Saturday Benefit for Dara Greenwald: Print Sale at Just Seeds & Dancing at Brillobox

This is likely a case of the broke helping the broke but A young creative person has cancer and you can help out by checking out a bunch of great prints, zines and other stuff for sale at Just Seeds (free admission) and or showing up for a dance benefit at Brillobox later.

"This Saturday, Mary Tremonte (aka Mary Mack) has helped organize a 3-tiered event to raise money for her friend and cohort Dara Greenwald, who has been working through cancer alongside her partner Josh MacPhee since this past summer. Josh and Dara are important creative forces within the Justseeds Collective. These events are apart of a series happening around the US and are a local effort to lend them a financial hand in their time of great need. People are also encouraged to have a fun time while helping out!"

Full details here on SteeltownAnthem

1-5 PM poster sale at Just Seeds3410 Penn Ave

Video screening and dance party at Brillobox 8--whenever

Dorkbot Pittsburgh @ Brillobox in 30 Minutes

Assuming you are not @ the Downtown opening of the August Wilson Center or caught in traffic or planning a protest and you are driving down Liberty Ave, you might want to check out tonight's Dorkbot @ Brillobox.

Seems technology and Music are the theme.

"Michael Johnsen. Michael is a music instrument builder and performer. He will give a mildly informative lecture-demonstration outlining his approach to electronic sound production and, not coincidentally, its audition. Working almost exclusively on the analog end of the hypothetical digital/analog spectrum, his work is characterized by a relative lack of ideas per se, and an intense focus on observation (it's only "discovery" when you're sure you saw it first), the way a shepherd watches sheep.

Melissa St. Pierre. Melissa is a pianist and composer who has toured the United States both solo and with ensembles several times over. Specializing in prepared piano work of John Cage, she has used those works as a jumping-off point into her own composing work utilizing piano hacking and live electronic manipulation. Melissa will talk about and demonstrate the Prepared Piano. Audience members are invited to bring their own preparations for the piano, and she will demonstrate appropriate ways to incorporate most, or all, of these implements in the process of finding your own piano sound"

dorkbot is an international movement centered around people who like to do strange things with electricity. It's all volunteer and non-profit -- meetings are held in donated space and no admission fee is charged.
dorkbot meeting frequency, format, and content varies by city: San Francisco meets monthly and has everything from political talks to virtual reality. NYC has had electronic art installations, theatre, and presentations on new software development environment. Madrid has had robots that draw and Japan has had electronic music. Most dorkbots have a couple of primary speakers with 20-40 minute presentations and an "open dorkbot" session where anyone can show off for 3-5 minutes.


View Larger Map

Very sorry for this late post. It's the best I can do.

Christine @drink & draw

I know I am late in posting this. The session last week was really stupendous. As always, Christine was a wonderful model. Thanks to everybody that came out! We had a pretty full house, but some folks left before I could get images of their work. Below is a slideshow of some of the drawings done at the session. I usually ask drawers to have the piece they liked best ready to shoot. Funny how it almost always is from the longer poses.



drink & draw is moving to once a month! We will be meeting on the last Tuesday of each month. Sessions will start at 6:30pm. Next session is April 27, our model will be Paul.

Drink and Draw…
is an open studio live model drawing session that meets last Tuesdays on the second floor of brillobox, located at 4104 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, Pa. This session is relaxed, surprising, and inspiring. amazing models dressed in various themes, old timey music, great company, and decor. All mediums, except oils, welcome.

Drink & Draw
Upstairs | 6:30 - 9:30PM | $10
MySpace
brillobox
get on our mailing list. email us at brilloboxdrinkanddraw@yahoo.com
4104 penn ave
412.621.4900

Drink & Draw with Michael

We had a really nice session last Tuesday. I can't believe it's been nearly a week since our last session! It was really great, though. Our model was Mike Duray, of Synergy Bodyworks. He did these great action poses, using the walls and equipment to extend the length of some of the more challenging poses.

This particular session was a gesture intensive; all of the poses were under five minutes in duration. It was a pretty intense session because of that. The thing that's nice about a gesture intensive is that by the time you get to that five minute pose, you feel like you have all the time in the world.

Anyway, here are a few images of the sketches done that evening. Unfortunately, I was having some camera problems and there aren't as many images as there should be.



drink & draw is moving to once a month! We will be meeting on the last Tuesday of each month. Sessions will start at 6:30pm. Next session is February 24!

Drink and Draw…
is an open studio live model drawing session that meets last Tuesdays on the second floor of brillobox, located at 4104 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, Pa. This session is relaxed, surprising, and inspiring. amazing models dressed in various themes, old timey music, great company, and decor. All mediums, except oils, welcome.

Drink & Draw
Upstairs @ 6:30PM | $10
MySpace
brillobox
get on our mailing list. email us at brilloboxdrinkanddraw@yahoo.com
4104 penn ave
412.621.4900

December's drink & draw

Oh! We have a very dedicated group of artists here in Pittsburgh! Leslie posed for a very full house last night for the drink & draw session at brillobox. It was so nice to see all of the regulars as well as all of the new faces. Pictured below is Leslie who did some really classic poses.

Everybody seemed to have a good session last night. It's great to see te kinds of challeges artists set for themselves in theses sessions. I am especially impressed when artists bring color into these short poses. That seems to be a real challenge when none of the poses last longer than thirty minutes. Below is a slideshow of the work done during last night's session --



We have a special session coming up in January. I would like to call it a gesture intensive. But it may be more of a perpetual motion session. The model, Michael, practices a martial art. He did tell me which one but I am afraid it has slipped my mind. Anyway, he will be doing slow-motion exercises for January's session. Believe me, after going through a session like this, you'll think a five minute pose is a lifetime!! See you on January 27!

drink & draw is moving to once a month! We will be meeting on the last Tuesday of each month. Sessions will start at 6:30pm.

Drink and Draw...
is an open studio live model drawing session that meets last Tuesdays on the second floor of brillobox, located at 4104 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, Pa. This session is relaxed, surprising, and inspiring. amazing models dressed in various themes, old timey music, great company, and decor. All mediums, except oils, welcome.

Drink & Draw
Upstairs @ 6:30PM | $10
MySpace
brillobox
get on our mailing list. email us at brilloboxdrinkanddraw@yahoo.com
4104 penn ave
412.621.4900

Drink & Draw with Olga

Tuesday July 29 at brillobox drink & draw. Olga was, of course, wonderful! don't take my word for it, just check out the slideshow! Images are courtesy of Carmela Aliffi. Thank you, Carmela! you saved my butt; since I had, yet again, forgotten my camera.



6-9pm
$10
drinkies!
door prizes!

Special Announcement!!

drink & draw will be held only on the last Tuesday of each month. Our next session --

August 26 - Christine

Drink and Draw --
is an open studio live model drawing session that meets every other Tuesday on the second floor of brillobox, located at 4104 penn ave, pittsburgh, pa. This session is relaxed, surprising, and inspiring. amazing models dressed in various themes, old timey music, great company, and decor. All mediums, except oils, welcome. (Sorry! No photography!)

Check Drink and Draw’s MySite for more information or sign up for updates.

the open thread's variety show, feat. dave bernabo & assembly

Last night after a few days of work-induced insanity I went to the Brillobox to see Dave Bernabo & Assembly play. Pleasant surprise -- the band was playing as a part of Open Thread's Variety show.

I was glad to be there to support; mixed bill shows are notoriously hard to get audience for. This one had a sunny fun feel light on the caustic see-and-be-seen vibe that can sometimes poison parties in Pittsburgh. Drag diva Sharon Needles blew my work stress away with a high-camp Rocky Horror cover re-sewn into Pittsburgh clothing. Not to mention her Pittsburgh Prostitute - astute social critique from a yinzer service-girl in a Steelers jersey.

Artists had a couple of tables modestly attired with collage, photography, and book arts available for sale. I picked up Austin English's Windy Corner Magazine #2, an assemblage-zine with high production values featuring capsule comics, artist interviews, and comic commentary, from Austin himself.

Then there's what I came for ... Here's how Assembly looks:



Owl Barnes/drums

Dave Bernabo/guitar, vox (right)

Chris James/ bass (left)

Brandon Masterman /sax

Daniel Newman/guitar, backing vox
(right, behind Dave)

As to what they sounded like ....

They play highly structured improv spread over complicated rhythm. Its funny to think of Mr. Bernabo as a jazz band leader from the 40's, but its really his role, from my perspective. Each of the artists has an intensely developed skill-set that is featured at different moments in the music's vocabulary. The band strikes the perfect balance of group-produced structure and individual improv. "Smart" music that keeps you moving, complicated sound woven with muscular rhythm.

As usual we couldn't hear the vocals over the Brillobox's system (when are they going to fix that?) but its such a good time, who really cares? DJ Victor Hugonaut set up to close the night with the inevitable dance party. I made my escape.

... Jessica Fenlon

Some Events On June I2th

Merge gave us some grasp on the orgy of events tomorrow night focused around the Gallery Crawl and the Gestures opening at the Mattress Factory.

But there are a number of good things to highlight on Saturday the 12th.

Brillo Box in Bloomfield will be hosting a rock show/ mini craft fair upstairs.

The MAKE SHOP ROCK SHOW is a fantastic culmination of craft and music. The evening centers around designers showcasing and selling their handmade work, alongside performances from Boston & Pittsburgh musicians!


Here's the line up:


MAKERS
Family Dinner for One (Boston, MA) | Ray-Min Shoulderware (Pittsburgh, PA) | Miaow (Boston, MA) | Early Jewelry (Lawrence, KS) | Built in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) | Fresh Popcorn Productions (Pittsburgh, PA) | Cyrstala Armagost (Pittsburgh, PA)


ROCKERS
Pete Spynda (Pandemic) |DJ Klaus (Certainly, Sir) |Triggers

Zombo Gallery in Lawrenceville hosts it's first aniversary with the mad pop art of Wayno.

Doo Dah Days celebrates the life and music of Pittsburgh's Stephen Foster with cemetary tours and a music festival in Allegheny Cemetetary in Lawrenceville running from 12:30- 5:30

"The trolley will depart from the front of the Conservatory. Each tour is identical and will take participants past the grave of Jane Foster, Stephen Foster's wife.

From there the trolley will proceed to Stephen Foster's grave where Eliza Foster (Stephen's mother) will tell a little bit about her son. Next the tour's partakers will be greeted by Jane Foster (Stephen's wife). Both women will give different views of the composer. Finally, the group will be invited to participate in a brief sing-along featuring two Foster songs."

Music will be hard core traditional and feature Frets and Feet, Pittsburgh Banjo Club, Home Front and Open Window.

The documentary, Singing Revolution will debut at the Harris Theatre downtown

A variety of drunk girls might sleep with you and or vomit on the South Side as usual.

Renee Ruth Ickes

Good art in good places.

The brillobox is a terrific little bar on Penn Ave. They host a lot of great music, odd events and a drop-in model session. The owners of the bar, Eric Stern and Renee Ickes, are both artists. Eric's work was recently featured at LaVie and at Digging Pitt. Renee is currently in an exhibit at Future Tenant.

I was delighted to walk into the main bar last week to see this entire wall of Renee's work --



I know, the images are crappy. But hey, you try shooting in a dark bar without a flash! Think of this as an incentive to get yer butt over there before she takes them down. Following are two detail shots of the wall --

The Mother May I Marathon @brillobox

Set up and ready to go...

This was immersion therapy for artists. The models were wonderfilly inventive. Time flew by as a handfull of artists labored on the second floor of the brillobox on May 5.

I really enjoyed Andy More-hole and his Mom. "Mom" was a wonderful model and a delight. Thank you all so much. For more information about the brillobox's Drink and Draw sessions, check out our MySpace page or email us.

Next session:
Christine Allen and her trunk-full of characters
May 15
6-9PM

First session models, from left: Andy More-hole, Christine Allen and Andy More-hole's Mom
Second session models: Al and Nikki
Paul LeRoy
David Grim

Leo Goode


Steve Dines



Renee Ruth Ickes
Kyle Pattison
Susan Constanse

Brillobox Drink and Draw

The last few times that went to drink and draw, I forgot to take my camera. But on February 6th, I had it in hand. Our model for the evening was Chuck, who we called a Hell's Angel.
We have new faces at all of the sessions. Since I'm not really great at retaining names, I'll just credit the drawings that I am sure about.
If you want more information about the Drink and Draw sessions at the brillobox, just email me at the brillobox drink and draw email. I have uploaded a calendar for drop-in sessions in Pittsburgh. Right now, the only venues listed are brillobox and Barely Brunch at the Brew House. I would be happy to list other venues on this calendar. Just let me know.

Our model, Chuck
Selene DePackh, whose blog is here
Selene's partner, Sue


David Grim



Renee Ruth Ickes
Susan Constanse

The New Yinzer is an online literary journal dedicated to forming an updated image of Pittsburgh/ers and to writing that evokes a strong sense of place. Their periodic events draw impressive crowds to hear the work of local writers, get serenaded by local bands, and dance to a select few of the city's many DJs.

This Friday, February 9th, The New Yinzer will host the latest bash, LOVE BITES, at Brillobox. Readings at 8:00pm, Bands at 9:15pm, DJs at Midnight. Yinz come, now, hear?

Kippy @Drink and Draw

Eric won a door prize last night at brillobox'x drink and draw, a lovely little wotercolor box.
Our model, Kippy the '50's house wife. Thank you, Crystala, it was lovely.

We had a wonderful turnout, lots of great drawing. Join us in two weeks --

Tuesday, January 23

6-9pm

$10

drinkies!

door prizes!

and Lucky LeRoy!

Check Drink and Draw's MySite for more information or sign up for updates.

Drink and Draw with Tinsel Garland!

We had a great session last night. Tinsel Garland was our model; He had some very inspiring poses. There were a couple costume changes, too. Many thanks to Tommy for putting the set together. The staging was wonderful.

>

Mike took one of his drawings from the last session and put this together. Pretty great, huh?

If you want to get on the update list for the brillobox Drink and Draw, just email us. And don't forget to check out our Myspace.

The next session is on December 26, Burlesque Boxing on boxing day!