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  • Friday Design Finds: bkb ceramics

    Friday Design Finds: bkb ceramics

    Sometimes, I happen upon the loveliest artsy things when I’m not looking.  Last Sunday, Mr. F & I were enjoying a quiet day at home and decided to take a little walk down the hill into Joshua Tree.  We explored a few of the storefronts we hadn’t seen yet and tucked away in a corner was a new little shop, bkb ceramics.  I immediately fell for the modern, simple shapes and the deep rich raku glazes.  The shop is new, but artist/sculptor/ceramicist Brian Bosworth has already made waves at the Dwell on Design show in LA last year.

    Ball Planters by bkbceramics
    Ball Planters, ceramic
    Small Architectural by bkbceramics
    Small Architectural, ceramic, 4×6
    Gold Raku Extrusions by bkbceramics
    Gold Raku Extrusions, ceramic, 6x5x4
    Medium Blue Raku by bkbceramics
    Medium Blue Raku, ceramic, 6x6x4

    Each piece is unique, hand carved, completely affordable and functional, with a drain hole in the bottom.  Just add rocks & your choice of succulent and voila, instant desert garden!  We’re seriously thinking we’ll go back and pick our favorite as our artsy reminder of our time in Joshua Tree.. I’m leaning towards the Medium Blue Raku beauty above!

    All images are via bkb ceramics’ website.

     

  • Insert the [ Artsy ]: Fuzzy Sculptures and Sunsets

    Holy wow, it’s been a long time since I did an Insert the Artsy post!  I’d forgotten how much fun they can be, dreaming and scheming what piece of artwork I would place in a room.  When I saw this room designed by Erin Martin, on Pinterest, I loved the warm sparseness of it, those wood beams, high ceilings and that magnificent hanging sculpture!  But then I thought, oh, maybe that space above the bed could use just a little cool, saturated color– not too much and nothing too textural to take away from what’s happening above.. enter the work of New York photographer Eric Cahan.

    room design | Erin Martin

    photo source | Eye on Design by Dan Gregory

    art | Eric Cahan

    I love the way the deep turquoise of Cahan’s work plays off the subtle browns and oranges in the wood, while the purple adds just the right touch of coolness.  The quiet sleekness of the photograph is a perfect foil for the shaggy texture of the hanging sculpture and rusticity of the wood beams.

    What do you think, Artsies?  What piece of artwork would you like to wake up to in this room?

    All image sources linked above.

  • Elusive Suggestiveness: Sherie Franssen

    Elusive Suggestiveness: Sherie Franssen

    I admit, I’m a scaredy cat.  I turn on lights as soon as I enter a dark house.  It’s something about the fear of what is unseen.  The power of suggesting what might be lurking is enough to give me chills.  The work of California artist Sherie Franssen weaves a visual tension between what lies beneath and what is merely suggested.

    Fool For Love by Sherie Franssen
    Fool For Love, oil on canvas, 43×65

    Her expressive abstract works begin with a figure, then through expressive gestural brushstrokes and saturated color, the figurative presence recedes, like a shadow, into the swarm of color and movement.

    Return of the King by Sherie Franssen
    Return of the King, oil on canvas, 78×86
    Barnyard by Sherie Franssen
    Barnyard, oil on canvas, 78×80

    While perhaps, if we gaze long enough and look closely enough, we may catch a glimpse of the figure among the fray.  But it will be the searching that our eyes most remember as we take in the excitement of each moment and movement.  We may even forget what it was we were anticipating.

    Woozy by Sherie Franssen
    Sherie Franssen, oil on canvas, 78×90

    To see more of Sherie Franssen’s work, please visit her website.  Her work can be seen in person at Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Dolby Chadwick Gallery.

  • Guest Foraging for UGallery: Curated Persona: Your Snow Bunny Sister

    Guest Foraging for UGallery: Curated Persona: Your Snow Bunny Sister

    After a little holiday hiatus, my Curated Persona series for UGallery is back!  I happen to have a lot in common with this month’s persona.. which is why Mr. Forager keeps threatening to move us to Alaska ( which I might be secretly OK with! ).  Check out my Curated Persona: Your Snow Bunny Sister on UGallery’s blog here!

    Reindeer by Valerie Chiang
    Reindeer by Valerie Chiang, available from UGallery.com

    Image via the UGallery website.

  • Isolated Moments: Elisa Noguera Lopez

    Isolated Moments: Elisa Noguera Lopez

    I used to have two cats ( who now live with Mr. Forager’s mom ).  One of said cats, Simon, used to occasionally turn his back on me and just sit very still, and at those times, there was a sense of sadness that always seemed permeate the scene.  But then he would suddenly start chasing the sunlight or stretch out for a long nap.  London photographer Elisa Noguera Lopez creates a similar sense of isolated moments in her series, Perhaps Finally Alone.

    In this series, the artist places domesticated animals against a simple decorative background atop a plinth-like stool.  Capturing her subjects in ambiguous, seemingly-headless poses creates a sense of lonely disquiet to each scene.  Their backs to us, the subjects are disengaged, leaving us longing for acknowledgement.

    While the scenes may feel lonely at first, the longer I study them, the more of an anticipatory feeling I get.. the cat is watching a lizard on the floor below, ready to pounce at any second.. the woman has just flipped her head upside down and will whip it back up Rita Hayworth-style.

    What do you think, Artsies?  Do you find these headless bodies charming or disturbing?  Let me know in the comments!  To see more of Elisa Noguera Lopez’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via It’s Nice That.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Alex Steckly

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Alex Steckly

    Thick, interlocking lines of paint layered over obscured black and white imagery?  Could I be more intrigued?  Check out the work of Portland artist Alex Steckly in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life.  Because I need to know I’m not the only one obsessing over these.  Check out the post here!

    Artist Alex Steckly

    Alex Steckly on Escape Into Life.

  • No Place to Hide: Gillian Lambert

    No Place to Hide: Gillian Lambert

    At times, there is much disparity in the art world between skill and talent level vs. level of fame and success achieved.  There are some mediums in which it seems easier to get by on mediocrity than in others.  Drawing skills, however, are very hard to fake.  And artist Gillian Lambert has the skill in spades.

    Shirt by Gillian Lambert
    Shirt, graphite on paper, 22×30

    In her Self-Deception series, Lambert finds beauty in the vulnerable and grotesque.  Female faces ( hers ) are partially hidden or disfigured in some way, yet not completely concealed.

    Paint by Gillian Lambert
    Paint, graphite on paper, 22×30
    Hands by Gillian Lambert
    Hands, graphite on paper, 22×30

    In the same way, we try to deceive ourselves, don’t we?  We put on this costume or that mask, hoping the world doesn’t see through.  Not knowing how much more accepted we might be if we just threw back the veil.

    Foil by Gillian Lambert
    Foil, graphite on paper, 22×30

    To see more of Gillian Lambert’s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • This Artsy Life: Weekend 4 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Go to LA ]

    This Artsy Life: Weekend 4 [ Artsy & Mr. Forager Go to LA ]

    Following a rough, partially sleepless Friday night ( hey landlord, just because your rental is in the desert, doesn’t mean it never rains.. puddles in the bed are no fun ), Mr. Forager & I arose early Saturday morning, fueled up on coffee and pancakes in Joshua Tree and hit the road to escape to LA for the day. On the agenda: The LA Art Show, The Pie Hole, and the Arts District.

    20130128-104256.jpg

    [ away we go! ]

    20130128-104449.jpg
    [ unsophisticated ]

    20130128-104826.jpg
    [ found: Damien Hirst ]

    20130128-105007.jpg
    [ these were fun, magnifying glasses required ]

    20130128-105537.jpg
    [ desire, obtain, cherish ]

    20130128-105857.jpg
    [ speaking of desire ]

    20130128-105956.jpg
    [ The Sweater contemplates.. is it art? ]

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    [ so long, Sheperd Fairey ]

    Want to see more photos from our LA adventure?  Oh, I’ve got ’em!  Check out my Instagram feed for lots more artsiness form the City of Angels!

  • Beneath the Surface: Charles Clary

    Beneath the Surface: Charles Clary

    Sometimes, work just catches my eye because it’s interesting and well executed.  Then the more I look at it, the more I’m amazed by it.  And then, I read the artist’s statement about his work and I’m left speechless at the way the creative mind weaves and works.  Tennessee paper artist Charles Clary uses layer upon layer upon layer of hand cut paper to render intricate worlds that “mimic viral colonies and concentric sound waves“. ( !?! )

    Microbial Diddlation Movement #18 by Charles Clary
    Microbial Diddlation Movement #18, acrylic and hand cut paper on panel

    Recognizing the similarities in pattern between microbial outbreaks and sound waves, Clary’s work shows us, in a way, what could be lurking under any surface.  We are lulled into a sense of ease and complacency by the smooth, unblemished surface of the canvas, yet what is revealed is a complex system of layered, interconnected shapes.

    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6 by Charles Clary
    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6, acrylic and hand cut paper on panel
    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6 ( detail ) by Charles Clary
    Radmiafungle Gestation Movement 6 ( detail )

    Despite their slightly menacing associations, for me, the work is reassurring rather than disturbing.  I find it comforting to think that despite appearances, there is always more than meets the eye.  What is taken for granted as simple, may very well be extremely complex.  Like peeling back an onion, it’s only when we look beyond the surface that we see the layers.

    Microbial Diddlet Movement #4 by Charles Clary
    Microbial Diddlet Movement #4, acrylic and handcut paper on panel

    To see more of Charles Clary’s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Art Association: We Have a Winner!!

    Art Association: We Have a Winner!!

    Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone who pinned their artsy hearts out for our January Art Association contest!  With 22 entries and hundreds, maybe nearly a thousand ( ! ) pins, you guys gave it your all and then some.  But our chosen winner, Karen Schnepf, pinned like mad, pinning over 300 images!  But there was a beautiful method to her madness as each pin was associated not just by subject to what she saw in the painting, but by color palette as well, which created an amazingly lovely selection of images.  I’ve repinned a few on my own boards!  Here’s just a sample of the gorgeousness on Karen’s board– you can see the entire board here.

    Karen Schnepf’s Winning Pinboard!

    Lucky gal, that Karen, as she will soon be the new owner of Christina Baker’s Bridge Over Roses and I think I can safely say we are  all GREEN with envy!  Congratulations, Karen!  PS– Karen is a pretty wonderful artist– be sure to check out her website!

    I wish we could have given you all a piece of artwork.. but there is always next month’s Art Association!  If you’re an artist who would like to be considered for AA, please contact me at artsyforager@att.net or Erin from artsocial at artsocialonline@gmail.com. Thanks everyone for joining in the fun!