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  • Sweet Decadence: Heather McCaw Kerley

    Sweet Decadence: Heather McCaw Kerley

    I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things about this time of year is the food!  Putting diets aside, we allow ourselves to focus on the inherent feast for the senses that delicious food can bring.  Nothing beats the scent of freshly baked bread wafting through a home, am I right??  This season is about indulgence and much of it of the decadent sweet kind.  In her Bakery series, artist Heather McCaw Kerley focuses her attention on those baked objects of desire.

    Doughnut with Pink Sprinkles by Heather McCaw Kerley Chocolate Cupcake by Heather McCaw Kerley Doughnut Holes by Heather McCaw Kerley Pink Cupcake by Heather McCaw Kerley Doughnut with Chocolate White Striped Icing

    Isolating these treats, each a monument to delightful indulgence.  “I’ll have just one“, these seem to be saying.  And when we taste the sweetness of icing on our tongues, a wave of satisfaction washes over.  We know we can’t make a steady diet of doughnuts and cupcakes, but oh, if only we could!  How sweet life would be.  Maybe.  Or perhaps, if we were to indulge all the time, special treats would lose their luster.  We would no longer savor them slowly, but devour them without truly tasting their deliciousness.  I think the same can be said of events like holidays, if we were celebrating this way every day, the shine would soon grow weary.  But its the anticipation, the build up, the focus of intensity that makes these days so special.  Let’s savor them like the delectable cupcakes they are.

    To see more of Heather McCaw Kerley‘s work, please visit her website and be sure to follow her on Facebook and Pinterest

  • Stories Retold: Marybeth Rothman

    Stories Retold: Marybeth Rothman

    When I was young, one of my favorite grandmother’s house activities was to sit with her and go through the piles and piles of photo albums she meticulously collected and kept.  I was enchanted by seeing my grandparents when they were young, my mom and uncle as children and black & white pictures of countless relatives I never chanced to meet.  After my grandparents passed, my mom, brother and I sat around her dining table and tried to go through all the photos.  We discovered a good many whose faces we didn’t recognize and surprisingly, my grandmother didn’t label.  Who were these people?  What had them meant to our grandparents?  In her encaustic mixed media work, New Jersey artist Marybeth Rothman takes vintage photo booth pictures without identity and puts new stories to old faces.

    Clotho III by Marybeth Rothman Lachesis III by Marybeth Rothman Atropos III by Marybeth Rothman Fern by Marybeth Rothman T George Bell by Marybeth Rothman

    The artist gives new life to these abandoned portraits, seeing connections between strangers, reimagining them as icons of Greek mythology and fictional characters.  The tiny photographs are enlarged to a grand scale, giving even further importance to these forgotten faces.

    It does make me wonder, what will become of all our own memories?  Especially now that most personal photos are digitized, there will no longer be boxes and albums of photographs to be unearthed.  Will living our lives digitally allow for a better keeping of record or will all be lost when the technology we’ve used becomes obsolete?

    To see more work by Marybeth Rothman, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Thriving Artist Summit Replays!

    Thriving Artist Summit Replays!

    I don’t usually post on Sundays, but I wanted to pop in and make sure all the artists who follow Artsy Forager knew about this!  I was so thrilled and excited to be a part of the Thriving Artist Summit earlier this month, a free online conference full of amazing advice, tips, and inspiration for artists.  But here’s the best news– all of the interviews are being replayed, now through December 31st!  So if you missed out on any or just want to listen again, head on over to the Thriving Artist website to gain access if you aren’t already registered.

    artmuse.com founder Bonnie Glendinning gathered together 20+ industry experts who, like me, are all on a mission to help artists not just survive, but THRIVE!

    TAS-Square-2014

    I shared my expertise in blogging and social media at this powerful summit and I hope to help you learn how to make these easy and accessible tools work for you!

    Find out more right here: http://thrivingartistsummit.com/lfrenz
    During this special community summit you will discover how to:

    • Make Your Creative Biz a Real Success
    • Build Your Brand for Your Ideal Buyers
    • Price for Real Profit and Growth
    • Increase Your Sales with Marketing, PR, and Social Media
    • Diversify into Licensing, Wholesale, and Direct-to-Consumer
    • Get Into Galleries, Shows, and Raise Project Funds

    I’d love for you to experience this yourself and JOIN US FOR THIS FREE summit.

    The Thriving Artist Summit
    With Lesley Frenz and Bonnie Glendinning December 18 through December 31, 2013 Approximately 1 hour, replay available to registrants

    SECURE YOUR SPOT NOW: http://thrivingartistsummit.com/lfrenz

  • Design Foraging: Urban Revisions

    Design Foraging: Urban Revisions

    Oh how I love some pretty jewelry candy!  I asked Mr. Forager Santa to put a pretty little artsy bauble in my Christmas stocking.  Think its too late to add one of these to my list?  These handmade glass and fiber pieces by Asheville artist Arlie Trowbridge aka Urban Revisions would be sure to add an artsy touch to every day.

    DF_UR_Indigo necklace DF_UR_Glass cluster ball earrings DF_UR_glass cluster ring opaque pastels DF_UR_Cluster ball necklace DF_UR_glass cluster ring amber purple

     

    Aren’t they lovely?  Like wearing beautiful little pieces of rock candy.  The top necklace and bottom rings are my fave.  Which do you love best?

    It’s too late to order from Urban Revisions in time for Christmas, but never too late for an anytime gift for yourself! 😉  See more pretty artsy baubles on the Urban Revisions website here.

    All images via the Urban Revisions website.

  • Lucid Stead: Phillip K Smith

    Lucid Stead: Phillip K Smith

    This time last year, Mr. Forager and I were in a very different place.  For six months, we traded our beloved Northwest for the California high desert.  Joshua Tree, California, to be exact.  And although we ultimately decided desert life wasn’t for us, we nonetheless felt the beauty and magic to be found there.  In his Lucid Stead installation project, Indio, CA artist Phillip K Smith transforms a 70 year old desert homestead into a miraculous mirage.

    Lucid Stead by Phillip K. Smith III Lucid Stead by Phillip K. Smith III Lucid Stead by Phillip K. Smith III Lucid Stead by Phillip K. Smith III Lucid Stead by Phillip K. Smith III

    The desert, with its vast expanses, can be a disorienting, isolating place, which always made me wonder– what was it that made first settlers decide to stop and try to make a life from such an unforgiving landscape?  Perhaps it was the intense light and the shadows it creates or the endless sky with its countless stars?

    In Lucid Stead ( sorry, now closed to the public ), Smith gilds this desert shack in mirrors, reflecting the sandy surrounds and creating an every changing spectral form on the landscape.  At night, the mirrors give way to darkness, colored LED lights lending an alien air.

    To see more of Phillip K Smith‘s work, please visit his website.  If you’re in Southern California, you can see an exhibition of Smith’s latest works at Royale Projects in Palm Desert.

    All images are via the Royale Projects website.

  • Artsy Holiday: Casey Matthews

    Artsy Holiday: Casey Matthews

    Mr. Forager & I have been going back and forth about what type of meals we’ll have on Christmas Day.  It’s just the two of us and while that’s never stopped us from making elaborate meals before, we’re thinking a sweet little brunch and then a bit of antipasto later.  But no matter how simple the holiday meal, it always feels more festive when the table is set in an artful way!  So if you’re like me and still figuring out your holiday tablescape, here’s a little inspiration from this month’s Featured Artist Casey Matthews—

    Artsy holiday Casey Matthews

    found via art | ornaments | trees | float | votives | placemat | tableware | napkins | paperweight | glasses

    I mean, those greens are just calling out holiday cheer like nobody’s business!  Add in a judicious dollop of snowy white, rich jewel tones and glittery metallics and you’ll have a table scape perfect for celebrating the season.  Casey’s painting Sitting Pretty at The End of the World is full of delicious shape and color, a Casey inspired table can’t help but sit pretty, too!

    If you’d like to see more artsy holiday inspiration, please take a peek at my Artsy Holiday Pinterest board, where I’ve been gathering all sorts of inspiring holiday images, DIYs and just plain prettiness.  To see more of Casey Matthews‘ work, please visit her website.

    All image sources linked above.  Artwork is a cropped detail of the original.

  • Unfettered Sensibility: Corey Mason

    Unfettered Sensibility: Corey Mason

    I have a firm belief that if you are a creative person, your artistic sensibility needs multiple outlets, it fairly oozes out of you not only in the form of art, but maybe in the way you prepare a meal, decorate a home, write a letter or design a garden.  Landscape designer and artist Corey Mason of Clyde Oak extends the creativity he lavishes on his outdoor designs into his wonderfully unaffected mixed media abstract work.

    Salem II by Corey Mason Voyager Queen by Corey Mason Caballos by Corey Mason Old Man Holds Tight to the Pole by Corey Mason Untitled by Corey Mason

    Mason’s work has that kind of loose, scribbly feel that I personally struggle so hard to let into my own work.  Each piece is so perfectly imperfect.  From the smudges on the page to the backwards text so reminiscent of a child’s handwriting.  And did you spot the chicken?!  We are becoming acquainted with our landlords’ chickens.  I’m learning to delight in them so much!

    Back to Mason’s artwork– truly in looking at these I see that unfettered, naive sensibility that I think so many artists are striving for but that perhaps has been educated out of us.  I don’t know whether Corey is a trained or self taught artist, but either way, he is drawing with the carefree spirit of a child, an aim even Picasso strove to reach.

    To see more of Corey Mason‘s work, please visit his art page on the Clyde Oak website.

    All images via the Clyde Oak website.  Artist found via The Fresh Exchange.

  • Artsy Dwelling: Your Art Studio Style

    Artsy Dwelling: Your Art Studio Style

    As different as each artist’s work can be, so too is the way they work and the environment in which they find the most creativity.  Some artists are lucky enough to be able to design their studio space to fit the way they work just perfectly, others take advantage of whatever available space may be at hand.  And some, like me, out of necessity keep their supplies to a minimum so they can set up studio wherever they land!  But oh how I long for the day when I can have a dedicated work space.  Are you dreaming of your own studio space, too?  What’s your current art studio style?  What are you dreaming it could be?

    Art Studio Style inspiration Willem de Kooning

    found here

    Do you like your space open & airy?  Maybe like Willem de Kooning, you create best in bright white spaces with soaring ceilings and gorgeous light.

    Art studio style open and airy

    clockwise from top studios of kirra jamison | emily ferretti | lisa congdon | brenda hope zappitell

    Don’t have a big open space?  Paint every surface of your small studio white and remove any window treatments.  You’ll be amazed at how much light bounces around the room!

    Some artists work best in smaller, creative & cozy spaces.  Filled with warmth and life, Monet-like spaces make you want to settle in with a cup of tea and paint your heart out.

    Art studio style inspiration Claude Monet

    found here 

    Art studio style creative and cozy

    clockwise from left studios of isabelle tuchband | anahata katkin | claire basler | michelle armas

    Paned windows, chandeliers and plants make a studio space feel like a creative home.  And having a sweet pup around to love on helps with the creative frustration!

    AD_Studio_O'Keeffe-2

    found here

    No doubt working in a neatly organized space helped O’Keeffe achieve her soft, elegantly clean lined paintings.  A tidily laid out space with supplies within arm’s reach allow an artist to concentrate on creating instead of looking everywhere for that one tube of paint..

    Art studio style artsy organization

    clockwise from top left studios of scott waterman | jenny saville | mari andrews

    Timothy Atwood said, Creative mess equals creative thought. And for many artists, I think this holds true.  Most creatives are, by nature collectors.  We need to be surrounded by a beautiful mess, so that inspiration may spark at any time.  And let’s admit, sometimes, we’re just too busy creating to pick up. 😉

    AD_Studio_Picasso

    found here

    beautiful mess collage

    clockwise from left studios of thomas campbell | cornelius volker | flora bowleg

    What is your own studio style, Artsies?  One of the above or a mix of all?  Is a studio overhaul on your 2014 to-do list?

    See more art studio style inspiration on my Pinterest board, Where the Artsy Folk Work.  Have a dynamic studio to share?  Leave a link in the comments!

    All image sources linked above.

  • Splendorous Adornments: Takaya Hanayushi

    Splendorous Adornments: Takaya Hanayushi

    We’re so casual these days.  Heck, all my high heels are in storage, I probably won’t see them again until around 2018!  But there are days when I miss getting dressed up.  Remember that careful giving I was going on about yesterday?  These sculptural floral arrangements by Takaya Hanayushi remind me of our need to present ourselves artfully.

    Takaya Hanayushi Takaya Hanayushi Takaya Hanayushi Takaya Hanayushi Takaya Hanayushi

     The idea of adorning oneself in a certain way, whether to mark one’s place in society or simply as personal expression is a human trait that seems to have been with us a long time.  And although in our dressed down society, such lavish adornments as were once practiced are rare, we still find ways to incorporate these rituals.  We pierce and tattoo, we find just the right pair of shoes, we refuse to wear animal fur or skins.  Though it may be in more subtle, 21st century ways, we are still each day painting our own portrait of who we are and presenting it to the world.

    To see more of these stunning arrangements by Takaya Hanayushi, please visit his website.  You can also follow Hanayushi on his Facebook page.

    All images are via the artist’s website and Facebook page.

  • This Artsy Life: Weekend 50 [Seeking the Spirit]

    This Artsy Life: Weekend 50 [Seeking the Spirit]

    I always look forward to the holiday season, but I’ll admit, this one has gotten off to a rocky start.  Between the traveling, moving, trying to find a place to rent, settling in, and bunches of it-sucks-to-be-an-adult type stuff to deal with, the Christmas spirit seemed to be eluding me.  So Mr. F and I made a concentrated effort, despite him still being a bit under the weather with a cold, to seek out our lost seasonal spirit.  First things first?  A good sleep in nestled under cozy blankets.

    IMG_1806

    lazy mornings are the best start to the day

    Freshly baked Brown Sugar Cookies are a pretty delicious way to wrangle up some holiday joviality.  There are no calories at Christmas, right??   A bit of a warming trend here in Idaho ( after single digits, yep, 39 degrees feels downright balmy ), meant we finally explored this little town a bit more, discovering another yummy breakfast and some of the finest pizza we’ve ever had.  And saw a live theater production of A Christmas Carol at the University of Idaho.  If that doesn’t get you into the spirit nothing will!

    IMG_1815

    mr. f got his baking on while carols played

    IMG_1825

    u of i’s a christmas carol production

    I always find that as much as we love going out and making new discoveries, ending our weekends snuggled in at home helps us rejuvenate and reconnect just as much.

    IMG_1821

    cozy afternoon reading by the tree

    IMG_1829

     a beautiful moon wishing us a good night

    Although it took a little effort, I think our Christmas spirit has made itself at home in us once again, and just in the nick of time!  How was your weekend, Artsies?  Full of holiday cheer?

    Want to see more from this artsy life?  Follow me on Instagram!

    All images are by Artsy Forager.