Sloup

Project #23: "A Variety of Mysteries"

2012-01-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Devin Devon will receive $1400 for ""A Variety Of Mysteries". A mysterious chick flick about a drunken and depressed girl named Violet, who's meth abusing aunt Miranda, leaves her daughter, Paisley, in Violet's care while she spends time in a rehab clinic. Sounds grim on paper, but trust me, the film is actually quite charming.... If you choose my proposal, you will be giving our lowborn cinematic baby the chance for a good start in the world and validating all of the work that we have put into it over the last 16 months...We just want people to have the chance to see it in the hope that some may love it as much as those of us who worked on it do. I thank you for your consideration."

Wow. This was close one. SO many gems of ideas this month. Sloup is so appreciative for each applicant's brave submission.

A big, BIG (we are stretching our arms wide) big, thank you to our hosts last night. A successful night that has unearthed so many thoughts in our brains. We will be sharing all of these discoveries with you, dear Sloupers. There truly are so many ways to Sloup.

Next month we will be teaming up with CAM on February 26 for some anniversary Sloup fun. Two years and counting! May Day Orchestra will be paying us a visit. Don't miss it!

Sloup 23: Stay Tuned!

2012-01-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hey Sloupers - the jury is still out on the grant winner due to some late arrivals of some ballots. We are tallying and will post by the latest tomorrow morning! Thank you for your patience - and - just to add to the suspense we know the grant will be over $1000! Folks, you rocked it out last night! Thank you all for your continuing support and enthusiasm!

SLOUP #23: Soup Memories from Clara Moore's Sloup

2012-01-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

Pulling up a bale of hay at Moonlight Farm. Everyone bundled up against the cold at their backs, the raging fire in their faces, reading proposals by firelight. Fishing bread out of a garbage bag and spreading it with beautiful hand-churned butter, and passing a bottle of whiskey around to warm our collective hearts.

*

While out of town singing for Tulsa Opera, I home-stayed with a lovely local couple. I made fast friends with my house mother, Gina, who treated me like an old family lovey. She loved to cook and spoil me with frequent tea. One day after a particularly long and grueling rehearsal, I came home to theeee most delicious smelling house. Gina was making pisole — a Hispanic soup with fresh local pork, hominy, home-made stock and fresh herbs. Ate 3 bowls while she listened to my woes. Will never forget it’s breath—taking savory comfort. Perfect soup.

*

Boston unexpectedly on my birthday. I’m gonna have clam chowder on the ocean, I vow. Subway to bus to… shit, I was on a school bus for a while… dropped off on a little street w/ black boulders & crashing waves at the end. Warm café, window booth, light getting long. Bowl clam chowder, a cup of coffee and water w/ no ice please. “Tues & Thurs —today’s vegetable beef.” That’ll do.

*

Every summer, my parents and I stayed in a little fishing village for two weeks in the Keys. My mom would make and freeze enough conch chowder to have for lunch every day and we’d drive it down in a big cooler.

*

My favorite Sloup memory is hosting a Sloup, duh, because it was tons of fun! That day in June is my fav. soup memory too because Holly Fan made a black bean thing with LOTS-O-FIXINS and fixins are fun & good. Plus being a wee part of Sloup from the start makes me want to, you know, be a part of it all the time! Cheesy!

*

My 1st sloup. The urban café. Danny and I were wearing yellow. Tomato basil and too much bread.

SLOUP #23: Pics from Kyle & Emma Klues

2012-01-30T06:04:00.001-08:00

SLOUP #23: The Ten Proposals

2012-01-29T07:12:00.000-08:00

1: "Stl Mud Portraits"
Spring is just around the corner. And where will all the flowers sprout up from?
The earth.
And when mixed with rain -- we get mud.
Lovely. Smooth. Cold mud.
When the sun comes out, the mud dries, turning it into dust.

As little kids we all played in the dirt. The lure of the mud puddle or the stirring up of a dust storm was too powerful to resist.
And was just plain fun.
And it still is.
All life originates from earth and it is the earth we are destined to return one day
Our relationship with Mother Nature offers a space for solace, companionship, whimsy, happiness.
We all are bits of Her. And as we develop our relationship with Her, we reveal our individuality, our souls.

Yet as we get older, we can forget the simplest pleasures of childhood which put on us on the path to develop our individuality.
With this grant, I hope to make an opportunity to re-connect.

I propose to make a series of portraits of people covered in mud with flowers, twigs or other goodies Mother Nature provides.
Each photo will have a multi-media component.

The purpose of my project will be to reveal the spirit of everyday people-- wives, attorneys and blue collar workers, young and old. One subject will be a woman in the midst of her chemotherapy treatment. Making a portrait of her alongside her daughter will be a departure from dealing with her sickness.

My goal is to make one portrait a week over a four-month period resulting with 10-15 worthy images.
Creating these pictures will provide a spirit of wonder and exploration for everyone--me as the photographer, the subject and ultimately the viewer.

I hope to evoke the work of Annie Leibovitz as well as the ethereal portraits of Joyce Tenneson and Irving Penn.

I look forward to getting nice and muddy. Thank for your consideration.

2: "The FROG Project!"
The FROG Project!

It’s a mad hopping dash from our meeting in the City Garden through the streets of down town St. Louis to the Froggy Bop under the arch where all the frogs will show off their magnificent colors.

There will be 30… 40!...50 frogs!!! Dressed head to toe in their favorite froggy wears. The black and yellow spots of the banana frog will mingle with the outrageous oranges and reds of the tomato toad. The florescent blue of the poisonous dart frog will flash brilliantly against the steel skin of the north east gray.

And for one glorious night all that we are and have known ourselves to be, the citizens of St. Louis will become one with she who breathes life into the universe, a goddess of life and fertility, as the Egyptians called her; Haqet, she who hastens the Birth.

We call her the frog goddess.

FROG

LONG STORY SHORT:

I’m Je DeSuza. I am a local St. Louis artist. For the past 6 months I have been recruiting a group of volunteers that have agreed to get painted as their favorite frog (or toad). For example, Ashley Moss is pictured above in her tree frog attire (head only). Frog personas are created from latex body paint, swim caps, goggles, and other mixed medias.

There is about 30 of us now and by September 2012 we plan to have raised $1000.00 which will go to body paint and froggy attire

. We also plan to have at least 20 more “frogs” join our team. At that point we will ascend a mad hop across the city to Froggy bop underneath the arch. This is in honor of the strength, beauty and creator spirit we all possess

And every one can hop along!

3: "I propose to build a 12-foot diameter sundial."
WHAT: I propose to build a 12-foot diameter sundial. At the 12- 3- 6- and 9- hour markers I will erect four welded steel "towers." Each tower will be about 6-feet tall, and 18-inches wide, made of welded steel straps or "girders." (Picture one side of the Eiffel Tower) Instead of the supporting girders being evenly spaced, they will be random for visual interest. The steel towers will be colored with a black patina. On top of each of these four "towers" will be 18-inch by 12-inch fused glass panels (3 glass thicknesses). These will be colorful abstract glass images similar to photos of earth from space -- hot reds and magentas representing land masses, and aqua and deep blues representing water masses. (I will probably sandwich the glass between pieces of clear plastic for protection against breakage).

The remaining hour markers (1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11) will be constructed of cast concrete. Each of these markers will be about 18-inches wide, and 12-inches high with a sloped (angled) top (picture a grave marker.) On top of these concrete markers will be unique copper repousse images of ancient symbols such as runes, along with the Roman numerals for that hour. I will color the copper with a verdigris patina.

The gnomon (center piece that casts the shadow) will be either a traditional wedge shape (also of welded steel) or a cigar-shaped welded steel structure (hollow) about 8 feet tall and mounted in the center. Either of these shapes will cast a shadow, but I still need to do a little testing to determine which shape will cast the best shadow while still being visually interesting. Radiating from the hour markers to the gnomon will be thin straight lines made from crushed limestone. The remaining space will be grass.

WHERE: Site selection will be made with the assistance of local arts organizations working with the artist, volunteers and local governments. Towers and other components will be welded and fabricated at my home studio from mild steel obtained from Shapiro metals on Manchester Rd. Glass will be fused at Lamplight Studio in Overland.

WHEN: Site selection, Feb - March; Maquette and approvals of final design, Feb. - March; Fabrication, April - May - June; Installation, late June, - early July.

ONE INSPIRING THING: A quote from an essay about Jean Ipousteguy by John Updike. "La sculpture n'est pas faite pour functionner, mais pour nous faite functionner." ("Sculpture is not made to function but to make us function.")

-John C. Schnellmann

4: "A large semi-circular panorama of the City Garden"
What are you making? A large semi-circular panorama of the City Garden at night displayed on canvas so that the viewer can step inside the photograph & look around.

How will you make it? I have already taken the series of photos and stitched them together into a 360 degree panorama printed flat on canvas & on photographic paper. The latter has been sold to the GSA through Arch Framing for use in their offices in the Eagleton building downtown. The next step is for me to work out the support structure for the curved canvas version. I am in contact with two railing manufacturers to design a suitable mechanism to hold the canvas for viewing as a semi-circle.

When? What's your timeline? I am anxious to complete this project as soon as possible, so I have already contacted the railing manufacturers in hopes of defining a suitable solution. As soon as that design is done & assuming funding is available to cover at least part of the costs, I will create this work of art.

What's a thing you heard/saw recently about the making of art that you embrace? You have to make what you’re passionate about & hope others enjoy it, versus trying to make what you think others want.

5: "JKPublishing"
who: JKPublishing is a St. Louis-based independent publisher with transcontinental affiliations. Since 2004, founder CJ Smith and project director Erin Wiles have published over 30 individual-author chapbooks, overseen the creation and distribution of 3 periodicals (including the Kick-Ass Award-winning Bad Shoe, a journal for women writers and artists in St. Louis), held numerous community art festivals and events, and fostered the growth and development of writers with open mic nights, writing workshops, and our handmade publications. Originally based out of Ohio, our imprint the Saint Louis Projects encompasses all of our locally-produced work, having relocated to the area in 2008. The press, like so many artistic endeavors, is a labor of love, as we both work full-time jobs elsewhere to support our passion.

what: In order to broaden our outreach, we will travel to Chicago to attend the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Annual Conference and Bookfair. The AWP has accepted our panel discussion on small press marketing strategies and whether the traditional bookstore remains relevant. We also will maintain a booth to sell our handmade chapbooks and distribute information about our press and literature in St. Louis. The AWP event is the largest literary conference in North America, affording us a fantastic opportunity to network with other small presses and draw national attention to our local press.

how: We have purchased Megabus tickets and are staying in a hostel to keep costs low. The major expense of attendance is the per-person conference fee of $145 a person (x3). Our (former St. Louisian) panel moderator is currently based in California, and we would like to subsidize her plane ticket. Funding will also allow us to design and create promotional materials to distribute at the conference, and also to print additional books to sell at the bookfair.

when: So soon! We are hustling to get our presentations and book table ready for the 2012 conference, which takes place February 29–March 3. SLOUP funding would allow us to focus on preparing new business cards, flyers, and brochures to promote our press and panel. The support of SLOUP would allow us to print and sell more books, bolstering our press and supporting our authors.

why: Sometimes it’s a struggle to justify investing so much creative energy into commissioning, creating, and promoting small-run chapbooks. Local literature, although internally very supportive, is often ignored or overshadowed by the larger arts community. Although we stage readings to promote our publications, the act of reading and book-collecting is largely a personal, intimate endeavor. We aren’t an intense rock show, a flamboyant theater piece, or a stunning street-side mural. Our passion often isn’t on display.

Although Bob Cassily did maintain exactly this kind of rock-star persona, his recent passing inspires a metaphor for the kind of work we seek to do. Cassily died at his Cementland project exactly as he lived: solitarily, passionately, determinedly creating this extravagant, fantastic castle in the middle of nowhere, in practically a wasteland, though many could not see the value or significance of the project. That kind of boundless energy and vision—throwing the bulk of one’s resources into a construction without certain affirmation of reward—defines for us the role of the artist, and inspires awe.

6: "PIECRUST magazine: Volume 1, Issue 2"
PIECRUST magazine: Volume 1, Issue 2: Take us to Southern Graphics Council Conference! Editors/Creators: Megan Collins and Lauren Cardenas

What is PIECRUST magazine?
We have created a forum for artists and writers to show their work and put it into the hands of others in the form of an independently published magazine called, PIECRUST. The idea of a PIECRUST is a simple one.

It’s a lovely foundation for a dessert of many layers and endless possibilities, and we believe that paper is its sister in construction. Our biannual, themed magazine will feature artist interviews and an assortment of artworks on paper as well as fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. We are currently working on our Spring/Summer issue that will be titled, Soft & Sweaty, and artists and writers from all over the world have submitted their work. We reviewed the entries and compiled them into the second issue of PIECRUST magazine that will be released on March 23, 2012!

What do we need your help with?
Each year, a printmaking conference is held that allows printmakers and artists from all over to convene and attend various panels of speakers, technical demos, and showcase their work for others in the printmaking community. This year, the Southern Graphics Council Conference is being held in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Ladies of PIECRUST would like to take PIECRUST south! We would like to have a table and booth at the publishers’ fair to promote the magazine and all of the wonderful artists’ and writers’ works within it. Many St. Louis artists and writers were showcased in the first issue, and that list gets added to with our second issue! How exciting!

How will you make it?
As upcoming publishers, we have access to several letterpresses and other printing facilities. We have a local company print the interior of the magazine, and we do our own designing, layout, and we hand letterpress the covers and magazine inserts. Our main goal is to be an alternative forum to the rather rigid, academic art and writing magazines of today, (which all have their place, of course) and give artists and writers a fun, fresh, and rather witty publication to show in. As people flip through our pages, you will hopefully be inspired, laugh a little, and keep sharing the issue with others. They can even mark their favorite spot with the letterpress recipe card that will be in every issue. Our last issue was a huge success, and we would love to keep this going by being represented at SGC.

When? What is your timeline?

We have already begun laying out the next issue, and we will be sending it off to the printers in mid February. The Southern Graphics Conference will begin on March 15 and continue until March 18th where we would set up our PIECRUST table at their Publisher’s Fair. We would then promote the magazine and inform people about our release party of the second issue in St. Louis the following week! What is a thing you heard/saw recently about the making of art that you embrace? Here lately, communities of artists are taking great strides to get art out into the world and among the public. Whether it be large-scale public installations, beautiful pieces that reside on building’s exteriors, or various independent print shops organizing city-wide events, art no longer only inhabits homes and museums. While this change has been happening for a while, we certainly aren’t abandoning the flow. Various art/ craft/DIY magazines from large publishing companies may be sinking, but the independent publishing world is still surviving through community support. When it comes to making art to distribute to the public and include communities, yeah... we embrace it!

7: "A Variety of Mysteries"
Dear SLOUP funders, my proposal is a bit unusual insofar as the actual work of art has already been completed. Over the course of the last year and a half, my friends and I have have spent a good deal of our free time shooting a feature length, no budget film based on an original script written by myself, entitled "A Variety Of Mysteries". A mysterious chick flick about a drunken and depressed girl named Violet, who's meth abusing aunt Miranda, leaves her daughter, Paisley, in Violet's care while she spends time in a rehab clinic. Sounds grim on paper, but trust me, the film is actually quite charming, or so we've been told by the very few people who have actually seen it. The film took a long time to shoot because all of us who worked on it also had regular jobs and other responsibilities to attend to, and we found that a few hours on Sunday afternoons was generally all we could manage in terms of getting together to work on it. No one was paid for any of the time and effort that went into the making of this film, it was a cinematic labor of love from start to finish.

Getting back to my proposal. What good is making a film if no one ever sees it? Well actually, I suppose there are a lot of good reasons, but even so, we would like to have the chance to show the film to the public. Not being a studio film or having much in the way of commercial appeal, the best way for us to get the film shown would be by submitting it to the various independent film festivals that take place year round in cities across the country. Some film festivals, such as the Sundance and Tribeca are well known, others, like the San Diego and the Chicago Underground Film Festival are less familiar but still attract large audiences. When submitting a film for consideration for festival inclusion, an entry fee is required, generally between 40 and 60 dollars, but occasionally as much as 100 dollars may be asked, just to get someone on the selection committee to take the time to look at your film, with no assurance of being chosen for public presentation.

I am poor, and could not hope to come up with the entry fees for more than a few of these events on my own. If you choose my proposal, you will be giving our lowborn cinematic baby the chance for a good start in the world and validating all of the work that we have put into it over the last 16 months. We have no illusions of achieving fame or actually making any money from "A Variety Of Mysteries", we just want people to have the chance to see it in the hope that some may love it as much as those of us who worked on it do. I thank you for your consideration.

Cheers!

Devin Devon.

8: "The MTP"
The Money Transfer Protocol of St Louis (The MTP)

WHO: Members of The MTP, individuals who say something positive about St Louis or STL businesses, & St Louis Commerce.

WHAT: The MTP awards $20.00 "gift envelopes" to anyone who says something positive about the city of St Louis or its Business's. Recipients are encouraged to use the money for only St Louis based purposes (i.e. drinks at a St Louis bar, donation to St Louis NPR / KDHX, Library, purchase a local artist's work, etc).

Recipients can only be awarded once, and cannot be aware of The MTP project.

The MTP's members are anonymous.

WHERE: Wherever a member of The MTP is in ear shot of an individual talking positively of St Louis.

WHY: This project is a micro-philanthropic experiment. Its intent is to spread "surprise" positive energy throughout the city and encourage the transfer of money through St Louis. This ground level approach will hopefully inspire those living in St Louis to become more aware of St Louis and its potential for continuous betterment / positive self image.

WHEN: As long as The MTP has funding and members willing to participate, we will continue to award gift envelopes.

Whom the envelope goes to, what the person said that earned them the envelope, and where the money is projected to go is privately documented until we reach a kind of "critical mass" and it is time to have a show showcasing the project.

HOW: An instruction sheet detailing the project with $20.00 is placed in a gift envelope. Envelopes are kept on hand by members of The MTP for distribution while in public.

"If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it."

-Paraphrased from Moby Dick

truly,

Pseudonym

The MTP

9: "Many artists fear writing"
Many artists fear writing or have no basis or foundation to write.
this is something that needs to be addressed in context of sloup, but
possibly other artists grants. the money and sloup is out there, but
how do you get people to write their ideas and thoughts down on paper?
how do you get people (visual/musicians) to engage in this activity
(writing/feeling good when writing) if it is new and foreign to them?
I want to make a work of art that addresses this issue. this is my
proposal. I will use sloup money to go around asking other people who
I know can benefit from sloup, have them write their idea down, and
give them the money. I will get the sloup money first, and then
approach my friend/artist and dangle the dubs in front of their eyes,
effectively motivating them to write a short paragraph of what they
want to do with the money with out the peer pressure of being subject
to "review." I will then give them the money, and frame the proposal
as a work of art next to some root beer. This is my art and this is
what I will use the Sloup proposal for. I love art, please support me
support other artists. This is my primary love affair now (not making
paintings in the studio) (not pretending to sound smart) (not
pretending to be spiritual) But simply encouraging art.

10. "The Viand"
The Viand: cooking local food, serving civic communion
Description of the project: We are writing a book! It is about what to do with local food. More than a cookbook, this book is about underground food projects. We are looking at all the ways people are using local food to bring people together to create active communities. This book will be full of photographs, recipes, theory, interviews with people who host underground food events and people who have changed their lives around what they have learned. We will also being profiling inspiring projects from around the country including SLOUP! We are working to get the book out by next fall and are excited to have events in celebration.

Here’s more: Local Food is all the rage now. It is a social movement, which understands food as community, rather than commodity. Local food has effectively jujitsued the cooptation of organic by developing an alternative to symbolic certification. People want to know their farmer, and not just to reassure them about ecological practices, but to complete a circle of social relations around the production and consumption of food.

CSAs and community gardens have waiting lists, the organic market is plenty profitable, and Whole Foods has been forced to sell local products. So we got local food, what are we supposed to do with it? Much of it needs to be processed and cooked, and a lot of us didn’t learn how. And how do we continue the energy of this movement into further transformations of our economy and culture?

Our underground food project, The Viand, begun in December 2005 as a community institution, which addressed several dimensions of local food: celebration, demonstrating simple cooking, and promoting connections with farmers and local markets. Now six years later, after hosting in various cities around the world, we are writing a book! This book tells the story of The Viand, makes the connections between the underground restaurant movement, the local food movement, and beyond, and provides a How-To for non-professional cooks, surrounded with recipes and luscious photographs of the events. You can look at some documentation of what we did here: www.viand.net. all the best, Andrea Godshalk

Sloup 23: tomorrow

2012-01-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

There have been lots of great questions about how to host and how to attend. We hope we've answered them all! But email us with aaany last minute questions: sloup2122@gmail.com.

And here's a link to our original invitation:http://sloup2122.blogspot.com/2011/12/sloup-23-science-of-sloup-invitation.html. Lots of crucial info there.

Good luck deciding your hows and wheres! Artists: Proposals are due today so we can post them tomorrow morning!

Sloup 23 Host 7: Bridge Tap House and Wine Bar

2012-01-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

The Bridge agreed to host Sloup this Sunday! Woot!

Come by between 6-10:30pm. Just say "I'm here for Sloup". Give [your server]$10 (cash) and you get soup, made by chef Jason Kauffman, a proposals packet, and a vote!

You can also order things (not included in your $10) like beer (of which there are over 50 on tap) and other tasty foods. (http://www.thebridgestl.com/) DANG.

and.....THIS OPEN HOST REQUIRES NO RSVP!

Thanks to Ms. Murphy and Mr. Bailey!

SLOUP 23 HOST 6: Kyle and Emma Klues

2012-01-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

Come to the little rental home of ordinary-people-and-not-chefs Kyle & Emma Klues in Tower Grove South. We will have a vegetarian stew, homemade beer bread, and it's BYOB! 3119 Alfred Avenue, 1 block west of Morgan Ford and just south of Arsenal. Blue earth flag out front, RSVP to emmalouklues@gmail.com

Sloup 23 Host 5: Halliday Inn

2012-01-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

SLOUP at The Halliday Inn!

Please come to 3305 A Halliday Ave in beautiful South City St. Louis at 7:30 pm for a bountiful semi-local semi-seasonal super soup (squash bisque-based) created by 3 roommate-chef-artists AND sangria de San Louis (think night train + Jarritos)! Your hosts will include the three residents plus other members of Thinking Art STL (an emerging-artist discussion group - thinkingartstl.blogspot.com). RSVP (would be nice but not necessary) Meghan, Carlie and Aaron - thinkingartstl@gmail.com.

SLOUP 23 HOST 4: Don F. Wiegand Studios

2012-01-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

"Where: Don F Wiegand Studios, One Wiegand Drive Chesterfield, Missouri 63005

Strict RSVP to volunteer organizer: Penelope Beache@FairTradeStl@gmail.com 314.229.2496

*SLOUP Venue Sponsor and Host:* The Wiegand Foundation, Inc. and
internationally acclaimed sculptor, Don Wiegand, will host the 23rd SLOUP
at Don’s home and studio at One Wiegand Drive in Chesterfield. Don is best
known for his commemorative figurative and portrait sculptures featuring
noted world figures including Charles Lindbergh, Mark Twain, Ernest
Hemingway, Bob Hope and Winston Churchill to name a few. His studio is a
work of art in itself and only viewed by invitation or special event so
this is an opportunity not to be missed!

Attendees will mix n’ mingle and vote…over Soup made possible by a generous community donation from VegaDeli."

SLOUP 23 HOST 3: Chef Clara Moore's House

2012-01-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

“Come to the South City Bungalow of Chef Clara Moore, right off of the Cherokee Arts District. We will have a vegan and an omnivore soup, local beer, and boozy punch by Renowned Mixologist Ryan Wilmsmeier. Also, gonna have delicious cheese and sustainably made Salume. Corner of Potomac and Minnesota, 3100 Potomac, the bright orange house. RSVP @ calm314@gmail.com.”

SLOUP 23: call for artists' proposals

2012-01-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

On the night of January 29th, SLOUP will happen all over St. Louis, but everyone will be reading THE SAME PROPOSALS. YOUR PROPOSALS. Never has it been less important to win, as the exposure to your idea will be so diverse and exciting, it HARDLY MATTERS who ...gets the cashola. Of course, making money for your art practices is the whole idea, but we cant give you the $$ if you don't APPLY. This particular Sloup is self-consciously about building a larger sloup community so the grants and the idea exchanges keep growing this year. So we are inviting and imploring you to write it down bravely to win or lose big THIS MONTH. Not next month. Not the month after.

I ran into you at the grocery store and you had this really good idea and you said "Maybe I'll apply to Sloup." There is no one more ready than you!

Consider: No artist is too "established" for Sloup, and no artist is not artist enough.

Check back over the next few weeks to watch as more and more people and places commit to host a sloup, and think about all the small and large communities that will come together that night to think about your artistic futures.

Proposals are due at midnite on the 28th!

SLOUP 23 HOST 2: St. Stephen's

2012-01-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

North County Sloup in Ferguson, MO at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Parish Hall. Reverend Steve Lawler will be the Soup chef that night! "We'd appreciate RSVP's so we get a sense of many people to plan for. RSVP's can be sent to stringsattachedproject@hotmail.com." St. Stephen's is located at 33 North Clay Ave, Ferguson, MO 63135 (314)521-0138

Check out the write-up in NOCO!

SLOUP 23 HOST 1: Los Caminos

2012-01-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

"At 6pm on Sunday, January 29^th Los Caminos will proudly participate in Sloup 23, the first-ever citywide Sloup event! Don’t miss your chance to view our first solo exhibition of the season, NIKKI AND JAN, featuring recent work by artist Jake Cruzen. We kindly ask you that RSVP to loscaminosart@gmail.com by January 26^th so that we can provide enough food and beverages."

Holiday Pix

2012-01-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

SLOUP #23: The Science of Sloup (AN INVITATION)

2011-12-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

On the night of Sunday, January 29th, Sloup will happen all over St Louis because anyone & any place can host.

That’s you!

A SLOUP HOST WILL:

•have people over some time that night

•feed them soup

•distribute the month’s artists’ proposals to your guests (proposals will be accessible on the blog by noon that day.)

•facilitate a Sloup vote (by individual ballot, majority, or unanimity—up to you! experiment!)

•collect a $10 donation from each voter (hosts may choose to vote or not; proposers may not host Sloup but proposers may attend Sloup)

•document the event creatively

•and drop off a post-Sloup packet between 7 and noon on January 30th at Local Harvest Café at 3137 Morganford Rd.

**
post-Sloup packet contents
1. a list of participants & their email addresses (& any extra documentation!)
2. the recipe or story behind the soup
3. all ballots (or a tally if your Sloupers voted together)
4. $10 per ballot (or per vote in tally)
5. process notes from your Sloup based on these 7 questions:
-What drew you to hosting and what were your plans or hopes for your Sloup? How did it play out?
-Describe your Sloup’s dynamics (i.e. host/guest, dinner/proposals, etc).
-Describe the discussion and voting process regarding the artists’ proposals.
-What were some successes and challenges of hosting your Sloup? Any supreme moments, surprises, major issues, small awkwardnesses?
-Would you host a Sloup again? Why or why not? What elements would you keep or change?
-If you have attended Sloup before, compare your Sloup to others. If your hosting experience was your first Sloup, what do you now expect from future Sloups?
-After hosting a Sloup, do you have any advice for Sloup as it moves forward?
**

Please make it your own. And last minute is fine—we don’t need to know ‘til the next morning! But we can help you plan your Sloup and/or advertise your Sloup to others if you’d like it to be open. Ideally, a Directory of possible Sloups to attend (at homes, restaurants, and art spaces) on January 29th will emerge on our blog. And if any requirements limit your ideal sloup-ability, we want to know (i.e. Do you need us to drop off copies of the proposals to your site that afternoon?).

Sloup 23: The Science of Sloup is a collaboration between Sloup and Francesca Wilmott of Los Caminos. Francesca will host a Sloup that night at Los Caminos. ( los.caminos.art@gmail.com)

And Amelia and Maggie would like to attend other Sloups. Invite us!

MORE INFO AND IDEAS TO FOLLOW. email ideas and questions to sloup2122@gmail.com

December 18th: Sloup Holiday Party @ FOAM (no cover!)

2011-12-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

Check it. Sloup is taking it's first breather since it started rolling in February of 2010. We're going to use the time to re-group, and you should too. We expect big little things and little big things in January from your proposals. Please ask the same of us.

The party at FOAM is from 7 'til 11 or so and, while it's just a nite to get together and unwind with new and old friends amidst a busy month, there will be a lot to take in:

*An invitation to participate in Sloup 23: The Science of Sloup (January Sloup) will hit the streets, pamphlet-style. It's going to be a big fun deal, and we'll be there to talk it up. (It's an experiment!! Check back at the blog if you can't make the party!)
*Vegan white bean, roasted garlic, and sage soup will be available to raise operating funds for Sloup 2012--$5 for a bowl and $10 for all you can eat!
*DJ Invisible Cola and DJ Michael "Mike" Stasny will kick back behind their laptops and stuff our stockings with special sounds that wrap our hearts in faux-fur slippers.
*Wonder Koch will discuss her recent artistic projects and how losing Sloup twice contributed to their development.
*Great hot boozy drinks will be on sale all night long: thank FOAM for having us by indulging big time. They make a mean toddy.

We're still not over how great last month's Sloup felt at Moonlight Farm. That is all. See you on the 18th.

Project #22: Issue Magazine ($180)

2011-11-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

JD Scott wrote," We are currently seeking funding for our first issue, “Home,” which we intend to publish this Spring. Here’s an excerpt from our mission statement:
“Issue Magazine is a collaborative, multidisciplinary publication that will explore social issues in St. Louis through the lens of architecture and design. This organization seeks to introduce social issues - and their existing and potential solutions - to students of Washington University and members of the St. Louis community.”
We intend to use unconventional journalistic methods and mediums—collage, photomontage, journal writing, mapping—to reveal views of the city that are both intimate and highly accessible.
A quote that I was referred to recently:
“Enough of Art. It’s Art that kills us. People no longer want to do a painting: they make Art. People want Art. And they are given it. But the less Art there is in painting, the more painting there is.”
—Pablo Picasso
Capital “A” Art and Architecture are distanced from context—from the community. They are inward-looking and often self-obsessed endeavors. The intent of the publication is to return to (lowercase) art and architecture, to highlight people, projects, and places far removed from galleries and coffee-table books; and, most importantly, to continually reinforce the idea that architects and designers must be advocates for social justice."

Whoa - Wow! So Fantastic! Thank you caravan-ing friends for making the trek out to Moonlight Farm last night. The moon was hiding behind the clouds - but we were all kept warm with blankets and a bonfire. There were two kinds of hand-churned butter, local local pears in the soup and the cider - and so much good conversation! So nice to see plenty of new faces as well as our returning Sloup friends. How many 'best Sloup ever's did you hear last night?

Next Month: Holiday Party December 18th at 7 pm at FOAM!

Let's take the month off together and hold tight to those proposals until 2012 friends-- we will keep you updated with more details!

Sloup #22: tomorrow

2011-11-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

it's here! field trip time! Amanda and Alaric are ready for us, it's going to be a clear and chilly night, the soup and cider are going to rule, it's all systems go...

but, what we DO need is some more proposals to read and discuss by fire light.

PLEASE take some time today to get your thoughts out on paper if you have an upcoming art project, and we know you do. Send it our way, and no matter the outcome, you'll make some new fans who are thinking about what you do.

Sloup #22: Moonlight Farm Field Trip

2011-11-17T11:46:00.000-08:00

Sloup is the same but different this month, and we can't wait. Let's get started a little early because we've got to take a little journey to our venue this time, and it'd be fun to catch the sunset over the fields.

Moonlight Farm is at 3470 Dutch Bottom Road in Arnold, MO. It's an easy shot down 55 for the most part, with a few twists and turns at the end.

So, for those of you who can head out at 4:15 or so, let's meet at The Mud House at 4 and get oriented and sardine-like and build a parade. Don't be shy about showing up car-less, lots of folks will have extra seats! And if you like driving, we'd love you to be one of those pals with extra seats.

For those of you who want to leave a little later or direct from home, here are the basics:
"(from Mud House) Cherokee St. to 55 S to 141 (about 14 miles), make a right on 141, make a left on Missouri State Rd (about 2 miles - it's the next street past Astra Way, there is no light at Missouri State), make a left at the stop sign, make a right on Dutch Bottom Rd, follow the road around a large curve, you will see an iron gated driveway on the left and go over a creek, the next gravel driveway you see on the left is our road! follow the road down to the barn!"

Those are direct from our hosts, Amanda and Alaric Geimer! That's right, they said "barn." Let's DO THIS.

They also say they'll be making a "fresh-off-zee-farm winter squash and pear soup and scrumptious hot pear cider for slurping." Yum-mee.

The whole Sloup thing will still go down smooth and easy: packet of fresh artist's proposals, informal chats about them all, $10 for a vote on your favorites, we post the winner in the mornin'... but THIS time, once you read 'em, they'll turn into kindling for our cozy bonfire.

Didya hear that?? Extra incentive to submit a proposal this month- your art-goal will become ashes that go up and up into the night, and that's way more powerful magic than your standard household birthday candles.

We'll head back to the city together by 7 o'clock or so. Plenty of time to head to the next thing STL has going on for you, or to catch a much-needed big bear nap.

PLANNING AHEAD:
December 18th: Sloup Holiday Party @ Foam
January 2012: Sloup Pulls Some Tricks Out Of Its Sleeves

Project #21: Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra

2011-10-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

Heather Rice of Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra (winner of October's $230 grant!!) wrote:

"My band 'Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra' is a six piece ensemble who composes and performs original soundtracks to old silent films. We want to purchase our own screen and projector to allow us to play at more venues instead of being restricted to only places that have this technology. We feel that this would also enable us to plan a tour for this upcoming fall or spring.

Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" reminds us how powerful and fresh art can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years after its creation. The advanced technique and almost cubist style of some of the ancient cave paintings illustrate how wrong it is to assume art simply develops and improves along a single, uninterrupted evolutionary path. In the case of these ancient works of art, luck and plate tectonics preserved them by sealing off the cave to air, mold, and decay. In the present day, one of the best ways to preserve the similarly advanced art of silent ﬁlm is through keeping it alive with fresh music and showing it to as many people in as many places as possible."

Congratulations R & P - job well done. And thank you everyone for attending yesterday evening to eat, vote, carve, and dunk.

Galen, you are the host with the most, such a cozy time. Will - your punch packed a punch, please come back again with your fantastic recipes. I'm feeling punny today so I should wrap this up. Not a drop of soup left last night - surely the sign of success. Stay tuned for updates folks for Sloup #22 - this one involves a ROAD TRIP so watch the blog and the Face for maps and other various directives. Think brave. Think car pool.

SLOUP #21: GONDOWEEN

2011-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Come to Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts this October 30th at 6 p.m. and get festive with Galen Gondolfi! Pumpkin Ale Soup by Amanda Phillips. Tiki Drink by Will Fischer of UnderWARES (BYOlittleextrasumthin.). Decorations by YOU (wear them! at least get out the orange shirt.).

$10 gets you soup and a vote toward your favorite proposal. (Send us a proposal and your favorite can be your own!!)

This is going to be the funnest. We can feel it.

Project #20: BLUEPRINTstl

2011-09-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Nat Zorach plans to make "cool things happen in abandoned buildings. Think of it as a hybrid of a collaborative arts project, a community engagement exercise, and a marketing campaign for vacant and city-owned real estate. Architectural charette mixed with real estate venture mixed with dance party. It is about using abandoned buildings as a forum for dialogue and cultural engagement. And figuring out how to renovate those buildings.

BLUEPRINTstl develops a figurative road map as well as physical, architectural drawings to essentially market underappreciated buildings and show how dope they could be with a little love. We are not a real estate developer but we aim to encourage development.

We have the blessing of the SLDC and the LRA, whom we met with earlier this year about this (after the Open/Closed vacant property summit) and who own about 3,000 buildings and think it would be really cool to get some of them moving. Plus those folks, there are thousands more privately owned homes with owners waiting for the right moment to do something cool with the spaces. We’ve got the organizational/building part of it, now we just need some creative minds who want some serious license. Who’s in?

WHO: Me and a couple of architect-designer-carpenter-artist-musician-St. Louis enthusiast friends. Any and all residents who want to join in. Oh, and you. Hit me up.

WHAT THE MONEY WILL BE USED FOR: A small marketing and events programming budget, starting with our kickoff event, hosted in a semi-finished space to assemble some preliminary ideas about the project. We want to inspire and to be inspired, engaging new ideas and energy from community members and creative minds. This is about integrating integrating individual creative product with a collaborative, community endeavor. Our first event will outline some specific goals and sketch out some potential first projects, and the building arts part of the project will detail some renovation plans being worked on by our collaborators."

To get in touch with Nat with questions or thoughts about his project, you can email him at nathaniel.zorach@gmail.com. Also, please check out our proposal archive to see who else proposed this month and feel free to send ideas and energy their way too! (The archive suffers from a huge-ish gap, which we plan to remedy soon soon.)

This was our smallest Sloup ever!! 10 folks, 100 dollars. After recalibrating, we could feel the hugeness of 10. And it felt cozy to hang out with John Perkins in a gorgeous space (Thanks CAM!) while eating many bowls of the smoothest most warmingest tomato soup imaginable. We like making the most $$$ we can for the brave folks who propose, but we also like learning from the unique character of each event. And since we're starting to strategize for making Sloup in 2012 stronger and stranger, shoot your ideas to sloup2122@gmail.com. We're also going to be putting out a big time call for collaboration in the next month or so, please keep checking back.

NEXT SLOUPS (mark yr calendars plzzz, these soups will be steamy):
October 30: Halloween Sloup at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts (wanna make the soup?)
November 27: Caravan to Moonlight Farm in Arnold, MO for a Farm Sloup (pear cider!)

RIGHT NOW.

2011-09-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sloup number twenty is going to happen at the Contemporary this afternoon. This very two o'clock. It is so so sunny on their patio, and the little silver chairs and tables are positioned for maximum sun on your sweet soft face. John Perkins just whipped the richest butter into the last tomato soup of summer. He'll drive it over here in a few minutes. I bet his windows will be rolled down. There are three artist's proposals in a cozy packet for you to read and love, and they are all so well written. They are all such charmers. We are all so charmed. So charmed we're a little sleepy. Come on over. It's nice out.

Project #19 Bus Songs

2011-08-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Barron Johnson and Paul Fehler will use this month's Sloup Grant "for the school year of 2011/2012, we want to record kids rapping on buses. We want to hear what they say, record it, and preserve it for posterity. We think that this is an important step in safeguarding our culture, and that without efforts like these our identity as “St. Louisans” will be increasingly threatened. We believe that it’s imperative that steps be taken to prevent our city, as we know and experience it now, from being imperfectly understood by future generations."

Congratulations guys!

Well - thank you Eric & Maggie from Firecracker for hosting us this month. Totally great energy and a lot of new folks this time.

We had two delicious soups (a frijoles charro soup and a secret sopa vegetales) this month from Carniceria Latino Americana - maybe if we ask really nicely, they will put those soups on their menu....hmmmmm?

So. Next month we'll be back at the Contemporary for Sloup #20 - we'll have to drum up some fun for CAM for sure.
And- what's new with you? We wanna know - Drop us a line sloup2122@gmail.com

Stay tuned for more for September and up-coming fall Sloups!

Update: Sloup #19

2011-08-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you who thought it was too late to submit a proposal this month - now you can!
Sloup is taking proposals until midnight tonight - hit 'Send' on that email kids. See you tomorrow - gonna be great - it's all coming together Sloup Style.

Sloup #19 Firecracker Press

2011-08-27T05:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Hey Sloupers - Sloup #19 will be hosted this month by Firecracker Press 2838 Cherokee Street
Saint Louis, MO 63118. Our (two!) soups will be provided by Carniceria Latino Americana.

Regular Sloup time this month 6-8 pm - we're bringing the cornbread - you're bringing your wonderful selves and friends - and friends of friends of course.

$10 will get you soup and a vote.

2011-07-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Project #18 Los Caminos

2011-07-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

Why do we [Los Caminos] need a Sloup grant?
"For the past nine months Los Caminos has presented a diverse array of exhibitions featuring local and national artists. Because Los Caminos is neither a commercial gallery nor a 501(c)3 non-profit, we do not have the capabilities of generating income like other art spaces. While these factors inhibit us financially, they also give us complete freedom to allow artists to experiment. The space has been self-funded by Co-Directors Cole Root and Francesca Wilmott. With our first year coming to a close we are now faced with the expenses of continuing our ambitious programming through the summer and into the fall.
Sloup funds would be used for a variety of purposes in addition to general
operating expenses: installation and equipment costs for our upcoming summer and fall programming (this involves preparing the space for video installations), annual fees such as our domain renewal for our website which helps showcase the St. Louis art community on a global level, and shipping for our upcoming group exhibition which features artists from St. Louis, New York, and Chicago."

Congratulations Los Caminos - the sizable grant of $940 goes to you!
Very exciting - almost overwhelming Sloupers - this last Sloup at the Contemporary Art Museum St Louis was awesome! Thank you Alex Elmestad for hosting us and thank you Clara/Local Harvest for the delicious summer soup. So good to see so many new faces! Please come back next month at Firecracker Press for Sloup #19! Stay Tuned for more details about August and beyond!

Project #17 Carlie Trosclair

2011-06-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

What are you making? "I will be creating an outdoor installation for Post Performance 3: A one night, site specific performance that pairs a visual artist with a musician. Post Performance takes place at The Old Post Office Plaza and is part of a monthly summer performance series hosted by The Luminary Center for the Arts.The event is free and open to the public. The work will be comprised of 5 to 7 freestanding sculptures, varying in height and width, ranging from 4‐8 ft tall. Fabric will be stretched and nailed to an abstract wooden frame to form a variety ofintersecting planes between the pieces of wood, and illuminated with colored lighting from within.
The lines and patterns of the architectural forms surrounding the site are used as inspiration for
the installation. The abstract shapes of the sculptures will be multi faceted and multi dimensional incomposition. Addressing themes of repetition, space and perception, the sculptures not only relate to place, but are also intended to provide a visual mimicry of the rhythmic sounds of the musiciansperforming: High Places"

Check out Carlie's work here

Wow! So much awesome in one night Sloup #17! Thank you Flowers to the People for our first Sloup in a flower shop - so beautiful
Thank you Holly Fann for the lovely black bean soup - with choice of awesome toppings
and - tiki master for hire , Will Fischer thank you for turning the Stable's artisanal spirits into a magical summer cocktail.

See you next month at the kick off for CAM's City-Wide Open Studios. Special time (2-4 pm) special place. Dress fancy

SLAP update and Sloup #17

2011-06-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Sloup is speaking tomorrow at 11 am on the Creative Community Engagement Panel at the Regional Arts Commission. The panel is part of the the larger St Louis Arts Project Conference - we look forward to seeing you there!

And- the time is rapidly approaching for Sloup #17 on June 26th!
This one is another triple header - check this out:

Hosted by Flowers to the People the hippest floral and gift boutique
Soup will be provided by local food writer for the River Front Times - Holly Nickels Fann
AND - we are currently composing a 'slouper' cocktail with some delicious spirits - donated by the brewpub and micro-distillery The Stable

its going to be. awesome.

So get your proposals in - we will be bumping up our deadline to Friday by midnight - tell your friends and tell your friends friend.

Where to next?

2011-05-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Sloup #17 will be at Flowers to the People on June 26th at 6 pm.

Sloup #18 will be at the Contemporary Art Museum on July 24th at 2 pm.

save these dates, and send us your proposals!

Sloup #16 Cameron Fuller

2011-05-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Cameron Fuller and seven other brave Sloupers participated last week in our first-ever Sloup Proposal Workshop in assocation with the 3rd Annual Chautauqua Art Lab. The application Cam workshopped won over last night's voters with his proposal to create a drive-in style projection space at 4528 Ohio Street. The space will ultimately be host to experimental video screenings and an on-going short films series.

This Sloup was super-awesome right? (I do think we always say that - but really - especially so last night!)

Gina/VegaDeli, the White Bean Kale and Kale Potato soups were a-mazing! Thank you so much - please come back and visit Sloup!

We had 7 sweet proposals this time - so gets yours in among the mix next month.

Sloupers - look forward to the updated Sloup Archives to review all of the proposals that have been submitted.

Sloup #16: VegaDeli & Workshop Proposals

2011-05-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

is coming up fast on Sunday May 22nd at 6 pm.

The soup will be donated by Gina at VegaDeli and be just down the walk a ways from Floating Laboratories at Maggie and Mike's place (see map below).

Proposals generated at the workshop on the 15th will be automatically submitted. All art project proposals are also as usual welcome until midnite saturday. Submitters, please note the ever simplifying list of questions to answer and format into a one page PDF document.

Sloup #16: finishes at the bottom of a hill

2011-05-06T11:25:00.001-07:00

Another river Sloup! May 22nd! 6 pm! how to get there!

Sloup #16: starts with a workshop the week before

2011-05-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

As part of the 3rd Annual Chautauqua Art Lab, a "week-long grassroots citywide arts festival, free university and art parade," we will run a Sloup proposal workshop for "solo artists with half thoughts" at 1 pm on May 15th (check back at Emily Hemeyar's blog for confirmed location). Let's bring on a new wave of ideas in one hour of getting it out and down. We're even gonna make worksheets to make it easier and more fun, and then we'll enter every single one to compete for the next Sloup grant, even if they don't feel complete! We love this idea because it's that time of year to get overwhelmed by all the amazing things we all can ( AND WILL) make and do.

Project #15 "Float your Face Music Festival"

2011-04-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

wow oh wow. $220 goes to Kevin Harris of Floating Labs:

***The artistic project currently being planned and in need of community support is the "Float Your Face Music Festival" to be held May 27th and 28th at Floating Laboratories, an experimental music and sound studio in Saint Louis. The project is a collaboration between Kevin Harris, founder of Floating Laboratories, and cultural organizer Josh Levi of Flood Yr Face.

The festival will provide the citizens of Saint Louis with two days of critical exposure to some of the most authentic experimental music being made in the world today:

--Eight national and international artists will bring highly unique and ambitious work to Floating Laboratories, to be performed over the course of two evenings.

--Workshops will be held by local and national artists on electronic circuit design, instrumental performance technique, and experimental film manipulation.

--Lectures/presentations will be held on electronic music history, esoteric and "forgotten" musics, applications and interpretations of analog and digital synthesis, and experimental music and its relationship with social activism and change.

--Representatives from other like-minded Saint Louis community organizations will be encouraged to participate and distribute information about themselves.

We intend for this festival to provide Saint Louis with a vehicle to interact with positive people and new environments - using music as a catalyst. Just as the content of the music being selected is highly authentic, creative, and non-traditional, so will be all aspects of this festival and experience.

The money awarded from SLOUP would go towards paying the travel expenses of visiting artists. Ultimately, the money would provide Saint Louis with a unique musical experience.***

Thank you Thank you Travis DeRousse & Melanie DeRousse for hosting us at Black Bear Bakery - the two soups, white bean and corn chowder, were totally delicious - Sloup was so so cozy and we saw quite a handful of new faces!

Well Sloup #16 needs a home - contact us if you would like to host or make a soup!

Sloup #15: Black Bear @ Black Bear (April 24th, 6-8 pm)

2011-04-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

As if it wasn't awesome enough that they give us bread every month to make sloup a belly-full, Travis DeRousse of Black Bear is hosting Sloup at Black Bear, supplying the soup, the bread, AND the atmosphere.

Beers will be available by donation to send some love back Black Bear's way!

Get your proposals in by this Saturday, and we'll see you there!

Project #14 The Strings Attached Project

2011-03-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

***The Strings Attached Project provides weekly music lessions, guitars and community performance opportunities to St Louis youth ages 5-17. The project cuttently has 23 students involved, learning to sight read music, play guitar and work in small ensembles. The project uses American roots music as its study genres with an emphasis on St Louis music history. $520 will help fund "A) a recording studio day with youth as an educational field trip, make recordings and later dub in professional St Louis muscicians as backup players for the youth. The recording "Eternal Songs" would be released as a CD and download to help fund this ongoing project. and B) to help fund the guitar "awards" wherin youth involved in the project for at least one year, who have good practive habits and a willingness to give back to the community throught performance are awarded witht the guitars to keep." Thank you Kevin Harris for hosting one of the most - i'm gonna say it - magical Sloups. Everyone one in attendance was in love with the dreamy ambiance at Floating Laboratories. Kevin - Sloupers want to come live with you - that's ok right? The Fountain on Locust brought us a delicious delicious black bean soup and told us to pass along that the Fountain does burlesque bingo the 1st Thursday of the month and side show spelling bee the 3rd Tuesday. So. Now you're in the know. So stay tuned for April - it's going to be an all Black Bear Bakery affair. Be sure to remember your black bear hats for next time.

Soup #14: Cuban Black Bean on the River

2011-03-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sloup Sunday is upon us again, all the trees say so.

The Fountain on Locust is going to bring a huge batch of their vegan black bean that we can't wait to try. Check out their recent press for a Polish pickle soup. Yum.

And we're taking Sloup down by the river and ever so slightly off-road at Floating Laboratories, winner of the RFT's best underground club award of 2010. Click on the link for directions, hand-drawn map to follow.

We'll snag some awesome bread from Black Bear Bakery (they're gonna host April's Sloup!!) and meet you there. BYO refreshments, puhhlease!!

Project #13: Sonic St. Louis

2011-02-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

David Weinberg won $540 and promises that: "The Sloup grant would fund a project called Sonic St. Louis (SSL). I would use the grant money to purchase digital audio recorders and hire a local web designer to build a website. The recorders would be available for the public to borrow to make recordings in and around the city. All of the recordings will be posted online to a sonic map of St. Louis where you can listen to the recording that was made in that location on the map. If for instance, you wanted to record the sound of Soulard barkers hawking produce or a memorable karaoke moment at The #1 Most Fabulous Room you could borrow one of the recorders. Or, if you wanted to interview your great grandmother about her famous gooey butter cake recipe or the time she hurled a rotten tomato at president Coolidge in Forrest Park you could borrow a recorder. If you wanted to hide the recorder in your breast pocket and surreptitiously record an especially juicy secret in order to exact revenge upon your employer/ex-lover/former best friend, I would not pass judgment. In fact, I would lend you a recorder."

We are so amazed by the other proposals this month, and they got such even steven votes, that there may be straggling future posts about their staggering beauty, so keep your eyes peeled, and always feel free to contact us to make connections with anyone you met at sloup... we'll help you track the world down.

We turned one years old today, and we are feeling pretty good. Los Caminos gave us a chocolate cake, and Amanda Goldblatt gave us a birthday card! Labeebee's lentil soup was perfect. Seriously. Do you understand? You know when soup is like perfect? Like mom-perfect and shit? OK. We'll revise this tomorrow. We love you.

NEXT SLOUP: March 27th. The Fountain on Locust makes soup @ Floating Laboratories!!

Soup #13: Labeebee's @ Los Caminos, Birthday Style

2011-02-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Guess what? It's been a year and it's our birthday. Wow. Does our "wow" ring true? We hope so. Please don't miss Sloup #13 and all its tender beauty. Labeebee's Mid-East Cafe is surprising us with a soup from the secret soup society, Black Bear is blessing us with their overabundance of bread, Los Caminos is hosting with their usual effortless killer combo of sophistication and warmth, and you are staying too long too late and you are not surprised when the dance jamz come on real loud. We like presents. presence.

We are serious about your Sloup applications. Make them soap opera face. Make them lose importantly and win gracefully. Make them talk.

After Sloup #12 at CAM, we don't know what to expect. Except goodness.

Help Us Help You

2011-02-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hey artists with proposals in your hearts,

Spit em out and send em in, but please note: We'd like to receive your one page proposal (including any images) to be sent as a PDF thingy. That way your formatting will hold and we can all smile about it!

Cool! Thanks!

oh... and... this just in: Labeebee's Mid-East Cafe is donating February's soup. If you haven't tried their falefel yet, you're probably just too busy applying to Sloup.

PROJECT #12: A Collaboratory for Edible Ideas

2011-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

Eric Woods and Kim Wardenburg will:

"collaborate with Carlos Dominguez of Latino Americana Restaurant, as well as Ana Rivera of El Chico Bakery and other participants from the neighborhood, to serve up the "Printmakers' Special"—a taco meal complete with edible, printed tortillas inspired by the people of Cherokee Street!"

They will receive $1210 toward this project. Whaattt? We ran out of Clara of Local Harvest's amaaaazing curried sweet potato soup and sssttttiiilllllll people paid to read the 11 incredible challenging insipring proposals for things that can/will happen in STL and to vote on their favorite.

Thanks for the awesome bread, Black Bear Bakery..mmmm mmm.

And thank you to the Contemporary Art Museum for fostering this explosion of energy in support of the vital arts communities that are crackling right here right now.

SLOUP is officially growing like crazy. Please email us if you want to volunteer to work the next Sloup, and keep submitting these killer proposals. Kill us dead. We will try to provide enough soup. Now we know.

We love you.

Next SLOUP: February 27th, 6 pm @ Los Caminos

Sloup #12 Sunday January 30th - 2-4 pm

2011-01-26T08:14:00.001-08:00

Hey Sloupers -

Sorry for the confrusion - This month's Sloup will be in the afternoon (as opposed to the usual evening time)
2-4 pm, this Sunday, January 30th
at the Contemporary Art Museum.

Storm the Contemporary!

Sloup #12 Storm the Contemporary!

2011-01-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sloup #12 is putting on it's Sunday best because the Contemporary Art Museum St Louis is hosting us this month!!! Also - Local Harvest will be whipping up a sweet potato soup we cannot wait to taste. This month's Sloup will be an afternoon affair from 2-4pm at the Contemporary this Sunday January 30th.

So, you know what you need to do:
Submit your awesome proposal ideas that you have saved away in your brain

and
Attend this awesome Sloup! This will be the biggest one yet!
Admission will be free to the Contemporary with your $10 donation to Sloup.

SLOUP #12: bigger than ever?

2011-01-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

Sloup's been growing steady, topping out with 6 proposals and 41 patrons last month at Paper Boat Studios. In the name of keeping up...

#1: Artists, please keep your proposals to one page, including images--pack yr punches!

#2: Sloupers, please bring and donate the bowls you don't use to Sloup! We had a steadily growing bowl collection for a while, then slacked... help us serve every you with a real bowl.

Project(s) 11: Pig Slop Studios and Eleanor Balson

2010-12-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

Pig Slop says:

"We are currently constructing a space within Pig Slop devoted to exhibiting artwork: 48 linear feet of white wall space. The money will specifically go toward building materials (lumber, drywall, hardware), track lighting/clamp lighting, and materials to prepare the floors. This exhibition space will provide artists within the community an accessible venue for dispaying work. Any remaining money would go toward purchasing a PA for events that require amplification"

Eleanor says:

"Now that its winter and all the bees are huddled together, trying to keep from freezing, and there
is nothing I can do as apiary inspector until March, I am going to Brazil for 10 weeks to work with
Brazilian Honey Bees and Beekeepers! I leave on December 29th and wont come back until after
Carnaval, in mid March.

While I'm in Brazil, I'll be volunteering my assistance on two radical farms. First, I'll visit the MST
just outside of Teresina in Maranhao. The MST is a collective of rebel farmers who are reclaiming
deforested land. By organizing, they've been able to get the government to create “The Landless
Peasant Act”. This official recognition grants them the power to move onto ruined jungle lands and
be productive in raising a huge array of crops. I'll be working with a beekeeper who is extraordinary
because he keeps 4 different species of honey bees, and one species in particular makes a uniquely
delicious honey. The reason why this is extraordinary is because in Brazil, since an experiment with
breeding honey bees in the late 1950s went haywire, and 20 some odd very aggressive queens got
loose from a laboratory, all the honey bees now are “Africanized” - these are the killer bees that are
slowly moving their way up through our country, rumored to chase people and murder poodles. There
are many misconceptions about these aggressive bees from south of the border. One is that different
species of Africanized bees can't be maintained because they're too hard to control. This is a myth that I
will be able to speak about when I return in the spring. This experience will help me educate the public
about beekeeping through the many presentations I give as Apiary Inspector.

I have a good bee-suit, I have all the equipment I need. I have my plane tickets, my visa, my passport
– I'm totally ready to roll! But when I get there, I will have a very limited amount of spending money
for my 10 weeks. I want to pad my bank account a little better, because there will be busses to ride
and things to see down there that without some extra cash, I wont be able to afford to travel to. Also,
I started a raw food diet – which I'm really enjoying. I want to be able to buy some miso and tahini,
maybe some sea vegetables, and then do some fancy food making for my hosts and hostesses. If I get
this grant, it will make my trip a lot better by giving me a chance to get out and explore a little more."

$205 will go to each endeavor, thanks to all sloupers new and old.

The mushroom and barley was kick ass. Thanks Bridge Tap Room and Wine Bar!!

And squeezing together at Paperboat Studios was the best ever seriously. Thanks, Amy! She told us all to come visit any time. We should. We will.

Oh, and Rob, thanks for enchanting us with your new accordion while we did our thing. It's a beauty and so are you.

Next Sloup: January 30th from 2-4 pm at the Contemporary Art Museum, soup by Local Harvest.

Soup #11: Bridge @ Paper Boat

2010-12-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

This month's soup will be made and donated by Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar! Snuggle up to a bowlful at Paper Boat Studios @ 2308 and 1/3 Cherokee Street, Sunday the 19th at 6 p.m.

Bring your friends, and email us your proposal by midnight the night before Sloup. That's right. You can apply right up until the witching hour.

And don't miss Googolplexia's new accordion debut. The "violet menace" will be in the house.

Sloup #10 The Archive & the Cherokee Peach

2010-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

***Here’s a thing I want really badly: A shiny golden (or maybe shiny purple? Or shiny green? Heck, help me decide! If you vote

Googolplexia, write a color next to your vote!) ACCORDION upon which to wail so verily like you’ve never even

heard or understood.

I can basically guarantee I’ll be back to sing

songs and play the accordion at a SLOUP event in the future, assuming they’d have me do so, and provided

you guys help me get this dang ol’ accordion!***

$270 SLOUP dollars go to Googolplexia

Thanks the Archive and Cherokee Peach for hosting and making the most excellent Curried Green Tomato Soup and Heirloom Squash Apple Soup

So save the date for Sloup 11, Sunday December 19th at Paper Boat Studios

Sloup #10: The Archive

2010-11-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

the Archive, "St Louis' newest literary adventure and reading room" is not only hosting Sloup #10,

(wow - 10!) but is also providing November's soup!

Soup by Amanda Jerauld, Executive Chef, The Cherokee Peach.
Currently of kitchen staff at Eclipse Restaurant.

So exciting, so exciting.

So save the date kids: November 21st 6-8 pm 3215 Cherokee Street, 63118

Attend

Apply

Repeat

Sloup #9: Lyndsey Scott

2010-10-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

***This December, I'm riding my red bicycle in a red sparkly dress in Texas for The Long Haul of Justice! This is when adult human beings get together in their superhero characters and homemade costumes and ride on bicycles from town to town, meeting people and offering to help out. Founded in 2000, hundreds of superheroes have taken part in these annual 1-2 month rides that combine spontaneous service, sustainability, and silliness. This summer I fell in love with the SuperHero "HQ" which is an 80-acre homestead in NE MO called The Possibility Alliance. This electricity-and-petroleum-free experiment in radical simplicity is my new favorite place to learn. During the "Clowning for Social Change" workshop intensive there in August, we got to concoct and try-on our characters for the local Amish kids, at the nursing home, and Truman State Campus. I am The SerendipiTease: I celebrate being in the right place at the right time with a smile that beams your brightness right back at you. With acroyoga, dancey pants, and NVC, I welcome us to into feeling good and free***

Wow! This Sloup was superfantastic!! Thank you Pig Slop Studios for hosting and thank you Mary and Araceli from Rue Lafayette for making the most delicious soup! Thank you everyone that attended/applied/contributed - Sloup couldn't do it without you! We made our largest grant yet: $380!

Stay tuned for more about next month's Sloup on November 21st at the Archive on Cherokee Street. Save the date!

Sloup #9: RIGHT NOW

2010-10-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hey all! As we speak Mary at Rue Lafayette is cooking up a fresh batch of her cream of mushroom and leak soup and we'll be putting out the bowls and proposals before the sun drops. Head on over to Pig Slop Studios @ 2700 Cherokee and bring a flagon for you and your friends!

Sloup #9: Rue Lafayette @ Pig Slop Studios

2010-10-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

Pig Slop Studios is hosting the ninth sloup on October 24th at 6 pm. Keep up with what they're up to on the facebook....it is good.

And Rue Lafayette will be cooking up and donating a Cream of Mushroom & Leek Soup with white Truffle oil!

And we are now on the facebook and Twitter! Find us!

Project #8, Tie #2: Saturday School & Free Halloween Pictures at Cherokee Photobooth

2010-09-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

***"This grant would support Saturday School programming materials. Saturday School uses art education ideas as a vehicle for realizing civic empowerment. Kids at Holy Trinity school will learn how to articulate and enact their desires for their community through small local architectural re-use acts and imaginative building projects. This grant would support the material budget, as we are a self-funded initiative and in need of funds that can support the visions of the youth, we’re talking real simple, nails, screws, paper, markers, you know."

***"On October 30th and 31st, we will offer free Halloween pictures at our studio in Cherokee Street to anyone who comes. We will take pictures for everyone in front of a huge chalkboard background designed by local artist Ryan Frank, and print 4 x 6 pictures for free. Each picture is delivered in a photo folder that also acts as a frame. There will be lots of Halloween themed props and there will be candy. The event will last for about 7 hours each day. We estimate to be able to print at least 250 pictures each day. At 2 to 4 people per picture, we should be able to serve 500 to 1000 people in the two days of the event. We will have one photographer, one make up assistant, one person doing registration, one person printing and one person delivering the pictures. We also plan to provide some entertainment outside since people may have to wait for an hour or so. Later this year, we plan to have an art exhibit in one of the local galleries inviting everyone who came and got their picture taken on Halloween and Easter, as well as the general public. We will promote the event trough flyers in local stores (barber shops, Family Dollar, etc), radio advertisement (KDHX, 104.1, 104.7, 107.7) and press releases in the local and regional papers (STL Today, RFT, Globe Democrat, St Louis Beacon, etc). This is a community sponsored event. Novation Church, KDHX, Fort Gondo, JAD productions, Jackson Pianos, Cherokee Kuts, Foam and others have already committed to sponsor part of the event, and we are working in securing sponsorship from other individuals, groups and institutions in the neighborhood. We want the Halloween pictures to be an opportunity for businesses, individuals and groups on Cherokee Street to give back to the neighbors that make the street what it is. We also want this event to be an opportunity for people in the neighborhood to interact with the artistic community. This is why we are reaching to local sponsors and this is why it is very important for us to get a grant from Sloup. We want to make sure this is a gift from the different forces changing Cherokee Street, to the neighborhood we are changing."

Thanks to Alissa and Eric, our first house-sloup was all the cozy we had dreamed of and more. And thanks to all who came out and glowed under the trees of light at their 3210 Cherokee home, each project will receive a $150 grant!

NEXT SLOUP: October 24th
THINGS WE'LL NEED: a big pot of soup, your proposals, costume ideas

And hey check out the new Sloup Archive, where we've started caching every proposal ever submitted to Sloup as examples for future applicants and to simply be an all-out inspiring trove of artistic intention.

Sloup #8: ALL DAY

2010-09-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

YOU-GAME: Apply to win this month's grant! Due at midnight!

PRE-GAME: 3317 Demenil Place. Make soup with us starting at noon. BYO beer snacks albums moxy.

PARADE-GAME: We walk the soup up Cherokee in a little red wagon.

GAME-GAME: 3210 Cherokee Street, Alissa and Eric's House, we do sloup for real. Bring a new pal.

Soup #8: Bean Wagon

2010-09-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

So check it out: Alissa and Eric, solidest of sloup patrons, are hosting this month on the 26th in their home, so let's make it a house party all day long.

At noon, at 3317 Demenil Place we will start the broth for our everybean soup and we'll also turn up the music and start drinking beer. Come help or just hang out! BYO drinks and records and snacks. Seriously. Come and be with us all day.

THEN! At 5:30, we'll put the pot in the wagon, yeah a little red one, and roll it down the street together to Compton and Cherokee and have Sloup proper. It will be as much a parade as we make it.

Alright. Now, APPLY.

Project #7: Jenny Murphy

2010-08-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

"Imagine an amazing toolbox that can be hitched to a bike, pedaled to your door, and then opened to reveal the simple tools you will need for any basic furniture-fix-up project (this scenario also includes a cyclist ready to offer design and build advice!)

If awarded a Sloup Grant, I would use the funds to purchase the supplies to build a small portable workshop bike trailer for Perennial, a new non-profit in St. Louis that serves as an educational and supply resource for creative reuse. While I will salvage most of the materials to build the trailer, I would use the Sloup Grant to purchase a new set of tools and supplies to travel in the workshop."

Thanks to everyone who came out last night, making this our largest grant yet: $350!!

Urban Studio Cafe: you're fantastic. Your outdoor tables are so inviting, your counter tops are so versatile, and your four walls held our soup talk brightly.

Newstead Tower Public House: thank you for your garlic, your tomato, your basil, for blending them sweetly into chilled perfection. We feasted all night!

Thank you Grace Woodard for telling us all about Urban Studio Cafe's amazing happenings and ambitions. We know many Sloupers were visiting Urban for the first time and plan to come back.

Next Sloup: September 26th!

Soup #7: drumroll........

2010-08-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

chilled roasted garlic, Claverach Farm tomato and basil!

let's fade out summer together. yum.

Soup #7: Newstead Tower Public House

2010-08-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sloup's in session this Sunday at 6 at Urban Studio Cafe (our first ever winner!) and Grace Woodard will be there to share what's been goin on with that way cool YUDU Personal Screen Printer. Here's what else:

-The soup will be donated by the Newstead Pub, courtesy of chef Anthony Devoti. It promises to be divine, and is yet to be revealed! Come find out with us.

-Sloup got some seriously flattering love this week. Gosh gosh gosh! Let's toast together.

-Lastly, we are waiting on your application. Please fill our inbox with a back to school rush of things you want to make and do. [Deadline: midnite saturday!] [Goal: so much goodness it's hard to vote!]

Fabulous. We'll see you there!

Project[S] #6: Jordan Hicks & Adrian Aquilino

2010-07-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce SLOUP'S FIRST TIE! We love it. Each project will receive an $80 boost:

Jordan: "I worked with two photographers to create a set of 19 postcards about St. Louis' urban landscape - specifically, how it is impacted by the city's precipitous 59% drop in population from 1950 – 2000. There are cards about the urban wilderness on the former Pruitt-Igoe Public Housing complex site; the reuse of materials from demolished buildings; abandoned schools; urban agriculture, and more. I selected 19 sites, the photographers shot at the sites, and I wrote text for the back of each card. We printed a small run of cards. Instead of selling the cards in shops, we gave a few sets to friends, and left a few sets out in public places, to be picked up, discussed, and shared. I left sets of cards at the arch grounds, the downtown public library, and City Garden. With the Sloup Grant, I would print more sets of these cards (and $10 could print about 1 and 1/4 sets at Kinko's, the least expensive option) and leave them, free for the taking, in more public places. I would like to leave them at markets, parks, and institutional buildings (places with a lot of foot traffic), but I am open to / looking for more suggestions. Also (though I would still need to coordinate with the photographers) I would like to add a few cards to the set – maybe one about squatting, one about urban wildlife, one about brownfield reclamation, and one about that old core of a building on the north side that fireman use for training."

Adrian: "The St. Louis Artists’ Guild, in collaboration with ArtDimensions, the Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Washington, D.C. are organizing a study abroad program sending St. Louis artists and community activists to Indonesia for a two-week period. While in Indonesia, the artists will be immersing themselves in the country’s rich culture to create work inspired by Indonesian art and design, culminating in an art exhibition in one of Jakarta’s top galleries. A group of artists planning on participating in the study abroad program are trying to raise money independently to finance the program’s artists’ journey. The fundraising committee would like to raise enough money to subsidize artists who would usually not be able to afford to travel abroad. Our goal is to have enough funds to pay for all the artists’ airfare, accommodations, local travel, and one meal a day. A Sloup grant alone would not cover all this, but every little bit helps! If the Indonesian Study Abroad Program Fundraising Committee were to win a Sloup grant, all of the money would go towards funding the artists who would like to participate in the program in Indonesia."

Lots of fabulous first-time Sloupers ventured out last night and were rewarded with the finest brightest corn soup we've ever met (thank you, Danny! it was genius!), enough relief from the summer heat to really enjoy it, the chance to make a button with Studio STL's rad new button maker (courtesy of Emma O'brien! Studio STL clearly has it going on, check out their website), and great conversation that mingled with the packing peanuts of BJ Vogt's volcanic sculpture named "We are better volcanoes than volcanoes," which we all orbited around until the sun fell.

Next Sloup: Urban Arts Cafe, August 29th

Apply. Be there. Peace.

Sloup #6 Fresh Corn & Basil

2010-07-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sloup 6 has a great line-up:

St Louisan and fellow foodie Danny Aloush helped round out this month's menu with
a great summer soup recipe.

We're being hosted by Open Lot

Emma O'Brien from Studio STL will talk about the Sloup Grant they received and share some more awesome information about Studio STL

AND

you'll be there, and that's the best part!

See you at Open Lot 1310 S. 18th St.
St. Louis, MO 63104 this Sunday at 6 p.m.

Project #5: Pancake Productions...

2010-06-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

will "continue recording, producing, releasing, and distributing fine artistic material in a wide range of media and disciplines, including (but certainly never limited to) music, film, video, photography, art, and beyond." All local, check it out.

$170! 95 degrees, thank you Sloup warriors. The kale was hot but light on the tongue.

Thank you to our neighbor The Stable for our primary distraction from the heat: Amalgamated Hefeweizen and Amalgamated Rye IPA and Amalgamated Rum... sooo delicious! Please thank them by taking some home or drinking some in house.

It was a beautiful night at Slow Rocket Urban Farm as the sun set on the second longest day of the year.... fireflies, territorial kittens, friendly chickens... and kale and kale and kale and kale and beets and turnips oh my.

Next Month's Sloup: Open Lot, 6 pm, July 25th. Let's sweat it out together.

Soup #5: Slow Rocket Urban Farm

2010-06-10T15:20:00.002-07:00

This month, Sloup is collaborating with Slow Rocket, our host, to reinvent kale soup for summer. Don't be afraid. We can do it. This ain't your mama's kale.

We're excited about going mobile--showing up places with a pile of bowls and some awesome applications from you artists out there.

Not For Your iPhone

2010-06-10T15:20:00.001-07:00

Check out our new app! Application process that is. Still short and simple. Still brave and fun. Give it a go. June's is due by midnight on June 19th.

See you at Slow Rocket Urban Farm, 1944 Cherokee Street, at 6 p.m. on the 2oth--after you call your dad.

Project #4: CAMP Bike Shop

2010-05-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

"The CAMP (Community, Arts, and Movement Project) Bike Shop is a place where neighborhood kids (and grown-ups!) can come get their bikes fixed, earn a bike, and learn how to work on bikes. Sloup funds will be used to restock the bike shop for the coming summer with basic tools and supplies such as: bike tubes, patch kits, brake pads, spokes, wrenches, grease and chain lube, and if funds allow, a wheel-truing stand."

$240!! Thanks, everyone! See you next month?

And! Thank you Mangia Italiano for donating the most delicious fire roasted tomato soup we've ever tasted! It was sort of ridiculous. People were sputtering infomercials about it.

And! Amanda Goldblatt gifted us popsicles. Bomb Pops to be precise. Anyone who didn't eat 3 was a wuss.

And! We had the most proposals yet this month-plans for beautiful projects that should happen! Bring it on, brave ones.... apply frequently and wildly!

We're spinning with new ideas about Sloup going mobile and getting stronger, so please check back for another post soon. And send thoughts!

Sloup #5 will be at Slow Rocket Urban Farm on June 20th! Yeah, that's Father's Day! Bring your dad. We'll father your art project. Dads.

Soup #4: Mangia Italiano!!

2010-05-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

Late breaking news Sloupers! Mangia is donating this month's soup - Fire-Roasted Tomato!

We are excited.

Are you excited?!

plus--Claire Wolff (our first Sloup grant recipient) comes back to talk about Urban Arts Cafe's merch-makin' magic and we brainstorm together about Sloup going mobile! Don't miss it!

oh oh and applications aren't due 'til tomorrow at midnight, pumpkins.

Project #3: Slow Rocket Urban Farm

2010-04-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

"Although our primary day-to-day focus is growing veggies for you (and for us), we see our new little farm as having a large focus on events including acoustic music shows, readings, and video screenings (maybe your videos) on our big wall. While we’re set for all things acoustic, we do not own a video projector or a sound system. With the generous help of Sloup-goers, we would like to acquire these items and then invite you to hang out at the farm to watch films of all sorts while our chickens eat mosquitoes. We are particularly interested in including more imaginative films about food and farming, as opposed to the wonderful -- yet polemic -- documentaries that people often use to promote local and sustainable agriculture."

Thanks to an awesome friendly hungry crowd, the Sloup grant totalled $280 this month!

Special thanks to Heather Overby, who made the most amazing coconut curry a rainy night has ever beheld, and to Kimmy Wardenburg (with her mom, Mary!) for sharing her Fresh Bread project--this month's edible donations were especially beautiful, on top of tasty.

Next Sloup: May 23rd

Please email us your wildest project proposals--and ideas for soups and breads you'd like to give to Sloup!

xo.

Zero's Not My Hero: 5 Days Left to Apply for Sloup Grant #3

2010-04-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hey. Sloup it to us. Quick and dirty. Give the easy application a shot and send it. By Saturday night. We're waiting.

Don't worry about who gets the kitty! Just put what you want to do out there. It'll feel way more possible after some soup and conversation.

Or consider the application an end unto itself, a statement of artistic desire. You've got a soup-eating audience.

And check it:

Kimmy Wardenburg prints promises on bread, and she's doing it live at Sloup! Then we eat it.

Project #2: StudioSTL

2010-03-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

"We have an afterschool program (in addition to our workshops, in-school programs, annual regional literary magazine and newspaper summer camp) where kids are here at our writing studio doing creative writing twice a week, and they would love to be creating products for us to have and sell as part of our social enterprise. We would love to get a coil binding machine so that our young writers can be binding their own publications here in our studio."

The Sloup Grant totaled $210 thanks to everyone who came out and to The Mud House for donating this month's soup--a hearty chickpea minestrone!

Next Sloup: April 25th (it'll sneak up on us - send in your feedback and your proposals as you dream them!)

Soup #2: The Mud House

2010-03-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

This month our neighbor The Mud House is donating our second soup! If you've never eaten at The Mud House, come learn about their awesomeness. And if you have, you know this soup can't be missed.

Also, bring a bowl! Last month, our bowls were on loan, but it's time to put together a permanent collection for Sloup. Bring that bowl you don't ever use and give it a new purpose in life.

Lamb or Lion?

2010-03-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

Does your spring art project need a boost?
Send in your applications for March's Sloup Grant!

Project #1: Urban Studio Café

2010-02-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

"The Urban Studio Café will purchase a YUDU Personal Screen printer to use in evening art screen-printing workshops for teens in the community. Additionally, teens will create Urban Studio Café apparel (totes, shirts, scarves) that will not only promote the café but will be unique, creative, pieces of art. Apparel will be sold at the cafe and profits will be reinvested in Urban Studio community programs."

The Sloup Grant totaled $240 thanks to everyone who came and voted and ate soup! Success!

Sloup is a work in progress. What works? How could it work better? Please send feedback, ideas...and proposals!

Next Sloup: March 28th

Sloup In The News

2010-02-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks St Louis Beacon and David Weinberg!

Stick Around After Sloup

2010-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Half Gay and The Large Man Tips Over a School Bus will host a dance party in Sloup's honor at 8:30 p.m.!

Soup #1: Made In House

2010-02-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

Carrot
Leek
Red Pepper

(and friends make beer breads)

Launching 02.21.10

2010-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

Sloup's first soup is happening on Sunday February 21, at 6 p.m. Please apply, please come and learn more about Sloup! We're going to eat, and we're going to talk about Sloup's origins. Then we're going to vote on our FIRST EVER Sloup Grant and we will probably have to dance, it's so very exciting!!!