This time around the doodle theme is cats. I like cats, their independence, mysteriousness and that feeling that you never quite know which of you is the pet, the cat or yourself. If you need to read about Doodle Week go back to the post all about it. If you are in Canada and have [...]
Nudity In Art
When we were creating Ululating Undulating Ungulate, we had to come up with our policy on nudity in art; not being big into censorship, and creating a site for adults, we opted to include nudity. Deciding what is art, or, perhaps more accurately, what are “good nudes vs. bad nudes” is highly subjective — but [...]
Metallic Fashion Forward
The cover, and other pages, which graced the Coilhouse, issue 03, are from of a series called Avatars photographed by Gustavo Lopez Mañas, featuring the wearable metal work of Manuel Albarran. A stunning collaboration, these photos; but today I’m all about Manuel Albarran’s works. Called “Metal Couture” by some, but described by the artist as [...]
Doodle Week Challenge: Doodle Away Your Bad Dreams!
I don’t usually post the Doodle Weeks; and, like too many of you, I am a sad participating in them as well. (Shame on all of us!) But, as coincidence (or my weird psyche) would have it, I had a bad dream last night — so bad I had to blog about it at my [...]
Talking Photography With Alexander S. Kunz
After enjoying the landscapes and nature portraits by Alexander S. Kunz, I wanted to talk about photography with him; the self-taught artist graciously agreed. Photography — in it’s original concept, anyway — was the means by which to capture a precise moment in time, the way a person, place, or object was. But your works [...]
Review: The Painted Backdrop: Behind the Sitter in American Tintype Photograph
Have you ever thought about the painted backgrounds in antique and vintage photographs? No? Well, you aren’t alone. Until I read The Painted Backdrop: Behind the Sitter in American Tintype Photography, by Jim Linderman (with an essay by Kate Bloomquist), I hadn’t either. In fact, the story of and between 19th century painters and American [...]
An Interview With Ghosts In The Machines Creator Erika Iris Simmons
I so fell in love with the stunning art made from cassette tapes by Erika Iris Simmons that I just had to speak with her and learn more about her incredibly iconic works. Erika, I don’t like to ask a lady her age — especially right at the start! — but in this case I [...]
The Interview With Collin David
I’ve known Collin David for like 5-6 years now; we met when we both started writing for Collectors’ Quest. I quickly discovered his passion for comics, action figures, robots, cephalopods, etc. was entwined with something more… His art. In the past year, Collin’s art work has been getting him more attention, respect, and, yes, money. [...]
An Interview With Sam Garton, The Illustrator Behind The Adorable Otter & Robot Suicides
I first met Sam at Tumblr, where I immediately was attracted to the dark yet whimsical works… Mr. Gerald Beaufort, the rat, making plans to break in: A robot suicide: A dog who finds scary movies too scary: But Sam, it turns out, is more known for his role as The Otter Keeper, the creator [...]
Creating Ceramic Mosaics Of Silent Film Stars
A few months ago I was contacted by Nick Bannikoff, a graphic designer in Sydney, Australia, who had recently worked on the refurbished Annette Kellerman Aquatic Centre in Marrickville. The centre is now finished, and Bannikoff was assisting with the creation of a graphic interpreting / explaining Annette Kellerman’s life to be installed at the [...]
The Art Of Making Stuff, Making The Pain Going Away, And Making Child Artists
In case you’ve missed my flurry of posts, and so have missed meeting the lovely artisan-crafter behind I Sew Cute and As Luck Would Have It, consider these comments by June on the importance of art your inspiring introduction: Making stuff is so rewarding on many levels. It really is my therapy, taking my mind [...]
Stitches In (My) Time
My mother, as she will tell you, is neither a very artsy person nor a very domesticated woman. While she is a rather gifted decorator, with an eye for beauty, detail, & quality — and a pocketbook which supports the artsy along with the arts, she doesn’t make things (other than reservations!). The result is [...]
Handmade Craft Shopping Parties
Back in the day, I offered and held a few home parties for selling my artworks. Being about 15 years ago, ish, I felt like I was charting new territories. I had a bunch of catalogs and brochures from other successful home party plan businesses — and my vast knowledge of attending such parties — [...]
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Opinions
Hey, Me, Get Out Of My Travel Photos (Not!)
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 [...]
Notebook
Is Art In Your DNA?
Over at The Emerging Times, Michael Ferrare has written The ‘Picture Painting’ Gene, an article on Thomas Harrison’s book, Instinct: In the book Instinct, Thomas Harrison describes many ways to leverage who you are (using your DNA) to promote success in business and in life. Of the many natural genes he mentions, one gene that [...]
Mixed Media
Lovely, Fancy Birdhouses
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. [...]
Digital Art
Is Stock Photography Evil?
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 [...]
Illustration
Doodle Week, February 6 – 7th
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). [...]
The Other Great Debates
Is Focusing Your Creativity Important?
At first glance, this cartoon by Emily Flake (originally published in The New Yorker) provides amusing, yet sage, advice: Maybe if your creativity had fewer outlets, it would come out of you with more force. But when I think about it, I don’t find such sentiments amusing or wise… Many people, following the old adage [...]
Collecting
Celebrating & Collecting The Art Of Bookmarks
Bookmarks are a great way to try on art. And I’m not just saying that because I’m one of the presenters at the first Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention, either. Bookmarks come in so many styles and are made of so many materials, you can enjoy and experiment with form & function ideas and concepts in [...]
Art Glass
I Came For The Ceramic Tiles, Stayed For The Art Glass, And Fell In Love With The Possibilities
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 [...]
Challenges
Doodle Week, January 30 – 31st
Spring seems too far away as we get more snow each day. Think of a flower or draw a whole bouquet!
Artists & Creators
John Waters Says, “Contemporary Art Hates You …And Your Family Too”
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 [...]
Collecting
2009 Art Sales May Not Have Been Bad For Auction Houses, But Was It Good For Art?
Antique Week, Vol. 41, Issue No. 2112 (January 11, 2010) has a report in the national section on art sales in 2009. In the article, two things stood out for me. First: Auction houses started slashing pre-sale estimates by as much as 50 percent to stimulate sales. When Sloans & Kenyon of Chevy Chase, Md., [...]
Challenges
Creative Writing Challenges
Sometimes I feel full of ideas and can just begin to write. From one idea others build and flow and soon it becomes a might river. But, other times… I may be having a bad day, I may have too many things on my mind, I may just not know where to start, lots of [...]
Challenges
Doodle Week, January 23 – 24
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.
Illustration
Doodle Week, January 16 – 17
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 [...]
Commercial Success?
Hell’s Bellas
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?
Challenges
Doodle Week Begins with Dollies, January 9 – 10
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 [...]
Publications & Media
What’s Kitsch?
In order to discuss the meaning of kitsch, you first need to know it’s definition. So I grabbed my copy of Kitsch, The World of Bad Taste, by Gillo Dorfles (with contributions by John McHale, Karl Pawek, Ludwig Giesz, Lotte H. Eisner, Ugo Volli, Vittorio Gregotti, and Aleksa Celebonovic; and essays by Hermann Broch and [...]
Fairs & Shows
Print Temps By Mister M
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 [...]
Ceramics
It’s Easy To Collect Works By Marisa Haedike
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.
Aesthetics
“Instead Of ‘It Sucks’ You Could Say, ‘It Doesn’t Speak To Me.’”
I found this cartoon by Mike Twohy inside the January 2010 issue of Good Housekeeping, and it reminded me that now is as good a time as any to address the issue of aesthetics and “artistic response.” Art experts and educators such as Sally Hagaman have rather specific definitions of aesthetics: There still is confusion [...]
Custom Toys
Art Dolls
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 [...]
