'Tis the Season!

Amazing and intricate snow globe sculptures by Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz. Their work is absolutely amazing! You can see more of their designs here.

Happy Holidays from Art, Design and Home!!

The Brainwave Sofa

The Brainwave Sofa is a collaboration between Lucas Maassen and Dries Verbruggen from Unfold. The design/shape was entirely determined by recording Maassen's neural activity while thinking of comfort.

This is one of several unique works from the traveling exhibit, Bits n' Pieces, featuring work by international designers, architects, computer scientists, and material and technology researchers.

Below is the description from the show's website:

"The shape of the Brainwave Sofa is entirely determined by recording 3 seconds of Maassen’s neural 'alpha' activity the very moment he closed his eyes. The resulting 3 second computerfile is sent to a CNC milling machine that mills out the Brainwave sofa in soft foam. It is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a futuristic production workflow in which the designer only has to close his eyes and a computer 'prints' the result out as a functional form. A warm grey felt with buttons in the valleys is applied by hand to the foam honoring the traditional codes of a sofa."

Serving Up Some Unique Art

Esther Derkx gives new life to vintage, discarded serving ware by adding images of athletes and dancers to these abandoned pieces and creating something new and unique. She uses the technique of screen-printing onto ceramics, creating a wild juxtaposition of the human body, mixed with the floral and decorative existing designs of the vintage cups, plates, teapots, etc. The result is simply art...beautiful and imaginative.

See Esther's website for more of her work.

One Day I Will Own: Stephen Chambers

This will be the first of many "One Day I Will Own" posts. These will be my little dream posts about all the glorious works of art I would purchase if I only had limitless amounts of money. Unfortunately, that is not the case. In the meantime I will just admire these things, put them on my list, keep buying lottery tickets, and hope that one day I will be lucky enough to acquire these amazing works.

I am in love with the work of London-based painter Stephen Chambers. I have admired his work for such a long time, so I think it's only fitting that he get the honor of being the first on the list.

The image above is titled, "The Emissary." This is an oil on canvas from 2005. To see more of Stephen Chambers' amazing work please take a look at his website.

Fruit Post-its

These post-its look good enough to eat! You can buy one or a crate of six.

Available from D-BROS.

Today's find on Etsy

"DoomGloomBoom" is the etsy shop of artist Zack Pinson. I am in love with this this piece titled "Duck." I may be getting out the credit card and making a purchase. At $12 per print how could I pass it up? The only thing that could make it better is if it was the original, but I won't let that stop me. The good news is that Zack sells original pieces in his etsy shop as well. Unfortunately...no original of "Duck," but there are several other original pieces available to choose from. Take a look at his etsy shop here and see for yourself.

Paintings by Marion Peck

Marion Peck's paintings are dream-like. Some are like a good dream...some are like a bad dream. But they are all beautiful. Her subjects are people, animals, animals that look like people, and people that look like animals. There are portraits of puppies dressed in suits, kitties with extra eyes, evil snowmen, and so on and so on. It was hard to choose which images to include in this post because there are so many amazing works from this artist to choose from. You can these pieces and many more on her website.

"Nice Girl" and "Boy with Puppy" from Marion Peck's website.

Inky Dreadfuls

"Michael Mararian possesses a poetic propensity for taking traditionally cheerful images and concepts and turning them into frightening, yet humorous, tableaus. Focusing on children as the last bastion of innocence, Mararian draws on a diverse range of influences to deliver the peculiar ink work he aptly calls, M. Mararian's Inky Dreadfuls. In this world our fondest visions of childhood’s naiveté are darkly rearranged to uncover lost innocence and the fear of our modern times.

Though often shroud in the macabre, Michaels' ink paintings are also suffused with a sense of mischievous, almost self-deprecating humor. What can on one level be construed as melancholy and cruel, can alternately be viewed as amusing, even charming. He enjoys letting his viewers decide."

-A portion of Michael Mararian's bio from his website.

The image above, "Pupaphobia-Fear of Puppets" is from Mararian's Phobia Series. Each piece in this specific series is disturbing yet comical. Although, that is true for most of Mararian's work.

To see more of his work take a look at his website.

For the Mod Plant Lover

These planters from Metaphys are ideal for any modern home. Simple and clean, these planters make quite a contemporary statement. The "picture" planters can hang on a wall or sit on a table. The "factory" planters can be grouped together to create a modern design. Beautiful!

To purchase or see more products from Metaphys click here.

The Odd Couple

Polly George has an interesting attention to detail, and it is in the details that her handmade ceramics come alive. Her work is modern--stark white ceramics with classic shapes, but it is the hand applied details that Polly adds to each piece that truly makes her work unique. She creates coffee mugs, teapots, butter dishes and more with roses, butterflies or birds adorned to each piece. However, it is her "Mr. and Mrs. Jones" line of ceramics that I find the most intriguing. Pictured above is the Mr. and Mrs. Jones Citrus Juicers. They can be purchased here. To see more of Polly's work or purchase other pieces visit her website.

Paper Cut Creations

Artist Peter Callesen creates intricate paper cut sculptures using ordinary white sheets of paper. The negative space that is created by the cut is a nice contrast to the three dimensional reality it creates. See more of Peter's work on his website.

"Snowballs" by Peter Callesen

Lighting Designs by Jess Shaw

"Imaginative and emotional lighting designs" by Jess Shaw. View her website and see more of her work here.

"Cloud" by Jess Shaw. Made from nylon, wire and lights.

Today's find on Etsy

Beautiful cards and wall art made from layering hand-cut pieces of cardstock. The artist layers each piece with different shades of the same color to create a topographic landscape. Each piece is one-of-a-kind. See more of the artist's work here in her etsy shop.

A Cast of Creepy Characters

"We humans are an odd bunch." That is the short and sweet artist statement by printmaker and illustrator Ryan Price. His work is considered dark and disturbed to some, playful and fun to others. Personally, I find it all of the above. The subjects in his work are interesting little characters. You find yourself wanting to know more about them. His website is set up almost like a book. There are chapters, characters, and stories. Although the website can be a little tricky to navigate it's a very intriguing set-up. I highly recommend clicking on "The Sketchbook Browser" at the bottom of the page to see more of these interesting little oddities.

For the past ten years Ryan has managed Catch-23, a printmaking studio, art gallery and frame shop in the heart of downtown Guelph, Ontario. He continues to create his fine art and illustrations and exhibit in a variety of shows around Ontario and beyond. I would love to see his work paired together with another of my favorites, John Casey. It would be a very exciting...and disturbing show. I would be in heaven!

Images above are from Ryan Price's website. You MUST take a look at his amazing work.

"Driven" - featuring work by artists with disabilities

"For the sixth year, VSA arts and Volkswagen of America, Inc., have partnered to recognize and showcase young artists with disabilities, ages 16–25, who are living in the United States. This collaboration supports these artists at a critical time when many are deciding whether to pursue the arts as a career. The award validates, and helps finance, that life-defining choice.

VSA arts sent more than 20,000 calls for entry to high schools and colleges around the country, inviting submissions that illustrated the theme 'Driven.' Participants were asked to consider the motivations behind their work—what moves them to create. The call also encouraged artists to contemplate the relationship between life, art, and disability. Selected from 204 submissions, these 15 finalists were awarded a total of $60,000 generously provided by Volkswagen of America, Inc."

From VSA Arts' website.

The image above, "Untitled," is from one of the talented artists, Jessica Merrell of Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to Merrell, who was born with epilepsy, "I started a new body of work dealing with epilepsy and finally felt comfortable opening up a dialogue about it.” This new body of work centers around mandalas, which are ritualistic, geometric designs symbolic of the universe, used in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation. According to Jessica's artist statement, “I am influenced by my disability and the theories of Carl Jung. In his theories on the subconscious mind the mandala is an instrument of meditation, concentration, and self-immersion. The mandala is a symbol of healing in every culture. Working in this format has an ordering effect and is a traditional antidote to chaotic states of mind.”

To see all the work by the 15 chosen artists please take a look at VSA Arts' website here.

Homes made from recycled shipping containers

This is genius! I have been reading recently about the newest craze in "green" living. Several companies are using recycled shipping containers to create prefab modern homes. Not only are they cheaper than the traditional building costs of a new home, they are strong...and easily transported. That is why companies are springing up all over the world that are beginning to specialize in this niche market. Addis Containers, a New Zealand company that specializes in container house design and construction, has created a website where you can not only learn about the benefits of building with shipping containers, but you can actually browse layouts to find the design that best fits you and your lifestyle.

In addition to homes, recycled shipping containers have been used to create student housing, "portable" hotels, artist studios, and on-site camping for special outdoor events.



Click here to read a great article on container homes by Ecoble.
Visit Addis Containers website here.

Images from Ecoble and Addis Containers.

Today's find on Etsy

"Week 48 SEVEN" by Iris Schwarz

"SEVEN" is a weekly edition from artist Iris Schwarz. Every week Schwarz creates an edition of seven prints from one of her original illustrations.

See more of her work in her etsy shop.

The Art of Light in Design

I've always been amazed at what can be accomplished with great lighting and design. For as long as I can remember I've collected lamps. Not the most practical thing to collect...I have so many most of them are stored away in closets. But I am always amazed at their beauty. A lamp, however, is nothing compared to some of the amazing lighting you see in corporations, hotels, and businesses all over the world. Take a look at this stunning creation by Brazilian design firm Metro Arquitectura which was designed for the Club NOX nightclub in Recife, Brazil.

The following description of this design is from Metro Arquitectura's website:

"Entering the high ceiling dance floor area, the impression is that a membrane or transparent skin from the ceiling and walls had just detached by the vibration of the sound waves and now embraces the entire space with the light that it reveals.

This membrane of translucent fiberglass is made of a series of parallel and perpendicular continuous stripes, as if they had been sliced in two directions. When these stripes cross themselves, they create a matrix that configures the center stage of the dance floor, allowing creating infinite possibilities of light movement and effects."

Take a look at Metro Arquitectura's website here.

Now...if I could only take a trip to Brazil :)

Today's find on Etsy

"The Balloon" by Katrine K. I LOVE her work. Admire more of her prints and originals in her etsy shop.

Bow to the Goddess

A few months ago I had the pleasure of curating a group show at The Arts Company titled, "Wood, Canvas and Clay" which featured the work of four amazingly talented artists. Being a clay artist myself, I am always drawn to ceramics more than anything else. I was thrilled to find the work of Atlanta artist Krista Grecco, and even more thrilled that she agreed to be one of the artists in my show. This new piece, titled "Greek Goddess," was created specifically for the show. According to Krista's artist statement, her new series is "especially personal, busts based closely but loosely on the women who have shared their love, companionship and knowledge with me."

Although I have spoken with Krista on numerous occasions, I haven't yet had the opportunity to meet her. Luckily, that will change next month when I make a trip to Atlanta. I have already made arrangements to meet Krista and take a tour of her studio where she is working on several new sculptures to be featured in a new show at Ferrin Gallery in May. She's been a joy to work with, I adore her sculptures, and I look forward to seeing what amazing things happen to her in the future. She's definitely one to watch!

Today's find on Etsy

I love these salt and pepper shakers! Created by artist Michelle Tinner, these organic forms are...in her own words, "modern, sexy and sophisticated." I couldn't agree more!

See more of Michelle's work in her etsy shop.

Stunning. Haunting. Beautiful.

"Creator of the world’s first underwater sculpture park, Jason de Caires Taylor has gained international recognition for his unique work. His sculptures highlight ecological processes whilst exploring the intricate relationships between modern art and the environment. By using sculptures to create artificial reefs, the artist’s interventions promote hope and recovery, and underline our need to understand and protect the natural world.

The sculptures are sited in clear shallow waters to afford easy access by divers, snorkeler and those in glass-bottomed boats. Viewers are invited to discover the beauty of our underwater planet and to appreciate the processes of reef evolution."

From Jason de Caires Taylor's website, www.underwatersculpture.com. His work is absolutely amazing. You MUST check out his website to see more beautiful images.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yesterday, March 16, 2009, was my 30th birthday. To celebrate my 30 years on this planet I decided to treat myself to a few things. Luckily, this birthday just happened to fall on a Monday which happens to be my day off. I started the day by laying in bed until 11:00 am. Heaven! Then I decided to head into town. I live in Nashville, TN, but I live outside of downtown Nashville. Working in downtown Nashville, I have to make the drive in and out of downtown nearly everyday, so I don't usually do it on my days off unless it's absolutely necessary. Yesterday it was. Upon hearing the sad news that American Artisan, my favorite craft gallery in Nashville, would be closing it's doors for good at the end of the month...I decided to make a special trip to buy myself a birthday gift. I wasn't sure what would be left, but I was hoping there would be a large selection of pottery remaining. I am a pottery freak. It's like my drug of choice. I just can't get enough. I walked into American Artisan and immediately noticed that the selection of pottery had been wiped clean. There were a few odds and ends scattered around, but nothing that really screamed, "Take me home!" I was almost out the door when I noticed an interesting piece of art on the bottom shelf in one of the rooms in the store. I picked it up and knew I had to have it. I didn't even realize that this unique piece was also a mechanical piece of art until I was taking it to the cash register. When I moved the metal piece on the side, the little man's feet clicked together and he pulled down a piece of paper that read, "HELLO WORLD." It made me smile. I was very pleased with my purchase.

This unique piece of art was created by Ann Wood and Dean Lucker of Minnesota. Please check their website for more of their beautiful work.

After the trip to American Artisan I decided to treat myself yet again. Next stop...Gigi's Cupcakes.