Art-O-Mat

Before my Mom and I went up to Portland, we were down at my Grandma's house visiting for the day. While there, my Aunt Dorothy mentioned something called and Art-o-Mat to me, and said she thought I might be interested in it. She sent me the link to the website later, and I checked it out.

Art-o-Mat was created by a group called Artists in Cellophane. An Art-o-Mat is an old retired cigarette dispenser that has been turned into an art dispenser. Artists from all over the world can submit their art to be sold in the machines at $5 a piece. Cool idea, right? Mom and I thought it looked pretty interesting, and we wanted to check one out in person. So, we searched the website for one between Roseburg and Portland, and we found one in Eugene, at Lane Community College, in their Art gallery.

Mom and I were totally excited and planned on stopping by on our way to The Pioneer Woman's book signing. Monday afternoon, we pulled into the college, and went searching for the Art-o-Mat. Well, first we had to search for an ATM, and then we had to search for a place to break a $20, but THEN we searched for the Art-o-Mat. We came into the art gallery, and this is what we found:

The Art-o-Mat

There are 22 slots on the Art-o-Mat, each with a different featured artist. There are painters, photographers, jewelers, metal works, potters, and other kinds of artists featured, and they are different at every machine. Basically, you put $5 in the machine, choose which kind of art you want, and then pull the handle below that peice. Each artist makes a little picture describing what kind of art the sell, but you don't know exactly what you get until it comes out of the machine. It's like a quarter machine for big kids!! Mom and I originally thought we would just get one each, but we were so curious about the other artists, we ended up getting a few others.

A few of the artists.

Mom and I just loved this whole experience. It is such a cool idea for people to be able to advertise their art, and also for other people to be able to experience different kinds of art. I decided that I am going to submit and application to see if they will sell some of my art. I may actually do a few different kinds of art... jewelry, photography, etc. I think it would be a lot of fun to be able to have my art in these machines across the country!

I hope you take the time to check these out. For my friends in the Sacramento area, there is an Art-o-Mat near you, in the Crocker Art Museum. They are also scattered all over the country, and you can find one close to you by going here. And have fun, I know I did!!

~Amber