I was really impressed with the Iron Artist Benefit for SCRAP on Saturday. Well organized, whimsical, and a lot of fun. I really hope they were able to reach their fundraising goals.
Their mission is a noble one: keep usable art materials out of the landfills while supporting teachers, classrooms, and artists. Whenever I stop by there for materials, I am continually impressed with the unique stuff that I am able to find. While I think it is terrific that America is undergoing a craft revolution where knitting, scrapbooking, and other DIY activities are cool, I would love to see more communities embrace programs like SCRAP. The box craft marts carry good supplies and encourage folks who wouldn’t ordinarily craft to get creative, but I believe trying to find new uses for recycled items fuels the imagination much more than following instructions from a kit.
Billed as “one part Iron Chef, two parts Junkyard Wars,” the Iron Artist Competition pitted teams against each other to create the ultimate masterpiece from the supplied boxes of materials. Teams (and bystanders) were encouraged to attend in costume, and a great number of people did! Very colorful. A carnival took place inside for the kids, and a raffle was held for a number of snazzy prizes. The emcee continually reminded the teams that the refs and judges were bribable with drinks from the beer garden, and chotchke gals worked the crowd selling temporary tattoos, patches, and other event souvenirs. Overall, a very fun afternoon of hijinks and hilarity.