Inspire Creativity in Children While Protecting Mother Earth


New York, NY (PRWEB) September 18, 2012

A few years ago, art educator, Maria Chee, noticed something interesting while shopping for art and craft toys for her young daughter. As she browsed the endless rows of how to kits and paint by number sets, she wondered where the art was in all of those arts and crafts kits.

Art is so much more than coloring inside the lines or being able to follow instructions, yet Maria found very few art and craft kits that went beyond it. Where were the open-ended activity kits that enabled children to create unique solutions? Where were the sculpture kits for children? Has anyone ever even told their child what a sculpture is? And why is there so much excess packaging can this possibly be good for the environment once thrown into our landfills?

With this in mind, Maria created Urban Canvas and developed toys that stimulate artistic thinking and are also environmentally friendly. As the name suggests, Urban Canvas toys are three-dimensional sculptural canvases for children to build, freely decorate, play, and display. They are dual sided, with an inspiring image collage on one side, and a blank canvas on the reverse side for kids to design and decorate. Urban Canvas first two collections explore themes that excite childrens imagination. They can discover the magic of the city with skyscrapers and trains in the City Streets collection, or delve into the wonders of nature with colorful critters in the Nature Trails collection. Urban Canvas toys are sculpted out of recyclable heavy-weight cardboard and the packaging is not only recyclable, but better yet, reusable.

More than just toys, Urban Canvas is a resource for helping parents understand and support their childrens artistic development. Information gleaned from years of teaching art to children, (and being a mother), is all available on her website along with a variety of age appropriate art projects. It is updated regularly. In the Share Gallery, parents are invited to exhibit their childrens creations as a source of inspiration to others.

Prior to starting Urban Canvas, Maria Chee was an interior designer and art educator. She holds an M.A. in Art Education from Teachers College of Columbia University and a B.A. in Architecture from Barnard College of Columbia University.

About Urban Canvas:

Urban Canvas was created to provide children with an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional plastic toys while preserving the world around us. We promote recycling, reducing landfill waste and increasing the overall health of the planet for our children. Urban Canvas toys are available at http://www.urban-canvas.com and in childrens toy boutiques.







Find More Interior Design Press Releases

NYC-Based Consulting Firm Rewards Creativity with $1,000 Finishing Grant


New York, NY (PRWEB) June 14, 2012

Every year, the Macktez Summer Stipend inspires creative people to take a great idea and transform it into a finished product. From a waste-free floor lamp constructed from its own packing material to a computer app that creates stunning data visualizations of worldwide news coverage, the Macktez Summer Stipend brings imaginative projects to the finish line.

Macktez, a New York City-based consulting firm, with offices in New York, San Francisco and London, is accepting applications from June 18 through July 27, 2012. The Stipend application is located online at macktez.com/stipend.

Now in its eighth year, the Macktez Summer Stipend helps creative people — whether they are artists, cultural anthropologists or hobbyists — by providing the funding needed to realize their creative vision. This year Macktez has doubled its commitment to the stipend recipient from $ 500 to $ 1,000.

With a decisive focus on its vision and goals, Macktez grew from a firm with six steady clients in 1996 to one that now serves more than 150 clients in cities around the globe. The Summer Stipend intends to help applicants focus on their vision and goals with a unique workbook-style application. The application is a step-by-step guide to help applicants clarify their vision and avoid distractions to reach their goal.

“At Macktez we believe that taking small, steady steps toward one’s goals is the surest way to achieve them,” said Noah Landow, Macktez founder and president. “Clearing away distraction and focusing on the end result takes creative inspiration from simmering idea to sizzling invention.”

Macktez Summer Stipend applications are considered based upon the following criteria: originality, relevance, and conviction. Finalists will be selected by an esteemed panel of judges that hail from the art world, architecture and academia. This year’s panelists are: Roanne Adams, Dean Crutchfield, David Israel, Bethany Koby, Santiago Matheus, Douglas Morris and Jeffrey Zeldman.

Roanne Adams, owner of RoAndCo Studio, was named one of NYCs outstanding, up and coming design professionals by New York Times Magazine. Dean Crutchfield, a regular contributor to Forbes, is a self-described rainmaker and storyteller that defines brand and innovation strategies. David Israel serves as executive creative director of AR New York and teaches graduate students at the Yale School of Art. Bethany Koby is a London-based designer, activist and educator who co-founded Technology Will Save Us, a haberdashery for technology and education. Santiago Matheus is co-founder and managing director of Method Design Lab, an accelerator that takes a design-centric, user experience driven approach to innovation. Douglas Morris is a principal of Poulin + Morris, an award-winning design firm that has created campaigns for ABC News, Ann Taylor and Goldman Sachs. Jeffrey Zeldman, crowned King of Web Standards by Business Week, is an entrepreneur, web luminary and influential author who co-hosts The Big Web Show.

Macktez consults with businesses to help them stay on course on the road to productivity, while enabling them to steer clear of obstacles along the way. With long-term vision, thorough planning, finely tuned focus and steadfast support, Macktez identifies the right tools — from cloud services to post-it notes — to get things done. Macktez proudly offers clients a smart, skilled and committed team of specialists experienced in the art of problem solving. More info can be found on Twitter @Macktez and on Facebook.