bARTer Sauce -- Two-Face Jane

"Two-faced Jane" is the newest offer on bARTer Sauce. I think I'm in love with her giant, mutant button eye. There's just something about it. Maybe deep down I wish that I, myself, had a giant, mutant button eye instead of a regular eye. Perhaps that would make my cat cease and decist on the waking me up by sniffing my eyeball routine that has become so popular in the mornings these days. Rachel submitted "Two-faced Jane" as an offer for the "Brain Scan."

I'm pretty sure I'd be crazy not to take her up on it which is why I immediately accepted her trade offer. You will be able to submit your own trade offer for "Two-faced Jane" shortly. Check the website in mid-February and she'll be prominently displayed for all to bid on. Are you wondering what the hell I'm talking about? What the hell is bARTer Sauce? What the hell is a "Two-faced Jane" and why the hell are you giving someone a brain scan for it? Well -- first, I would ask you to watch your language in front of the children. But, if there are no children around - -please -- continue to tear it up.

And to answer your questions: bARTer Sauce is an experiment in trading for art and odd objects. Whatever I get, I trade for something else. And then I trade that thing for another thing. And it pretty much goes on forever. Everyone who trades with me has to tell me a story. I document it all on the bARTer Sauce website.

The Museum of Bad Art in the House

Michael Frank, the curator-in-chief of The Museum of Bad Art, spent the evening in our studio on First Thursday signing copies of their new book Masterworks and also giving two presentations on what makes bad art. Thanks to The Stranger for suggesting it:

Michael showed a slideshow of some pieces in MOBA's permanent collection and some submissions that have been rejected. For example, they don't do velvet, they don't do paint by numbers, they don't do 'kid art', but they do do this (ha -- do do):

Some folks brought items to submit to MOBA's permanent collection and one lucky lady, Marlow, from Unusual Life, had an item Michael thought was worthy. His pronouncement was met with her screams of, "It's going in the museum! It's going in the museum! It's going in the museum!"

Local artist and bARTer Sauce supporter, Kelly Lyles, stopped by for the second presentation and took studious notes.

After getting a piece into MOBA, Marlow invited Michael and I to check out their house full of art -- specifically their Paint By Numbers Room. It was breathtaking. They even have an Elvis-shaped topiary in on their patio!

All in all, it was a lovely evening.

Especially if you don't count the pat where I borrowed a projector from work for the slide show portion -- a projector that was stolen within minutes of me borrowing it -- which required that I procure a second projector within one hour of the event starting.

Yeah, it was totally awesome as long as you don't count that part.

Ahhhhhhhh, MOBA. You rule.

Who Arted?

A few months ago, I was walking along in Georgetown, minding my own business, when I saw this sign.

I had to follow it. Of course. What's better than an art-covered fart joke? Nothing. I made my way to a place called The Stables -- a big lofty, garagey-type place with tons of jukeboxes and cool stuffs to look at. And of course, Art.

Well, a couple of weeks ago my new bARTer Sauce friend Staci emailed to let me know she was having a show at that same place. "Hot damn," I thought. Doug and I had been talking about trying to ride our bikes from downtown to Tukwila and this art show was a good half-way point where we could take a little break.

A much needed little break.

That is a hell of a ride people. I was a bit dazed by the time we reached our half-way point so my analysis of the art as "awesome" will have to suffice.

And !YAY! - there was beer!

(and water. Lovely, lovely water.) And there was one piece that I knew had to be mine. Mine, mine mine. And now it is. Mine, mine, mine. Mainly because it is an awesome piece, but also, in tiny part, because Staci spends her hard-earned money on Shower Arts.

You're right, it has nothing to do with that at all and everything to do with finding a way to put a link to my Shower Art store in this blog. You should check out Staci's website.

And catch her at her next show at the Alki Art Fair.

Saturday the 26th from 10AM to 7PM

She'll be across from something called "Spuds." It's surprising that I don't know what that is since I'm so obsessed with potatoes. I sense that I shall soon check it out. And check out the trade Staci made with bARTer Sauce. Did you just say, "What the hell is bARTer Sauce?" bARTer Sauce is an experiment in trading for art and odd objects.

There are three rules: 1. Everything I get, I trade for something else. 2. Everyone who trades with me has to tell me a story. 3. I'll never trade for an accordion.

Much love to you all.

bARTer Sauce in the Seattle Times!

A trading experiement that I've been working on for the last two years was just featured in The Seattle Times The project is called bARTer Sauce and I trade for art and odd objects. Any crafter/artists out there who trade with me will get a write up of your shop, a permanent link on my website and an email to my mailing list as promotion. The website Here's the items currently available for trade And here's the form to submit a trade offer The Seattle Times must have some kind of following too, because not moments after the article was posted online, I got a trade offer for this Barbie Monster Fish. YES!