coffee, conversation, roller derby and Art-o-matWhat a delightful time -- I met up with Jennifer Lenardon this morning for coffee at Tuscan Cafe in Northville to talk about her upcoming Arto-series...it is nearly ready!You may remember I was a volunteer for the Detroit Derby Girls for a few years. At one point I was also a DDG Sponsor with Michigan Art-o-mat. During that time period several skaters and another volunteer became interested in Art-o-mat and expressed a desire to make art for the project but no one had time to do an entire 50-piece series of their own. We put our heads together, cleared it with Artists in Cellophane, and I curated a group series for DDG.
One of the participating skater/artists in that series was Seoul Slayer -- a blocker with D-Funk Allstars. Seoul enjoyed making her pieces so much that she decided to do her own series.
Seoul Slayer is also Jennifer Lenardon, an 8th Grade English teacher at Pierre Toussaint Academy in southwest Detroit. As you can well imagine, between her career as a teacher and her skating/practice/training schedule with DDG, it doesn't leave a whole lot of free time.Well, Seoul managed to get her prototype made and accepted by Artists in Cellophane but then things got put on hold for a bit. She initially started her series in mid-summer 2010 but then she had to go back to work and "that cut 8 hours out of my day." In September of that year she was also back in school herself, taking two classes. And now this summer is almost over and she is back at school/work in 2 weeks...BUT Seoul has set aside a block of time for production of her series. YAY!
Seoul Slayer is coming up on her 5th season skating as a blocker for D-Funk Allstars, one of DDG's five home teams.
Seoul's solo series for Art-o-mat is called "Block and Chain". She wanted to keep her design simple but symbolize roller derby. "I'm a word queen, not a technical person."
"Block and Chain" consists of a mini star and four blocks that feature the image of a skate joined together with jump rings. It can be worn as a piece of jewelry or hung as a tiny piece of art."The image of the skate is my actual first pair of skates I used for roller derby."
"The background on the info card comes from my 15 minutes of fame in a newspaper article in the Redford Observer." The article was about DDG's first Championship Bout at Cobo and it was also D-Funk's first Championship win. Seoul was quoted in the article and you can see her name in the print on the design on the card. "It was cool how it all worked itself together."
info side of the info card
some of the mini moo cards that are included in Seoul's seriesThe art pieces come in several different colors and you can see there are a number of different mini card designs...why not collect them all?The process for making "Block and Chain" is pretty time consuming and can be a bit tedious. Seoul says the precision that is required is challenging. Here is what is involved in making her series:- create the image as a word document and make sure the colors are right
- print out images onto shrinky dink paper
- cut the 2" square 4-part images
- use a corner punch to round off the corners of the images
- use a template for the placement of the holes in each of the squares
- bake all the pieces together for 3-4 minutes (each batch)
- make the the mini star and then bake/shrink it down
- join the 4 squares with jump rings at each corner and add 2 rings to the top for hanging
- attach the tiny star with a jump ring
- print the info card
- attach the assembled piece to the info card
- pack the box with the art, mini moo card and filler/box weight
- label the boxes
- wrap the boxes with cellophane/acetate
- pack up and ship the boxes to Artists in Cellophane
Yes, it IS a lot of work...but what drew Seoul Slayer/Jennifer Lenardon to Art-o-mat?"It's a fun thing to do and I like that it is portable art. And maybe someone will get into roller derby."Seoul is also curious what people will do with their "Block and Chain" art pieces, besides wearing them as jewelry. She is very interested to hear from her customers and hopes they will drop her a note...make a connection.Watch for "Block and Chain" by Jennifer Lenardon/Seoul Slayer coming SOON to an Art-o-mat machine near you!
Yeah!I started up Fantastic Mr. Fox and got cracking on the side seams for the last 19 finger puppets. Most of these puppets have two seams instead of one, so they took twice as long.I am going to the Detroit Derby Girls roller derby bout tonight so I wanted to get my work done and posted to the blog early enough to not need to rush around this afternoon. YEAH -- DEVIL'S NIGHT DAMES -- FIRE UP!
Check out this press release from WFTDA -- take a look and see where your local roller derby league is in the rankings...cheer them on in their tournament(s)!!!
August 12, 2009For more information contact: Kali Schumitz, WFTDA PR Managerkschumitz@gmail. com40 Roller Derby Teams to Compete for National TitleThe Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) tournament season kicks off September 11, 2009, bringing together the best talent flat-track roller derby has to offer in matchups no derby fan will want to miss! Over a four-week period, 40 teams will compete in four regional tournaments for a shot at claiming the top rank in their corner of the country.The top three teams from each region – East, North Central, South Central and West – will then advance to the third annual WFTDA National Tournament, Nov. 13-15 in Philadelphia, PA. This is the inaugural year for the North Central and South Central tournaments, resulting in the largest tournament pool in WFTDA history.The top ten teams from each region, based on current WFTDA rankings, have received invitations to their respective regional tournaments. If a league was unable to attend, the next-ranked league was invited. Wicked Wheels of the EastEastern Regional TournamentSept. 11-13, 2009Hosted by Carolina Rollergirls, Raleigh, N.C.www.wickedwheelsoft heeast.com1 Gotham Girls Roller Derby2 Philly Roller Girls3 Charm City Roller Girls4 Carolina Rollergirls5 Boston Derby Dames6 Providence Roller Derby7 Steel City Derby Demons8 Maine Roller Derby9 CT Rollergirls10 DC RollergirlsBrawl of AmericaNorth Central Regional TournamentSept. 18-20, 2009Hosted by Minnesota Roller Girls, St. Paul, MNwww.brawlofamerica. com1 Windy City Rollers2 Detroit Derby Girls 3 Mad Rollin' Dolls4 Cincinnati Rollergirls5 Arch Rival Rollergirls6 Minnesota Roller Girls7 Grand Raggidy Roller Girls8 North Star Roller Girls9 Brewcity Bruisers10 Burning River Roller GirlsSouthern Fried SmackdownSouth Central Regional TournamentSept. 25-27, 2009Hosted by Atlanta Rollergirls, Atlanta, GAwww.southernfriedsm ackdown.com 1 Texas Rollergirls2 KC Roller Warriors3 Houston Roller Derby4 Dallas Derby Devils5 Atlanta Rollergirls6 Nashville Rollergirls7 Tampa Bay Derby Darlins8 West Texas Roller Dollz9 No Coast Derby Girls10 Memphis Roller DerbyDerby on the RocksWestern Regional TournamentOct. 2-4, 2009Hosted by Denver Roller Dolls and Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, Denver, COwww.derbyontherocks .com1 Oly Rollers2 Denver Roller Dolls3 Rose City Rollers4 Rat City Rollergirls5 B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls6 Duke City Derby7 Pikes Peak Derby Dames8 Rocky Mountain Rollergirls9 Tucson Roller Derby10 Angel City Derby Girls###ABOUT WFTDAFounded in 2004, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (www.wftda.com) promotes and fosters the sport of women's flat track roller derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportswomanship, and goodwill among member leagues. The governing philosophy is "by the skaters, for the skaters." Women skaters from the 79 member leagues are primary owners, managers, and operators of each member league and of the association. Operational tasks include setting standards for rules, seasons, and safety, as well as determining guidelines for the national and international athletic competitions of member leagues. All member leagues have a voice in the decision-making process and agree to comply with the governing body's policies.
YAY -- I couldn't make it to the East Coast Extravaganza (ECE) this year, but Derby News Network is carrying a LIVE feed!!!
Detroit Derby Girls' Travel Team plays on Saturday @ 6:30pm against Charm City...and again on Sunday @ 6:30 against Carolina.
Go to the link, scroll down to our bout, click and there is a conversation going on...click on the WATCH LIVE (right underneath the title in red) and a little video window will open up. Click on the little box in the right corner to view full screen.
GREAT STUFF!!!
Look at the Saturday Preview here.
Look at the Sunday Preview here.
...have a look at the fabulous Detroit Derby Girls newsletter!
Go back OFTEN -- great stuff!!!
Here, take a quick peek at The Detroit Derby Girls in action. It will give you a teensy taste of what it's about.
The team in green and silver is D-Funk All Stars and the team in maroon and pink is The Pistol Whippers.
