Thank you to Arts Unbound for hosting Opulent Mobility 2019!

Celene Ryan did an amazing job of organizing and setting up the show. Unfortunately, the organization is closing its doors. The exhibit is now packed up and the artwork is being sent home to the artists. For those who didn't have a chance to see it in person, the exhibit is now online at www.opulentmobility.com/om2019.
 
Many thanks also to my co-curator Anthony Tusler, to all the artists of Opulent Mobility, to the Numotion Foundation for sponsoring the show, and to Teri Grossman and Karen Eckhoff at Audio Eyes for doing a fantastic job of describing the art. Those descriptions are now in the capable hands of Mari Weiss and McKerrin Kelly, who are amazing voice over artists, and the audio files should be up on the site shortly.

Coming right up!
Submit your artwork that re-imagines disability as opulent and powerful to Opulent Mobility 2019 by July 31st.

In August, I'm teaching classes at Glendale Community College, Wingwalker Brewing, and Greenbar Distillery. You can alter your clothes, knock off patterns, fix your popped seams, make a duct tape dress form, and mend things beautifully!
Click on the links or contact me for full details.

Alter Your Clothes Like a Pro, Saturdays from 9:30 AM- 12:30 PM, August 3- 24 at Glendale Community College
Knock It Off Pattern Making, Saturdays from 1-4 PM, August 3- 24 at Glendale Community College
Mending Monday at Wingwalker Brewing, August 5 from 7-9 PM
DIY Duct Tape Dress Form at Wingwalker Brewing, August 18 from 11 AM - 2 PM
Fixology: Visible Mending at Greenbar Distillery, August 25 from 3-5 PM

This exhibit is co-curated by A. Laura Brody, Celene Ryan, and Anthony Tusler. This year, the show will be at the Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound in City of Orange, New Jersey, and the exhibit will also be posted online. We accept all types of media: 2-dimensions, sculptural, film, music files, and videos of performances and spoken word.
 
Opulent, adjective
1. Characterized by extravagant, ostentatious magnificence: lavish, lush, luxurious, palatial, plush, rich, sumptuous
2. Given to or marked by unrestrained abundance: Extravagant, exuberant, luxuriant, prodigal, profuse, riotous, superabundant
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 ©

June 10- Mending Monday from 7-9 PM. $30
June 23- Knock It Off Pattern Making from 11 AM - 2 PM. $45
July 10- Mending Monday from 7-9 PM. $30
July 28- Hand Sewing Sunday from 11 AM - 2 PM. $45
August 5- Mending Monday from 7-9 PM. $30
August 18- DIY Duct Tape Dress Form from 11 AM - 2 PM. $45

Knock It Off Pattern Making is  April 28 from 12-3 PM, Wingwalker Brewing at 235 W. Maple Ave in Monrovia, CA. $45.

Bring in your favorite, worn-out piece of clothing and we'll turn it into a fresh new pattern that you can use again and again. This technique is simple and you don't have to take your clothes apart in the process. Contact me for details.

If you want something more in-depth, try these 4-session classes at Glendale Community College. Click the links for full details.

APRIL- JUNE 2019
Intro To Sewing 4/6/19- 4/27/19 $135
Alter Your Clothes Like A Pro 5/11/19- 6/1/19 $175
Knock it Off Pattern Making 6/8/19- 6/19-19 $175

If you'd like to learn, I'd love to work with you.

About the instructor:
A. Laura Brody has 30 years experience as a costume crafts person, designer, and maker. She's made costumes for LMFAO, the Black Eyed Peas, and Rhianna, among others. She has worked for Netflix, Disney Imagineering, the LA Opera, Disney and Nickelodeon TV, Diavolo Dance Theatre, and many specialty costume houses. Her relaxed, encouraging, and adventurous approach to teaching makes pattern making, draping, crafts, and sewing accessible and fun. If you can dream it up, she can make it- and show you how to make it too.

Learn some quick and easy hand sewing tricks and repairs. Sew buttons and other closures on fast, do some simple hems, repair your popped seams, and learn patching and darning techniques. When we're done, enjoy some brews or sparkly waters!

This year, we are happy to announce that Opulent Mobility 2019 is partnering with Arts Unbound. The physical exhibit will be held at the Dora Stern Gallery at Arts Unbound, 544 Freeman St, City of Orange, NJ 07050. The online exhibit will be at www.opulentmobility.com.
 
The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2019 at 5 PM PST. There is a flat $20 entry fee to cover administrative costs. No commissions charged for sales. The exhibit will open September 14, 2019. OM 2019 is curated by A. Laura Brody, Anthony Tusler, and Celene Ryan.
 
Opulent, adjective
1. Characterized by extravagant, ostentatious magnificence: lavish, lush, luxurious, palatial, plush, rich, sumptuous
2. Given to or marked by unrestrained abundance: Extravagant, exuberant, luxuriant, prodigal, profuse, riotous, superabundant
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

The details are being worked out, but Opulent Mobility 2020 will be at Washington Reid Gallery/UCPLA. We're planning on having a storytelling event and a "decorate your mobility device" workshop too. Many thanks to Veronica DeJesus and Aragna Ker!
 
The glamour photos of my most recent piece, Medusa, just came in from Heidi of Heidi Marie Photography. She did an amazing job. The photos were just in time to submit to the next exhibit, "There's No End to Her", which will be up at ACE/121 Gallery in Glendale at the end of next February. More details will be coming soon.
 
Many thanks!

I do a lot of exploration for Opulent Mobility, and sometimes I'm reluctant to talk about the efforts in case things don't work out. Recently, though, I've been talking with several folks about collaborating, and they're such great people that I need to share them anyway. If we end up working together, that will be wonderful. If not, they are awesome and you should know about them.
 
First off is Abilities Expo. This is THE trade show for all things disability related- from products to services to cool dance troupes and artists. The LA Expo is February 22-24. They may or may not have space for an Opulent Mobility booth (the show fills up fast and we only talked a couple of weeks ago), but it's sure worth taking a look. It's free, there are fun events, and both the Rollettes and Infinite Flow dance troupes will be there.
 
I also spoke with Arts UnBound in New Jersey about working together this year. It all depends on budgeting for shipping, so who knows. You should know about them anyhow because they're very cool. Arts UnBound promotes the artwork of seniors and people with disabilities, providing arts education and professional development so the artists can compete in the arts market.
 
Next week I'm meeting with Washington Reid Gallery. UCPLA Washington Reid Gallery and Washington Place Adult Day Program supports a vigorous community of working artists with a variety of developmental challenges, which is super cool. I was recommended to them by one of the artists in Opulent Mobility 2018 (thank you, Aragna Ker) and I'm looking forward to see if we can work together next year.
 
Many thanks to everyone! I'll keep you posted.