Happy Halloween!

This post is dedicated to all the awesome people, young and old, who will be dressing up today. I am not dressing up this year after all, but I raise my Kit Kat to toast you!

New in the Shop!

I made two new flower brooches for my shop. I think I must have been feeling a 1960's mod vibe when I made these.

Also, tomorrow (Oct. 31) is the last day to save 10% on all Halloween accessories.

Treasury Time

To see the full treasury and get links to all of these awesome shops click here.

Design Finds

A few things that caught my eye recently...

Equilibrium Bookcase by Malagana Design via Contemporist

Bang Boom! Zettel'z chandelier by Ingo Maurer (with drawings by Thilo Rothacker)

Here & There rug by Jenifer Kobylarz at Warp & Weft

Put a Spin on It tables (for children) by Lisa Hilland

Cydonia rug by the nought collective

Rachel Whiteread at Tate Britain

Rachel Whiteread is one of my favorite artists, and I wish I could see her new exhibit at Tate Britain (on view until Jan. 16). This exhibit focuses on her drawings and prints, which explore many of the same themes found in her larger sculptures: texture, void and presence, traces people leave behind. I first saw her sculptures in person when I was living in London many years ago, and I find her work just as intriguing today. This video offers a glimpse of her studio and the personal objects that inspire her work.

Shop Update

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I did a lot of nothing yesterday which was brilliant, and hopefully I'm rested up enough to tackle this week, which is sure to be busy.

In case you missed it, all Halloween accessories in my etsy shop are 10% off now until Oct. 31 (I'll refund the difference in PayPal).

Also, I'm excited to share that I'm in the new papernstitch exhibition starting today! Papernstitch is such a cool website full of artists and crafters I really admire, so I'm in good company. Stop by and check it out.

Treasury Time

To see the full treasury and get links to all of these adorable shops click here.

Artisphere Opening

I recently attended the opening day events at Artisphere, a new cultural center in my neighborhood. There were dance performances, music acts, scenes from Richard III performed by the Washington Shakespeare Company, and more. But the highlight of the day for me was the art on view in the galleries.

The first exhibit, entitled "Skateboarding Side Effects," features artists who "capture the form, shape, line and gestural movements of skateboarding through photography, drawing, painting, film, and sculpture." I know what you're thinking, but it's actually very interesting (and not just because it appeals to my inner 16-year-old). The centerpiece of the exhibit is Richard Vosseller's ramp-inspired curvilinear sculpture. I love it's sweeping arcs and the fact that it doesn't look too precious to touch. Vosseller also includes many sketches, plans, and a scale model of the sculpture. As I've mentioned before, I'm always interested to see sketches and other instruments used in an artists's process as it offers a glimpse of the story behind a finished piece.


Richard Vosseller, Physical Manipulations of Structural Surfaces: an Homage to Skateboarding, 2010

Richard Vosseller, Physical Manipulations of Structural Surfaces: an Homage to Skateboarding, 2010

Perhaps my favorite part of the exhibit is the trio of colorful paintings by Sean Greene. The lines and gestures in his paintings echo the movements of skateboarders and also call to mind images of graffiti (or tagging) and the bright graphics on skateboards. We actually got to see part of an action painting workshop lead by Sean Greene, in which he captivated a group of very cute little kids.

Sean Greene, Glide and Turn, 2010



"Skateboarding Side Effects" also features work by Tim Bearse, Mikael Elliot Broth, and Lia Halloran, as well as a short film on the history of the New York skating scene by Rick Charnoski and Coan Buddy Nichols. The exhibit will be on view until November 28.

The second exhibit, entitled "Surfaces," features photography by fellow Arlington resident Pete McCutchen. Each photograph offers a close-up view of a different decaying surface: rusted doors, buildings, cars. I love the brilliant colors in each cracked layer and the varied compositions.

"Surfaces" will be on view until November 7.

Overall, the day was exhausting but exciting at the same time. I'm thrilled that this new space (within walking distance of my apartment) will be hosting new exhibits featuring local artists and performances of all kinds.

Collage

Here are two more collages filled with great shapes, texture, and color. I have a lot of these, and I'll keep posting them every now and then as I get them scanned into my computer.

Autumn

Leaves have finally begun to change color in my neighborhood. Right now, just the tips of branches are glowing red like embers, but soon all the trees outside my window will be ablaze with autumn hues. It's no wonder that this time of year is so inspiring for artists and crafters alike.

I hope the cooler weather brings everyone a burst of creative energy. I will be spending the weekend getting caught up on some projects that have been looming overhead for quite some time. And hopefully, there will still be time for walks around the city, eating baked deliciousness, and taking naps, which all weekends demand.

Treasury Time

To see the full treasury and get links to all of these delightful shops click here.

Package Full of Happy

Look what arrived at my doorstep yesterday...

...a postcard set from Ashley G! She even included an extra postcard freebie.

I had intended to send these to friends, but they're so great, I might just keep them all to my greedy self.

Sarah Applebaum

Hi everyone! Hope your week as gotten off to a good start. I'm super busy today but just wanted to check in and share a wonderful installation from artist Sarah Applebaum, called "Padded Room."

(via The Jealous Curator)

Doesn't this look like the coziest room ever, like it was made for napping and reading good books? If there was ever an antidote to the "man cave" (who coined that stupid term anyway), this is it.

I love the explosion of color, all the texture and pattern and irregular shapes. I would love to have a room like this one for real. The only hazard might be that things could get lost in here and never found again, like small children or animals.

Sketchbooks

At some point, I will get around to posting my own sketches on this blog, but in the mean time, here's some lovely sketchbook pages I found on flickr.

(Source: Wil Freeborn)

 

(Source: Paul Heaston)

(Source: krisatomic)

(Source: Ekaterina Khozatskaya)

(Source: Luis Ruiz)



Treasury Time

To see the full treasury and get links to all of these alluring shops click here.

Chuck Close at the Corcoran




I managed to see Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration at the Corcoran before it ended, and I'm so glad I did. It was amazing. I've seen other Chuck Close exhibits in the past, but never one that focused specifically on his prints and printmaking process.

Close said he wanted to do this exhibition to demystify the process, "so that people understand how things happen." It was fascinating to see prints at each stage of development, after each layer of color, as well as the tools used to create them, from hand-carved wood blocks to hand-forged metal paper-pulp grills. And there was such variety in the types of prints represented: woodcuts, silkscreens, etchings, mezzotints, paper-pulp collages.

I have so much respect for Close as an artist. I've always loved his portraits in every medium; the large scale and perspective make facial features appear almost as hills and valleys in a landscape. His use of color is brilliant. But I learned something new about him recently that made me look at his work from a different angle: he has prosopagnosia, or face blindness, meaning his ability to recognize facial features is impaired. I saw him in an interview recently where he said that although he didn't know the name of his condition then, he's certain his prosopagnosia had a lot to do with his decision to focus on portraits early in his career. He can memorize a person's features in a two-dimensional photograph and recognize them, but in real life, if a person facing him turns her head a half an inch to one side or the other, it's a completely new face to him. Isn't that fascinating?

Although this exhibit seemed to be all about process and collaboration, it was actually more about seeing, how Close sees his subjects and how viewers see his work.

(Source: Max Cook)

(Source: Max Cook)

Here's a video that shows a bit more of the exhibit.


Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration from Corcoran Gallery of Art on Vimeo.

Bowie Make-Over

I've been looking for alternative d.i.y. Halloween costume ideas, and I came across this awesome David Bowie make-over. I think it's hysterical that the senior makeup artist from MAC used a glue stick to tame his eyebrows.


David Bowie Make-Over by BellaSugar from Vidiot on Vimeo.

Also, craftster is again sponsoring a contest for the best d.i.y. Halloween costume. Read all the details here.

Last year, Suzhy made this awesome Jack Skellington costume from The Nightmare Before Christmas that just blows me away. She also made a Sally costume as well. See more pics here.

Flickr Favorites

(Source: gottalittlespacetofill)

(Source: triss-with-the-fist)

(Source: Andrei Z)

(Source: meghimeg)

(Source: Lauris Love)

(Source: pola_life)

Treasury Time

To see the full treasury and get links to all of these lovely shops click here.

It's the Weekend. I've Got To Party.

Thinking of old friends has left me feeling really nostalgic today. So let's revisit a song from my youth, shall we?



Also, the title of this post won't really make sense unless you are a) my boyfriend, or b) a junkanoo enthusiast, but that's okay.

Covet Garden

I want to share my favorite new online design magazine, Covet Garden, found courtesy of the awesome Bloesem*.

Each issue of Covet Garden goes inside the beautiful home of a creative person or family. Interesting interviews accompany the gorgeous photographs, of course. But perhaps the best feature is that you can scroll over many of the items in each room and get a link to where those items came from.

Also, each issue has a d.i.y. or recipe as well as an inspiration section on the last page.

*Not to be confused with Chili's Awesome Blossom, which is disgusting.

Herb & Dorothy

I just noticed that the excellent and inspiring documentary, Herb & Dorothy, is available now in the "watch instantly" section on Netflix, and I recommend it to anyone who loves art.

As you can see from the poster, this documentary tells the story of how Herb Vogel, a postal worker, and his wife Dorothy, a librarian, managed to amass one of the most important collections of modern art (over 4,000 paintings, sculptures, and other works) on very modest means. Most of the collection was housed for a long time in their tiny one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. The scope and scale of their collection is mind-boggling, works by Chuck Close, Christo, Sol Lewitt, Eva Hesse, Marcel Duchamp, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Cindy Sherman, Donald Judd, Jeff Koons, Claes Oldenburg, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Tuttle, Brice Marden, Pat Steir, the list goes on and on and on. See what I mean?

In 1992, they decided to donate the entire collection (then over 2,000 works) to the National Gallery of Art in DC. However, the National Gallery could only absorb 1,000 pieces. So, the Vogels launched a national gift program to donate 50 works to a museum in each of the 50 states (the subject of a follow-up documentary currently in the works).

The Vogels are so enthusiastic and passionate about art; it's infectious. Not to mention, they are funny and cute, quirky and interesting, all the qualities that make for great documentary subjects. I want to be just like the Vogels when I grow up, with the hoarder-style apartment crammed full of art and animals and everything.