Celebrating Moth-er Day!

{velvet moths forming a star}

INSPIRATION 2014 #73: Everyone knows that today is Pi Day, Potato Chip Day, International Ask a Question Day, and Science Education Day, but it is also Moth-er Day. After I eat a pie and potato chips for lunch, study the food in my refrigerator for any mold, and ask the question How does one go about establishing a holiday?, I plan to celebrate Moth-er Day by taking a look at some beautiful handmade moths created by Mister Finch. Make sure to visit his website to see his other beautiful textile creations inspired by nature ~ handmade mushrooms, butterflies, bees, spiders, beetles, rabbits, foxes and birds.

{mister finch with giant textile moth}

{textile moths}

{moth pulling a tiny coach}

{source for all images}

Today is . . .

 {collages by Maissa Toulet}

INSPIRATION 2014 #67: According to Days of the Year, today is Genealogy Day. It is also Women's Day, Proofreading Day and Peanut Cluster Day ~ do you suppose there is a greeting card for all of these special holidays?

In honor of Genealogy Day, above are some beautiful family tree collages created by artist, Maissa Toulet. As I don't read French, I am not sure if these are actual family trees or fantasy family trees, but it doesn't matter as they are so beautiful ~ and I think have a sense of humor. Check out some of the words added to describe the different people ~ grotesque and braguette don't sound complimentary to me!

This would be a fun way to record your own family's lineage and make a piece of art to enjoy and hand down to future generations. So, Happy Genealogy Day ~ a good day to cherish your family!

Counting Collection

{source}

INSPIRATION 2014 #58: One to Forty-Nine (c. 1968) by Alexander Girard appealed to me as I am on a constant quest to find ways to organize and display the bits and pieces I have collected and also my leanings toward the anal retentive. In addition, it is a clever twist on the counting books I was so fond of as a child. If you visit Girard's website, you will see that this work is quite a departure from the work he is better known for. Saw this on Things Organized Neatly, a favorite tumblr site of mine not only because of the collections posted, but because the sources are credited.

Rosy-Cheeked Girl

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INSPIRATION 2014 #54: Love the simplicity of this painting by Finnish painter, Helene Schjerfbeck (1862-1946). Rosy-Cheeked Girl was painted in 1927. The artist was known for her self portraits and portraits of women and children, although she also painted landscapes and still life. Here is a more inclusive post about this wonderful artist I just discovered.

Shoveling Snow?

{source}

INSPIRATION 2014 #35:  Shovels can be beautiful. While these won't work very well for clearing snow away, they would look great displayed on a wall. Lovely lacy plasma cut shovels created by artist Cal Lane.

Contemporary Hairwork

{image from here}

INSPIRATION 2014  #12:  Artist Kerry Howley is a contemporary artist who uses hair as her medium when creating her unique jewelry.  A quote from this article describes the concept behind her work: "Howley’s collection, Attraction/Aversion is an experiment in psychology. Howley meditates on the idea that while on our heads, hair is a precious possession, something we “take pride in.” Yet once it is cut off, we gain an aversion to it."

Lisa Wood ~ Assemblage Artist

{all images from here}

Isn't it weird how sometimes when you discover something new to you, in the time following you begin to see more of something you had never noticed or been aware of before? This is the case with this assemblage art by Lisa Wood.  After posting a few days ago about the swallowed objects displays I had seen several years ago, I was once again trolling Pinterest and came upon a pin of this book cover.  Intrigued, I visited the source, where one can view many plates (no pun intended!) from the book in addition to the stories that accompany each work.

{JBD with knife}

Lisa Wood's series of Swallowing Plates was inspired by the work of Chevalier Jackson ~ the laryngologist whose collection is displayed at the Mutter Museum. Each of the 33 assemblages in the series contains an array of found objects arranged in a quite beautiful way on a variety of old dinner plates.  Each illustrates a fictionalized case study and is paired with a 'history' of the person and his or her connection to the item ingested. See below for one example; go here to read the remaining case studies. The Swallowing Plates: Objects Swallowed and Recovered from the Human Body is available here ~ this is now on my wish list!

 {PLC with tooth}

  {Sarah with hairpin}

Oddly enough, this series reminds me a bit of Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies, another of my favorite, but dark books. Take a look if you are unfamiliar ~ it is a pen & ink illustrated alphabet book with a sinister, but entertaining theme. 

 {Will and Ivy and glass}

 {J. Franklin with nails, wire and a tack}

  {Exhibit of The Swallowing Plates}

Lisa Nilsson ~ Artist

The other day I was scanning through images on Pinterest and happened upon this amazing piece of quilled paper artwork illustrating a cross section of a human head. As I was intrigued by the scientific illustration, loved the presentation in the handmade box and admired the beautifully crafted paper work, I had to delve deeper. Turns out, this work is created by Lisa Nilsson, a classmate of mine from RISD!

The work shown here is from her Tissue series ~ a group of quilled paper works illustrating cross sections of the human body ~ make sure to take a look at the whole series here. 

{detail from Angelico, 2012}

In addition to her paper illustrations, Lisa also has a wonderful series of boxes.  As I am drawn to many of the same bits and pieces that Lisa is, these pieces are especially interesting to me.  Her color palettes and selection and arrangement of objects are beautiful, while her craftsmanship is impeccable.

{Hayley, 2007}

 {Withdrawn, 2009}

  {detail from Withdrawn, 2009}

While I didn't realize we had so much in common when we were in illustration classes together at RISD, it is lovely to discover a kindred spirit all these years later.  I know that for me, I didn't figure out what many of my interests were until years after college was over and I began to hit antique malls and flea markets.  I love that Lisa has included some shots of some of her collections that inspire her ~ these caught my eye as I have many of the same things in my home. Yes, I do have some dental pieces, but not as cool of a collection as Lisa's!

{all images from here}

Inspiration ~ Louise Bourgeois

EUGÉNIE GRANDET 2009

I happened upon this grouping of art by Louise Bourgeois and just had to share it with you ~ isn't it beautiful? As the artist is primarily known as a sculptor, I had no idea that she did this sort of work as well. One of her best known works is a sculpture entitled Maman (Mother in French), shown below ~ this work coined her the nickname Spiderwoman.

I only became aware of her as an artist when she died a few years ago at age 98 and a friend had mentioned it to me. Reading her bio here, it appears as if she had a full and interesting life and career ~ she was still creating art until weeks before her death. I am especially drawn to her "Fabric Drawings" that she did in later life ~ she interpreted fabric as a way to remember the past. The article describing her show also mentioned that her work was that which supported the hoarder ~ again, something I can relate to and made me feel better about all the stuff I have collected over the years!

DAWN 2006 ~ Fabric Book
{click on images for sources}

I wish I had gotten to see the exhibit where most of these images came from ~ it must have been fabulous! I thought this quote from Louise Bourgeois helps explain her fabric drawings work in better words than I can.
“I always had the fear of being separated and abandoned. The sewing is my attempt to keep things together and make things whole.”

Crochet Artist ~ Jung-jung

While browsing Pinterest the other day, I came upon this delicate crochet work created by Japanese artist, Jung-jung. Jung-jung's work is just beautiful ~ intricately crafted in gorgeous subtle hues. I wonder if she hand dyes her threads as the colors are so unusual and muted? Gives one a new appreciation of the root and cruciferous vegetable!

I'm not sure if the graphic above is a pattern, but whether or not it is, it is a beautiful graphic anyway. All images shown are from here.

Decoylab ~ Maiko Kuzunishi

{image from decoylab}

This past Saturday I braved the 100 degree temperatures and checked out Ric Rac Roundup ~ a local craft show here in Kansas City. As I was looking for a small gift, I happened upon Maiko Kuzunishi's booth of modern, hand crafted goodies & designs, named Decoylab. I am familiar with Decoylab as I have seen the work on countless blogs and on Etsy ~ one of my favorite pieces is the clock above ~ isn't it lovely? Last week, there was an article about Decoylab in the KCStar ~ you can read it here.

Maiko is such a talented designer! In addition to the products she designs for Decoylab, she designs her packaging and displays as well. Check out her portfolio and blog for more of her wonderful work.

Here are two brooches I bought ~ while I set out to buy a gift, of course I couldn't resist and ended up buying one for myself as well! I love the simplicity of the stamped logo on her chipboard cards. Her business card is also quite lovely ~ a letterpressed cream colored round printed with her signature logo on front, more info in metallic silver ink on back.

Below, a new product ~ coasters of several colors of felt, recycled leather and bamboo (I think) ~ beautifully packaged. These would make a great gift as well ~ sounds like she will have these for sale online pretty soon ~ she told me she had just finished them up for this show. Wouldn't you love a set of these?!

{cream and pink felt coasters ~ images from here}

After such a hot shopping experience, I cooled off with my first fresher than fresh snow cone ~ Blueberry Lavender ~ a great way to end my shopping day! I can't wait to try some of their other flavors ~ green tea pear, watermelon basil or lime mint ~ it's a hot summer, so I'm sure to have many more opportunities.

{image from here}

American Folk Art Museum ~ Part 3

Eugene Von Bruenchenhein: “Freelance Artist—Poet and Sculptor—Innovator—Arrow maker and Plant man—Bone artifacts constructor—Photographer and Architect—Philosopher” is the title of the special exhibit on display at the American Folk Art Museum until October. Quite the mouthful ~ both his name and description of his work!

I wish I had been able to get a photograph of the main display wall of Eugene's photography ~ there were probably about 15-20 photographs, mostly of his wife in various poses and lush backdrops, displayed in a long horizontal line on a wide expanse of vintage wallpaper. The image above shows a similar display only the work is ballpoint pen on scrap paper. I got a few photos before finding out that photography was not allowed in this exhibit - whoops!

These ballpoint drawings were the work I liked best ~ there were many pieces displayed on the walls, but there was also an entire book of drawings adhered to the pages of an old wallpaper book.

Below are a few samples of some of Eugene's photography and ceramic work taken from the American Folk Art Museum's site ~ visit here to read more about the artist and view more of his work. The big leafy patterns and florals seem to work their way into many of his pieces ~ it is interesting to see how it translates across the mediums.

{images above from here}