Photo by HOME via Facebook

This weekend, East Passyunk will be welcoming Second Saturday, the South Philly complement to Old City’s First Friday. “Artwork Inspired By East Passyunk’s Food Culture” will take place at HOME and feature artwork by Hawk Krall and Felicia Perretti.

Krall, whom we’ve featured on the blog before, is a Philadelphia-based illustrator who specializes in food artwork—notably, the menu at Hot Diggity on South Street and Pizza Brain’s “Philadelphia Pizzalebrity Wall of Fame” mural. Perretti is a Philadelphia-based food photographer who has worked locally for the Philadelphia Weekly and Philadelphia Style Magazine (as well as publications across the country).

It’s all going down this Saturday, April 13th at HOME | a furnishings boutique @ 1815 East Passyunk Avenue from 6 to 9pm. For more info and to RSVP, check out the event on Facebook.

Philly Tech Week is almost upon us once again! Are you excited for another week of local innovation and awesomeness? I am. I really am. I mean have you guys seen the Signature Event? Cocktails and robots. I am barely keeping it together.

Between the Women in Tech Summit, TEDx, and BarCamp NewsInnovation, there’s an event for every kind of technophile this year. And for the creative collaborators out there, there’s HACK 2.0.

Launched through a modest Kickstarter campaign by Andrew Cameron Zahn, HACK is an annual art exhibition for the technologically minded. They’re currently accepting submissions for this year’s exhibit, and they are seeking art in all form. Be it a performance piece, a web app, or a sculpture, HACK wants to see what you’ve got.

The deadline for submission is April 10th with the opening happening on the 27th from 5-10pm at Bahdeebahdu studio in Kensington.

Check out their call for work and pitch your piece. While HACK 2.0 would specifically love to see collaborative pieces from hacker/DIY teams, solo art is more than welcome, so get your submissions in now!

Even though our editor and chief, Eric Smith, knows NOTHING about baseball (or sports in general) he allowed me to share my enthusiasm for America’s past time. And I have an event that will put you in the baseball mood!

Mike Jackson is having his Fast for a Catcher art show, and it’s entirely dedicated to the game of baseball.

The opening reception for Fast for a Catcher is on April 5th from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm and Indy Hall.  So come hang out and see Jackson’s visual appreciation for America’s favorite past time.  The show will include ink and watercolor drawings based on Mike’s own memories, and memories shared by others.  Fast for a Catcher is a celebration of the idiosyncrasies and quirks of baseball, and the life we make for ourselves around it. You’ll find drawings of some of your favorite teams and players – from Yogi Berra, Satchel Paige, and Andrew McCutchen, to your favorite Phillies, to the fans we encounter while watching the game. These drawings string the narrative that makes baseball remarkable on an individual level.

Well, look at that – it’s already Thursday again! Which means another Geekend is upon us. Sadly, there’s not too much going on this weekend – I guess perhaps because it’s Easter Sunday, or maybe because the world is about to explode with all the awesome television going down that very night.

Whatever the reason, I’ve managed to scrounge up a few events for you, so read on! (more…)

When artists aren’t starving themselves, they like to help out others. Our friends over at Locust Moon Comics are hosting an event from Independent Artists for Charity to help benefit the Philadelphia chapter of Jumpstart.

Independent Artists for Charity is a new organization aimed at helping independent artists get their name out and about town while at the same time providing some much needed donations to a variety of local charities. They do this by hosting events to auction off donated pieces of artwork. Their inaugural event at Locust Moon is sure to kick off a series of successful charity auctions around the city.

Jumpstart is a nationwide organization that trains college students to help teach younger children the basics of reading, writing, and many other life skills. Since 1993, Jumpstart has trained over 28,000 college students to help out the young ones in their communities and help them get a head start on being successful little geeks. The Philadelphia chapter of Jumpstart is located up at Temple University in case you want to donate some time or money to a worthwhile organization.

Independent Artists for Charity’s inaugural event will be hosted at Locust Moon Comics from 7pm-11pm on April 4th. While there, you’ll be able to enjoy some refreshing artwork that you can take home with you. It is a win/win, you take home a bit of brilliant artwork while at the same time donating to a charity that could help bring in a whole new generation of comic book readers and creators.

Artists, if you’re interested in donating some of your artwork to this worthwhile cause, then check out the submissions page. Submissions are only accepted until one week before the event so you don’t have much time left!

Do it for the kids. Do it for the artists. Do it for reading!

Its a story we geeks know all too well. You spot a slick new print online that you just have to have. It’ll make such a great addition to your Mondo collection, or your “triforces in weird places” wall, or your TARDIS-themed bathroom. You hastily buy it, laughing at the poor fools who missed out on the latest limited-edition masterpiece. But then, alas, the tube arrives and the poster sits, alone and unloved, waiting for a frame to make it whole. It’s just so much more work, you know? Well, the guys behind the OpenFrame feel your pain, and they aim to fix the problem:

If you’re like us, we have dozens of posters that are just lying around in tubes or drawers. They never made it onto the wall because we never got around to framing them. Custom framing can be expensive and is limited to holding one size of print. We designed OpenFrame as a simple, flexible way to hang posters, prints, and photos of various sizes and configurations.

You can easily swap artwork out as often as you like by removing the small, but strong, rare earth magnets that hold your artwork to OpenFrame with minimal obstruction.OpenFrame is built in the USA with high-quality, natural materials that give it a warm aesthetic and complement artwork of any kind.

OpenFrame is constructed from a combination of birch plywood, birch veneer, and stainless steel. Each frame is carefully finished with a clear lacquer to protect the wood surface and requires almost zero maintenance. To clean, the wood can simply be wiped with a dry cloth to remove dust.

Each OpenFrame has special routed slots in the back that allow it to be hung in portrait or landscape orientation. Rather than tiny holes, the slots were designed to allow the frame to easily be positioned on the wall over a screw or hook.

I’m going to level with you, these things aren’t cheap. But they’re high quality, made right here in PA, and a great solution to a problem many of us geeks have just resigned ourselves to living with.

If you take a look around and really consider all of the stuff you haven’t hung… it’s worth it, isn’t it? Trust me, you’ll thank us later. Plus, the Geek Awards are coming… you’re going to want a place for all those Instagram prints.

The Project: OpenFrame

Creators: Jeff Sheldon and Matthew Smith

Sweet Spot: $35 gets you on board with a 10” x 10”, perfect for Instagram prints and 5” x 7”s. A modest $95 will get you the medium 18” x 24” OpenFrame, perfect for standard posters. Various combinations of small, medium, and large frames are available at higher pledge levels.

Funding Deadline: April 19th, 2013

More Info: As always, the full details are over on Kickstarter, but these guys have some serious pedigree. You can read up more on both Jeff and Matthew over on Twitter.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by local Philadelphians. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact [email protected]

Just in time for the season three premiere, a pop-up event at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is bringing Daenerys, Cersei and Brienne together in one room. Celebrating the characters of Game of Thrones, the Philly branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School will host a themed art session featuring our favorite heroes of Westeros and beyond.

This Wednesday, March 27 at 7 p.m., visit the museum’s Arms and Armory Room where live models will be dressed in full costume as Daenerys Targaryen, Khal Drogo, Jon Snow and more. Surrounded by historic suits of armor from knights past, you’ll get your sketch on while a DJ spins his take on the show’s soundtrack. The  party is free with your museum admission and happens to fall on a “pay what you wish” night.

What’s Dr. Sketchy’s? It’s like punk rock meets art class – part of a national “alt drawing” group that teaches art in unique environments. Started by an art school dropout in Brooklyn, the idea has now spread to more than 100 cities across sixteen countries. Every session features tattooed beauties, underground performers and burlesque artists posing in themed settings, while an audience does its best to capture the scene.

All skill levels are welcome and and drawing materials are included, though you can bring your favorite sketchpad, charcoals and pencils if you like. Philly previous sessions, hosted by stunning local performer Candy Mayhem, have included a wide range of nerdtastic themes, from AMC’s Mad Men to Rocky Horror, steam punk to classic horror films.

Paradigm’s Community Arts Project from Juggling Wolf on Vimeo.

Has the lingering cold weather left you yearning for a creative outlet?  Well, there is a unique creative experience  in Philly that you should definitely check out to ease your creative woes.

You’ll also be supporting local artists in the Philadelphia area, and a wonderful Art Gallery that gives Philadelphia artists a place to showcase their art.  Clearly, this is a win win situation.

The Paradigm Gallery + Studio is celebrating it’s three year anniversary by throwing a Community Arts Project Celebration.  This isn’t just your regular run of the mill gallery exhibition.  This is an experience in itself.  Paradigm is suggesting a $20 donation for each piece of artwork purchased, with a $10 minimum donation to purchase a piece.

Which means, this pay-what-you-can price range helps make it possible to purchase original, local artwork.  The Community Arts Project is an awesome way to support the local art scene, and makes local artwork affordable.  It also gives you the opportunity to support Paradigm Gallery generously!

There’s also room for artists who want to participate, inviting creatives in to make work on Saturdays. For more information on the celebration and opening reception, as well as First Friday events, visit the Facebook page.

Later this month, Philly welcomes a whimsical solo art show by rising star Yis “NoseGo” Goodwin! You may know him  as the 2012 Geek Award winner for “Best Visual Artist,” or as the illustrator behind adorable top-rated iOS game Catball Eats It All, or simply as the artist whose fanciful and chaotic murals have adorned shop displays, music venues or unsuspecting walls near you.

The James Oliver Gallery will hosts its first solo exhibition of 2013, Goodwin’s “Colossal The Small” from March 30 to May 4. So head to the 7^th and Chestnut gallery for a showing of the artist’s imaginative composite works mixing realistic animals, cartoons and abstract, colorful characters.

Says the show teaser: “His paintings are seemingly spontaneous, featuring…characters interacting in visually alluring combinations. Although the artist mixes realism, illustration, as well as street and pop art, his works flow together as if the viewer were in a strange yet wonderful dream. Goodwin’s creations transport the viewer into a world all his own that is often difficult to walk out of.”

We’re pleased to have met this talented guy and can’t help but get excited every time he posts a new commission piece (speaking of, did you see his recent work for Nickelodeon?). Remember us little geeks when you’re off being famous, ok Yis?

Regular hours at James Oliver Gallery are 5-8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and Saturdays noon to 8 p.m. or by appointment. An opening reception will kick things off on Saturday, March 30 from 6-10 p.m.

It’s been awhile since we’ve had the opportunity to talk about a graphic novel here on the ol’ Kickstarter feature. Too, long, I say. This week we’re taking a look at Ashes, a story about a firefighter that suffers a terrible, career-ending injury, and his struggle to cope with the fallout as his life changes all around him. Check out what other creatives are saying about the book:

Comic books are filled with fantastical superheroes overcoming otherworldly odds. ASHES is something different. It’s a heart-filled story of an unmistakably real man struggling against villains—internal and external—that are all too believable. But, rest assured, it is the story of a hero. It is about the type of hero who walks among us, the type of hero that we rarely notice, because he wears neither mask nor cape. We should be thankful that Mario Candelaria took notice, and that he chose to share this story with us all. – Van Jensen (Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer)

Mario Candelaria excavates the universal truths from everyday life. – Dean Haspiel (American Splendor, The Alcoholic)

Ashes is shaping up to be a true exploration of the nature of heroes and the complex world that we live in. It’s a reminder that not all heroes aren’t manufactured by science fiction, but by an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. – Joey Esposito (IGN.com)

We all love a little sci-fi or fantasy every now and then, but not every comic is about superheros and and spandex. The duo behind Ashes has put together a story with grounded, relatable characters and beautiful artwork. Let’s help ‘em make the book a reality.

The Project: Ashes

Creators: Mario Candelaria & Karl Slominski

Sweet Spot: $25 gets you a physical copy of the book. Folks that want something a little more unique can get a page of the original work at the $75 level.

Funding Deadline: April 27th, 2014

More Info: There’s an 18 page preview on the Kickstarter page, and you can find Mario over on Twitter.

Every Monday Geekadelphia features a Kickstarter created by local Philadelphians. Check ‘em out and support our local geek scene. If you have a project that you’d like featured on site, contact [email protected]

Two Philadelphia local web series have been selected to be a part of the 2013 LAWeb Fest on March 28-31. Clark: The Web Series is a completely bonkers character study that playfully explores the life and perspective of a fictional version of Philadelphia artist and filmmaker, Daniel.

Joining the westward charge, the star-studded Flour Web Series is the story of two sisters who couldn’t be more opposite of one another, Tulip and Violet.

We chatted with Daniel Warwick (Clark) and Deirdre McCullagh (Flour) via email about their upcoming projects and the LAWeb Fest. (more…)