There are just about as many reasons for taking photos as there are people who take them, so it would be foolish for me to try to encompass them all in one itty-bitty blog post. But I do feel I need to respond to this blog post about travel photos by Natalia Forrest. Especially this part:

Much has been written about the modern scourge of tourists with their camera phones, roaming galleries more intent on taking photos of (or more precisely, having someone take their photo in front of) famous works of art than actually looking at the art itself. And call me a curmudgeon, but when I see this myself I give a little shiver of condemnation. It just doesn’t seem right when people are more interested in the artefact of their travels—the photograph, the trinket, the t-shirt—than they are in the actual experience.

I don’t have any data to debate claims that more people pose with art than actually look at art, but as a person who, as previously exposed, takes photos of my children with art at museums, I feel the need to defend those actions.

Forrest, and you, dear reader, may see these photos of people with objects of art — or any photos of art — as pure kitsch. And you’d be keeping company with many a scholared-sort too. But snapshots, trinkets, etc. are artefacts, facts of art, if you will, are precious mementos of the experience we had. And, if we are parents, of the experiences our children had.

Why isn’t baby’s first Monet, his first steps into art appreciation, as important as baby’s first steps walking — and so worth documenting?

And these photos are prompts for sharing the experiences in the future:

“What’s this you stand by in this photo, Bob? You have an odd expression on your face…”

“Oh, that was a majestic whatsit — did you know it was the only piece to survive the mawhozit’s war? Just being in the presence of such history would have been remarkable on its own, but there was something about it which reminded me of a thingamajig in the courtyard of this building we stayed at when I was a kid… Maybe it was the smell of sunshine… Whatever it is, it reminds me of Whosits, my favorite artist because of her use of color…”

Why should a person resist the human desire to keep a piece of something, so that they can recall, recount, and recapture something magical or important? Because other people think it’s kitschy or a scourge to condemn? We’ve keeping personal souvenirs as long as we’ve been people, including burying our dead with trinkets and pictorial images of stuff… I’m certain more than a few people have been buried with photographs.

But perhaps most offensive to me is Forrest’s post was this:

we took [photographs] because either a) we thought it would make a nice picture or b) to remember something by. The photos were for us, not to prove something to others.

Our photos are not necessarily to prove something to others — whether we are in them or not. Excuse us if we, every now and then, believe we are part of the something which would make a nice picture. Excuse us if we want to remember our experience with ourselves participating in it. After all, we travel because just looking at someone else’s photos and/or postcards is not enough.

Perhaps it’s most accurate to say that our photos of ourselves with art, scenic views, etc. are taken to prove — or reaffirm — something to ourselves.

You don’t have to look at them if you don’t want to.

When birdhouses started coming out as a yard ornament of style I was glad. Until I realized many of them were not meant to actually be used by birds. The fancier houses with pretty colours and accessories will keep the birds away. Birds don’t trust birdhouses with a lot of extra trimmings and odd smells.

Wooden houses are best as the wood is able to breathe. However the wood inside the birdhouse should not be chemically treated as this could harm the birds. Make sure any birdhouse you use has ventilation to let in air and light and yet not so many access holes that predators can get in. Also, a birdhouse needs enough space inside for the growing family along with their nest. Different types of birds have different requirements for space and colours which attract them. Building (or even buying) a practical birdhouse is an art.

The North American native people are credited with starting birdhouses in North America. They created birdhouses out of gourds for martins to protect their drying meat and corn crops. They attracted the birds to be scarecrows.

This Flickr group for Old Birdhouses is my favourite link of those I found for birdhouses. I already love seeing and exploring old buildings, I never thought to look for a group about old birdhouses. I’ve seen a few during my explorations. Although, a farm or other property can be a abandoned, the birdhouses are more likely to be in use by birds when there are seldom any people around. So I can’t really think of birdhouses as abandoned, just aged and weathered.

For the bird lovers:

• Flickr: Birdhouses and Birdfeeders
• About: Birding and Wild Birds
• Audubon Christmas Bird Count
• Wild Bird Watching
• Google Groups: alt.birdwatching
• Chatterbirds – Birdwatching Community

For the arts and crafts lovers:

• Flickr: Ornamental Birdhouses and Feeders
• Flickr: Altered Birdhouses
• Flickr: Birdhouse Artists
• Etsy: Birdhouse Blessings
• Etsy: ArtyBeccaStash
• Etsy: Creations by KarenH
• Etsy: A Country Way
• Etsy: Julieanna’s Creations
• ArtFire: Joysmoon
• ArtFire: Brunswick Birdhouse Creations
• ArtFire: Pals Creations

Wild Birds Forever has a pretty cool bird feeder. It’s not a birdhouse but I love the idea of leaving fruit out for the birds in this way. Much simpler than a lot of feeders I have seen and very easy to keep it clean and restocked.

It is no longer difficult to take an adequate photograph. I say that with confidence, as a person who treats her digital camera as essentially a magic box with a button on one side and a USB port on the other. And yet, if I take enough pictures under good light, I can turn out clear photos of attractive subjects. And I am not alone. The natural consequence of photography become cheap and easy is that more people have taken it up. Between rechargeable batteries and online forums, more people are developing their abilities to a useful level. More people are deciding to try and make a little money from their pictures.

Enter the stock photo agencies. Stock agencies (such as Shutterstock and Istockphoto) accept digital photographs in large numbers, and sell them for a low price for non-exclusive use. At a few dollars each, stock photographs are an inexpensive alternative to hiring a professional-photographer-shot pictures. A few stock agencies, such as stock.xchng, even offer pictures for free. Many professional photographers are, predictably, not thrilled by this development. Some argue that people who sell their photographs cheaply or give them away for free undermine photography as a profession, impoverish working photographers and allow themselves to be exploited.

There is one glaring problem with this argument: they are essentially blaming the apple for gravity. Digital camera are cheap to buy, cheap to use, and automate much of what used to be a complicated process. The internet allows the products of these cameras to be shipped to vendors for free. Given these two technological development, the crash in the market for adequate photographs was inevitable. The destruction of the careers of adequate photographers could not be prevented. You may dislike this development, you may complain about it, but it will not be reversed.

Stock photographers are the absolute creators and owners of their photographs. As such they can give their work away, they can charge as much—or as little—as they like. And there will always be some teen settling for “exposure” or someone in a less developed country who can trade fifty American cents for a hearty meal. No professional can demand higher pay when they are competing with the unwashed masses for skills that are common using equipment that is cheap.

And as a member of those masses I am completely unapologetic. I take photographs for fun and I sell them for a small amount of supplemental income. As a creator of photographs that is my option, my right, and to my benefit. Any photographer who wants to charge full professional fees can no longer be merely adequate. They can no longer do what any member of the public with a compact camera and a steady hand can achieve. And no matter how much they complain about this new reality, it is not going to change.

Stock photography my have crushed the businesses of some photographers at at the lower and middle reaches of the professions, but that is not evil any more than gravity is evil. People will always buy what is cheap, do what is easy, and take what they can get. That is just one of life’s realities–and anyone who thinks berating stock photographers is going to make a difference needs to… well, they need to get real.

Share your doodles. Post your link here in the comments. If you need inspiration look for birdhouses online. There were a lot of them. Some very ellaborate. Mine is kind of simple but I like how this one turned out.

Read about Doodle Week, the rules, regulations and standardizations (whatever that turns out to be). Mainly, just doodle something birdhouse related and join in.

I have a thing for art nouveau and arts and crafts tiles, so I was drawn to this arts & crafts tile poster by Mindy Sommers.

From there, I discovered not only this beautiful Bell Epoch poster by the artist, but that her art nouveau stained glass art can be found on more than Zazzle products because the artist and her husband run Color Bakery.

The stained glass art works (along with many other works) can be ordered custom on all their products.

Of the stained glass works, the artist says:

People ask me if, when printed on glass, if they will light up. The answer is yes. They won’t allow extensive light as they are not transparent…however, they are luminescent and direct lighting behind them will give the artwork a beautiful ambient glow.

While Color Bakery offers hundreds of their own designs, they allow customers to upload their own images to be put on everything from scratch resistant porcelain floor tiles (that you really can walk on!) to artsy mirror compacts. And if you’re an artist, Color Bakery provides custom art printing for artists and photographers too.

Spring seems too far away as we get more snow each day.  Think of a flower or draw a whole bouquet!

I subscribe to Modern Painters, but just now got around to reading the September ’09 issue — despite the fabulous John Waters on the cover.

Mr. Waters need not take it personally; I just have a plethora of magazines to get through, and if they aren’t in the magazine rack in the bathroom, well, it just takes that much longer.

Such reading habits, and the fact that my family refer to the bathroom as “the library,” won’t upset Waters either. If you don’t know that, you don’t know Waters. And you certainly haven’t read the magazine feature, which discusses his contemporary art collection, including:

Over the toilet in the bathroom is a Mike Kelley piece that “really pisses people off,” but Waters asks me not to say why, since he writes about it in his book. Also in the bathroom are a funny “Queer Batman” watercolor by Mark Chamberlain and “a Brigid Berlin tit painting; she painted with her tits.”

In Baltimore, he says, “I have the Michael Jackson print by Gary Hume looking through a glory hole right in my hall, which is really scary. Plus, you can see it in the mirror, which is even worse.”

But more interesting, to me, than the art John Waters collects is the art John Waters makes.

Waters calls his art conceptual and says it’s about writing and editing. “Hardly am I Ansel Adams. Or sitting around with a pottery wheel, like in Ghost. The craft is not the issue here. The idea is. And the presentation.”

And I love the ideas and the presentation. Like this piece, part of his Rear Projection series which combines parts of four film-title stills to spell out: contemporary art hates you.

The work’s title amusing title is …And Your Family Too.

In the article, Lawrence Levi describes Waters’ work this way: “Much of his work pokes fun at the art and film worlds he inhabits, allowing him to be at once an insider and a heckler.”

And if you think Levi or I are reading into the art, here’s what the artist himself has to say about it:

The art world “is a secret club,” Waters says. “It is a language; you have to learn everything. You have to learn how to dress, you have to learn how to see it, you have to learn how to talk about it, you have to learn how to read about it. All of it is impenetrable to a newcomer, and it was to me too.”

So let the art of John Waters speak to you, your insecurity over the intimidating impenetrability of the art world — go ahead and laugh, even. But don’t forget to just open your eyes too:

In his 1998 film Pecker, when the laundromat worker played by Christina Ricci tells her photographer boyfriend, played by Edward Furlong, “I don’t understand any of that art crap,” he replies sincerely, “You could if you just open your eyes.” But as his feelings about impenetrability suggest, Waters has no problem with elitism.

PS The book mentioned — which will contain the story of a Mike Kelley artwork above the toilet that “really pisses people off” — is Role Models; it’s to be published in May, 2010.

PPS I’d just like to say, that when discussing anything John Waters, you’re bound to mention bathroom artwork that piss-es people off, as well as “glory holes,” penetration issues, and the word “pecker.”  And I loved it.

I found this large framed copper horse at a local thrift shop.

This week it’s stick figure girls (or women if you prefer).  There are lots of variations in drawing a stick figure, have a look online and see which sort you like.

This week the inspiration to doodle comes from the tiny world in a teacup pincushions from Mimi K. She has the pattern for sale if you would like to make one. Your doodle can be your start at creating your own little world.

Before you start to draw think about what kind of world you want to create. A rural or urban landscape, maybe a city skyline? What season will it be? What kind of pattern will be on your teacup? I went with flowery for mine but it could have gone with a winter snowflake pattern to suit the snow and snowman on my little world.

Try one, it’s fun to create your own tiny world in a teacup.

By chomas22 at Flickr.

Sebastian Faena‘s homage Italian director Fellini, part of a series titled Hell’s Bellas.

Does it make a difference knowing it was an editorial for V Magazine?

This weekend will be the first Doodle Week at U3. January 9th and 10th are the days for you to create your drawing and post it to your blog. Then link back here in the comments to show off your work.

The theme will be dollies, more properly known as dolls. For inspiration have a look at the Flickr group called Dolly Doodles. There are a lot of ways to draw dolls, simple, cute, pretty, complicated or just sweet and simple. What kind of doll will you draw?

Word Grrls has a post with 101 + Links for Doodling and Drawing by Hand.

I believe this work by Marc Brunier aka Mister M is a print made from a woodcut; I love how the lines define the musculature, defining the anatomy as well as sense of direction, if not action.

The artist recently had a showing of his works in Poland — and I’m utterly intrigued with the wall of small works, which invite you too look in, like a voyeur, through little windowpanes.

Of course, I can’t resist showing you that at that exhibition, that the French (at least speaking) artist was joined by someone looking like a comic book Frenchman in his striped shirt. (The artist himself is in the middle of the photo; the man wearing the hat and glasses.)

Marisa Haedike of Creative Thursday makes whimsical works, often selling not only the originals, but prints, dishes and even night lights. If you see a character you adore, you can also commission the artist to make a clay sculpture piece, like darling Frannie here.

This photo comes from GreenMarie on Flickr.

Taken literally, an art doll could be a pile of rocks with some kind of face created on it. Art dolls can be far more unique and extraordinary than the traditional dolls we (most of us) grew up with. Some of them are just as cute, sweet and adorable as our wonderful cuddly Raggedy Ann dolls. (My Mother made my Raggedy Ann and others, but I still have Ann).  Some of them take pride in being ugly and yet in some odd way they are still lovable, if you give them a chance.  Then, there are some gruesome dolls, the kind of doll that may give a child nightmares. Just imagine waking up with one of those on the pillow next to you.

Art dolls can be made out of anything: fabric, paper, clay, etc. There are standards for being human in basic structure. They may be missing an eye or have a misshapen face, but there is still a face of some kind.

I admit to having a soft spot for the cloth dolls, like my old Raggedy Ann with the grey hair my Mother gave her. Now and then when I’m shopping at a thrift store I pick out a new outfit for old Ann. I find something in great shape still and yet not something anyone is likely to buy for a child to wear. After all, Ann is still just a doll. But, lucky for her, her clothes always fit and last forever since she never gets them stained and they only seem to need a little brushing off now and then.

If you were making an art doll what kind would you create?

Art Doll Groups:

• The Professional Doll Makers Art Guild
• International Association of Doll Artists
• United Federation of Doll Clubs
• National Institute of American Doll Artists
• Original Doll Artist Council of America
• Canadian Doll Artists Association
• Cloth Doll Connection
• The Original Paper Doll Artists Guild

Does anyone know of more international or regional groups outside of North America? I tried to find them but no luck.

Photos, galleries and ideas for making some art dolls of your own:

• Flickr: Art Dolls
• Flickr: Art Dollz
• Flickr: Art Dolls Only
• Flickr: Handmade Original Dolls
• Flickr: Fabric Dolls
• Flickr: Scary Dolls
• Flickr: Creepy Dolls
• Flickr: Ugly Art Dolls
• Flickr: Strange Dolls
• Etsy: Snippet Fairy
• Etsy: Deviant Dollies
• Etsy: Doll Project
• Etsy: Stuff Made by Sweet Pea
• Etsy: Gingermelon
• Etsy: Twig’s Faerie Land
• Etsy: Finger Stuck Felts
• Etsy: I Heart Dolly
• Etsy: Megan’s Flower Dolls
• Etsy: Danner’s Place
• Judi’s Art Dolls
• Diane Keeler’s Fine Art Dolls
• Kobe Dolls
• Cafe Press: Karla Ruiz
• Anna Zueva
• Elizabeth Cooper
• Facebook: Art Dolls Only
• Beaded Art Dolls

The image used with this post comes from Green Marie.

I can’t get enough of artist Tamar Stone — her corset and bed books inspire me so much!

With all these projects and interests, I knew she’d collect lots of stuff, but I wanted to know more about what the artist draws from…

I collect a lot of books, images etc. However, because of limited space and finances, I also go to the NY Public Library to do research with their really old books. Before you could find things on-line, I used to go to the library to do a lot of patent research (something I learned while being a para-legal) — and learning how to read a patent’s family history — to get you to other resources.

With the internet, so much stuff is online — but a lot of it is low-res, which I can’t really use, and also you have to make sure the images are in the public domain (due to copyright issues).

As with my latch-hook rug, works are inspired by my travels.

One of my hobbies is “Polaroiding dolls on the road,” which I’ve turned into paper books from Polaroids. I also have a series of bathrooms/outhouses along the road… And meals on the road… But I haven’t had the money to turn those into books (all the scanning of those is just so time consuming, and I rather just keep moving ahead with the sewing projects).

You can get copies of Tamar Stone’s books at PrintedMatter.org: Dolls on the Road: The Barbie and Ken Series. Vol. 1, Dolls on the Road: Baby Dolls and Others. Vol. 2. And you can visit Tamar Stone’s website to keep up-to-date on the artist and her projects.

I’m not a quilter — despite the ridiculous number of quilting books (old and new) and boxes of fabric (vintage and modern) I own. I made one honest attempt at making my daughter a crazy quilt… But, well, I’m saving it all for that magical One Day when I’ll have the time and patience to really learn what I’m doing. Still, I love to look at quilts, especially the less traditional textile art pieces.

In 2009 there were, in my mind, two notable quilting stories — and both center on Mark Lipinski.

First, as I reported in April over at Kitsch Slapped, the March/April issue of Lipinski’s Quilter’s Home magazine was “too hot” for Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts to carry — despite Lipinski having paid $2,500 to wrap each copy of the issue in plastic like a porno mag.

Why so much fuss about a quilting magazine? Because the publication dared to include Shocking Quilts, an article by Jake Finc which featured quilts on such controversial (yet culturally aware/abundant) themes as lynching and erectile dysfunction. Part of my response (where you can see some of the quilts in question & under condemnation) was:

These quilts are the very definition of art — not just something made by hand, but unique works exploring issues of our society. You remember art, don’t you? It’s one of the ways people communicate & exchange ideas, start dialogs. Well, Jo-Ann will have none of that.

Please confine your creativity to the kits provided.

The second bit of news in 2009 quilting news is also another low point.

In September, Lipinksi announced that he was stepping down as editor of Quilter’s Home magazine and breaking all ties with the publication. This was a result of New Track Media‘s July ’09 purchase of CK Media. The ol’ “creative differences.”

However, since New Track Media had also purchased Quilters News Network TV in 2007, Lipinksi also announced this meant we was discontinuing any involvement with QNNtv.com, including co-hosting Quilt Out Loud!, the internet television program.

While these two low points or lowlights in quilting 2009 seem to indicate negativity, exposing the continued blanding of art by the very commercial outfits which should be encouraging creativity, I choose to be optimistic: Thank gawd quilters, artists, and art lovers everywhere have Mark Lipinski, a man dedicated to his craft, to creativity, who won’t knuckle-under to the knuckleheads of mediocrity.

To show support of Lipinski and his values, pony up some pennies and purchase from his shop. There you can even buy back issues — including copies with the Shocking Quilts feature as well as the last issue Lipinski had a hand in. And keep an eye on his blog for more news — rumor has it, there are fabulous projects in the works!

Several people must have been fauning fawning over R.A. Daniel Maclise’s Pan And The Dancing Fairies (The Faun And The Fairies) because the pretty painted piece sold for 301,250 GBP (roughly $498,509 in US dollars) at Sotheby’s Victorian & Edwardian Art auction held December 17th, 2009.

I show it to you merely because it would have been the piece I would have been wistfully admiring had I been at the auction.

Doodle Week is back. This time it will be part of U3. (I type it as U3 because I don’t want to type slower and check my spelling).

Doodle Week was something I started with Claire. Later, Mo joined us and helped bring in more people to doodle. Over time things wound down until I gave up on Doodle Week. I kept doodling myself, took a break for a couple of months, then started up again sometime before the holidays. It’s like a bug, you just can’t get over.

When Deanna mentioned bringing Doodle Week back as part of U3 I took a second to consider it. Taking it on again, telling people about it and trying to encourage more people who think they can’t draw to draw anyway. That’s how and why I started Doodle Week after all. As you can see, I decided to do it again. Once you doodle you can never truly go back.

The Rules of Doodle Week:

Doodle Week is like other memes online. One site hosts the event and others chime in with their contributions posted to their own blogs. Everyone who participates links back here so we can all find each other. Some will leave comments on each other’s doodles. But it isn’t a set rule, just very nice to do. We all need encouragement!

Doodle Week will be one day each week. A topic will be set for the weekly doodle. If it isn’t something that inspires you, pick something related. I will try to come up with ideas/ themes/ topics which are seasonal or at least inspiring enough to give everyone room to grow their own version of the theme. For instance, if the theme is Valentines Day, you can come up with something as simple as drawing hearts to as complex as drawing your own Valentine card to send to your favourite love.

That’s about it for the rules. Pretty simple.

Doodle Week on Flickr. Handy for anyone who wants to join but does not have a blog to post doodles to.

Doodle Week on Twitter

I hate putting a value on art. I think you should pay what the artist asks, so long as the depth of your affection for the piece matches the depth of your pockets.

But, because I mostly write about antiques and collectibles, people often ask me about how much they should pay for art at auctions, or at least want a rule of thumb to guide them at their local farm or estate auction…

I’m no art appraiser; most of my experience with antique paintings has been observed at (countless) smaller local auctions, Antiques Roadshow episodes, and those Roadshow style trash or treasure events. But I feel rather confident saying that any antique painting purchased for $150 or less is a bargain. Seems like no old painting is ever, unless the canvas is completely shredded, deemed worth less than $150. Even antique paintings by unknown artists with small tears and in need of professional cleaning seem to be valued at or over $150.

That said, expect to pay more. Not just for big name artists, but for paintings which charm. If the painting charms you, it likely will charm another bidder or two, increasing the price. That said, console yourself with the following rational reasons to spend as much as you’d like buying antique paintings at auctions:

• Consider how much something else covering that space would cost — be it a framed poster or generic starving artist art.
• Spend as much as you are comfortable with; you’re going to have to live with it.

A lovely fashion sketch by Sir Cecil Beaton, which wafts off my monitor and makes my heart lighter…

In non-art related news, I’ve been spending all weekend cleaning my home, laying down poison and traps, all to rid myself of an unwanted, non-pet, mouse. I can understand him wanting to move in here; it’s already friggin’ cold here in Fargo. But he cannot stay here.

I tell you all this so that you A) understand why I would be feeling the need to get away from the cleaning fumes and get some fresh spring air, and #2 have an actual real life lesson in how art can transport one.

This needlefelt ‘wool painting’ (No.499 Hillside Too by Deebs) reminded me that a few years ago — five, maybe — I saw some crafting show on TV showing how to do such a thing. They were making a purse, and all I could think of was how fragile and itchy such a purse seemed to me…

However, a nice 11″ x 14″ wall piece seems much more appealing.

For some reason I really like the trees; wool seems to match the texture of evergreens, even from a distance.

And, I lurves me the color purple.

Combined, there’s a reverse wistful sense for me — like the bleak itchiness of the past has been left for more colorful pastures.

But that’s just me; you tell me what you see and feel.

Etsy artist WHIMSYlove turns vintage and used books into wall art by folding the pages, origami style, for three-dimensional artworks dubbed Writing on the Wall Book Art — and it’s being featured for sale at the Bellevue Art Museum.

Each Writing on the Wall piece arrives with hanging hardware and a keepsake card printed on white cardstock with “stats,” including Book Title, Author, Copyright Date, # of Pages in book, & how many folds were made to create your piece of artwork!