I just love the idea of translating the artwork we love into the jewelry and clothes we wear. After all, the artwork we love is an extension of our souls, so why shouldn’t the way we clothe ourselves be, too? In this edition of Wear the Artsy, Featured Artist Diana Lemieux’sWhen Night Falls in the Forest pairs beautifully with an agate ring from Terrain.
art | When Night Falls in the Forest by Diana Lemieux
ring | Dendritic Agate Ring by Melissa Joy Manning
I think any maiden of the forest would be thrilled for this ring to adorn her artsy finger!
I often envy Mr. Forager. When we’re camping or out hiking, he has no problem at all laying down wherever– absolutely no fear of bugs or other creepy crawliest like yours truly. He can really allow himself to be one with nature. The collages of Los Angeles artist Alexandra Bellissimo beautifully simulate what it might really be like for the human body to merge with the natural world.
Bellissimo photographs her models ( often she is her own model, giving even more emotional depth to her work ), in their own completely natural state.. No clothing, nothing between the skin and the world around it. The nude figure appears vulnerable, easily overtaken by the flora creeping over its form.
While there is some work done in Photoshop ( I.e., the removal of an arm to be replaced by a branch ), the added elements are done through traditional, meticulous cut and paste collage. In doing so, the artist maintains a very real feeling of physical transformation.
The Observer, photo collage, 12×16
To see more of Alexandra Bellissimo’s work, please visit her website. And if you’d like to read about and see some insight into her process, be sure to check out her blog!
It is a special gift bestowed upon artists to take what is ugly and make it beautiful. In his Recycle series, photographer Cristobal Valecillos uses every day materials to craft the fashions and sets he then photographs, so that what is often never looked twice upon becomes elevated to extraordinary.
Tea Time, archival digital print on metallic paper on plexiglass, 26×36
Every single thing but the models in each set is carefully crafted from pizza boxes, Starbucks sleeves, newspapers, etc., giving each design incredible texture and depth. The fashions seem to fit the models as well as any couture, and the drama of what seems to be unfolding in the expanded scenes lends those pieces in particular a wonderfully theatrical quality.
Doubt, archival digital print on metallic paper on plexiglass, 53×35Olga, archival digital print on metallic paper on plexiglass, 60×36Untitled, archival digital print on metallic paper on plexiglass, 60×36
I spotted Valecillos’ work several times at the LA Art Show and the photographs, mounted on plexiglass are sleek and beautiful in person. However, it was the artist’s cardboard sculptures and set installation that really stayed with me. A reminder that every thing around us is temporary and fleeting, every chair we covet and save for, every piece of art hanging on our walls, every item of clothing carefully chosen.
Organic A, archival digital print on metallic paper on plexiglass, 24×36
In his artist statement, Valecillos alludes to the creation of beauty from waste, using recycling to inspire art. For me, I see in his work more of a statement upon the artificiality and ephemeral nature of the world we find ourselves in. What do you see?
To see more of Cristobal Valecillos’ work, please visit his website.
All images are via the website of the artist’s representing gallery, The McLoughlin Gallery.
Note: Thereseemstobe an issue with EIL, as this Artist Watch has not been published as scheduled. Workingto getit fixed!
There is so much to be proud of in our history, yet there is much darkness as well. In his Camp Home series, Japanese American photographer Kevin J. Miyazaki documents what has become of the barracks once used to house Japanese prisoners of WWII in internment camps here in the US. Many of these buildings were redistributed and became homes, barns, and outbuildings. See more from this series, as well as Miyaki’s Fast Food and As Seen series in my Artist Watch on Escape Into Lifehere.
As fellow Artsies, I know that you are familiar with that sensation that comes over you when gazing upon a favorite work of art.. you want to jump right in and live inside the canvas. Well, dear Artsies, I say you can! In this new series, Live the Artsy, I’ll show you how a work of art can come alive as a living space.
Living in Her Name was Anna by this month’s featured artistDiana Lemieux means dark, cozy walls that envelop you like a forest, classically traditional shapes, and a few punches of color for attitude. I’m picturing a little Notting Hill apartment that smells of heather and tea.
I apologize in advance for the number of posts coming your way featuring artists whose work I discovered at the LA Art Show. I can’t help it. There was so much amazingness there and some of the work I just can’t get out of my head! I kept going back both physically and in my mind to the photographs of LA artist Gay Ribisi.
Head Above Water 2, photograph
No doubt, we’ve all seen underwater fine art photography. But Ribisi’s method of blacking out the background and her storyteller’s style of setting each scene creates images that burn into our memories.
The Space Cleaner, photographThe Space Traveler 1, photograph
Her floating women, stark against their black backdrop are isolated in their moment and movement. We know there is a tale to be told with each one, perhaps epic or ordinary. It’s as if we’ve walked into a darkened theater in the midst of the 3rd act, who is this on stage? What is her story?
The Red Dress, photograph
To see more of Gay Ribisi’s work, please visit her website.
Wow, it seems like a long time has passed since I participated in Art to Inspiration, a monthly collaborative blog project, how I’ve missed it! Mr. Forager and I are still in the land of sand and sun, but our time here is finally growing short. This month’s inspiration, In the Mist by Charlen Williamson, has me longing to return to the cool grey of the Pacific Northwest. So it’s only fitting that Williamson’s image inspired me to put together a gallery of black & white photographs Mr. Forager & I have taken from our favorite places in the Northwest. 50 Shades of the Pac NW, if you will.. 😉
The inspiration–
In the Mist by Charlen Williamson
The gallery–
Cape Disappointment, WAPike Place Market, Seattle, WAAstoria, OROlympic National Park, WARuby Beach, WAOlympic National Park, WA
Oh, the Northwest! We can’t wait to get back to you. See more work by Charlen Williamson in her Etsy shop here. You can see more photos from the travels of Artsy & Mr. Forager on the blog’s Instagram feed.
You can find more information on Art to Inspiration here and if you would like to participate in the next Art to Inspiration, just fill out this form! Follow me and all the other Art to Inspiration bloggers on Twitter by subscribing here. Let the inspiring begin!
In the Mist by Charlen Williamson via her Etsy shop. All other images by Artsy Forager.
Sometimes I wonder if fine art photographers read art blogs and think “Painting, painting, painting!” ( cue Jan Brady voice ). But painting doesn’t just happen with oils and acrylics. An artist paints their composition with whatever medium they choose and this month’s Featured Artist, Diana Lemeiux paints with a camera.
Lemieux creates and captures scenes from our dreams, mysterious and fleeting.. we see just a glimpse of a moment, not knowing what happened just before or what could arise in the next breath.
Her limited palettes help foster the emotion she is bringing forth in each image– moody, somber neutrals or bright, warm saturated hues give us a sense of each scene and the story it has to tell.
To see more of Diana Lemieux’s work, please visit her website and Facebook page. Diana’s work will be in the starring role on the Artsy Forager Facebook page all this month and be sure to check out the FB album full of my favorite Diana Lemieux photographs!
Happy weekend and happy February, Artsies! Mr. F and I are excited because 1) it’s the weekend.. duh, 2) we are heading to San Diego tonight to spend the weekend with dear friends, always a good time! and 3) a new month means we are that much closer to leaving the desert and heading back toward our beloved Northwest! But before I leave you to start packing for our weekend away, please allow me to introduce you to February’s Featured Artist, Diana Lemieux!
Balancing Act
Head on over to the Artsy Forager Facebook page to see more of Diana’s breathtaking photography! Then come on back to this spot on Monday for more! You’ll be seeing lots of Diana this month here on the blog, as well as the Artsy Forager Facebook & Twitter feeds. Looking forward to a February full of photography!
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.
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?
