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Shop Art Swap - 2015/2016

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12K views 284 replies 25 participants last post by  Mosquito 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Alrighty, then. The votes are in and we are doing a shop art swap. Here's the important stuff:

Basic Details

If this is your first swap, the way it works is everyone makes one of the category, in this case shop art. Then, a few weeks before the mailing date, everyone will receive the name of another participant to whom the completed item will be sent. Postage is the responsibility of the sender. We usually have a few folks from outside the USA participate (me, for instance), and I will attempt to keep the cross-border shipping to a minimum.

Rules for this swap

- Teaser shots are allowed, but please do not post full in-progress or finished pics until after the reveal date.
- A progress pic (sent to me) will be required one month before the reveal date. We want to make sure everyone is working on their item so no one gets disappointed.

What is Shop Art

I think Art falls into the category of "I know it when I see it". Which probably means that everyone will have their own expectation from this swap. I looked at several dictionaries for a definition and they all say something a bit different. Not contradictory, just different. The one I like best is from the OED: "The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power".

As far as the Shop aspect of the swap, I'm going with "produced in your shop, and/or intended to be displayed in your shop".

I don't want to get into the definition any more than that, except to make two points:

- I think most of us would consider something like a bronze Lie-Nielsen 4 ½ to be a work of art of the highest order. But I also think most of us would recognize that the primary purpose of a 4 ½ is to be a tool. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of what you are making is to express your creativity is an aesthetic manner. Your item may be functional, but unlike previous swaps, shouldn't be a functional tool. This is the anti-tool swap.

- The possibilities are endless. Use your creativity. And if you think you don't have any, get lost in Google for a few hours looking for inspiration!

How to sign up

Post below letting me know that you are in and then send me a PM containing the following information:
- Real Name
- Email address
- Shipping Address, including country

I'll confirm your entry into the swap by email, but it may take a couple of days.

Important dates

In order to participate, you need to adhere to the dates below. Failure to do so will result in you getting dropped from the swap. If you can't make one of the dates, please make sure to notify me via PM immediately so that I can update my swap spreadsheet.
- Register for swap: December 21, 2015 (edited)
- Progress picture: January 11, 2016
- Ship date: February 1, 2016
- Reveal date: February 8, 2016. No final pics until this date. Let the recipient post a pic or two before the sender posts their "formal" pics and project entry.

(Thanks to Ripthorn - some of the verbiage in this post was plagiarized from his post on the previous swap)
 
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#12 ·
I'm in! Message sent. This sounds like it could be fun! Now to find out if I can create like Michelangelo's chapel and make an elaborate piece of shop art or Picasso's soup can and end up with a six inch piece of 2X4. Guess it's search google time.
 
#14 ·
Can we clarify

unlike previous swaps, shouldn't be a tool. This is the anti-tool swap.

We meant " unlike previous swaps, shouldn't be a functional tool"

I m in.

- Don W
Don, to be pedantic, I'd probably argue that if it isn't functional it isn't a tool, regardless of what it might have been at one point. But I'll edit the original post to clarify.

Although there's this niggling thought that pretty much anything can be used as a hammer :)
 
#17 ·
Can we clarify

unlike previous swaps, shouldn't be a tool. This is the anti-tool swap.

We meant " unlike previous swaps, shouldn't be a functional tool"

I m in.

- Don W

Don, to be pedantic, I d probably argue that if it isn t functional it isn t a tool, regardless of what it might have been at one point. But I ll edit the original post to clarify.

Although there s this niggling thought that pretty much anything can be used as a hammer :)

- Mark Kornell
Hah, wasn't trying to be smart, I just wanted to make sure what I had in mind was appropriate. But to be argumentative, you're saying if a drill freezes up and doesn't turn, making it non functuional, it not a broken "tool"?

Sorry, but you made me look up " pedantic"!
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
LJs, I think defining "art" is too difficult. I would agree that a bronze LN 4-1/2 is a work of art, and a functional tool. I dont think Art has to be form over function (some would argue form follows function is craft). If someone made me a LN 4-1/2, or restored an old Stanley, or engraved a plane, I would consider them an artist. I personally like the ambiguity of the swap. Build a steam punk / retro shop clock? Check! Build a box for storing card scrapers? Check! Frame some beautiful cross cuts of various burls? Check!

Make something, give it to someone. Art swap complete.
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
LJs, I think defining "art" is too difficult. I would agree that a bronze LN 4-1/2 is a work of art, and a functional tool. I dont think Art has to be form over function (some would argue form follows function is craft). If someone made me a LN 4-1/2, or restored an old Stanley, or engraved a plane, I would consider them an artist. I personally like the ambiguity of the swap. Build a steam punk / retro shop clock? Check! Build a box for storing card scrapers? Check! Frame some beautiful cross cuts of various burls? Check!

Make something, give it to someone. Art swap complete

- AgentTwitch
Bingo, works for me.
 
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