May always feels like the month when we truly transition out of winter and into the glory of the warmer months! Mr. Forager and I are now in Seattle, though, so I’m not sure how warm we’ll be this May. 😉 But we have the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Pamela Viola to keep us glowing!
Whizz 2 by Pamela Viola
Be sure to head over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page, where Pamela’s work will be gracing our cover AND check out the Facebook album full of my favorite Violas! Want to see even more? Peruse Pamela’s website and blog.
While Mr. Forager & I wind our way up the Pacific Coast Highway to Seattle, I’ve asked a few of my fellow art bloggers to step in and share some of their own artsy finds.
You’re already familiar with Erin of artsocial as my partner in artsy pinning for the Art Association contest we hold every month. But did you also know she has her own fabulous art blog? It’s like a party every day. With art! Without further ado, take it away, Erin!
Abstract is IN this season in a big awesome way. Everywhere I turn, I’m seeing amazing paintings, rugs, pants – you name it – all decorated with incredible abstract designs… and I love it.
Mini Interior 9, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
A newfound favorite of mine is abstract artist, Pamela Staker. Her intense color combinations, bold patterns, and expressive brushstrokes infuse her work with an undeniable and irresistible energy.
Mini Interior 10, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
Starting with simple shapes and vibrant colors, Pamela builds up her playful abstractions with mixed media and unconventional materials like duct tape, rope, and vinyl wall covering. Isn’t contemporary art the best?
Mini Interior 11, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
Her work beautifully expresses a balance between energetic spontaneity and carefully structured compositions. Which one is your favorite?
Mini Interior 12, mixed media collage on paper, 6×4
This is only a small sampling of Pamela’s amazing work. Her shop is FULL of incredible pieces.
P.S. there’s a whole section of abstract cats! Not to sound too much like a cat lady, but it’s pretty awesome. You can also find larger works on Cureeo.
See more from Pamela Staker on Etsy and her website.
For today’s edition of Design Foraging, I’m excited to introduce you to online retailer, Erie Drive! Erie Drive offers hand-picked unique gift and home items and I was happy to be asked to curate for them a few of my favorite ED pieces. Now that spring is in full swing, it is time to get out and enjoy all the art and music festivals coming our way. Check out a few of my favorite pieces perfect for an outdoor and artsy day below, plus more soon on the Erie Drive blog, The Niche!
Don’t these make you want to spend a day picnicking?! Have a wonderful weekend, Artsies! Mr. Forager & I are leaving Joshua Tree tomorrow, will spend a few days with friends in San Diego and then make our way up the Coast to SEATTLE!! We are so excited we can’t stand it. PLUS, I’ve got some fantastic Guest Foragers coming in next week. I’ll be in and out around these parts for the next few weeks, but can’t wait to start sharing Artsy finds directly from my favorite city!
I am in the midst of packing and researching Seattle apartments and am going kind of insane, so I’ll keep this short & sweet.. HUGE congrats to our April Art Association winner, Niki Bradly!
Niki’s winning Pinterest board
We loved the cheekiness of Niki’s associations! I mean how awesome is that Hard Livin’ Barbie?? The reward for Niki’s hard work is this fun Voss print by Jessica Brilli.
Thank you to everyone who pinned their hearts out for the contest! Erin and I will have another edition ready for you next month. Get your pinnin’ fingers ready!
We all struggle against that ideal we have in our head of the person we feel we are supposed to be. Whether it be the strong head of household, the June Cleaverish mom or the anti-establishment free thinker. Artist Haley Hasler conveys the inner archetypes caught in the complexity of the exterior world in her self portrait series.
Portrait as Sunday Brunch, oil on canvas, 46×56Portrait as Lady Bearing Snacks, oil on canvas
I am continually in awe of any working mom’s as when I glimpse into the insanity of their daily lives, I wonder how in the world they do it. My friend V and I talked about it once, that inert striving that seems to always be present to live up to some sort of ideal.
Portrait as St. Caslide, oil on canvas, 32×46Portrait of Allegory of Fidelity, oil on canvas
But when we let go of that ideal, as my very wise friend told me, that’s when we can really dwell in each moment. The dishes may be dirty, the laundry may be piled up, but our loved ones will remember the time we gave them. There will always be the inner struggle for the “perfect” life– whatever that may look like. But even if the life we cultivate isn’t perfect, it can still be filled with moments of magic.
Portrait as Tooth Fairy, oil on canvas, 38×56
To see more of Haley Hasler’s work, please visit her website.
Forget those boring old still lifes from your grandma’s era. Artists like Thrush Holmes are taking that classic subject and reinterpreting it through modern eyes. The result is anything but boring.
Untitled 2011, oil on canvas, 84×84Untitled 2012, oil on panel, 16×20
Neon-hued petals in flattened, simplified shapes let you know these aren’t just any old floral paintings. With color blocking reminiscent of Matisse, these blossoms fairly jump off the canvas.
Untitled 2011, oil on canvas, 60×84Untitled, oil on panel, 16×20
Graffit-like lines incorporated give these paintings a freewheelin’ freedom their classical predecessors never dreamed of.
Untitled, oil panel, 52×62
To see more of Thrush Holmes’ work, please visit his website.
A perfect blend of the beauty of nature and portraiture! I’m featuring the gorgeous photography of Sara K. Byrne in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Life today. Head on over to check it out!
During our time in Joshua Tree, every time we’ve driven to San Diego or made the trek “down the hill” into Palm Springs, we’ve experienced the wind tunnel that exists in the San Gorgonio Mountain Pass, where over 4000 windmills provide energy to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. When I saw the latest collage series by Lisa Hochstein, Missing Pieces, the shapes seem to echo the turbines and the torn papers reminded me of wind’s inherent power.
Whether wind and its harnessing machines were an influence to the artist, I do not know. But I can’t help but see in the grid lines an aerial view looking down onto the giant arms of these energy producers as they spin, some barely moving others cycling at a steady pace.
In the shredded pages that make up these collages, I see the destructive nature of the desert’s blasts of air. All over, we’ve seen evidence of wind wreaking havoc across the landscape, even in our own backyard here in Joshua Tree.
Missing Pieces 2012-2, salvaged paper, 12×16
That’s what I see in Lisa Hochstein’s work. What do your eyes see? If you’d like to check out more of this artist’s work, please visit her website.
Happy Earth Day, dear Artsies! I wish I could tell you that in anticipation of the celebration of our beautiful planet that Mr. Forager & I got out and did some hiking during our last weekend in Joshua Tree. But alas, there were errands to run, boxes to pack, and it was close to 90 degrees here in the desert, which when hiking with little shade feels like triple digits!
As we prepare to bid farewell to JT, I thought you might enjoy a few peeks inside our past forays into JT National Park to celebrate Earth Day!
It’s been lovely, Joshua Tree. I wish we could say we will miss you like crazy, but you deserve folks who love you like we never could. It’s not you, it’s us. Farewell.
To see more images from This Artsy Life, follow Artsy Forager on Instagram! We don’t have any adorable kitties or pups to fill up our feed, but there is the occasional super cute image of the gosh darn handsome Mr. Forager.
As you know, dear Artsies, our time in the California high desert is quickly coming to an end. We are this very moment packing and preparing to leave Joshua Tree on Saturday. As much as we’ve been looking forward to this day, anytime you make yourself at home anywhere, leaving can be the slightest bit bittersweet. In each new spot, we find ourselves searching, contemplating.. could we live here permanently? Could this be home? Very often we find the answer to that question rather quickly, but it doesn’t diminish how unique we find each place and how each one carries its own memories. The work of Kansas City artist Robert Josiah Bingaman resonates with the recollections of moments we find with each place we visit.
Texas, acrylic on linen, 102×61I-70 Drive-In, acrylic on birch, 24×18
Bingaman captures the magic of those flashes in time, when we become engrossed in the scene in which we find ourselves, instead of thinking of where we are headed next. We see the beauty in the simplicity of neon against a night sky or a small corner of a big world.
Trex Northwest, acrylic on panel, 20×16Trex Southwest, acrylic on panel, 20×16
It’s so easy to focus on what isn’t right about a place. Especially as Mr. F and I always know that for now, each spot is just a temporary home. But we’ve found that once a place is just a memory, we tend to recall it more fondly. Its flaws fade and we learn to love it from afar.
Nevada, acrylic on linen, 120×54
To see more of Robert Josiah Bingaman’s work, please visit his website.
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