Judy’s Altered Minds — JAMs
Mark your calendar for the 3rd Sunday of each month and join us for JAMs!
Judy’s Altered Minds, affectionately known as JAMs for short, is a free altered art group open to all who are interested. Meetings take place on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 1:00 pm.* The first order of business is an optional exchange of artist trading cards (ATCs), followed by a show and tell session, then a member-driven lecture or demonstration. We also have a quarterly art paper doll exchange.
During JAMs meetings, attendees gather support and encouragement for their art, participate in demonstrations of techniques, experiment with products, work on individual projects, and enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded friends.
* view our calendar for the most up-to-date information; the scheduled Sunday date for JAMs may shift, depending on holidays or classes taking place at Artistic Artifacts.
JAMs members are art quilters, collage artists, art journal keepers, surface design enthusiasts, paper crafters, art doll/assemblage artists and more. All ages and levels of expertise are represented, and all are welcome!
JAMs members working on lunch bags for The Art Monkeys’
Have a Heart Project that benefitted Food for Others, Inc.
Our group is open to anyone interested — please use MeetUp.com to contact us about your interest, or to RSVP for each monthly meeting.
Or, feel free to just “drop by” Artistic Artifacts on the 3rd Sunday of each month and introduce yourself!
Art Paper Doll Exchange
In 2014 JAMs member Bette Rudgers presented a lecture and “trunk show” of artistic paper dolls that was met with great enthusiasm. Easy ways to begin are taking advantage of free downloadable templates: visit The Enchanted Gallery (artist Kimberly Crick, with a jointed doll, optional mermaid tails and goddess form) or Minkwood Designs for several options, simple instructions for assembly and examples for inspiration.
Bette is encouraging those interested to make dolls to trade on a quarterly basis at the following JAMs monthly meetings: January (winter theme), April, July and October (Halloween/autumn).
Bette Rudgers’ Paper Doll Structure Ideas and Inspirations
- Jointed body parts — wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee, neck, waist, ankle, hip — can be united by eyelets, paper fasteners, string, or wire.
- Stable body parts — head, arms, legs, upper body, lower body — can be united by glue or tape (movement is sometimes created by hinge or fold).
- Head or Face: sun, star, mask, camera photo, clock, painting from art history book, cartoon drawing, rubber stamps
- Body: playing card, ATC card, rubber stamp, cage, balloon, fabric piece, fused Angelina fibers, Gelli plate print, map, sheet music, scrapbook paper, leaves, flower petals, Dover paper dolls, anatomy drawings, coloring book bodies.
- Arms and Legs: in addition to the regular parts you expect, try brushes, pencils, scissors, rulers, utensils.
- Accessories: Halloween items, animals, shoes, gloves, purses, hats, wigs.
- Combination of items with dolls:
- Doll with a book inside
- Book with a doll inside
- Doll in a box
- Doll in a shrine
Visit Us!
Even if you don’t live close enough to Artistic Artifacts to join JAMs, keep us in mind if you are ever in the area on vacation, business trips, etc. Anyone is welcome to attend, so if your travel brings you to Northern Virginia, DC or the close-in Maryland suburbs during the third Sunday of the month, plan to drop by!
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Classes at Artistic Artifacts
A wide variety of quilting, surface design, jewelry and other classes, led by renowned local and international instructors,
take place at the Artistic Artifacts Annex.
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