The Craft Begins

What an interesting concept – a picnic blanket illustrating all of the green spaces in London in a sort of “map”.

by Ben Branagan

When I first saw these abstract tattoos from Amanda Wachob, I thought that they were simply finger paint on people’s bodies.  Nope.  They’re real tattoos.

They’re joyfully expressive.  And kind of amazing.  I’ve always been fascinated by people’s tattoos and these are right up my alley.  See more of her work here.

I’m entralled with these LOST posters from Mattson Creative.  SO clever and just a hint of mid-century design.  A perfect combination.

See the whole series here.

My lovely friend Amy sent these over to me because she thought that I would like them.  She knows me so well!

Dave Devries takes children’s drawings and re-configures them into something a little more “professional”.  While the results are fantastic, I can’t help but think that there’s something a bit sinister about them.  Like your worst childhood nightmare come to living, breathing life.

You can find his website here, and see where I got these pictures here.

His illustrations look like something you’d discover in a naturalist’s journal 200 years later in some far-off land.  Imaginative, precise, and a little bit eerie.

I like the muted color palette and all of the texture and depth in his illustrations.  I’m on a calligraphy kick this week so that really impressed me as well.

See more at his portfolio here.

She has some of the most gorgeous calligraphy I’ve seen in quite some time.

To see more samples or to hire her, check out her site here.

I had seen this years ago and completely forgotten about it until my friend Sheasy pointed it out.  A room-size installation filled with strung up brightly painted ping pong balls.  They put fans in the room so that it vibrates, ever-so-slightly.  I think that if you could see things at a sub-atomic level, it might look something like this.  Either that, or outer space.  Or maybe it’s like having a seizure.  No matter what it looks like to you, it’s still very impressive.

via here.

Can you believe that these amazing, intricate little vingettes are made from old toilet-paper tubes?

Anastassia Elias does some other amazing work but I’m really intrigued by these.  It really takes something very pedestrian and turns it into something magical.  See more of her work here.

I have to post about this because the more I think about it, the more it upsets me.

My friend Robyn is one of the most creative, talented, and wonderful people I know.  Her work spans a number of disciplines but I’ve always admired her ability to really show off her own style, no matter what she does.

She creates these wonderful yo-yo collages that she frames and sells in her etsy shop.  One of her gorgeous pieces is shown below:

Recently, she came across a tutorial from someone who was “inspired” by her work.  Her piece is below:

I’m sorry, but it looks like a pretty blatant copy to me.  Which in itself isn’t the worst thing in the world (goodness knows I’ve seen something I liked and thought, “I could make that” and did it myself) but I would never post a tutorial on how to do it on my blog for everyone else to copy as well!  And the absolute WORST part is that SHE LINKED TO ROBYN’S SHOP.  SAYING THAT IT WAS HER INSPIRATION.  I guess that the word “inspiration” has become a euphemism for “copy”.  And then, in the comments, everyone is praising her creativity!  Le sigh.

I don’t mean to come across as angry – it just bothers me.  I think that it’s really important to try to consider others when we go out on the big wide web and share ideas.  I know that we can’t always give credit where credit is due (and I know I’ve got TONS of pictures floating around with no names attached) but if you do know, please be considerate of others.

Has this ever happened to you?  Someone you know?

*UPDATE – I apologize as this was not an actual tutorial as more of a “I made this and you can too!” sort of a deal.  Still makes me mad, but not so blatant.

I am in love with these posters.  I wish I could wallpaper my walls in this style.

See more fabulous design work here.

These prints by JHill Design are amazing to me.  Fantastic patterns created to reflect a variety of exotic (and domestic) locales, with some sweet information about the place.  Aside from being a great concept, the execution is just amazing.  I think that these would make a great gift for the traveler in your life, real or imagined.

There are also monogrammed animal prints using many of the city patterns, as well as calendars, cards and more!  Make sure to check out the shop here.

I spent some time in Australia when I was a kid so I have a real soft spot for anything vaguely Aussie.  These screenprinted panels are reminiscent of old trolley-car destination lists, or what they call “bus scrolls”.  I want one for my living room, but they don’t come cheap.

Find the whole collection and more information about the artists here.

I’ve always been fascinated by pottery, mostly because it’s the one art form I’ve never really experienced much of nor been particularly good at.  For me, the idea of spending a ton of time on something only to have it explode in the kiln is more than a little frustrating.  I’m particularly enamored with this wood-fired pottery from Miami Valley Pottery.

From their website: “Woodfire kilns produce a distinct type of pottery.  The fire and ash and temperature variations inside a wood kiln produce beautiful surfaces on both glazed and unglazed pots. Our kiln is approximately 400 cubic feet, and it takes several months of throwing to fill it.  We fire our kiln three to four times a year.  A typical firing lasts three to four days, requiring constant attention to the stoking of the flame. The peak temperature reached is around 2400 degrees Fahrenheit ( 1300 degrees Celsius).  In every firing we use roughly four cords of wood.”

I would love to go to one of those openings and get myself some gorgeous practical stoneware, but alas, I don’t live in Ohio.  Is there anything like this near you?

Lennon is an amazingly good painter.  And he also happens to be a friend of mine.  I’ve had the fortune of being able to see a lot of his work up close (including one incredible painting hanging in my dining room) and let me tell you, the pictures don’t do his paintings any justice.  They are expressive and colorful and just downright interesting. His work would look good in any circumstance and any location.  Don’t believe me?  See for yourself.

My other favorite thing about his paintings?  They’re huge.  Like wall-size.  All the better to get lost in.  You can see more of his work here.

I was just in DC doing the museum tours and I got to visit the National Gallery of Art.  Let me just say first of all their collection is amazing.  I remember sitting in Art History lectures looking at where all of these paintings resided and an overwhelming majority of significant pieces that we discussed found their home at the National Gallery.  If you ever get a chance to go, it’s quite the learning experience.  They have a good mix of every major artistic period and you can see some really substantial pieces from each.

My favorite game to play is “Which of these would I hang in my living room if I had all the money in the world?”.  Not that I wouldn’t just love a Picasso or a Van Gogh hanging on the wall, but when it comes to personal taste Robert Motherwell is always the winner.

I’ve always been fond of abstract painting and there’s something that is just so bold and inventive about his work.  The simplicity of the colors takes away a lot of the distraction and focuses your attention on bold shapes and negative space.

Robert Motherwell was an Abstract Expressionist and one of the best known American artists of the last century.  His contemporaries included Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.  Apparently, his skills with the written word were what really catapulted Abstract Expressionism into the American consciousness (it’s always better when something so new can be explained really eloquently).  His series “Elegy to the Spanish Republic”, which is partly depicted above, is one of my favorites.

Which famous artist would you hang on your wall?  I’d love to know!