Mr. F and I can definitely relate to snails, turtles, basically any of those I-carry-my-home-on-my-back types. Although technically, we carry home in our Hyundai Santa Fe.. still, we feel a kinship. 😉 But what if you really could carry your home on your back? These utilitarian sculptures by Julia Gabriel are hand-dyed canvas backpacks inspired by architecture and well, they are the most inspired backpacks I’ve ever seen!
I mean, how fun would it be to carry your books & laptop to your favorite coffee shop in one of these? This series is available through Buy Some Damn Art until November 5th. Check out the show online at BSDA and see more of Julia Gabriel‘s work on her website.
Although we technically don’t have a home of our own these days, the idea of home is on my mind a lot. Just this morning I was browsing through realtor.com, as you do, checking out what’s around in our price range. I find the need to remind myself that home isn’t always about the roof over your head. The Trailers Collected series by the late photographer Nan Brown prove that often home is in the eye and heart of the beholder.
It might sound corny, but it’s so very true. Home is where the heart is. If a place is filled with the people we love, it provides us shelter, not just in the physical sense but in the emotional and spiritual senses. By capturing these humble abodes, some well cared, for others, barely hanging on, Brown captures the essence of what home can be.
To see more of Nan Brown‘s work, please visit her website. The artist passed away earlier this summer after a long illness. She leaves behind a legacy of thoughtful, sensitive work.
I feel like such a slacker, ya’ll. Not in general, because I’m working my little tushy off doing freelance work for art consultants, galleries and artists— which I’m super excited about! The business of being artsy is picking up steam, but the act of doing anything truly artistic has been on the back burner for what feels like a long time. And I’m definitely feeling its absence.
It’s funny how being in the desert, which wasn’t necessarily our ideal spot, fostered a creative spark I hadn’t felt in a while. I think it had much to do with three things: the lack of distractions around us, Mr. F doing online coursework meaning lots of evenings and weekends I was left at loose ends, and probably the main reason– a lack of tv in our Joshua Tree rental. I’m working hard, sitting in front of the laptop for at least 8 hours each day and there is always more to be done, so I’m finding it difficult to truly disconnect. But I do so want to. But this blank page is very intimidating right now!
I want to start a little daily creative ritual. But where to begin? I’m almost fearful of even mentioning it here because what if I punk out and don’t keep up with it? So I want to know, especially from those that are working artists AND working at another job– how do you carve out the time? Do you find yourself doing little things daily or do you save up all that energy for occasional, long, productive creative bursts?
And any recommendations for a small paint-friendly sketch book? The paper in my current sketchbook is more for dry media and I’d really like to start a little daily paint practice of some kind. I know, excuses. Just wanted to through this out there, let you know that if you’re struggling with the same, you are not alone!
Sometimes, it isn’t a matter of what you see, but how you see it. Perception can be a funny thing. Often, Mr. F & I will watch the same movie but get something totally different from it. Or we’ll look at a scene and I’ll zero in on one thing, while his eye notices another. The simplicity of these paintings by Isabel Bigelow remind me that what each eye focuses on is as unique as the person they belong to.
Bigelow zeros in on simple shapes, isolating them against monochromatic backgrounds, leaving us to wonder– am I seeing what I think I’m seeing? Or am I seeing something else entirely? The shapes become even more ambiguous when we turn the paintings on their sides or upside down.
But maybe that’s a good thing, this act of seeing differently. We can focus too closely on our own perceptions, forgetting that there are other angles of viewing. Not wrong, just different.
We all have our product loyalties. Mr. F is fiercely loyal to King Arthur Flour, for instance. Sometimes, as in Mr. F’s case, it’s about how the product performs, in others, it’s because we are enchanted by not just the product, but the packaging. New York based illustrator Spiros Halaris has created a charming series of illustrations celebrating the Aesop brand of beauty care products.
Halaris’ illustrations show crumbled, well used and presumably well loved tubes of Aesop balms and lotions against a drawn illustration of berry branches. In looking at these pieces, I’m reminded of the connection between nature, beauty products, and paint. All can be used to beautify in different ways and there is a natural bridge between found beauty in nature, enhanced beauty with cosmetics, and created beauty in paint.
We check the weekend forecast religiously throughout the week. Here in the Northwest, especially in the Fall, the weather can change on a dime. All week, the forecast was calling for periodic rain for Saturday. So no hiking or biking for the Foragers! We decided instead, to take a road trip down to Astoria, one of our favorite little Northwest towns. But our MacBook, it seems, had other plans.. internet connectivity issues forced us to forgo a lovely day of traipsing around Astoria in the rain in lieu of a smack-dab-middle-of-the-day Genius Bar appointment in.. wait for it.. Tacoma. Woo. No offense to Tacoma, but it just hasn’t been very high on our list of places to see. Actually I don’t think it’s been on Mr. F’s list at all. I suspected hidden potential.
Imagine our surprise when we awoke to sunny skies on Saturday. We decided to make the most of our Tacoma day, lining up some well reviewed eateries, but deciding to skip the Tacoma Art Museum because the Museum of Glass was closed for a private event. We’ll go back when we can hit them both. So it would just be a day for errands, eating, and exploring.
After a rocky start– an hour long wait to be served breakfast meant we sped to our Apple appointment sans nourishment in our bellies– we finally explored a bit of the Tacoma Theater District on the unexpectedly sunny day. Lots of lovely little antique shops ( oh how I wish my sis-in-law & fellow browser had been with me! ) and fantastic architecture, along with a very cool public art installation– The Garages, where it seems the city? owners of the garages? have given over the walls of the structure as a place for creative expression in the form of street art and graffiti.
Though we were a bit disappointed in our food choices, we were pleasantly surprised by the part of Tacoma we explored. We treated ourselves to a movie that evening, not much else to do at night in tiny Shelton and Sunday was spent running more errands and catching up on work. Do you ever have weekends like that? Ones that you look forward to all week, only to have them sabotaged a bit by the mundane problems of modern life? Oh well. High hopes for next weekend!
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I find it very refreshing to come across an artist for whom the most important part of her creative process in the process itself. For Utah artist Elise Wehle, the delicately intense, repetitive handwork in her cut paper collages provide an escape into her world of process. It seems we can all suffer from tech and connection overload these days. Moments when we are completely disconnected and far away from a glowing screen of some sort have become fewer and farther between. These pieces in which artist Elise Wehle immerses herself with their deliberately tattered textures, precise cuts, and vintage feel are the perfect antidote to a world obsessed with tiny screens. It’s almost as it we’re glimpsing peek of an Instagram feed deteriorated. The photographic cropping of the images recall those ubiquitous scenes in our social media each day. But they have aged, maybe giving us a reminder that those moments are fleeting– perhaps too fleeting to be constantly clicking and updating.
If you’d like to see more of Elise Wehle‘s work, please visit her website. I’m thinking of starting a little daily painting study to help me unplug & disconnect each day. What’s your method of getting away from technology?
As a dutiful child of the 70s, I love crochet, macrame, all those disco-era handicrafts. Though I don’t always love that era’s color palette as much as my sister-in-law– you guys should see the 1970s era RV she is redoing, appropriately named Gertrude. Anywhoo.. I recently stumbled upon the work of All Roads Design, I knew I wanted to share it with you! It’s like art you can pet. And I so would, every day!
I think one of these would add beautiful texture to our one day Northwest dream home. He ( gotta be a he with all that hair ) would mix so well with all the other artwork I’m coveting. Hey, an Artsy can dream, right? Have a great weekend, Artsies! We’re hoping to take a little road trip this weekend, will fill you in on Monday!
You know, there’s more than one way to skin a ca— I mean, hang artwork. I hope I proved that in our last foray into Artsy Dwelling! Be a rebel. Don’t hang that art at all! Go all crazy and casz.. just let it lean.
Leaning = layering. If you keep your artwork relegated to the walls, you’re holding it at a distance. You know, like that moldy fruit you found in the refrigerator. But living with art should be about living with it, having it truly be a part of the way we interact in our personal space. Leaning brings it in close. We can study it, pick it up and touch it, live with it in ways we can’t do when it’s nailed to a wall.
Check out some of my favorite ways to style leaning artwork–
Take advantage of those architectural details as a natural resting spot for artwork. It’s kind of Decorating 101 to put artwork above a fireplace, but leaning it on the mantle, especially when layered with other pieces creates a visually rich display that’s easy to change up with the seasons or just on a whim!
Same rules apply for furniture. Wait, forget that. There are no rules! Big art, small art, doesn’t matter, as long as it makes an interesting impact and puts a smile on your face. It all goes back to that layering thing. Leaning artwork connects itself better to the other objects in your vignette when it is sitting on the same surface. It’s like bringing your artwork into the half-time huddle. Now he feels included!
PS– If you’re gonna lean artwork on your headboard, might be a good idea to secure the back with a little 3M velcro, you know just in case things get a little, shall we say frisky? Oh come on, you know you were thinking it!
My favorite rule to break. Used to be, no art lover would dream of putting artwork, which let’s face it, we probably paid a lot of money for, even partly hidden behind a piece of furniture. But that little artsy game of peek-a-boo leaves me wanting more!
Maybe you have the perfect spot for a piece of artwork, but hanging just isn’t practical. Just lean that baby on the floor. The perfect solution especially for super oversized pieces of work that it would take an army to hang! Or for when we want a splash of color but don’t want to commit to holes in the wall.
Of course, it should be noted that leaning artwork, especially on the floor and behind furniture isn’t the idea solution if you have small children, rowdy teenagers ( ok, really any kids at all ) or clumsy husbands. 😉 Do you have any artwork leaning around your house? Share a photo over on the Artsy Forager Facebook page, I’d love to see!
Birds must have magically wonderful lives, don’t you think? I’m always envious of their freedom and grace, their ability to walk on land, swim through the water ( well, some birds ), and fly to far off places. As delicate as they may seem, birds are strong, hearty creatures. In her series of avian paintings, London artist Amy Judd beautifully explores the relationship between woman and bird that has been the subject of many a myth and tale.
In Judd’s work, the feathers serve as armor, a sign of strength and dignity. Their delicacy belies the protection they offer, just as in their avian counterparts. Classically lit figures glow ethereally as if somehow transformed by their gossamer shields.
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