What is Art*o*mat®?

What is Art*o*mat®? Created by Clark Whittington in 1997, Art*o*mat® machines are retired cigarette machines that have been converted to VEND ART! For only $5 you can collect paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, jewelry, glass, mixed media and more -all the size of a pack of cigarettes. There are over 100 active machines in various locations throughout the country. Victoria Brown (that's me), and El Centro de Santa Fe are proud to host the first machine in New Mexico which debuted in February 2013. There are now 8 machines in northern New Mexico (Santa Fe and Albuquerque area). @ARToMatNM on Facebook/Instagram

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Welcome New Mexico's First Art*o*mat® Art Vending Machine

Welcome Santa Fe's very first Art*o*mat®! (we call her MAThilda)
 WELCOME Art*o*mat® LOVERS and thank you for visiting my new blogspot!  My name is Victoria and I'm super excited to introduce you to my new Art*o*mat® art vending machine, the very first in Santa Fe, New Mexico (yes, it IS in America: it's NOT Mexico, and it's NOT New). "Her" (she's totally feminine -just look at her!) name is "MAThilda" and she will be making her debut on Feb. 16th, 2013 1-5pm one block from The Plaza, at El Centro De Santa Fe, 102 E. Water Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501.

You're all invited to stop by and meet MAThilda, her artist/creator, Clark Whittington, and Corky and I.  Local artists who are interested in creating art for Art*o*mat® are encouraged to come by and hear all about submission guidelines for the cigarette-box-sized art from Clark.  We'll be there from 1-5pm and we'll have some special treats and refreshments so please come by and grab a hot piece of $5.00 art from the hot new chick in town, MAThilda! Check out this article about it in the Santa Fe Reporter.
Here she is in Clark's studio, Mar. 2012, before the magic happens!
Back in March, during Our Epic Art*o*mat® Roadtrip, I got to meet the old cigarette vending machine that was to become the glorious MAThilda after a few short months of hard work and magical transformation by Clark Whittington and his talented team of artists.
MAThilda with her turquoise glitter paint job. Sept. 2012

MAThilda gets her cream colored pinstripes applied by one of Clark's magic-makers, Mike Blas, Sept. 2012

Mike Blas adds pinstripes to MAThilda in Winston-Salem, NC Sept. 2012

These cream pinstripes remind me of embroidery on cowboy boots. Perfect for the Southwest!