dear ada

video weekend: riceboy sleeps, banksy, tom loback.

Beauty from riceboy sleeps.

   

A news report and "interview" below and a link to a cnn video about the graffiti artist banksy.  

A video about the driftwood sculptures by new york artist tom loback.

Have a great weekend!  See you Monday.

joan margolies-kiernan.

 

These are lovely mixed media pieces by joan margolies-kiernan. Subtle and narrow in color palette, there's something so calm and reassuring about this work. I love the play between overlay and reveal, intimate and bold. They're just beautiful.

grant hamilton.

 

These polaroid groupings by grant hamilton are absolutely fantastic. Abstract, bold and beautifully composed, it's the dusty, blurry color that puts them over the top for me. Yikes, such beauty from such a humble place. I'm so grateful for the artists eye that brought it to my attention!

hellen van berkel.

 

Covet, desire, want. That's what I feel when I wander through the stunning textiles by hellen van berkel. The wonderful graphic mixes, the color palettes, the textiles themselves. Everything is perfect here. Every single thing!

Original lovely find via the lovely bloesem.

bird love with jeana sohn and acejet170.

 

Everyone who reads this blog knows that I'm a little nutty about birds. They seem like creatures made of magic to me, able to fly, build nests, and lay perfect, beautifully colored eggs. The world is a better place because of them as far as I'm concerned.

In that spirit a couple of my favorite blogs have featured some bird stories lately that are worthy of sharing. The first image above comes from the lovely artist jeana sohn. It looks like a sparrow has made a nest and laid eggs in one of her hanging pots. What a magical thing to see! 

And the image below comes from the wonderful acejet170, who has been documenting the adventures he's been having with his new group of chickens. I'm loving the stories he's sharing almost as much as the photographs he's using to describe them. Somehow he's captured the goofy, almost maniacal sweetness of chickens time and time again. I find myself checking back to his wonderful blog a little more frequently now, just to see what's up with the ladies!

  

tatsuya matsushita.

 

These lovely filigreed, almost calligraphic pieces by tatsuya matsushita are assemblages using blu tooth ear pieces, ear buds, electrical cording and the like. The subject matter makes them modern while the compositions present the story in such a timeless, classic way. I love that tension. And having said all that, it's the fact that they're also so very beautiful to look at that really matters most don't you think?

frances trombly.

I'm really amazed and moved by the beautifully crafted work of frances trombly. Found on the wonderful blog this is glamourous, I've been marveling at the level of detail and story that's been achieved here ever since. Everyday objects and materials, depicted through textile assemblage and fine embroidery. Craft meets utility meets preciousness meets ubiquity. So smart and modern and beautiful all at the same time!

stephen johnson.

 

I'm so drawn to these powerful sculptures by stephen johnson. There's so much is going on here. An exploration of kitchy, pop-culture art, figurines that are collected and dotted about the house. Expensive and not, childlike in their subject matter yet a practice that is very adult. And then there's the science meets genetics meets cloning subtext that underlies the work. Are these experiments gone wrong or just strange sports of nature, brought about by natural selection and biologic chance? Or maybe they're none of the above and rather are just playful mixes of found objects, mashed together to make new, modern forms and ideas. At the end of the day, there are so many possibilities behind this compelling and beautiful work, the very ambiguity of it, coupled with such wonderful crafting keeps drawing me back in for more!

marion deuchars.

 

I love the hand drawn, whimsical illustration style of marion deuchars. It feels so spontaneous and full of energy and life!

amber albrecht.

 

I am loving these precise, beautifully designed silk screened prints by amber albrecht so very much indeed. What terrific compositions, detailing and color palettes they have! Aren't they just fabulous?

lissa rivera.

 

The photography of lissa rivera is absolutely sublime. I can't get over the balance she's struck between surrealism and normalcy. Educational facilities, both public and private as well as greek letter societies are the subject matter. Familiar to us all and yet through this artists eye, otherworldly and still. I just can't get over the color palettes and lighting and compositions of these places of learning. Amazing, pure and simple!

helle jorgensen.

I'm loving these photographs of "beach detritus" by a favorite artist, helle jorgensen. What is it about organized collections of things that is so compelling? In this case it doesn't hurt that a sensitive eye and a skilled hand are responsible for the collecting and organizing to be sure. The fact that these are so wonderful is most definitely not an accident! Beautiful!

emily sutton.

 

Oh my goodness be still my beating heart. These hand painted and embroidered song bird sculptures by emily sutton are sheer perfection. Beautifully crafted and illustrated, I literally want every last one. Love, love, love. 

 

wu geng zhen.

 

I'm really loving these cut paper pieces by wu geng zhen. Simple and consistent in their use of one color, the compositions and stories they depict are anything but. Incredible examples of crafting and personal expression through a very particular medium, this is work I'd love to see in real life. The scale alone on some of the work is just remarkable! Love.

sodalitas.

 

I'm such a sucker for a beautiful sketchbook. Here's an example of that very thing by the small artists collective sodalitas. Shared philosophies, shared process and shared results, all in the pursuit of the overarching question of "what the role of the individual is in the context of the group?" The answer, at the very least in their case, is compelling, mysterious work, which is just fine by me!

mary judge.

 

I find these cast concrete forms by mary judge so beautiful and comforting somehow. Thanks to their material they feel substantial and reliable in their decorative story. I like their weight, both literally and metaphorically.

video weekend: hifana, hoberman, sony.

I love the mix of technology and analog techniques used by hifana to make this wonderful music.

Check out this lovely little video about the engineer/designer chuck hoberman's amazing creations that are both beautiful and game changing in terms of function and use. Here's a link to a longer version of the below video if you want to see more.

I love the strange beauty and shift of reality of this ad by sony.

Happy weekend everyone! See you on Monday.

plastic chandelier.

 

I stumbled across this site that was featuring these strange and wonderful chandeliers made from used plastic bottles. Garbage happens (a lot) so why not make something beautiful and fantastic with it. It's better than having it clog up the landfill I suppose. And aren't they fun and fantastic, like somebody's enormous plastic earrings hanging amongst the trees?

you are i am.

 

Have you seen the amazing book project, you are i am, organized by the group you are so beautiful? I hadn't until recently but am so much the better for finding it. I love these kind of open sourced art projects, and this one is particularly rich and beautiful. These lovely examples pictured here are from the artist sophie fenyvesi. Loveliness abounds!

annabel linquist.

 

I'm loving these silk screened and painted pieces by annabel linquist. Mixed media at it's best, bringing to life a layered, provocative story with mystery and reveal. And don't get me started on the narrow yet lively palette she's used here, so fresh, dark and full of energy. I'd most definitely love to have these hung as a series somewhere of prominence in chez birdie. Happy would I be!