We’ve been a little quiet on social media this year, but not because we weren’t “posting.” In a way, we created our own version of social media. Only ours was made of paper, instead of pixels.

⭐ Kindness Milestone

During this season of Giving, we took a moment to count our ARTfirmations — a reminder of how far a small kindness can go. We’ve posted 121 flyers, sending more than 1,210 little positive affirmations into many hands. We might not have grown our social media, but we know we contributed something good into the world — and it’s this kind of connection we’re truly grateful for.

Where Some Tear-offs Ended Up

Get Involved!

ARTfirmations brings together inspiring messages with the creativity of local artists. Our free, take-what-you-need affirmations offer a simple way to help spread uplifting vibes and artistic expression throughout the community.

A personal note…

Dear friends,

I’m taking a chance and writing you this VERY long blog, hoping it holds your attention to the end! After almost two years of not much to say, I think it’s finally time to share some thoughts.

Well, for the first time in 25 years, we didn’t have a new project. It has felt pretty sad, but sometimes life just takes over, and the creative energy runs dry. It’s honestly been a rollercoaster for me, as I’m sure it has been for everyone — especially since COVID. Life has been pretty full, both with unexpected losses and wonderful gains, and I came to terms with the fact that my mind just wasn’t ready to spark another new project. Maybe it’s just part of turning 50, but more likely it is the result of juggling life in 2 countries which honestly feels like 2 complete separate lives. Yes, it could be viewed as exotic, and at times, it truly is. But I invite those with that mindset to try food shopping in Cyrillic, to drive your car around the “circle of aggression” during rush hour, have a commute of 25 hours to see your family, or god forbid, check yourself in at the emergency room in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria. It can be a lot to navigate, and the reality is that exotic is most often EXHAUSTING.

But back to our projects… to top things off, there is also that thing SOCIAL MEDIA. It almost felt like, why add to the noise? There are so many collaborative projects already out there. Really great ones. They are easy to find and even easier to share. Is our group even needed any more?

But it’s funny how the universe weaves its magic, always showing up just when you least expect it.

This past August, my mom suffered a serious stroke. I’ve spent a lot of time at her hospital bedside. Life for my family has been turned upside down during what was already a challenging time. Yet, amid all the sadness, stress, and uncertainty, one thing stood out — KINDNESS. From the person who picked me up from the hospital every day, to family dropping off food, checking in, and friends listening to me unconditionally for hours, and even the hospital staff—strangers who treated us like family. Those small acts of kindness meant everything.

At the start of the park, there’s a large billboard. Sad really, it is mostly bare except for some outdated calendars, a flyer for a lost cat, a bit of graffiti and a business card for a wedding DJ. Then, a tiny spark of an idea clicked—what if I left a little bit of kindness there? No overthinking, just something simple but meaningful . A thank you to the park, the land, the people past and present. It had to be something I could manage on my own, without needing help or making commitments I couldn’t keep (DID YOU HEAR ME SQUIRREL, NO OVER THINKING!). OK so free, easy, and engaging. We already have a boat load of inspiring artwork we’ve created over the past 25 years, and I have a printer. How can all these ideas swirling around come together into something inspirational? And that’s how “ARTfirmations” was born. So here it is, just under the wire for 2024. This is indeed a NNAG project!

ARTfirmations brings together inspiring messages with the creativity of local artists. Our free, take-what-you-need affirmations offer a simple way to help spread uplifting vibes and artistic expression throughout the community.

I hung one up, and by the end of the day, all the quotes were gone! So, I put up another… then another, and again, GONE. I tried hanging three flyers together, and sure enough, all of them gone too. I even put one up in my building, and yep—gone! I left our web address on the flyers, and people have started reaching out, asking for the template so they can download and share it themselves.

So here’s the thing: it turns out people DO really need this. And I love the idea of sharing something OFF the screen—giving something tangible that people can slip into their pockets, or pass to a friend, or hang on their fridge. Take that social media! It’s more than just a digital save; it’s about sparking real, human connection. YES, that’s it! And it’s a way to reach beyond our usual social circles, spreading kindness to those we may never even meet.

The next day, all gone!

I’ve created a few flyers using our past artwork, but if anyone wants to participate, here’s how:

Together, let’s keep doing what we do best—creating art that makes a difference.

Peace & Love,

Sherry

KINDNESS TRACKER: 23 flyers hung as of Oct 6, 2024!

NNAG acknowledges Philadelphia as part of Lënapehòkink, the ancestral homelands of the Lenape people. View map >

A collaborative grid project is simple — a creative group image formed by a grid. The concept emphasizes how we are separate but together. To show an example, below is our 2020 Collaborative Grid Project “WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER”, created by 36 different artists. The artwork was also made into a printed jigsaw puzzle.

Example

This year’s project will be similar, but in Cyrillic using the phrase “ЗАЕДНО МОЖЕМ ПОВЕЧЕ” (TOGETHER WE CAN DO MORE).

Pronounced “ZAEDNO MOZHEM POVECHE”

]]> https://nonameartgroup.org/blog/holiday-gathering-for-a-cause/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=holiday-gathering-for-a-cause Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:11:23 +0000 https://nonameartgroup.org/?p=8745

A mini holiday get together in Philly….one for a cause!

Artists and friends of (no name) Art Group come together for some good food, good drinks, and good will. We’ve been in touch with many prison charities (getting ready for our next project), and there is a great need for holiday cards for prisoners, especially within the LGBTQ community.

As you can imagine, the holiday season is often a really rough time for LGBTQ/HIV+ folks inside prison. Whatever holidays you may or may not celebrate this time of year, our incarcerated members are often denied the ability to celebrate their traditions in the ways they choose, whether their desire be to celebrate the returning of light for Solstice, the miracle of Hanukkah, the birth story of Jesus, the Black radical tradition of Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, or something else. All too often our members do not have family and friends to reach out to them with cards or visits, making this time particularly isolating. The cards made will bring moments of joy, connection and kindness to our members while telling prison staff that people on the outside are watching.

Theses holiday card writing parties are happening around the world. The organization in charge is Black & Pink, supporting LGBTQ people impacted by the prison industrial complex. You can read more here Black & Pink 2018 Holiday Card Parties around the US & World!

 

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Holiday Gathering For A Cause

Sunday, December 9, 2018
11 am- 2 pm

Roy-Pitz Barrel House
990 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
More info >

Hosted by (no name) Art Group

 

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Expresso Yourself: CupArt

The next (no name) Art Group project is here! Transform recycled coffee cups into artistic masterpieces! Paint it, crush it, glue it, suspend it – wherever your creativity takes you! All cups will be posted LIVE on our website as a digital exhibition for Earth Day 2018.

Did You Know? 50 billion cups in the U.S. end up in landfills every year – enough that if placed end to end, they would go to the moon and back roughly five times. Most paper cups are made from cardboard with a thin layer of plastic tightly attached on to the cup, which makes the cup non-recyclable.

Like our Earth Day 2013 project, we hope to promote and encourage reusable cups – the road to a happier, healthier earth!

Timeline:

• Registration Deadline: Sunday March 25, 2018
• CupArt Submission (uploaded image): Sunday April 15, 2018
• CupArt Digital Exhibition (online): Earth Day, Sunday April 22, 2018

Cost: $1. All proceeds go to our charity beneficiary One Tree Planted, $1 plants 1 tree!

YES, sign me up!

Finished your cup?
SUBMIT CUPART

This project has been adopted from the already established Expresso Yourself: CupArt Exhibition in Sydney, Australia. Anyone wanting to also submit their cup to a live gallery exhibition in Australia please contact us ASAP for more details. 

Contributions to (no name) Art Group

2004 Light A Candle | View full project >

‘The Grasshopper & The Ants’

2003 Bookmark Project
View full project >

“Why didn’t you collect a store of food for the winter?” “The fact is,” replied the grasshopper,“I was so busy playing that i hadn’t the time.”

— An Aesop Fable

 

Wine Label for
2010 The Art of Giving
View full project >

Artist Making A Difference

Robert continues his art and has recently finished a 2 month artist in residency at Arts Alive/Words Alive Gallery. Robert’s delightful illustrations of the beloveth Sesame Street characters and other story book classics – including Aesop’s Fables and nursery rhymes are joyful and inspiring to children and adults alike. His years as a professional illustrator enable him to present his art work in great detail so that his illustrations appear animated. Robert’s illustrations offer a glimpse into the world of imagination that children can relate to.

A few fun illustrations from Robert’s portfolio…

Robert Dennis was born in upstate Pennsylvania. His first interests were in comic book art and cartooning. His family moved to Delaware where he attended the Delaware Art Center. He graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts). After graduation he worked in television and retail advertising. Then as a freelance artist, he worked in children’s publishing and advertising. He was an illustrator for Sesame Street and Electric Factory Magazines and was a member of Moon Studio. He taught illustration on a college level and worked as a staff artist for KYW-TV and Center City Film and Video Productions, Inc. Robert lives in Philadelphia, with his wife Rhea and their very bad rescue dog Petey.

e, the magnificent.

e holds a BFA in graphic design and art history from Moore College of Art & Design and an MFA in Creative Writing and Book Art from Mills College. For over 15 years e has worked as both a print and web designer for companies like Anthropologie and Gap Inc. while also serving as professor of Graphic Design and Book Art in various college and university art departments. Her work has been published in 500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form, by Lark Books and 1,000 Artists’ Books: Exploring the Book as Art by Sandra Salamony.

Selected book publications, a full article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, and featured artist in Anthropologie. See, we told you she was awesome! More press here >

What we would like to add…

• e currently lives in California, although the East Coast wants her back
• e’s handmade journals are incredible, and we think everybody should have one. Check out her roughdRAftbooks shop here >
• e is VP on our board, and a most fabulous social media manager. All those cool captions and images on our Instagram? That’s e! She also is available for brainstorming and troubleshooting our projects at all hours of the day.
• e traveled to Hoi An and taught a bookmaking workshop for (no name) Art Group >
• e loves a good homemade bread, she refuses to wear matching socks. She loves road trips, TREES, calm people and nice squirrels.

 

north american tree series made for Anthropologie stores during fall 2011 and were an edition of 2,500. Read more >

Just a few of the many handmade fine art books by e. We chose to highlight her rock books, of course. Give yourself a treat and view her full nature-inspired collection here >

e’s Latest Project! Each week e creates a drawn, painted, scribbled, printed, collaged, doodled, sewn on, altered book . Follow along on Instagram @eisroughdraft, check out the project hashtag #52originalroughdrAftbooks

 

e bond makes digital spaces by day, handmade books by night, hangs out with trees on weekends and writes something close to poems in the spaces between. Under the studio name roughdrAftbooks—created in 2003—she makes one-of-a-kind artists books, printed pieces and drawings that merge and blur the boundaries of art, craft, design and poetry.

artist + educator + writer + bookbinder + designer

Check out more of e’s work here:

Website: http://ebondwork.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roughdrAftbooks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eisroughdraft/

Thank you e Bond for all the beautiful things you put into the world!

Some of e’s contributions to (no name) Art Group projects…

Our group has oodles of talent, and with Earth Day around the corner we’d like to highlight a very special one!

This “no name” artist sure has made a name for herself. Sculpture artist Sandra Webberking of Springfield PA has been with the group since 1999. Her contributions, have been some of our most memorable (and definitely largest!) works of art. Sandra hasn’t painted a rock, but she sure is a rock star! She is an eco-minded artist and every piece is filled with passion and love. You can find her installations in local restaurants, streets and, gardens throughout the area.

Donation for (no name) Art Group Bookmark Project 2003, fundraiser for First Book Literacy Program in Philadelphia.

Atlantic City Waterfront Sculpture Walk

Catfish bike rack in East Falls, Philadelphia

Her latest work include breathtaking fire sculptures made from recycled propane tanks. Just in time for summer, the sea creature series includes mermaids, jellyfish, and seahorses.  More >

Sandra says…

Being an avid gardener, it seems natural that I gravitated toward creating whimsical sculptures for the garden I spend so much of my free time in. I value the process of finding objects, listening to their story and reincarnating them into the creatures they will become. Nature is a profound source of inspiration to me and my work. I am especially inspired by the wonderful rhythm and lines of trees and their branches –they are purposeful with the space they take up.

I believe in preserving out natural resources and for this reason I recycle whenever possible. We live in such a disposable age and as a reaction to that I am trying to show that reusing is not only environmentally friendly, but it is also fun. Often times the finding of the objects, is as much fun as making the piece.

You can check out all of Sandra’s work here, and catch her on the road full schedule:

Website: http://sandrawebberking.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandrawebberkingoriginals/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandywebberking/

Thanks Sandra for all you’ve done for our group! You’re an inspiration to us all!

Now is the time to keep ART and LOVE alive. So we’re starting our next project, 2017 EARTH ROCKS! This one is similar to our last project, but with lots more exciting parts that will allow our good deeds to spread even further. Here are the details!

Create An “Earth Day” Art Rock

Create a rock with an “Earth Day” theme. Use your own rock or we’ll send you one. Then, send your rock to us in Philadelphia. We’ll display it in a special gallery exhibition this spring in honor of Earth Day.

Earth Rocks! Exhibition & Fundraiser

Saturday May 6, 2017
B Square Gallery
Philadelphia, PA USA
Check out the gallery >

Registration Closed – Rocks Due April 22nd
Philadelphia Gallery Exhibition May 6th

Questions? Ask away! Contact us anytime! >

Be sure to follow us on social media for all the latest updates!
Like us on FACEBOOK and Follow us on INSTAGRAM!

The Project

Cost: FREE!

However we will accept donations! Suggested donation is $10 for an “egg rock” stone with shipping. (using your own stone is also acceptable!)

Artwork Needed (digital photos only)

• 1 photo of your stone (straightforward, against white background)
• 1 photo of your stone (in the setting)

Dates

• Oct 10^th – Call for artists deadline
• Oct 15^th – Stones mailed
• Nov 15^th – Photos due
• Nov 25^th – Exhibition goes LIVE!
  Because let’s see something about GIVING on Black Friday

Giving without expectation stimulates gratitude and elevates your personal awareness of others. When your motive is pure, giving opens up your heart to an enhanced sense of peace, love and joy.

Registration Is Now Closed.

If you’d like to join our next project, please contact us here >