Saturday, January 3, 2009

Word Explosion


I can’t imagine the work it took to create these astounding type mobile sculptures. The vision of Brooklyn based artist Ebon Heath is just magical. These images are from an exhibition at the Carte Blanche Gallery in London of his work Stereo.type, a typographic ballet. Grown in opposition to urban noise created through advertising mediums in the modern day landscape, Stereo.type explodes the written word. 

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Fresh Start

I’m not going to pretend this hasn’t been a challenging year for many of us and the month of January has been particularly cruel to me in the past. That being said I enter this new year with a new optimism and hope that will bring us all much happiness, good health and prosperity. Wishing the happiest of New Year’s to all! (Panda photo courtesy of DJ Bass)

Monday, December 29, 2008

A Shift in Reality

If you have an iPhone and want something very fun to play with, download this TiltShift app for a mere $1.99. I have long admired tilt shift photography in which a regular world becomes miniature through the use of a special lens. There is also a pretty good tutorial for achieving this in Photoshop and I intend to play with that as well. This iPhone app does it all for you and lets you save high resolution copies of the final image as well. 

Friday, December 26, 2008

Numerology

Beautiful laptop/tote embossed with numerals from the Didot alphabet. Designed by Assouline for Cole Haan.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merrie

Have a very Merrie Christmas!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Cut Me a Vowel


Beautiful hand-cut posters from artist Peter Karras. At the The Cutty Spot you can order any letter from the alphabet, each poster is individually set and hand-cut out of natural white Arches paper. 

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Baked

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I have been baking up a frenzy, wrapping gifts and prepping for the dinner I’m hosting for my family here on Christmas Eve. Found great packaging at Surfas for baked goodies. The boxes have an oval glassine window which I added a label of my own to. You can order online but if you are in L.A., it's definitely worth a trip to shop at a gourmet & cooking supply store the size of Macy's. Where else can you find freshly baked blue corn tart shells, beet powder, cheeses from all over the world, chef's aprons and every kind of chocolate known to man? (AND lots of cute chefs buying supplies!!)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Best Xmas Tree Ever!

A most imaginative tree assembly by Dutch artist Jane Schouten! I love how the light switch is worked into the collage. See more of the tree at her Flickr site. (Click on photo to view in detail)

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Ice to Meet You

To mark the launch of TheNewIceAge.com, a giant ICE WALL was erected outside the Royal Festival Hall at London's Southbank Centre, which encompassed an array of fruit, vegetables and seafood magnificently suspended in ice. This artistic display designed by IceBox, showcased the freshness and high quality of frozen foods. So simple , so beautiful and just a wonderful winter installation.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Peace Wreath

I just love this wreath from Chiasso and for only $30, it's a great deal. Just know they are out of stock until Dec. 15th, so I'm hoping to snag one then.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Poems & Pies

This event could easily be a wet dream for anyone suffering from the munchies. This weekend here in Echo Park, Machine Project is presenting a lecture on the theory and history behind pie-making hosted by their December Artist-in-Residence Joshua Beckman and Master pie-maker Jen Bervin. They are also holding a Fry-BBQ where you bring all your stashed fryable foods, and well, you get the indulgent idea. Fry & Pie, oh dear! This week they also are continuing with their Poetry Delivery service for local residents. Machine Project hosts such interesting events and really celebrates the community of artists here in Los Angeles. 

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Fabric On-Demand

Not being crafty or able to sew at all, I am still tempted to go ahead and print some of my own fabric just because you now can at Spoonflower. There is no minimum, it costs $18 a yard and is printed on quality quilting-weight cotton from Moda™. I'd love it even more if they printed on cotton heavy enough for covering furniture, maybe more options will be available in the future. A few examples from customer designs shown above.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Bits & Pieces

Beautiful fabric typography installation by Shunichiro Nakashima

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Stitch in the City

Not your grandmother’s quilts, these modern & very graphic urban quilts from artist Amy Ahlstrom are so covetable. It’s like having a fabric poster. I so want one!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Minimal Impact Tree

If I had enough wall space I would opt for this very modern tree solution. This limited edition self-adhesive Christmas tree wall sticker from WOW (I did a post on them yesterday) is 72" x 17" and only $100. A very arty option for decorating, so fun!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Art in Unexpected Places

Really loving the latest collection of artist beach towels from the Art Production Fund and Works On Whatever (WOW).  The 2009 collection features contemporary artwork by Karen Kilimnik, Raymond Pettibon, Julian Schnabel and Ed Ruscha reproduced on large soft 100% cotton, 50" x 60" beach towels. The four limited edition beach towels will be carried by Target (online only, free shipping) and also available online from the WOW link above.

The Artist Towel Series 2009 is part of Art Production Fund's WOW (Works on Whatever) project, a unique collection of everyday items designed by artists. APF invites artists to experiment with the latest commercial materials and techniques to bring art off the walls and into homes as everyday objects. WOW introduces contemporary art to a larger community with revenues from sales supporting their non-profit mission. WOW works conceptually with APF's program of expanding art audiences and helps fund additional major civic artworks.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving


Vintage photos from 1938 of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Happy Thanksgiving! Top photo from Ziegfeldgirl. Felix the Cat from here.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

No-Cook Turkey

This bronzed roast turkey is a papercraft project Creative Techs found on a Japanese site. They've bundled the templates into an easy-to-download PDF. Very amusing. (Via SwissMiss)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Dangerous Brew

Unfortunately hard liquor just doesn't agree with me, I’m much more of a red wine lover. But oh how I wish I drank something as mysterious and legendary as absinthe. This beautiful bottle design from Pandor says it all.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Playing Tag

The creative tornado and design diva that is Project Ecoart has  kindly tagged me to list “Six Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy.” The word ‘unimportant’ throws me a bit, so I ended up listing seven ordinary things that cause extraordinary happiness for me. I guess nothing is unimportant but there are many simple mundane things that make me reel with bliss.
1. Growing anything from seeds. I still can’t get over the joy of a new seedling popping out of the ground with the promise of providing flowers for the house, herbs for cooking & vegetables to eat.
2.  Beautiful typography
3.  Riding a horse, especially during the years of my double life as a cowgirl and art director (more on that at another time).
4.  The desert
5.  The warmth of a purring cat next to you
6.  Marshmallow Fluff, as Rachel Zoe would say, I Die!
7.  Gut-wrenching and beautiful architecture & the space it creates. It can literally take my breath away.
The rules of this are that I tag a few more sites to do the same and I look forward to seeing what they list: Krysta ......La Bloga

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Green Graffiti


A very green approach to unauthorized street art, moss graffiti art from Edina Tokodi (aka Mosstika). Love the whole idea of guerrilla gardening!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Fragile Armor


Beautiful concept for a series of garments from artist Li Xiaofeng, do check out the collection, it’s stunning on actual models.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Keeping it Simple

Instead of killing a tree for holiday decorations, why not opt for a 100% recycled, non-toxic raw cardboard wreath? The clean modern design has just the right amount of seasonal cheer without being gaudy. They also have skull, deer and moose head trophies that might find a home on my bookshelves past Christmas. From Cardboard Safari.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Culture Club

Global awareness, social responsibility and helping out charities benefiting impoverished communities throughout the world have become a part of our lives. Dr. Allan Bernstein, a working surgeon with a flair for fashion and a big heart is the vision behind Ethnicitee, a clothing line “inspired by passion, fueled by compassion and socially conscious through fashion.” The line of whisper-soft shirts celebrate the diversity of global cultures with designs inspired by postal stamps from around the world. The best part is 10% of Ethnicitee’s profits go to Charity: Water, a non-profit initiative bringing clean water to communities suffering from extreme poverty. No amount of medicine can help these communities without clean water, so basic, so important. Give a dual-purpose gift this holiday season. it just feels right.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Halo Effect

The latest cover of the first issue after the election of The New Yorker magazine, illustrated by Bob Staake. Stunning.