution and displaying on rotating platform will illustrate the adictive, engaging and dizzying power that alcohol possesses over some of us.

A set of custom painted bottles will also feature portraits from a collection of the worlds greatest drinkers, happy & sad. These will feature Edgar Allen Poe, Andre the Giant, Ben Franklin, John Daly, and Judy Garland.

Come early, thirsty and prepared to share your greatest drinking stories. I know you have one or two that you wish you could forget.

Check out a few preview shots of the storied bottles:

The show will be located at the Bonded Llama on Capital Blvd in Raleigh.

The Llama can be a little hard to find but this map should help you out.

Click to find Bonded Llama on Google Maps.

Light food & refreshments will be provided while they last.

Questions? Hit me. uprockmedia@gmail.com – 919.522.0149

via http://www.raleighcitymuseum.org/

The Green Frame: An Exposition in Reclaimed Materials opens Friday, April 9, 2010. Join us for an evening reception from 6:00p.m-9:00p.m. as we celebrate the museum’s first collaboration with Builders of Hope. Builders of Hope creates affordable, green housing by rescuing and recycling these homes, turning them into new hope for working families and giving communities new life. Green Frame: An Exposition in Reclaimed Materials, celebrates this mission through the vision of local artists.

Using materials reclaimed from Builders of Hope, sixteen invited artists have created unique interpretations of what it means to recycle, rebuild, and renew hope. The artists featured are Jim Adams, DL Anderson, Jeff Bell, Luke Buchanan, Jason Craighead, Dave Green, André Leon Gray, Christian Karkow, Tim Kiernan, Louis St. Lewis, David McConnell, Madonna Phillips, Sarah Powers, Bob Rankin, Doug Van de Zande, and Mia Yoon. In addition to the unveiling of Green Frame, the event will also feature live music and free refreshments. This program is free and open to the public.

The Raleigh City Museum is located in the Historic Briggs Building at 220 Fayetteville Street. The museum is open Tuesday-Friday, 10:00a.m.-4:00p.m. and Saturday, 1:00p.m.-4:00p.m. Admission to the museum and programs is free. The permanent exhibits are, It Started With One Thousand Acres: Raleigh and its People, Raleigh’s City Flag: 100 Years, and Let Us March On: Raleigh’s Journey Towards Civil Rights. Call (919) 832-3775 ext. 23 or visit our website at http://www.raleighcitymuseum.org/ for more information.