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  • Artsy Holiday: For the Artsy Naturalist

    Artsy Holiday: For the Artsy Naturalist

    The holidays are upon us!  And I love them.  I can’t help it.  Much to Mr. Forager’s chagrin, I totally get into the music, the decorating, the cooking, and of course, the gift giving!  It seems every blogger does a gift guide, so why shouldn’t I get in on the action?  So each Friday until Christmas, the regular Friday Design Finds posts will be replaced with a selection of gifts for the artsy folks on your list!

    We begin with gifts for the Artsy Naturalist– there’s no reason why buying for nature lovers should be limited to hiking boots and camping supplies!

    Art Glass Vases by Nick Chase at Artful Home

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    Navy & Seafoam Antler from Terrain

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    Entomology Wall Calendar at Anthropologie

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    Sterling silver & enamel jewelry by Julie Blyfield

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    925 silver, rhodium-plated, gemstones by Nora Rochel

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    Bud Vases by Yassi Mazandi at Grey Area
    Bud Vases by Yassi Mazandi at Grey Area

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    Maple Leaf Bowl by Kay Sekimachi at J Sauer Gallery

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    You can see more naturalistic gift ideas with an artsy bent on my Pinterest board, Artsy Holiday 2012: Gifts for the Artsy Naturalist!

  • Weaving Tales: Kaoru Mansour

    There is nothing better than a good yarn.  And by yarn, I mean story, although the fiber kind can be pretty satisfying, too.  One of the things that I love about Mr. Forager is his propensity for spinning tales.  Los Angeles based artist Karou Manour weaves visual stories throughout her work, whether figurative, abstract, sculpture, or landscape, her work catches us in the midst of a mystery.

    Kaoru Mansour
    Yoshinobu 1949, collage, acrylic and ganbi tissue on wood panel, 16×16

    Each piece has such an clandestine atmosphere, making us wonder where we have found ourselves, what we are seeing, and how it came to be.

    From Portland #117, collage, acrylic on wood panel, 10×10
    Uzu Uzu #104, acrylic and thread on gourd, 5x5x5
    Rocket Apron, thread, acrylic, ink pen on paper, 23.5×35

    It feels as if we are caught in the midst of an ancient story, one filled with myth and mysticism.

    Iro #529, collage, acrylic and 22k metal leaf on canvas, 30×30

    To see more of Karou Mansour’s work, please visit her website.

    Artist found via Florida Mining Gallery, where I saw a few of Karou’s pieces in person– they are stunning!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Guest Foraging for UGallery: Curated Persona: Outdoorsy Wanderer

    Guest Foraging for UGallery: Curated Persona: Outdoorsy Wanderer

    There’s a new Curated Persona up over on the UGallery blog!  This one describes a person pretty similar to someone close to my own heart.  Check it out here! BONUS: Artsy Forager readers will receive 15% off on any UGallery purchase until December 3, 2012!  Just enter coupon code forage15! 

    Summer with Libby by Lana Williams, available at UGallery.com
  • Sketch & Slash: Pinkney Herbert

    Sketch & Slash: Pinkney Herbert

    There is a temporary, transitory nature to drawings that always make them seem much more loose and free than their painted counterparts.  The pastel work of Memphis artist Pinkney Herbert explodes with the energy of an artist unfettered.

    Pinkney Herbert
    Fanfare 2, pastel on paper, 29×41

    Maybe it’s the relative inexpense of paper vs. canvas or the fact that work on paper is usually seen as merely preparation and practice for more permanent work.  Herbert’s work on paper, for me, has a frenetic energy that is incredibly appealing and engaging ( not that his painted work isn’t– check out his paintings here! )

    Tower 1, pastel on paper, 29×41
    Tower 2, pastel on paper, 29×41

    You can practically see the artist’s movement as his hand sweeps feverishly across the surface of the paper.

    Attune, pastel on paper, 29×41

    To see more of Pinkney Herbert’s work, please visit his website.

    Artist found via David Lusk Gallery.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Lucy Mink

    Artsy on Escape Into Life: Lucy Mink

    While I adore abstracts full of wild, expressive brushstrokes, sometimes abstracts with a focus on quiet shapes and patterns are a welcome respite.  In today’s Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life, I’m featuring the work of Lucy Mink, whose paintings feature muted tones and the comfort of repetitive patterns.  See Lucy Mink’s Artist Watch here!

    Lucy Mink
    What He Does and He Thinks About Notches, oil on linen over panel, 8×9

    Lucy Mink on Escape Into Life

  • Environmental Ephemera: Tim Pugh

    Environmental Ephemera: Tim Pugh

    Nature has a way of littering her surfaces with remnants of her past lives.  Whether sea shells scattered on a beach or leaves dispersed across the forest floor, she leaves us with reminders of what was.  UK installation artist Tim Pugh arranges nature’s discarded offerings like precious memories in a shadowbox.

    Woodland Floor Rearrangement, leaves, sticks, woodland debris, Biltberry Woods, Flintshire, UK

    Using what is found the enviroment around him, Pugh draws inspiration from natural patterns and textures as well as archaeology and geography.

    Winter Clusters, Hawarden Woods Deeside, Flintshire, UK
    Snowball Composition, snow, Hawarden Woods, Flintshire, UK
    Beech Burst, beech nuts and snow, Hawarden Woods, Flintshire, UK

    His installations blend so seemlessly into their environment that it would seem as if they were arranged by mother nature’s own hand.

    Beech Weave, beech leaves, Bilberry Woods, Flintshire, UK

    To see more of Tim Pugh’s work, please visit his website.  Have you ever happened upon an artistic installation in the woods?

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Social Media: Laura Hudson

    Because of the transitory nature of my life currently, many times Mr. Forager and I will purposely seek out coffee shops, art openings, and pubs merely for the opportunity to interact face to face with other people.  Baltimore based artist Laura Hudson takes such opportunities a few steps further, cultivating events in order to draw people together, observe their scenes of interaction, then distilling selected scenes as life-scale paintings.

    Laura Hudson

    Laura Hudson

     In her series “Art Opening“, the artist took images from other events which were put into life-size paintings that would serve as a framework for new interactions with viewers who then become a part of the composition simply by observing.

    Laura Hudson

    Laura Hudson

    To see more of Laura Hudson’s work, please visit her website.  She is an artist in residence at Gallery Four in Baltimore.

     Artist found via New American Paintings.  All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Friday Design Finds: Felt Up

    Friday Design Finds: Felt Up

    Something about this time of year makes long for warm & cozy things.  Felt played a big role in the holiday decor I grew up with, so I love seeing so many modern spins on this classic material.  Here are a few of my recent felt art finds!

    Sculptures by Andrea Graham

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    Felt Pebbles

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    Friend Felt Box with Bamboo Lid

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    You Make Me Feel Like Dancing textile art

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    Happy Friday!

  • A Day Filled with Thankfulness

    Wishing a very happy Thanksgiving to all the US Artsies and a day of blessing to everyone!  I am thankful for the inspiration found in the work of so many talented artists, the encouragement of all my artsy readers, and the opportunity to bring these two blessings together each day.

    Hope you are all enjoying an abundance of love today!

    Lullaby by Susan Melrath

    Image by November Featured Artist, Susan Melrath.  See her work on the Artsy Forager Facebook page & her website.

  • Pretending Portals: Noemie Goudal

    Pretending Portals: Noemie Goudal

    Growing up in the 70’s in a working class family, much of the time we used what we had and lots of imagination in our daily play.  My brother & I would regularly create “cars” out of cardboard boxes and I distinctly remember creating an entire make-believe floor plan out of fallen leaves.  The work of London based photographer Noemie Goudal reminds me of how easily our imaginations are transported as children.

    Passage, color photograph, 111×140 cm

    Goudal’s work recalls the magic of blanket forts and tin can telephones.  Taking us back to a time when just a shape or a line sparks our senses to conduct us into a new fantasy world filled with possibility.

    Les Amants ( Cascade ), color photograph, 168×208 cm
    Les Amants ( Jetee ), color photograph, 168×190 cm

    The artist uses simple props and imagery to create imaginative installations that seem to capture portals into a completely different world, a world that seems to leak out, blending the imagined with reality in the same magical way we did as children.

    Flood, color photograph, 111×140 cm

    To see more of Noemie Goudal’s work, please visit her website.  How did your imagination shape your own childhood play?