Karen Nicol

A little Friday morning eye candy to lull you right into the weekend. Karen Nicol is a mixed media textile designer living in London. Each piece is so feminine and just makes me feel delightful. Check out more: karennicol.com.

(via designersblock.blogspot.com)

Maissa Toulet

It's absolutely freezing in our house! Greg refuses to turn up the heat to 65 degrees. The only warm spot in the house is my office and bedroom. I might be glued to computer for the next 5 months. Good news for all of you because I'm on the internet searching for cool stuff! If I wasn't stuck to my computer today I would have never found these gorgeous art boxes by french artist Maissa Toulet (via designersblock.blogspot.com). Each box is a collage of what looks like a thought or memory. I really can't tell you anything more about them because I don't speak French. Check them out: maissatoulet.fr.

Georgia Russell

I am suppose to be outside collecting leaves for my wreathes. I just can't...its just too cold outside. I'm being a baby and sitting inside all bundled up. But if I wasn't inside I wouldn't have come across these gorgeous paper cut books (via sfgirlbybay). Created by Georgia Russell "who uses a scalpel instead of a brush or a pen, creating constructions that transform found ephemera, such as books, music scores, maps, newspapers, currency and photographs". They kinda remind me of hair that has been electrocuted. Check out more of Russell's work: englandgallery.com.

Molly Rauch: Postage Stamp Paintings

I am totally obsessing over Molly Rauch's Postage Stamp Paintings this morning. Each piece begins with an actual postage stamp that Molly then paints around using watercolor and gouache paint. The paintings are pretty tiny—most are around 3 inches. Prices range from $250-$300 per piece. Molly does accept commissions. Just choose a subject or destination and she will mail a few stamps for you to choose. A great gift for a special someone to remember an event or adventure. Check out more: postagestamppaintings.com.

Heather Bray

I spotted Heather Gray's whimsical work in the October issue of Country Living British Edition. The artist work is inspired by her surroundings in Cornwall, England. A self taught artist Heather tends to paint simple harbor scenes in gouache. Check out more of Heather's work at: wrenfineart.com.

William Loveless Glue Series Paintings

I just found these via domino's girl about town blog. Rita found these great paintings at Studio 111 in Palm Springs.

William Loveless Glue Series Paintings are super colorful and tactile. The paintings are created using a resin glue and liquid pigment. If I had any extra cash laying around I would grab up the piece above. I have a strange attraction to things in columns. Am I an inner control freak? Maybe. To check out more visit: studio111palmsprings.com.

Animation: Natsko

I found these short animations late last night when I couldn't sleep. The clips are really imaginative and fun. I wish I could do animation! Check them out now: natsko.com.

Future Gardens and Other Destinations: Julian Lesser

I am so bummed I can't attend Julian's art opening this weekend. Be sure to check out Future Gardens and Other Destinations: A new body of work by Julian Lesser opening September 27th at The Drawing Room in Stoneridge, NY. I love Julian's work! Julian is a master of balancing color and composition. Layers of shapes and colors allow the viewer to delve into a world of fantasy and imagination. To find out more about Julian and upcoming events: julianlesser.com.

The Drawing Room
3743 Main Street
Stone Ridge, NY

Little People: A Tiny Street Art Project

Here is a little morning eye candy via Girl About Town. Clever and humurous "Little People: A Tiny Street Art Project" is a collection of photographs by artist Slinkachu. Check out more fun images: little-people.blogspot.com.

Edward del Rosario

I was just reading an article on the nytimes.com about the lack of new babies in Europe. The article was interesting but I was really attracted to artwork the Times used to illustrate the story. Edward del Rosario is a Brooklyn based artist that shows at Richard Heller Gallery. I am totally impressed by Rosario's work. Check out more: richardhellergallery.com.

Jefferson Hayman

I was going through some images I shot at last weeks Affordable Art Fair and came across Jefferson Hayman's gorgeous photographs. The still life photographs were so quiet and ertheral. I love them grouped together on wall framed in different sized frames and shapes. My favorites were the crisp white shirt and the envelope pieces. Something about the everyday objects printed as toned gelatin silver prints made everyday objects feel nostalagic and iconic. Find more about Jefferson Haymon at jeffersonhayman.com or to purchase the pieces pictured here contact: arcadiafinearts.com. Prices range from $500-$1,200 depending on size of piece.

Siggi Eggertsson

Portraits is a self-published book by artist Siggi Eggersoon. The book has over 60 geometrical portraits of people. I dig the bright colors and graphic shapes. The book is still looking for a publisher so no copies are available. Check out more of Siggi's work: vanillusaft.com.

Emily Barletta

Emily Barletta is my hero. I am in total awe of the colors, texture, and feeling I am looking at bi-section of some juicy organism. Totally great! The pieces kinda remind me of drawings by Kathy Goodell one of my former art professors. To check out more visit: emily-b.net.

Gary Komarin

Someone at House & Garden gave me a book on Gary Komarin a years or so ago. At first, I was kinda whatever about the paintings. But then I realized they are a lot my own paintings. They express a weird abstracted figurative language. Plains of colors and marks are aggressive and feel as though they are made with little regret. I like this guy I realized. I also dig that he uses a lot of pink. My favorite color to work with. He worked under Philip Guston in as a student—you totally feel the influence from Guston's earlier work. To check out more visit: karolynsherwoodgallery.com.

Lauri Faggioni

I just got the new Anthropologie home catalog in the mail. To my surprise the new set looked just like Lauri Faggioni's tastemaker piece for House & Garden back in 2007. I saved the image from the old website...it's one of my absolute favorites. I remember begging to put it on our homepage. Love! So is the new Anthropologie catalog the work of Lauri? While searching for the answer I came across the blog wee wonderfuls. A reader of her blog mentioned Lauri was the production designer of the video below. Super cool. So if anyone finds out the answer let me know.

Update: So it looks like the Anthro home spread was the work of Domestic Construction via The Constant Gatherer.

Beth Pearson

I found this gorgeous work today by artist, Beth Pearson. I love the colors and mark making in the pieces. Created using oil and mixed media on panel. Pearson who is from Vermont not only has a talent for painting, but she is also a writer. Prices range from $575-$650 and are about 8.5 x 8.5 large. To view her current show at Nahcotta in Portsmouth, NH: nahcotta.web.aplus.net.

Moma-Color Chart Show

I can't wait to go to this show. Moma's new show: Color Chart, Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today is the perfect art show for Spring. My favorite paintings are always really colorful so this is definitely the show for me. On display from March 2-March 12, 2008 in NYC. I am also trying to make time to head to the 2008 Whitney Biennal, a biennal show of the best current art market. Expect to see some things that you are totally wowed by and other are pieces that you perplexed why that's art. Always a good time. On display until Jun 1, 2008.

Tattfoo-Nature Matching System

How gorgeous is this art installation? Reminds me of my pleothra of color chips I covet. Designed by Tattfoo Tan, the installation in Dumbo, Brooklyn, is meant to remind us to eat foods in a daily dose of color. The tiles represent the beautiful array of colors and shades found in natural fruits and vegetables.

The bright and sunny installation is just in time for Spring and a great reminder to all of us to hit our local farmer's markets, join a CSA, or start planning our own garden. I can hardly wait for strawberry picking, summer tomatoes, and garden cucumbers.

To find out more and to put a request in for a Tattfoo Tan's placemat depicting NMS, click here.

Adolf Wölfli

Wölfli is the poster child of the Outsider Art movement. This guy had it all a troubled childhood, a history of abuse, and broken homes. He was institutionalized in 1895 to the Waldau Clinic in Berne, Switzerland, for a third count of attempted child molestation. He was very disturbed and sometimes violent leading to him being kept in isolation for his early time at hospital. In isolation he began to have intense hallucinations shortly after this he began to draw.

With limited supplies using only pencils and notebooks, Wölfli created hundreds of drawings. His work is dominated by a patterning that covers every inch of the paper. The intensity of his work is complex and eccentric. "His images also incorporated an idiosyncratic musical notation. This notation seemed to start as a purely decorative affair but later developed into real composition which Wölfli would play on a paper trumpet."

Later work that is show here is part of series called "Bread Art: Single-Sheet Drawing (1916-1930)." This group includes drawings he does for others in exchange for plain or colored-pencils, paper tobacco, and so on..." To check out more of his work and learn more about Wölfli's life, adolfwoelfli.ch. I would also highly suggest picking up the book, The Art of Adolf Wölfli, St. Adolf-Giant-Creation, American Folk Art Museum, 2003, amazon.com.

Outsider Artist-Ian Pyper

I found these great drawings by U.K. artist Ian Pyper on outsiderartist.info. An outsider artist is usually an artist that has no formal training or experience with the art world. Outsider artists usually create art based upon some primal expression that is often times undeliberate and aggressive. They create art that is fundamentally different and often times dysfunctional. What arises from these deliriums are unobstructed visions that create something beyond the realm of any overly educated and trained artist.

I introduce Ian Pyper. A man of few words that creates drawing that are primal and spontaneous. The images seem mystical and exotic. To view more of Pyper's drawings, click here.

Things I Love-02.23.08

Brienna McLaughlin Pruce, Male and Female Betta, $3,000, shopscadonline.com.

Check out things I loved for the week of February 18, 2008. This week I was checking out a lot of art. I guess I am trying to get some inspiration to do some of my own work. See above and below for out what I ripped, clipped, and scoped out for this week. See more things I love by clicking here. Enjoy!

Fred Tomaselli, Geode, leaves,photocollage, acrylic, gouche, and resin on wood panel, jamescohan.com.

Gary Komarin, The Alderman's Parlour, Mixed Media on canvas, karolynsherwoodgallery.com.

Susan Dory, Flotilla, oil, acrylic, graphite on canvas over panel, susandory.com.

William Betts, RCS - 164801, plusgallery.com.

Joan Mitchell, Untitled, 1963, oil on canvas.

Takashi Iwasaki, Hachmakiyousei, acrylic on canvas, takashiiwasaki.info.

Mette LØeber

I found Mette LØeber on wallcollection.com where she has some pretty fantastic wallpapers (shown above). I was intrigued by the work and did a little more investigating. Turns out she has her own site but it's in Danish? So instead of learning more about her I just drooled over her pretty textiles and sculptures. That was the only part I figure out...that she was a textile designer. If you have any more info feel free to drop a comment below.

Julia Rothman-Wallpaper

O.k. I am deviating from my plan. I was suppose to be done posting wallpaper for the day. But this just in from Julia Rothman's newsletter...her amazing illustrations are now available as wallpaper. I think my favorite is Pebble Cones and then Bird Watchers. Super cheers to Julia for becoming a total super-star! See all the new wallpapers at wallcollection.com.

Douglas Wilson

I found this artist via decor8's write up on the online gallery, Keep Calm. So when I investigated this great site I came across the piece above. I quickly swiped it up for a special Valentine's day gift. How sweet will this be in my house? I love that song and truly all you really need in life is love. The rest is just bullshit and whatever.

The piece is done by the artist Douglas Wilson. Check out his site here. I love the big type face and how you began to deconstruct the language and saying when it's printed so boldly and graphically. Each print is hand letterpressed by the artist. A few of my other favorites below. You can purchase all of these prints exclusively on keep-calm.com.

Frohawk Two Feathers: New Show!

I got a nice e-mail from Heather at Taylor De Cordoba gallery in L.A. announcing Frohawk Two Feather's new show opening this Saturday, February 2. Heather gave me a sneak peek of some of the pieces. So great, love!

"Two Feathers continues to demonstrate his skills as a master storyteller with a modern take on the age-old themes of colonialism, imperialism and conquest. In these large-scale paintings and intimate works on paper, he creates a wartime narrative starring an imagined cast of characters."

Show Details:
Frohawk Two Feathers: In The Court Of The Crimson King
February 2 – March 8, 2008. Opening Reception: Sat, February 2, 6-9pm

Taylor De Cordoba
2660 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 559-9156

Things I Love-01.25.08

Hannah Clark, Prong Ring, $940, thisisauto.com.

I got an amazing response from last week's post about the "Things I love", so I decided to make it a weekly ritual. Check out what I tagged, ripped out, and feel head over heals for this week. Some of these products may appear in larger posts or trend reports. But for now this will just be a place for me to flesh out my ideas. Enjoy!

Tracy Reese, Topkapi Caftan, $285, anthropologie.com.

Tracy Helgeson, Single Yellow Tree, $1,500, carriehaddadgallery.com.

Custom Silhouettes, cutarts.com.

Snow & Graham, Cupcake Card, $3.50, luxepaperie.com.

Paul Smith blanket, sale $112, thisisauto.com.

Fornasetti Theme & Variations Drinking Glasses, $305, barneys.com.

Jessica Houston, Message From the Jackal, Sold, for similiar works carriehaddadgallery.com.

Gray Wool Designer Pillow with Applique Knot Motif, $95 (left), Modernist Zig Zag Pillow, $95, ounodesign.com.

The Silly BooDilly

I just found these handmade one of kind pieces by Silly BooDilly. The pieces are inspired by lichen the artist found in the rocks of her garden. I think they are incredible re-inventions of old-school handy work. The pieces would be stunning mounted inside a shadow box. Check out more here.

Frohawk Two Feathers

I came across this painter in the newest edition of New American Paintings. The paintings feel so much like the 80's artist Basquiat. Basquiat was well know for his wildly colored and expressive canvases that seem to channel forms of graffiti art. Frohawk Two Feathers work is very expressive; large areas of solid color and thick aggressive lines. I just really like the work. It's fun and child like. The compositions and colors are really strong. Check out more here.

Heatherwick Studio

I think about this building a lot. A shot of pulled from Elle Decoration was pinned up to my bulletin board at H&G for months. I am trying to think of what intially attracted me to the building. I was amazed by the organic shape resting along the beach's expansive horizontal. The building seem natural and weathered as if it was a piece of driftwood carved away by the plummeting onshore breezes.

What is it? Located in Littlehampton, a traditional seaside town on England's south coast, the building is used as a seaside cafe.

"The building is sliced diagonally into ribbons which wrap up and over the building, forming a layered protective shell, open to the sea in front. The opening is filled with glass doors and windows, protected at night by roller shutters concealed within the building's geometry, the 30-centimetre width of the ribbons being the dimension of a shutter mechanism."

If you fallen for Heatherwick's East Beach cafe then definitely don't miss the rest of their portfolio here.

Glass Birds

Beautiful handmade glass birds by artists Oiva Toikka and Giorgio Vigna are my hidden favorite tchotchkes. Oiva Toikka has been designing and constructing these hand blown glass birds (shown below) for the past 30 years exclusively for the Finnish company Iittala.

Iittala has recently introduced a new generation of Iittala Birds designed by the Italian artist and jewelry designer Giorgio Vigna. Birds in Giorgoio's Collection are very angular and sculptural (above). I think all the birds are stunning. Perfect for perching on a credenza, bookshelf, or a mantle.

Let me get back to why this is hidden. I'm not a tchotchke kind of person. I tend to only buy things that serve a purpose beyond just being decorative. As I write this post my boyfriend is looking over my shoulder saying, "Please don't buy any those stupid birds." I like them. Maybe just one would be perfect for my house? Buy yourself a hidden please by clicking here. I also found this slightly metallic owl variation on vivre.com.

Sarajo Frieden

I love the fun color and imaginative spaces found in Sarajo Frieden's mix-medium artwork. Living in working from her studio in Los Angeles,