things i'm fond of today

The Obliteration Room.  Installation by Yuki Nakano.  Visitors help "obliterate" a white room by adhering colored dots on walls and furniture.  The top photo was taken on day one.  The bottom photo is seven weeks later.  The Obliteration Room is currently at the Gallery of Modern Art in Queensland, Australia. 

Furniture by Los Angeles-based designer Tanya Aguiniga.  Shown are Felt Chairs, Birch Bench, and Zinacantan (steel and wool yarn).

Cendrine Rovini.  I've been following Cendrine's art for awhile now.  This particular piece, La récolte d'oraisons, is one I'm particularly fond of.    It's part of her current solo exhibition "Liquid Vermeil" at the Da-End Gallery in Paris.  Cendrine talks about her latest works in this video.

Bags and slippers (linen and leather) by Tarco Nakazato.  I love the color combinations and graphic elements.

Cal Lane.  Lane describes her art as "pullling together industrial and domestic life." Above are two of my favorite works of hers: Plasma cut steel wheelbarrow (2007) and Dirt Lace installation at Purchase Collage, New York (2004).

  

Dazzling chandeliers made from discarded objects

Drop, 1800 plastic bottles, 2007.

According to British designer Stuart Haygarth, one man's trash is another man's treasure.  He collects thousands of discarded objects, mainly plastic items, and creates stunning chandeliers out of the found materials.   Drop (shown above) is a lighting structure made from the bases of 1800 plastic water bottles.  The pieces were tumbled in a cement mixer to give the plastic a frosted glass effect.

His lighting designs are as thought-provoking as they are beautiful.  Tide (shown below) is constructed with plastic debris and other manmade materials washed ashore along the Kent coastline.  Haygarth shaped the collected items into a moon-like structure, since the moon creates tides that wash up the discarded objects onto the shore. 

Tide, manmade objects washed ashore, 2004.

Spectacle, plastic framed spectacles, 2006.

Icon Experiment: Stuart Haygarth from Penelope Shaw on Vimeo.

Tail Light, vehicle light lenses, 2007.  [images courtesy of www.stuarthaygarth.com]

In addition to his creative lighting designs, Haygarth uses reclaimed objects in installations.  Here is a video of the 2010 installation Framed in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).   Framed is comprised of hundreds of painted picture frame off-cuts.



FRAMED Stuart Haygarth/John Jones installation at the V&A from Stuart York on Vimeo.

Comparing art: Karen Margolis and Frocky Jack Morgan

[image source: www.karenmargolisart.com]

This stunning sculpture, Continuum, was created by artist Karen Margolis.  The clusters of pods and tulip-like shapes are made from maps and handmade papers.  If you look closely in the photos, you'll see the incredible textured effects of a soldering iron.  I have to say that those are the most beautiful burn holes I've ever seen!

The organic bunching of shapes and soft neutral tones in Continuum remind me of the fashion collection, Frocky Jack Morgan . . .

[image source: frockyjackmorgan.blogspot.com]

Designer Julia Barbee deconstructs clothing to create one-of-a-kind pieces, her specialty being wedding gowns.  It's no surprise that Barbee has a background in sculpture.  Like a potter, she handbuilds and molds, but with fabric remnants!

Like Margolis' paper sculpture, Barbee's wearable creations are delicate yet bold.  Lacey hems are unfinished or asymmetrical, and embellishments are never understated.  Although I tend to lean towards the "less is more" crowd,  I could never tire looking at the intricately layered works of Barbee and Margolis.

 

New print, "Glacier"

Latest print, Glacier,  in a frame.

I have been wanting to meld my photography with my illustrative works for awhile now.  I didn't think it was going to happen anytime soon until I was about half way through my latest work, Glacier.  As you know, I love layering textures and patterns, and I was looking to add something to the composition in the upper right area.  The light blue cloud reminded me of a clear, crisp day in the mountains, and all of a sudden, I thought of this peak that I captured while driving thru central Oregon. Within moments, I had the image printed and cut out.

The drawing component was complete before I started adding photographic elements, so I had to be very precise in fitting the photographic images into the picture.  Good thing I was once a teacher and had to cut a gazillion shapes out of paper! For the rest of the evening, I went into a collage trance.  I found cutting and pasting to be very therapeutic, like crocheting.  I had so much fun with it, I'm looking forward to starting my next collage piece. 

I thought it was timely that I found this bear sculpture after finishing the Glacier piece.  The first time I ever spotted a bear in the wild was at Glacier National Park.  I was a young girl, and it was the highlight of my trip. 

Just like the wooden whale, I have plans for painting this guy. Not sure how I'm going to work around the deep grooves, but I'm always up for a good art challenge. 

And finally, one more wood panel piece that was added to my Etsy shop.  This one is titled Red Mountains.

Transforming ordinary objects into incredible works of art

I love it when artists take something that is familiar and create a new experience for the viewer.  Take these beautiful woven pieces made by Canadian artist Brian Jungen.  Can you believe they were made from professional sports jerseys?

At first glance, Jungen's sculptural works look like a contemporary homage to Native American art.  But when you realize his art is fashioned from found objects, particularly sports paraphernalia, the meaning of his work becomes even that much more profound.  

In the photos above, one can clearly recognize totem poles and an indigenous mask, items that hold sacred significance in the Native American culture.  When you look closely though, you can see that Jungen uses golf bags to form the totems and Nike Air Jordans to create the mask.  It's a brilliant statement of today's professional sports culture and how it's become a ritualistic, almost spiritual tradition for the masses.

Baseball mitts were used to create this warrior-like gear, and on the right is an antler sculpture made from leather shoes. 

Jungen works with a variety of materials, including metal, fabric, wood, and plastic.  Here are two works of art created from plastic objects.  The igloo shaped piece is made from trash bins and the whale skeleton from plastic lawn chairs.  Amazing!

[images courtesy of the artist, Casey Kaplan Gallery, and Catriona Jeffries Gallery]

To listen to Jungen talk about some of these works, go here.

Coe & Waito's porcelain perfection

For years, I've been drooling over coe&waito's beautifully made ceramic items.  Based in Toronto, partners Alissa Coe and Carly Waito have been hand sculpting and slip casting collectible pieces since 2005.

One of my favorite sets are these antique inspired bottles. Each porcelain bottle is dressed with nature-themed decals.  So charming!

In addition to product design and production, coe&waito have created some amazing installations.  I am in awe of this display of hand formed jellyfish. 

A couple more installation projects . . .

You can view all of coe&waito's large scale and custom work here.  While you're on their website, check out these photos under "process"  . . .  I've got studio envy big-time. 

Show and Tell: vessels

I have a weakness for small, hand formed bowls and vases.   The pieces below are the latest additions to my collection.

On the left is Rainy Day at the Sea Side from Nesting Emily.  It just arrived in the mail today, and I absolutely love it!  The other two pieces came from a local boutique called Una.   The shop is known for their stunning clothes, but they also have a stockpile of vintage and found ceramic goodies- all priced very reasonably.  These two beauties were a total of $16. 

[Shown in the first image are ceramic pieces from Pigeon Toe and Leah Nobilette, both from Portland.]

Eye-catching Window Displays

[right photo image source: Lucky Magazine]

1000 paper airplanes.  That's how many the talented Katie Kulper folded and hung with string in our store windows. It was a magnificent sight, and people walking by would come into our shop just to marvel at the display. It's no surprise that Katie is now a window display designer for Anthropologie, famous for their creative window designs. Check out these Anthropologie displays using discarded books.

[image sources: casasugar.com, flickr]

I'm actually not much of a shopper, but I do enjoy seeing the creative mind at work dressing up a window.  Here are a few more favorite designs.

found styrofoam cup installation by Indo Projects

 Zoe Bradley

papercut dioramas

For those who favor lace . . .

lace covered trees by Janet Morton and Pene Durston

lace stenciled floor 

lace fence by Demakersvan

lace covered piano by Joana Vasconcelos

lace tunnel 

  

Urban street art right up my alley

I like art that is clever.  On a recent trip to Powell's Books, I was highly amused by the miniature art in Slinkachu's book Little People in the City.  Slinkachu takes little figurines and creates scenes in the urban enviroment that are humorous and thought-provoking. 

His tiny installations have been in a number of European cities including London, Amsterdam, and Barcelona.  After photographing the models, Slinkachu leaves the installations on the streets for others to discover.

Slinkachu's urban art reminds me of another artist's work.  German artist Jan Vormann fills small gaps in walls with Legos, one of my favorite toys.  His work was spotted in New York City just a few months ago.  Other cities he has "repaired" include Tel Aviv,  St. Petersburg, and Quito.  A visual documentation of his Lego constructions can be found here. 

The art of sculpting books

When tired books are rescued from the inevitable and given new life . . .

Nicholas Jones

Sam Winston

Jonathan Callan [image sources: Haute Nature, Mattress Factory]

Cara Barer