bitethehand.org

Another Great Cheap Art Day!

Posted on June 29th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Events, Cheap Art.

Today, Bite the Hand Productions held another Cheap Art Day at Assa ni Assa in Santa Rosa.  A group of us got together and made art, jammed on instruments, and enjoyed homemade chocolate.  It was a good way to celebrate our community and the creation of Cheap Art.

Cheap Art is a movement that Bite the Hand Productions is supporting in Sonoma County.  The idea is to make art that is cheap to make and then sell it for prices that anyone can afford.  We create art together, we create it alone, and we create it often.

You can stop by our Cheap Art Gallery at Free Mind Media. Take a look around, and if you see something nice, you can buy it for 25 cents to 20 dollars.

Keep reading The Pharmakon and stopping by bitethehand.org to find out when you can come to our next Cheap Art Day!

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Bite the Hand Inspirations: The Bread and Puppet Theater

Posted on March 24th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Bite the Hand Inspirations, Immediate Theatre, Cheap Art.

Bite the Hand Productions is greatly inspired by The Bread and Puppet Theater.  Founded by Peter and Elka Schumann (see their pictures below) in the 1960’s, this artist and activist collective has been active in community and politics for quite some time.  They have touched and inspired many, many groups, and Bite the Hand Productions is proud to call them an influence and trailblazer.  We want to show our appreciation to this courageous group and encourage everyone to learn more about the work they do.

These are the folks who started the Cheap Art Movement.  They make enormous circuses on a shoestring budget out of paper mache.  They give away free homemade bread and regularly feed the hundreds of people who come to see their shows.  They have showed us at Bite the Hand that the best way to create art is to simply never stop.

More people from Sonoma County should travel to Vermont and check these people out.  Their summer internships are priceless.  If you are interested in meeting them, contact us or check their web site out.

Information, photos, and philosophy of Bread and Puppet can be found online here: The Bread and Puppet Web Page or on their Wikipedia entry here:  Bread and Puppet Wikipedia

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Cheap Art, Community Art

Posted on March 19th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Free Mind Media, Music, Events, Cheap Art.

Cheap Art! Hurrah!  Bite the Hand Productions held their first-ever Cheap Art Day at a great little house called Assa ni Assa.  We were there all day on Sunday, the 16th, making art and playing music together.  It was the first of many, friends…

Look for lots more Cheap Art filling our gallery at Free Mind Media (546 Pacific Ave in Santa Rosa), courtesy of this little Sunday gathering.  Come on by and take a look.  Buy some art, if you wish (everything is from 25 cents to 20 dollars).

To the many who came: Thank you for your spirit and your participation.  The Cheap Art Movement in Sonoma County is growing everyday!  Cheers to you, cheers to Assa ni Assa, and cheers to CHEAP ART!

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Come Make Some Cheap Art!

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Music, Free Mind Media, Events, Workshops, Philosophy, Cheap Art, The Pharmakon.

Art is an everyday thing and it is for everyone. No matter how much money you manage to make, no matter what time of year it is, we remain artists. That is what Cheap Art is about. Bite the Hand Productions is devoted to pushing forward the Cheap Art Movement in Sonoma County through articles in The Pharmakon, the displaying and selling of Cheap Art at our gallery at Free Mind Media, and through reoccurring Cheap Art Days- the first of which is taking place this Sunday at a little home called Assa Ni Assa.

So, come on down to 1560 Humboldt Street and spend the day with your fellow Cheap Artists! We will be making all sorts of arts and crafts to keep or put up in our gallery (whichever the artist prefers). There will be acoustic music as well as refreshing food. Also, we will be holding a harmonica workshop in the afternoon! Everything is free, so come over and put your energy into the Sonoma County Cheap Art Movement!

Call 326-5274 for details.

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Cheap Art Day and Harmonica Workshop!

Posted on March 10th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Music, Events, Workshops, Cheap Art.

Come join us at our Cheap Art Day and Harmonica workshop at Assa ni Assa (1560 Humboldt in Santa Rosa) on Sunday the 16th of March!  We will have acoustic music to make art to and we will have Justin Walters facilitating a fun little workshop on how to play the harp!

Assa ni Assa is a wonderful home located on Humboldt Street in Santa Rosa.  The residents, Lena and Willow are amazing ladies.  Lena contributed the latest piece of Cheap Art to our gallery at Free Mind Media and Willow is the artist who is behind our monthly “Shady Dealings” comic.  Come on by their house and share the day with us!

For more information, call 707-326-5274.

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What is Free Mind Media?

Posted on January 26th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Free Mind Media, Copwatch, Local Businesses and Non-Profits, Films, Events, Books, Cheap Art.

“Free Mind Media is a non-profit collectively run community center. Our mission is to be a dynamic source of independent and alternative media, to spark debate and discussion, and to provide a place for people to come together and work for greater social justice.” That’s the mission statement, and it describes Free Mind very well.

Free Mind Media is a very special place in Sonoma County, one that every local should visit. Every wall has at least one bookshelf, filled with powerful books to borrow or buy. There are three computers for the public to use and local art is always on display. There is a very radical ‘zine library and a place for fliers and announcements. Bite the Hand’s very own “Cheap Art Gallery” stands in the middle of the room! This is a real place for community building, discussion, and action.

Free Mind Media is managed by a collective of people who meet regularly and put their energy into various projects in the space. They are artists, Cop-watchers, writers, food-not-bombers, movie buffs, avid readers and more. They are all volunteers and will be glad to show you around the place and connect you to some of the action that is going on in Sonoma County.

The collective puts together a regular schedule of activities that take place at Free Mind Media. Here’s what the schedule looks like now:

Mondays- Public Free Mind Media Meeting @ 7:30

1st and 3rd Tuesdays- Santa Rosa Copwatch Meetings @7:00

Wednesdays- Feature Film Night @ 7:30

1st Thursday- Knitting Circle/ Copwatch Reading Group @ 7:00

2nd and Last Thursday- Documentary Movie Nights @7:30

Here are some events that are coming up in the next couple weeks:

Jan 26 (today)- Art Show

Feb 2nd- Gitars (A Performance by I Cut People and Ellipse Elkshow)

Feb 7- “Our Enemies in Blue” Reading Group

Cheers to you, Free Mind Media. Your collective spirit and rich space gives our community hope and the opportunity to take some action. Long may you stand.

Stop by Free Mind soon! They are located at 546 Pacific Ave. in Santa Rosa and are open from 3-6 most weekdays. You can reach them by calling (707) 579-1605.

Also, be sure to take a look at Free Mind Media’s website here: www.freemindmedia.org

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Aren’s Pottery!

Posted on January 11th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Aren Diego, Free Mind Media, Needs/Haves, Cheap Art.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for your cheap artistic pleasure…

AREN’S POTTERY!!

Yes, our friend Aren has donated a lovely hand made ceramic piece to our Cheap Art Gallery at Free Mind Media (540 Pacific Ave in Santa Rosa).  It only costs $10!  Come on down to our gallery and pick it up today.  Money raised goes to Free Mind Media and the artist.

This is part of the growing Cheap Art Movement that is beginning in Sonoma County.  We want more affordable art that can be available to everyone!

For more information on Bite the Hand’s Cheap Art Gallery, click on “Gallery” on the “pages” sidebar to the left.

For more information on Free Mind Media, click on their webpage on our “blogroll” sidebar to the left.

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New Life in a New Year

Posted on January 4th, 2008 by The Captain.
Categories: Soundings, Immediate Theatre, Operation:Venue, The Crux, Events, Philosophy, Cheap Art, Workshops, The Pharmakon.

We are entering a new life in a new year. Bite the Hand Productions has a couple things to say during this time of rain, reflection, and journeys.

This is January and it is a time of change. All of our dreams and experiences past, all of our surroundings and thoughts alike are mushing together and transforming. At this magical time, we have these wishes:

May our land’s lack of venues and the pestilent boredom of our streets ferment into ectstatic insurrection and joyful presence in our homes.

May all of our personal and professional miscalculations and miscommunications serve to pollinate parts of our self and social awareness that we may have ignored in the past.

May those we love know our love and return it.

May we come together and rejoice in the acts that feed ourselves.

Already, we at Bite the Hand Productions can see the heap of history creating new life. We see great things in store in the upcoming year. In 2008, we can look forward to:

More issues than ever of The Pharmakon periodical coming every month all over Sonoma County!

Monthly improv and storytelling workshops as well as our “Feed Yourself” workshops with special guests!

Cheap Art craft days at Free Mind Media, where our community can meet and create art together to sell to the public!

New Bite the Hand events that we call “Soundings.” These are innovative collaborations between local artists and non-profit organizations. Look for our first one in March!

The first full-length album by The Crux will be coming out in 2008!

We are already plotting the Second Annual Insect Carnival for this August!

And so much more…

So, peace be with you on this New Year. A peace that pushes its roots deep into the pavement and touches the burning core of the Earth. A peace that is open to the winds of change and as stubborn as a mighty boulder. We wish you a good season of change and a greater awareness as the rain falls in waves. Let us be like the Roman god Janus, and look to the past and the future at the same time.

-Bite the Hand

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Need: Artists With Little Money

Posted on December 10th, 2007 by The Captain.
Categories: Needs/Haves, Cheap Art.

We want artists without much dough.  Shouldn’t be hard to find, right?  Y’see, we have this little art gallery at Free Mind Media (540 Pacific Avenue in Santa Rosa) called the “Cheap Art Gallery.”  We only allow cheap art (25 cents to 20 dollars) to be sold at this exclusive gallery.  So, the art is  sold cheap and it usually is made cheaply.  Here’s the deal:  We want more cheap art for our Cheap Art Gallery!!

So paint some sticks!  Make a sculpture out of coat hangers and paste!  Draw a sketch of Bertolt Brecht!  Go to the gallery and fill out a form.  Our Cheap Art Curators will put it out for display and sale as soon as possible.  All money goes to Free Mind Media or to the artist, depending on what the artist wants.

Also!  On December 16th, Bite the Hand Productions will be having holding our first “Cheap Art Craft Day” at Free Mind Media (540 Pacific Ave in Santa Rosa).  We will be coming together with our favorite books, pulling the best quotes from them, and putting the quotes into little books we will make out of cardboard.  We call them “Bite-Sized Books!”  The craft day starts at 2:30.  Call 326-5274 for details.

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Yes!! A Cheap Art Gallery!!

Posted on November 26th, 2007 by The Captain.
Categories: Free Mind Media, Local Businesses and Non-Profits, Cheap Art.

Bite the Hand Productions has erected the first Cheap Art Gallery of Sonoma County at Free Mind Media (546 Pacific Ave, Santa Rosa). This is a place where anyone can buy the art that makes life artful and sell their own art to the public. We want you to put up your art in our gallery! We want you to buy art here and help raise cash for local artists and Free Mind Media! Here is what the gallery looks like:

Sell your Cheap Art! Here’s how you do it:

1. Make the art.

2. Fill out a “Cheap Art Submission Form.”

3. Place the art and the form on the bottom shelf.

4. Our Cheap Art Curators will put your art out as soon as they can.

Buy some Cheap Art! Here’s how you do it:

1. Choose the art you want.

2. Sign the card in front of the art piece.

3. Put the card and the money in the “Cheap Art Money Can.”

4. Take that art home! Give it to a friend! Smash it with a hammer! It’s yours!

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