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MEAT MARKET – show recap

Written on June 15, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

Whew! The opening night of my first solo art show, “MEAT MARKET” was insanely fun. Way, WAY more people showed up than I anticipated, creating a street-side spill over outside of the diminutive, yet awesome Pot + Pantry shop where the show was held.

nighttime crowd outside the show

We (me, Steve, and Pot + Pantry owner, Donna) had a great time setting up the show, including the meat-astic front window display! Steve had the great idea of making extra large prints of the new meat watercolors I created for the show (each originally about 3 x3 inches) and hanging them in the window, creating a kind of butcher shop look.

We also had to figure out how to display the 21 pieces I made in the shop. This was a bit more challenging than say, a gallery show, where the white walls serve as a blank canvas for your arrangement. We wanted the great, homey, kitchen-like feel of the shop to remain, and just incorporate my pieces into the surroundings.

It was so crowded, and I was so overwhelmed by the turnout that I didn’t get shots of all the artwork, but here’s some!

large cow painting, with 4 small 5×5 “cheeky meat” watercolors

5 “cheeky meat” watercolors on the coffee shelf.
(And my “SF is for Carnivores” poster in the back. That one is always at the shop!)

close-up of 5 “cheeky meats” on the coffee shelf

“i like big butts” and “nice rack”

Above this shelf was the original “hot dog mystery” painting, enthusiastically purchased by the pastry chef at neighboring restaurant, Beast and the Hare. I heard a rumor it might be displayed somewhere in the restaurant!

center shelf, displaying 5 more “cheeky meat” watercolors

next to the pegboard, a pixelated t-bone, in graphite.

Above the stove, “Use Every Part of the Pig”

Given that my work almost exclusively revolves around food, we clearly had to bring it in the food department. Donna rocked out by making bacon shaped butter cookies! (Clearly the main benefit of being a kitchen wares purveyor is that you have a correctly shaped cutting board for every occasion.)

We also had some chicharrones provided by 4505 Meats (the same place where I took a pig butchery class), and some bacon caramel corn made by me.

But wait, there’s more! Dinner in the form of really freaking delicious vietnamese street food, like spicy pork bahn mi sandwiches, was available at the new TomKat! food truck. The food was delicious, and the guys were completely amazing and chill, despite the fact that our original parking place for them fell through, and they had to wait for Steve to sweet-talk the very very VERY kind neighbor who not only let us park the massive truck in her driveway, but ALSO gave Steve the code to her basement (!!!!) allowing TomKat to have an electricity source. (And yeah, she totally got a huge bouquet from Donna the next day!)

And for dessert? Who else but Kai, of Nosh This, slinging bacon studded chocolates and caramels out front?! (Follow him on Twitter, people)

Donna and I spent most of the week before debating how many people would show, and decided that we’d be happy with 45. By 8pm, I had stopped counting at 150 (!!) I guess I shouldn’t have worried, since Steve was on publicity duty, and did an amazeballs job.

Steve, both double-fisting AND promoting. He can do it all, folks.

Team Drywell!

overflowing crowds

Donna and I at the end of a looooong night. (and her husband)

The whole experience was so rewarding, both personally and professionally. It felt so nice to see so many of my friends and family there, and also incredible to meet so many new people who came out for the meat art! This time last year, I had made about 10 sales on Etsy, had never done a show, and definitely did not consider myself an artist. It is astonishing was can be accomplished if you say yes to opportunities, work hard, and put yourself out there.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the show, drink free booze, eat awesome food, and buy some art!! Cheers!

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new art over at Meat Sections

Written on June 8, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

I’m in the process of getting all of the originals I created for the MEAT MARKET art show in digital format. They are posted up on my meaty blog, Meat Sections, and will soon be available in the shop too! So check em out.

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I’m back!!

Written on May 25, 2011 by alyson in Uncategorized

I was summoned to Gotham City via Pig Signal.

And jetlagged.

Our trip to NYC, New Jersey, and DC was exhausting, but we had an amazing time catching up with old friends everywhere. It was a long one, so we’re* ready to get back in the swing of things. Expect a full recap of the MEAT MARKET show at Pot + Pantry (if you’re in SF, hurry and go see it before I take the show down this weekend!), a big shop update with originals from the show, and some behind the scenes goodness.

* I may not have mentioned that Drywell has taken on its first employee partner. Expect an update on that too!

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MEAT MARKET – Art Show for Carnivores

Written on April 27, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

Radio silence from Drywell HQ, right? That’s just because my head’s been down, furious working on all new, all original, all meaty artwork for my very first solo art show, MEAT MARKET. I am beyond excited. And also very hungry. Looking at and drawing meat all day is creating drool stains on my desk.

I’ve rarely ever sold original artwork, so it has been exciting and challenging to create so many for the show. And I think they are pretty awesome. I’ll be revealing some works in the days leading up to the show! MEAT MARKET will be held at the ever-lovely Pot+Pantry kitchen shop in the Mission.

The show will be up for a couple of weeks, but you really want to come to the opening night reception on Friday, May 6th from 6 to 9pm. There will be tasty, meaty snacks (perhaps some homemade goodies by me??) and drinks, and because I have a street food fetish, some awesomesauce street food vendors will be set up outside, selling their deliciousness.

So come one, come all, to Pot + Pantry on Friday May 6th, and have your mind blown by meat art.

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meat into food

Written on April 1, 2011 by alyson in meat sections

It’s a miracle. I’m turning meat into food.

Wait. That doesn’t sounds so miraculous. I’m really turning meat ART into food (from the “Meat My City” poster series) via donations to local food banks. I announced this plan a few months ago. And now the grand totals are in, and donations have been made! In ascending order….

drumroll…..

4. Portland. $10 to The Oregon Food Bank (Come on Portland people. Step it up!)

Brooklyn Knows the Tastiest Parts - meat map poster

2. and 3. A tie, between Brooklyn and Seattle. $47.50 to each the St. John’s Bread and Life food pantry in Brooklyn and the Northwest Harvest food bank in Washington.

1. San Francisco. Was there any doubt that my home city will pull through with the win? $215 to the San Francisco Food Bank.

That means the SF Food Bank will be able to distribute $1290 worth of food to needy residents of SF! Amazeballs.

The next quarter’s donations will be announced in early July. If you’re from one of these cities and think that another food bank needs the donations next time, just drop me a line and let me know. Thanks everyone!!

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the meat is cooking

Written on March 31, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

Some more progress shots of the large 18×24 cow I’ve been working on.

The working title is “Use Every Part.”

Though the concept was always to include the writing, once I painted the background, I became pretty hesitant to add words. But I sucked it up and did it. And it’s awesome. The End.

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more meaty progress

Written on March 19, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

original gouache and acrylic on wood

A few more progress shots of two pieces for my solo show…

I ‘m in love with the colors.

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work in progress….

Written on March 10, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

for an upcoming solo show.

I love seeing other artist’s progress shots, so thought I might share one of my own!

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BIG MEATY NEWS

Written on March 4, 2011 by alyson in my artsy stuff

STEAK window display @ Williams Sonoma, featuring “The Cook and The Butcher”

At the close of last year, I alluded to a major collaboration with a big time company in my newsletter. I had to keep quiet for the time being, but now I can finally announce that I illustrated a cookbook…..
.
.
.
.
…….for Williams-freaking-Sonoma!!

The Cook and The Butcher is a meat cookbook (obviously) written by Brigit Brinns with FAQs answered by Tom Moylan, of the Meat Hook in Brooklyn. It is helpfully broken into chapters by animal – cow, pig, veal, and lamb – and then further into recipes for each primal cut for each animal. At the beginning of each chapter, you’ll see a badass charcoal butchery diagram illustration by me.

cow butchery diagram in The Cook and The Butcher

The publisher, Weldon Owen, contacted me back in September last year after stumbling across my work on Etsy. I was floored, to say the least. I love Williams Sonoma and it was quite an honor to have my art in one of their cookbooks.

pig butchery diagram in The Cook and The Butcher

Weldon Owen commissioned new charcoal drawings from me, based on the popular charcoal diagrams available in my shop. I think the printing came out so saturated and crisp, and the folks at Weldon Owen were awesome to work with (and even purchased the original commissioned artworks to decorate their office!)

veal butchery diagram in The Cook and The Butcher

sheep butchery diagram in The Cook and The Butcher

The Cook and The Butcher is only available at Williams Sonoma for the time being, but if you want my name in the book, you’ll have to wait for the wider release in September (preorder on Amazon).*

Hooray for being able to add “cookbook illustrator” to my burgeoning art resume!!

* There was a snafu in the initial printing, where my credit line was accidentally omitted. It will most definitely be in the larger wider release of the book, however!!!

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drywell + food banks. totally obvious partnership

Written on February 9, 2011 by alyson in meat sections, my artsy stuff

dave eggers’s brilliant drawing, via serial optimist

As most folks know, I am an attorney. (I knooooow, right?). While much has been made in the press* of the fact that I gave up a “government attorney” position to be an artist, I haven’t really discussed what that job was.

I was an Asylum Officer, which meant I spent my days interviewing foreign nationals who were applying for asylum here in the United States. It was, as you might imagine, an intense job. It required me to listen to unbelievably atrocious stories of persecution and violence, but on the up side, I was able to help hundreds of people escape their countries and possibly death.

From the get go, my decision to go to law school was motivated by a desire to help others and enter into a public service career. My decision to quit my job (which was unsustainable for oh so many reasons) and then become an artist has been amazing and fulfilling in many ways, but I have felt that some sort of public interest activities have been lacking in my life.

Brooklyn Knows the Tastiest Parts

Given that, I am SO excited and proud to announce that starting this year, I’ll be donating 10% of the sale price from each of my “Meat My City” map posters to a local food bank in the corresponding city!!!!

One of the major goals for Drywell Art this year is to expand the line of neighborhood posters, so I’m hoping that lots of money gets donated, nationwide. I’ll donate on a quarterly basis, and share the donations here on the blog.

Seattle Eats Local

Right now I have three city maps and I’m proud to announce the corresponding food banks for each one:

San Francisco: All donations will go to the San Francisco Food Bank, where every $1 donated allows them to distribute $6 worth of food! So, buying a SF is for Carnivores posters means that $2.50 of your purchase price will transform into $15 of food for the needy in SF. nice, right?

Brooklyn: All donations will go to St. John’s Bread and Life, located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Their innovative digital food pantry was recently featured in the NY Times.

Seattle: For now, all donations will go to Northwest Harvest, which is an umbrella organization for all of Washington food donation programs. Over 93% of their budget goes to food distribution, and for 67 cents, they can feed a family of three a nutritious meal. (If any Seattlites have a rec for a local Seattle food bank in need of some monies, let me know!)

SF is for Carnivores

Meat eaters for the greater good!!!

* By press I of course mostly mean Thrillist and the SF Chronicle. I can use the term “press” right? I don’t sound like an a-hole?

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