Judging from the blog’s title & if you’ve been reading for awhile, you’ve probably guessed that Mr. F and I are the outdoorsy types. We both thrive on time spent among the quiet beauty of the outdoors, whether surrounded by snow-capped mountains or digging our toes into the black sand of Northwest beaches. I’m finding artistic inspiration in nature for my own series of work, so why not find it in the work of other artists, too? Often when I see an artist’s work, my mind connects it to the memory of a place I’ve been or a detail observed or sometimes, an outdoor scene will call the artist’s work to mind. It’s the whole chicken vs. egg thing, but this time, with art and nature.
So with this post, I’m launching a new series, The Artsy Nature, in which I pair a photograph from our traverses in the great outdoors with a piece of artwork.
One of my absolute favorite features in the wondrous beauty that is Yellowstone were the geysers and hot springs. Algae and micro bacteria create gorgeously saturated coloration in the most heavenly palette.
Nature is the most spectacular of canvases, isn’t it? Look for more The Artsy Nature posts coming your way!
Photo by Artsy Forager, art image credit linked above.
If there was ever a series of photographs I could relate to, Cable Management is it. In this series, Albuquerque artist Andy Mattern documents “the process of reconstructing domestic space”, specifically the often frustrating task of figuring out which cable goes where.
As Mr. F and I move so frequently and live in furnished rentals when we do, we’re often faced with the challenge of learning a whole new layout ( which often involves crashing into walls in the middle of the night for the first week or so ), as well as new appliances and remotes. For the artist, the process of relocating and managing the electronic connections and accoutrements has become a sort of “Zen activity”. For this series, instead of documenting the actual living spaces, the artist composed mock walls and arrangements. The outlets and cables snake up and along the walls, almost taking on an anamorphic quality, the power of connection coursing through their wires.
There are so many things I’d never experienced before living on the West Coast. In Florida, I don’t think I ever experienced “marine layer“, these air masses create the most beautiful foggy formations above the coastal waters. Of course, everyone loves bright, clear skies, but there is a mysterious beauty to life seen through a fogged lens. In his Steam Portraits series, photographer David Ryle creates these sensitive captures of portraits seen through or looking through a curtain of steam.
We all have our days when it feels like we’re moving through the fog. Bogged down, without a clear vision of the road ahead. What’s so lovely about these portraits is that although the subjects are seen gazing through the vapor, in most cases much of the haze is already depleted. There is something incredibly hopeful in that– to know that although we may be temporarily socked in, slowly, surely, the fog will lift and all will be revealed.
If you’re following along with my Foraging on social media, you may have seen me let a little cat out of the bag last week.. Since the end of last year, I’ve been working on a limited edition collaboration with the Seattle based online art & framing company, Mantle Art, and I’m thrilled to announce that the Artsy Forager Collection for Mantle Art is now live!!
In partnership with the folks at Mantle Art, I’ve pulled together this first collection of four emerging artists, each one of whose work I feel speaks strongly and beautifully a unique visual story. Allow me to introduce you!
alexandra bellissimo | Alexandra is one of my favorite finds of the past year and was the Artsy Forager Featured Artist just last month. Her work has an edgy elegance to it that I am particularly drawn to. That top left piece is perhaps one of my all time favorite pieces of work, EVER. I can’t get enough of it.
click the image above to shop Alexandra’s collection on Mantle Art!
kelda martensen |Kelda was a new discovery for me through this process, but the minute I saw her work, I fell in love with it. In her original mixed media pieces, Kelda is seeking to define what home may be and though the answer for each of us is different, her work speaks a universal language. Look for an Artsy Forager feature on Kelda soon!
click the image above to shop Kelda’s collection on Mantle Art!
matt sawyer | Mr. F had a circle of really super cool friends during his Tulsa days. And photographer Matt Sawyer just happened to be among them. When I was putting together artist options for the collection, I wanted a photographer who was treating traditional imagery in a modern, fresh way so I was thrilled when the folks at Mantle Art loved Matt’s work as much as I did!
click the image above to shop Matt’s collection on Mantle Art!
anna kincaide | One of the most thrilling things about writing Artsy Forager has been the joy of finding an artist and following the growth of their work. Anna is one of the artists I’ve been most excited to watch emerge! I fell in love with her work the first time I saw it and she has only gotten better and better since. Her compositions are always stunning and the playfulness of pattern, as well as her use of light just create such lovely juxtapositions.
click the image above to shop Anna’s collection on Mantle Art!
Each piece in the Artsy Forager for Mantle Art Collection is available as a limited edition print on Hahnemuhle fine art paper and is available in three sizes 11×14, 16×20, and 20×24. Edition sizes are limited to 200 pieces per size, and each piece will be shipped with a certificate of authenticity. Mantle Art also offers matting and framing options for each piece– one stop shopping, ya’ll!
I hope you’ll wander through the collection, perhaps you’ll fall in love and add one of these beauties to your collection!
*This post contains affiliate links. As curator of the Artsy Forager for Mantle Art Collection, I receive a small commission on each piece sold from the collection.
One of my favorite things about babies and children of family and friends is looking at them and seeing how their parents come through. Whether in their physical attributes or personalities, it always amazes me to see glimpses of parents or grandparents in a new unique little personality. In her Heritage series, French artist Marie Hudelot explores the cultural heritage between an East and West family legacy, specifically France and Algeria.
Just as we are each conglomerations of generations of hereditary history, in Hudelot’s conceptual portraits we see symbolic aggregations to create emblematic figures. Faces covered, the figures could be anonymous representations of previous generations. How much of who we become is influenced by those who came before? Whether genetic or cultural, we are all in some way the product of past generations.
Choosing artwork for your home can be an intimidating process. Sometimes we fall in love with a piece of work but wonder how in the world we would ever incorporate it with our current style?! You know that old adage, buy what you love and somehow it will work? I’m here to prove it’s true. Let’s say you fall for this bold black and white art pair by this month’s Featured Artist, Alexandra Bellissimo.
They’re strong. They’re daring. They’re a little weird but totally fabulous. Now where can you put them? The best thing about graphic black and white art like these is that they can add a sense of the unexpected to anywhere they hang.
1 | fierce romance This fantastical pair are like creatures from a dark fairy tale. Hung off to the side above the antique sofa in a romantic bohemian living room, The Antagonist and The Guardian would add just the right amount of sass to counteract the sweet.
2 | sleek soak In the bath is often the very last place we consider for artwork, but these guys are just screaming to add a little of the unexpected to your personal spa. They’re graphic so maybe placement in a contemporary bath seems like a no-brainer, but their organic sci-fi feel compliments the space in a fresh way.
art by alexandra bellissimo | interior image found here
3 | rustic edge Maybe you love rustic decor but don’t want to completely live the cowboy life? The his and her pairing is perfect for a bedroom and this black and white art would provide a fantastic juxtaposition against a wood feature wall. Want to edge it up even more? Add an extra wide white mat and simple contemporary frames in a bold color like yellow or bright green. Boom. You’ve turned up the sophistication to 11.
Have a room you need some artsy help with? Or art you love but not sure how to style in your room? I can help with that! Check out my Forager Services page for details. Love this pair by Alexandra Bellissimo? Check out her site AND stay tuned for some news here and on the Mantle Art site for affordable, limited editions prints coming soon!
In these days of drive-thru’s and fast everything, there exists a ready convenience to life that is intoxicating. Most would say we don’t miss the days of corsets and class rule ( though there’s definitely an argument that both still exist, just in different forms ). But for all the rigidity and rules, there was perhaps a meticulousness to life then that we’ve lost touch with. Toronto artist Anna Church in her carefully assembled creations honors these symbols of our past.
Church comes flea markets and other sources to find just the right pieces to craft her symbolic assemblages. Whether her Insignia or At Your Service series, arrangements of objects and ephemera are pieced together with exacting precision and aesthetic romanticism. The resulting imagery, available as limited edition prints, are at once recognizable and enigmatic. For all of these objects were once treasures of other people, a part of the history of many, emblematic of one.
To see more of Anna Church‘s work, please visit her website and be sure to follow her on all the usual social media suspects! To catch a glimpse into her process, enjoy the video below, shot by videographer Vuk Dragojevic.
Often when we think of spring, our thoughts turn to light, pale pastels but this season, I’ve noticed just how saturated everything around me seems. Maybe it’s just a shock to my eyes following the white and grey winter or perhaps this has just been an unusually sunny and bright season. In any case, I’m finding myself more drawn than usual to heavy doses of color and I’m blaming this saturated spring!
Here are just a few of the full color palettes inspiring me on Pinterest lately–
You guys, we are loving our new little town so much! Since we arrived, everyone’s been telling me how many artists there are here in Eureka and that we must check out the monthly art walk, ArtsAlive. It was a perfect, beautiful evening and it seemed like everyone in Humboldt County was in downtown Eureka, enjoying the spectacular weather and taking it all in.
I knew there were a few galleries I needed to check out but what I didn’t know was that so there were so many artists with studios downtown and a great many of them were open that night! I do so love a peek inside artists’ studios! After checking out the mesmerizing work of Isabelle Staehle at The Black Faun, we wandered through the studios & Hall Gallery at C Street. Large, high ceilinged, open beam studios with tons of light? Yes, please. Mr. F asked if I would like a studio like one of these.. uh yeah, let’s find a way to make that happen! Lots of people wandering through the halls, and a nice variety of work to be found, from abstract expressionist to folk art inspired to traditional landscapes. Truly a cornucopia of artsiness!
We also wandered through the studios at the Center for Insane Artists. How could we resist checking it out with a name like that? Alas, I’ve been unable to find any info for them online. But a handful of the studios were open, some interesting work to be found there, for sure!
My favorite stop was First Street Gallery, HSU’s non-profit, off campus art gallery. No cameras were allowed, but I HAD to share these shows with you, so I pulled images from their website. Currently, the exhibition space is broken up into two shows, one featuring the work of artist and Stanford University professor Gail Wight, on loan from Patricia Sweetow Gallery. Wight’s work is an elegant combination of beauty and science, her burned vellum drawings inspired by a 1948 pharmacological study of spiders and her composite digital prints, all drew my eye with their intricate simplicity.
The other half of the gallery was taken over by three North Coast artists, Seana Burden, Jeff Jordan, and Jesse Wiedel in their group exhibition, Laughter in Darkness. The works of these three artists combine traditional landscape and dream-like imagery often providing commentary on contemporary culture. I was especially drawn to Burden’s “Boob” paintings in which she creates a fantastical land in which all the subversive messages we are sent each day are much more blatant.
seana burden, jesse wiedel, and jeff jordan
Like most good art walks, we weren’t able to get to everything, but what we did see gave Mr. F and I lots to chat about over a glass of wine ( or 3! ) at the end of the night. I hope you’ll check out the websites of these artists and galleries– so much wonderful talent in this area. I feel so lucky to be here, even if for just a short while.
Gail Wight, Seana Burden, Jesse Wiedel and Jeff Jordan images via HSU website. All other images by Artsy Forager.
We are a few weeks into Spring here in Northern California and this weekend, something wonderful happened.. we seemed to have finally turned a corner into deep spring. That time of year when the air is warm and soft and everywhere you turn something extraordinary is blooming. All I want to do is turn my face to the sun, lie in the grass and soak it all in. This piece by April Featured ArtistAlexandra Bellissimo perfectly captures these deep days of spring, the longing to be one with the blossoming world. And this Scenery at Sunset Dress by Modcloth is just the perfect translation of that light and airy feeling that the first warm days of spring delivers.
Today I’m even wearing my own version Surface, this work by Alexandra Bellissimo, a new scarf I’ve been eyeing that feels like spring. Winter, I love you, but I think I’ll always have a bit of a crush on Spring.
Keep watching the blog & social media for more from Alexandra Bellissimo all throughout April, including an exciting announcement coming soon! *Hint: it starts with a P and ends with “rints”. 😉 And of course, you can always peruse Alexandra’s website for more of her stunning work.
Want to see more of the Wear the Artsy series? Check out the archives here!
