amanda briggs at dear ada

lisa sensiger.

When I was a young girl, I went through a phase of painting eggs. I don't know why I was drawn to that particular artistic expression but there you have it. I love the shape and surface of eggs and found that they were surprisingly strong and rescilient as a "surface" for pigment and ink.

Well speaking of decorated eggs, I stumbled on this amazing site yesterday, the international egg art guild, which features a plethora of egg art from around the world. Painted ones, drawn ones, beaded ones, decorated ones, bejeweled ones even carved eggs abound here. Like this beauty by lisa sensinger. The craftsmanship and skill it took to make this boggles my mind a bit. Enlarged it looks like a wonderful, layered sculpture or ceramic piece but then I remember, this is the size of, well, an egg! Amazing.

stuart haygarth.

I've been a big fan of chandeliers for quite a while so I was delighted to see this amazing one by stuart haygarth. Known for his use of repurposed materials, trash, to put it less delicately, his pieces are always elegant and arresting. This particular one, made from the lens of cast off eye glasses is no exception. Breathtaking, to say the least!

Link via dezeen.

james surls.

This wonderful stainless steel and bronze sculpture by james surls feels like a drawing in 3 dimension. At first I thought it was a botanical drawing when I saw the image in thumbnail form. It accompanied a number of wonderful drawings in an exhibit, as a matter of fact, so it's not surprising that it shares some of that gestural, drawn feel. I think it's a remarkably beautiful sculpture.

penelope withers.

I love these energetic, porcelain vases by penelope withers. Modern and lithe, they feel a bit like they're still in motion, like they just can't sit still. I'm really liking their character and presence.

suzanne bocanegra.

Ah, paper and gouache collages. And happy, happy am I to discover these lovely ones by suzanne bocanegra. I really like the color and quality of the painted, cut motifs, which are laying on a clean ground, kind of flat and kind of not. But what I'm grooving on the most here, is the ordered layout of these pieces, careful and fastidious in their own little universe. Wow. These are just so great!

rae dunn.

Inspiration is a wonderful thing. Take these lovely vases by ceramic artist rae dunn. I love their hand built, happy forms with their graphic dots and text decorating the surface. Simple, modern, animated and confident, they have a presence and character that draws me in.

And then I see the inspiration for these wonderful vases and well, stop already. Nothing more needs to be said as far as I'm concerned. Dog + craft + pattern. It's the perfect trifecta.

ruth singer.

Oh my goodness, can you believe how wonderful these textile pieces by ruth singer are? I love the use of traditional decorative sewing techniques as a medium for art. Dimensional, sculptural, textural and layered, these works nicely push the boundaries between 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional planes. They are so very lovely as well as deeply satisfying somehow.

Link via strange fragments.

rosalie gascoigne.

I recently discovered the amazing typographic collages of rosalie gascoigne. Constructed from old road signs the resulting art is bold and surprising. Signage, words, colors that are designed to catch your attention to inform and navigate, are repurposed and scrambled, creating a demanding and confusing display. I'm drawn to the familiar letter forms even though the words no longer exist. Is this because I'm trained to look to these graphics for navigational answers in my every day life, or just because they are beautiful pieces of art in their own right? I think it's probably a bit of both these things.

william steiger.

I'm loving this simple, geometric way of expressing architecture. This is a painting by william steiger and it makes me very happy. Architecture, reduced to its most basic planes and stripped of the context of environment, becomes a study in line and mass. The bright coloration further pushes it from realism, though I know from experience that shadow can appear blue in the right circumstances. I love the delicate tension between abstraction and realism that's been achieved here. Very cool indeed.

jopo de gomina.

I really like the color and composition of this collage by jopo de gomina. I'm also loving the use of type and symbol throughout which adds to the pieces overall modern and fresh feel. Very nice! Link via collagemania