National Portrait Gallery!

(c) Matt Larson, Tall Ships, iPhone

Well, my little project has taken me (aka ToyCameraPlay) all the way to Washington! Below is an email I received today from a new collector, John Wachtel. Thanks John for the email! I love hearing stories from folks that have purchased one of my pieces. Very cool indeed.

(c) Matt Larson, Art-O-Mat Artist Bio

"You can add another city to your list! Washington, DC at the National Portrait Gallery A co-worker of mine told me about the Art-O-Mat and said there was one in the National Portrait Gallery, which happens to be a couple blocks from our office. Three of us stopped over during lunch and each purchased "an art". I have mine at my desk to spruce the place up. It also serves as a little reminder during the day that there is a whole world outside my cubicle wall, even if I don't see it. My particular photograph is of a ship's mast with a blue sky and clouds in the background. Thank you so much, we were all inspired!"
John Wachtel, Washington D.C.

More Blocks for Art-O-Mat

... how I spent my weekend.

Past POSTS about the Art-O-Mat Project

Art-O-Mat Project

Just wrapped up another 50 blocks and dropped them in the mail today. A few weeks ago, I heard from Tina Agullar, a writer in Dallas who purchased one of my blocks. She ended up doing a nice interview with me for an online site called ArtAndSeek.org. Very flattering and I feel lucky to get that kind of exposure from this fun project. I thought it would be a great way to promote the blog here and it's been just that.

Art-O-Mat Piece from ToyCameraPlay, (c) Matt Larson, 2010

I really enjoy hearing from all the Art-O-Mat collectors. On my insert that comes with each one of my pieces, I put a mention for folks to let me know where they've purchased their piece. I'm amazed at the number of folks that I've heard from via email. Last week I heard from yet another collector who writes,

"I'm attaching some photos of the whole experience. I actually chose the Random Fun option and was pleasantly suprised. Thanks from Dallas, TX." --Margaret Barajas

Attached to the email was six photos that showed the whole experience from the first look at the Art-O-Mat machine to her purchase of one of my iPhone images taken at Bok Tower & Gardens in Polk County. Thought I would share her email with you guys ...

Photo #1 from Margaret

Photo #6 from Margaret
Courtesy of Margaret Barajas

To all of you that have made a purchase from the Art-O-Mat machines ... thanks so much for sending the emails and becoming fans and collectors! And oh, keep the emails coming ... always good to hear from you!

NEW Art-O-Mat Blocks Shipping Tomorrow

Art-O-Mat Sales

I'm really enjoying my Art-O-Mat experience and this past week received my first check!

I've also been receiving emails from customers (now friends) letting me know where they purchased my work shot from all my various cameras. It's fun, if you're not promoting your work through Art-0-Mat, you might be missing an opportunity to promote your blog or website. Check them out, Art-O-Mat, they're a great group to work with and extremely professional.

Matt Larson, Holga Images on blocks

Printed on Polaroid Zink Printer

Activity Report showing sales

(c) Matt Larson, 2010

My activity report above shows I've sold at the following locations:
COCA, St. Louis, MO
Miami Universities, Miami, FL
Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL
Tennessee Performing Arts, TN
MOCA, LA, CA
Art-O-Carton (collector set), NC


So, if any of these locations are near you, pick one up for just $5 and start your own collection. Don't forget to shoot me an email if you get one of mine.


Thank you for all of you who have purchased and let me know! Much appreciated.

The Art-O-Mat Project

Well, I'm almost ready for my first shipment to Art-O-Mat.

I think this is the perfect fit for ToyCameraPlay and it has been a fun one to work on this past week. I'm printing select toy camera images shot with the various cameras mentioned here on my blog and sizing the images to 2" x 3", which is the image size of the paper for the Polaroid Zink printer and the Art-O-Mat blocks. They were made for each other.

All and all, this isn't going to be a money maker but I think it's a great way

to promote my blog, get more followers, market my images and build a new collector base. I also plan to have buyers e-mail me and tell me where they bought their piece of art and which piece they bought.

I think it should make 2010 a fun year! Let me know if you find one in a machine next year (they won't be until late January before these are available).

Holga Image, cropped for Art-o-Mat Project.

Polaroid Image, cropped for Art-o-Mat Project.

iPhone Image, cropped for Art-o-Mat Project.

Mini Diana Image, cropped for Art-o-Mat Project.

All photographs (c) Matt Larson, 2009

Art-O-Mat

I love the concept behind the reuse of these cigarette machines. What a great idea! I remember seeing this years ago in an article but to see one in person was a real treat. I'd love to have some of my Toy Camera Works included. The price was $5 for any piece ... I think they'd be fun to collect too.