Tag: Artists

  • Hidden Treasures: Elyse Graham

    Hidden Treasures: Elyse Graham

    I remember being fascinated by a pair of geodes that were one of my grandmother’s travel souvenirs.  The ugly, nondescript rocky surface hiding inside it a magical, sparkly surprise.  Los Angeles artist Elyse Graham shares my childhood fascination, creating her own sculptural geodes from layers of latex and urethane.

    Elyse Graham | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Elyse Graham | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Elyse Graham | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Elyse Graham | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Elyse Graham | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart

    When we first arrived here in Eureka, we experienced our very first California earthquake.  It reminded me, as do the geysers and mud pots of Yellowstone, that this planet we live on is a living, moving, breathing entity.  So it seems only fitting that Graham creates her geodes around the void left by her own exhaled breath.  She adds each layer, one on top of the other,  the resulting effect unknown until the geode is finally split.

    How often do we, too, work blindly only to discover something amazing when all is revealed?

    To see more of Elyse Graham‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via isavirtue.

  • Liquid Amore: Mallory Page

    Liquid Amore: Mallory Page

    We’ve all been there.  Those incredible moments when we first fall in love– like walking on clouds, floating on the gentle rock of a warm ocean.  We are consumed in total by our love, seeing the world through a veil of ardor.  In her large scale abstract paintings, New Orleans artist Mallory Page allows thoughts of the different kinds of love we experience to guide her through the mystical world of abstraction.

    Mallory Page | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings #contemporaryart Mallory Page | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings #contemporaryart Mallory Page | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings #contemporaryart Mallory Page | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings #contemporaryart Mallory Page | artsy forager #art #artists #abstractart #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    From the passion of first love to the warmth of a lasting friendship, Page captures the way our emotions flow into and out of one another, gradual shifts often happening before we even notice them.  Intense, dark color gives way to translucent light.  Aren’t these just stunning?  Just like love, they’ve totally drawn me in.

    To see more of Mallory Page‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy Lately: Lee Price

    Artsy Lately: Lee Price

    This artist’s work always gets me.  Not just because it’s incredibly gorgeous and highly skilled, it is.  But each piece is filled with so much emotion and narrative, it’s like a beautiful punch in the gut.  I first featured the paintings ( that’s right, paintings!! ) of Lee Price way back in January 2012 while I was writing Artist Watch posts for Escape Into Life.  The work effected me so much that it took another three months before I could write a full feature for the blog.

    Lee Price | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Lee Price | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Lee Price | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Lee Price | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Lee Price | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    These new pieces are similar to Price’s older work, in that we still see isolated women in the bed or bath, but the work has evolved to either a more positive or more sinister perspective, depending on your interpretation.  We still seem to see a woman in struggle, yet these seem much more subversive.  Instead of a woman surrounded by the detritus of a cupcake binge, instead, we’re confronted with women enveloped by artificial representations of treats or even more telling, an empty bowl.

    We have such a powerful relationship with the food and drink we consume.  It literally has the power to nourish or destroy.  And in the world of fast, highly processed food and GMOs, the choice of what we eat has never seemed more fraught with danger.

    To see more of Lee Price‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Animal Kingdom: Miranda Lake

    Animal Kingdom: Miranda Lake

    Most of us, from an early age, develop a fascination with animals.  Whether it’s a little girl’s obsession with horses or a man’s desire to come face to face with a grizzly, we find ourselves identifying with the other species that share the planet.  In her encaustic collage work, New Orleans artist Miranda Lake uses a visual vocabulary of animalistic ephemera to explore our relationship with and understanding of our fellow creatures.

    Miranda Lake | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia #encaustic #contemporaryart Miranda Lake | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia #encaustic #contemporaryart Miranda Lake | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia #encaustic #contemporaryart Miranda Lake | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia #encaustic #contemporaryart Miranda Lake | artsy forager #art #artists #mixedmedia #encaustic #contemporaryart

     

    Like the fantastical illustrations of a children’s book, Lake juxtaposes her creatures into  incongruous landscapes and situations, giving her encaustics a bewitching whimsicality.  I mean, a bunny riding a canon?  What could be better?

    But thinking more deeply about the work, I’m struck by the thought that from the time we’re young, we tend to imbue wild animals with human characteristics and playfulness.  We forget that they are simply living by instinct and how very much our own behavior effects theirs.  Just like us, they are trying to survive as best they can.

    To see more of Miranda Lake‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Hidell Brooks Gallery.

  • Spatial Longings: Caroline Sharpless

    Spatial Longings: Caroline Sharpless

    In our travels, Mr. F and I have moved into and out of nine homes so far.  Each move in day is filled with excitement and a bit of nervous energy in finding ourselves in a new place and each move out being filled with a bit of sadness in leaving what’s been home.  In her work, artist Caroline Sharpless paints empty spaces that seem to anticipate the departure or arrival of their inhabitants.

    Caroline Sharpless | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Caroline Sharpless | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Caroline Sharpless | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Caroline Sharpless | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart Caroline Sharpless | artsy forager #art #artists #paintings #contemporaryart

     

    The perspective of the paintings are often looking through the room and out the window view, that can give them a slightly melancholy feeling, and the muted palette seems to long for human vibrancy.  After all, buildings are merely vessels of steel and concrete until they are brought to life by people wandering their halls and gazing out their windows.

    To see more of Caroline Sharpless‘ work, please visit her website.

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

  • Don’t Miss Artsiness: NSEW 6.12.14

    Don’t Miss Artsiness: NSEW 6.12.14

    Gallery Shows You Should Know About

    You guys know I’m always searching for the best artsy finds for you.  Well, in this new series of posts, I’ll be sharing the museums & gallery shows you need to see if you possibly can!

    And there is a whole lot of yumminess going on in all four corners of the country!

    NSWE collage 6.5.2014

     north | Drie Chapek at Zeitgeist Coffee & Art

    south | This Way to the Beach, group show including work by Jon Davenport at Matre Gallery

    west | Patterns & Fakes, Patrick James Donovan solo exhibition at Blackstone Gallery

    east | The Way & The Wayfarers, group show featuring work by Jay Knapp, Joshua Hogan & Kuzana Ogg** at Westmoreland Museum of Art

    Click through the gallery links above for more information about each show.  If you check ‘em out, tag me ( @artsyforager ) on Instagram with the hashtag #dontmissartsiness!

    **FYI– work by Kuzana Ogg is now available through The Trove!  So even if you can’t see her show, you can still check out her gorgeous work and maybe make it your own!

    This post contains affiliate links.  As a Great.ly Tastemaker and curator of The Trove, I receive a small commission on each piece sold from The Trove boutique gallery.

     

  • Yada Yada, Art: Ben Skinner

    Yada Yada, Art: Ben Skinner

    I have a special place in my artsy heart for artists who are inspired by language.  Maybe it comes from my love of writing and reading– my college major came down to a decision between Art History and Literature.  Or perhaps I just love the contemporary cheekiness.  This newest series by Vancouver artist Ben Skinner  is an artistic and linguistical win-win for me!

    Ben Skinner | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Ben Skinner | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Ben Skinner | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Ben Skinner | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart Ben Skinner | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart

     

    The series of reduplications ( exact words used in succession ) cast in plaster makes us think twice about these commonly used phrases and their origin.  Skinner’s work often deals with language and meaning, usually finding their power in simplicity, as in the case of the Same, Same series.

    You can see more of Ben Skinner‘s work on his website.  If you happen to be in Vancouver, be sure to check out his recently opened show at Back Gallery Project.

     

     

    Ben Skinner | artsy forager #art #artists #sculpture #contemporaryart

     

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Live the Artsy: Deb Haugen

    Live the Artsy: Deb Haugen

    Home has been a subject in the forefront of our minds lately.  Over the next several years, Mr. F and I are saving like mad so that we can settle down and build a little house that fits our needs and our aesthetic perfectly.  What might that aesthetic be, you ask?  Well, it has a lot in common with the work of this month’s Featured Artist, Deb Haugen— fresh and organic, yet modern.

    LTA_haugen

    art | found here

    interior | found here

    In her work, Deb, a California-girl, balances that lovely line between the modern and organic, often employing watery, free flowing colored forms dotted with graphic ink drawing.  Translating her work into a living space means lots of white walls and furnishings dotted with pops of muted color and warmed with natural textures and graphic punches of black.

    A space like this is just dying for a post-beach fire, wine, and conversation!  If you’d like to see more of Deb Haugen‘s work, check out her website AND visit The Trove, Artsy Forager’s new Great.ly boutique gallery where you can find lots of Deb’s work for sale including these lovelies EXCLUSIVE to The Trove!

    Haugen_Greatly exclusives collage

    work by Deb Haugen available exclusively at The Trove

    Please note that the above works are cropped.  You can see the full versions here!

    *This post contains affiliate links.  As a Great.ly Tastemaker and curator of The Trove, I receive a small commission on each piece sold from The Trove boutique gallery.

  • Ombre Skies: Jordan Sullivan

    Ombre Skies: Jordan Sullivan

    There definitely isn’t much from our time in the desert we’ve missed.  But the desert skies truly are incredible.  In our six months in Joshua Tree, we were treated to some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets we’ve ever seen and the most glorious blanket of stars each night.  While not ultimately for us, we can easily admit the desert can be a magical place.  Los Angeles photographer Jordan Sullivan turned his lens to another California Desert, Death Valley, and the results are breathtaking.

    Jordan Sullivan | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Jordan Sullivan | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Jordan Sullivan | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Jordan Sullivan | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart Jordan Sullivan | artsy forager #art #artists #photography #contemporaryart

     

    In these large scale ( 24×36 & 40×60 ), small edition c-prints, Sullivan captures the delicate shifts in the desert’s cycle.  Colors melt and merge into one another like watercolors.  These are from the Water & Light sub series, yet easily be desert skies.  That’s one of the most incredible things about the desert– there are few fences, few boundaries, everything drifts one into another, so that all the parts become the whole.

    To see more of Jordan Sullivan‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy Spot: North Coast Open Studios & Eureka ArtsAlive

    Artsy Spot: North Coast Open Studios & Eureka ArtsAlive

    Every weekend Mr. F and I stay at home ( in other words, no camping or backpacking on the agenda ), we say we’re going to have a relaxing, chill weekend.  But lately, our weekends around home have been anything but slow and this weekend was no exception!  After a yummy breakfast in Arcata Saturday morning, we attended the Sustainable Living Expo– gotta get some ideas for the artsy dream home we’re saving our pennies for!

    I try to take advantage of our weekends in town to do something artsy and lucky for me, this weekend we were able to take in not only a few stops along the North Coast Open Studios tour, but this month’s ArtsAlive in Eureka.

    North Coast Open Studios & Eureka Arts Alive | artsy forager #art #artists #artstudios #galleries

    peggy loudon studio

    North Coast Open Studios & Eureka Arts Alive | artsy forager #art #artists #artstudios #galleries

    peggy loudon studio

    In addition to Peggy Loudon’s studio ( check out her website, stunning ceramics! ), we also took a peek into the studios of Libby George, who was kind enough to give me some pastel tips, and mixed media artist and painter Natalie Craig.

    After a little rest, we headed down to Old Town for Eureka’s monthly ArtsAlive event.  We were able to hit a few studios and galleries before meeting up with one of Mr. F’s coworkers for a drink.

    North Coast Open Studios & Eureka Arts Alive | artsy forager #art #artists #artstudios #galleries

    lori goodman at piante

    North Coast Open Studios & Eureka Arts Alive | artsy forager #art #artists #artstudios #galleries

     

    sheldon skillie at the black faun

    The work of both these artists intrigued me with their references to ancient cultures– Bhutanese for Goodman, Native American Haida for Skillie.  To reference aboriginal culture and customs in modern interpretations give me hope that these old traditions won’t be forgotten.  And this busy but artsy weekend won’t be far from my own memory for a long time yet!  Next weekend– hoping to get some painting time in!

    All images are by Artsy Forager.