Kate Pruitt

Loft Living

2010-09-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

I want to live in a loft space so badly! I know that there are some drawbacks to loft buildings, but don't you sometimes want the ability to build a house inside your house?

Via DesignBoom

Amazing Stop Motion

2010-09-18T13:28:00.001-07:00

This is a still from an incredible stop motion film made on a Nokia N8 phone. It might be my favorite stop motion film made to date, with the exception of Coraline. Thank you Sara for sharing this with me!

Creators Inn

2010-08-20T13:32:00.001-07:00

Creators Inn provides free rooms for artists and other creatives. Just one of the many reasons Sweden is awesome.

Liesl Pfeffer

2010-06-25T12:19:00.001-07:00

Awesome photo collage by Liesl Pfeffer. I wish this was much larger, and that I could be standing in front of it. Also, I love the name Liesl.

Ornithology Clock

2010-05-05T09:36:00.001-07:00

My latest project on design*sponge: bird clock!

Mauricio Arruda

2010-05-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Jose collection by Mauricio Arruda, using reclaimed wood and plastic crates.
I love the pushcart inspired legs.

viadezeen

Twig Push-pins

2010-04-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

This week's d*s project: pushpins made from twig nubs! Seconds to make, Hours to photograph, as usual.

Andy Vogt

2010-04-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

I would love to see some of these in person. Work by SF based artist Andy Vogt.

Hanging Plants

2010-04-25T16:24:00.001-07:00

Via Bloesem.

Agua Table

2010-04-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Beautiful cardboard stones made for the agua table.

Monochro

2010-04-23T08:02:00.001-07:00

Flexible ribbon lights from Monochro.

via apartment therapy

Geometric Gardens

2010-04-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

geometric gardens!

via the cool hunter

Olivier Kosta-Théfaine

2010-02-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

this is done with a lighter!!! amazing.
via yatzer.

Roland Tiangco

2010-01-24T23:06:00.000-08:00

I am really into these projects by Roland Tiangco.

Clay Studio?

2010-01-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

I have had these images in my files for a long time, but sadly I cannot remember the artist or artists. Does anyone know who created these? I labeled them as "clay studio", but I don't know what that means!! Stupid me...

Amy Casey

2010-01-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

I really love these paintings by Amy Casey.

Kader Attia

2010-01-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Ghost, installation by Kader Attia. Via Collectiva

Albert Exergian

2010-01-19T10:14:00.001-08:00

Albert Exergian designed these posters for popular tv shows as a personal side project. They were such a hit I think you can now buy them here. Some of these are just ridiculously clever.

Imeüble

2010-01-19T09:28:00.001-08:00

Love this! Imeüble by Bjørn Jørund Blikstad, a recent design grad.

Elisa Strozyk

2010-01-01T09:37:00.001-08:00

Remarkable wooden textiles from Elisa Strozyk. Via Today and Tomorrow.

Reed and Rader

2009-12-09T09:30:00.001-08:00

Michael Johannson

2009-12-03T08:45:00.001-08:00

Michael Johannson has a great sense of humor in his work.
this is made from real bike parts and welded steel. So clever.

Curb your enthusiasm (for my project)

2009-12-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

I had a very happy moment today when I posted my weekly DIY project on design*sponge. I never know how much chit-chat people want to hear from me when I introduce a project, and usually I keep it to a minimum. But since I have been doing this for a year now I think I am loosened up a bit and letting my personality show more in the writing, which is good I guess. But ANYWAY, I slipped a little curb joke in there because I couldn't resist...and it was great to see a few comment writers make curb jokes back. Ah it was so satisfying!

there's a chance this project will be published in the design*sponge book that's coming out next year, and i am very very excited. i also did several projects exclusively for the book which i cannot share, but i am so excited to see the end result. it's over 400 pages, and i am so amazed that grace put it all together in such a short time. amazing grace (i bet no one's made that joke before)!

Owl Eyes

2009-10-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

Owl eyes are crazy!! I am hypnotized by this weird bird.
seen here. Thanks Sara!

Inspiration

2009-10-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to go through my stack of magazines to add to my inspiration books. This is a by-product of that process. It takes a lot longer than seems appropriate but it is worth it! I feel much better now.

W magazine

Living Etc.

Marie Claire Maison

Gerhard Richter

2009-09-25T13:43:00.001-07:00

I love pretty much anything and everything Gerhard Richter does. One of my all time favorite painters. He's always been interested in the combination of photography and painting, and this new direction is pretty amazing. Found via Today and Tomorrow.

these are some of his older works. i would love to see some of these in person.

Teacups!

2009-09-25T13:22:00.001-07:00

Noah's super awesome sister sent me some teacups she found at a thrift store to add to my growing teacup collection! I love them, they are a perfect addition. Thanks Jesse!

these are my current stacks. not too crazy yet, right?

Anne Hardy

2009-09-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Weird and awesome staged photos by Anne Hardy. I love staged photography.

Back to School

2009-09-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

In honor of the impending school year and the fact that I am actually a semi-student again after five years, I made this notebook lunchbag for my design*sponge DIY. I'm actually pretty happy with this how this one turned out. The fabric seemed like it wasn't going to be exactly right ( I wanted thinner blue lines of course) but it worked out well. I love this time of year, probably because I am from the east coast where the weather actually does something fantastic in fall. But I still love california, don't get me wrong.

Reading this book. It's fascinating and it fulfills my pangs for New England. Oh to live in Boston in the 1800s!

Also trying to come up with some creative get rich quick schemes. Don't steal this one, but my friends and I are thinking it can't fail, especially somewhere with lots of hipsters like Dolores Park or maybe Alamo Square. Ready for it? Banana stand.

Rune Guneriussen

2009-08-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long!! I have been busy with work and class and travel. But honestly not so busy I couldn't have posted more. I apologize. I'm back now.

Gorgeous photographs by Rune Guneriussen. I have a weakness for anthropomorphism and lamps so naturally I am in love with these. The warmth of the lamps in the freezing climate is a nice contrast. But I don't want those phones to freeze to death!

Team Efforts

2009-08-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

iQ font - When driving becomes writing / Full making of from wireless on Vimeo.

I love it when people have a creative idea and they team up with other people with their own unique skill sets to create something awesome. It's ambitious and it takes a lot of effort. I have endless admiration for people who see these projects through to creation.

this is another one of my favorite examples of this. this is what makes life great! okay so it's an ad campaign..whatever. it's still a product of real people physically dumping bouncy balls on the streets of san francisco. that's good enough for me.

James Nares

2009-07-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

I love these simple brush paintings by James Nares. They look easy, but it takes a lot of skill and control to paint like this. Found these over at But does it float.

Heike Weber

2009-07-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Amazing installations by Heike Weber. This is hand drawn with permanent marker....

Three dimensional kilims made with silicone

More permanent marker! I am amazed...

Duncan Wilson

2009-07-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Several awesome projects by UK designer Duncan Wilson. I've never used a playstation, but I still find this to be super cool.

This is a project that recreates the effect of a park bench covered in a thick blanket of snow, and how you cannot sit without disrupting its perfection.

Brilliant!

Wallpaper made of four layers of post-its. as you remove the layers the variations create a pattern. The base color is the bright red. I love post-its.

Francisco Infante

2009-07-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Francisco Infante - I think these are all without digitalization...not sure. But they are so pretty.

Janaki Lennie

2009-06-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Oil paintings by Janaki Lennie. I find them peaceful and pleasant to look at, but they also make me think of the smog over LA and then they seem almost apocalyptic. But I still think they are beautiful.

Anna Hepler

2009-06-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

Artists Andrea Sulzer, Anna Hepler and printmaking class used the classroom floors of a soon to be demolished school as giant woodblocks. Isn't this amazing? I love it. More info here.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

I love you dad.

Florentijn Hofman

2009-06-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well, these just make me happy. Via Today and Tomorrow.

Myoung Ho Lee

2009-06-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting essay on these photographs by Myoung Ho Lee on the blog lens culture. And also an interview with the artist at this site. I personally prefer the artist's thoughts on the works to what critics read into them. But to each his own!

Paula Hayes

2009-06-12T09:09:00.001-07:00

I just read this article in the NY Times about Paula Hayes. I had seen her terrariums before, but her whole body of work is incredible. She has a gardening and farming background with her family, and she went to school for an MFA in sculpture from parsons... I really love seeing artists who translate what they love in life through the medium they work in. The result is always along these lines: awesome bizarro garden dreamworlds.

um...YES

2009-06-10T22:28:00.001-07:00

i know i know! this is totally unrelated to art or anything. i was just thinking about it. jeff goldblum's hotness i mean.

Saul Becker

2009-06-01T10:34:00.001-07:00

I am really into painters lately. Love these. I think there is some photo transfer going on, which would explain the ink listed in the materials. don't you wish that instead of just listing materials, a piece description was more like this:

"Untitled, 2004. 20" x 40". Pkay first i photographed this rock, then I printed it large format on a large scale printer. then i used such and such chemical to transfer the image. I rub the back of the image with this kind of brush, then I...." and so on and so forth. but I guess that takes away some of the fun, certainly for the artist.

Ben Grasso

2009-06-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Large oil paintings by artist Ben Grasso. pretty cool. I like the soft, easy painting style and the dreamy backgrounds.

Assisted Sculpture

2009-05-25T11:45:00.001-07:00

Artist/beekeeper Hilary Bersethan makes these sculptures with the help of his bees. Pretty cool. NY Times art section via Boing Boing.

Birds

2009-05-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

I took these photos today of these wire birds I made. The pictures turned out pretty cool actually! I wish I could print one really large format.

Andrea Galvani

2009-05-18T11:29:00.001-07:00

Photographer Andrea Galvani

Morgane Tschiember

2009-05-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Want some pop art? Okay...I love this stuff. Wow. It just makes me want to live in a crazy Wonka-esque dream world filled with exaggerated shapes and bright colors. Well maybe not LIVE there, but visit it often.

Ranjani Shettar

2009-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

This week sometime I plan to go to the SFMoma to see the new exhibitions. I am particularly excited to see the installations by India based artist Ranjani Shettar. Ever since my display days I am drawn to artists that use a combination of traditional art materials and everyday objects to produce something amazing.

Willpower

2009-05-12T22:01:00.001-07:00

Deco ring by The Beside

Apparently there have been many studies that say willpower is finite and that you only have so much to go around at a time; you shouldn't try to quit smoking while also trying to lose weight, for example...so maybe my plan of growing out (aka not biting) my nails, doing art everyday, keeping a tight budget, and exercising on a regular basis may be flawed...which will go first?! Who knows? It's so exciting to see which failure will win the race. But let's not be so negative JUST yet. If I do manage to stop biting my nails, I think I will have to reward myself with one of these beautiful rings. As incentive to continue exhibiting superior willpower of course...

Quartz ring by One Stone New York

Wave ring by One Stone New York

Small seed flower stacking rings by Blanca Monros Gomez

Luxurious elegance ring by Kyle Anne Metals

Keith Tyson

2009-05-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of obsessive imagery and art of epic proportions. I find a lot of Turner Prize winners are right up my alley in this way. Here is work by another turner winner and awesome artist, Keith Tyson. His website has lots of amazing images, but is a little flash-heavy for me (lots of loading). But worth checking out for sure.

Erik Benson

2009-05-07T16:34:00.001-07:00

I admire the painting skills of Erik Benson. These definitely remind me of my visit to my sister's apartment in Brooklyn during march. Bleak, but in a beautiful way.

In My Head

2009-05-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Walead Beshty

I have been feeling totally paralyzed artistically. I have just been out of it for so long, I think I am approaching things with a completely toxic, unproductive and desperate mind. I can't focus on anything and experiment. It's truly frustrating. I'm going to try to put on my positive hat though, and say today was a better day than most. I finished the book i was reading on the role of the muse and started reading a book about Krasner, Hesse, and O'keefe. I also spent a huge part of the day reading the blog I call it ORANGES. Ed Schad has some really great reviews of various art shows in LA and I really enjoy his writing. It is helpful to me to read some reviews and some theory, so I can get my mind back into the swing of things, kind of. At this point it is exactly like a freezing lake and I just need to jump. No more toe dipping, because frankly the anticipation is driving me crazy.

Miles Coolidge

Lester Monzon

rebecca ward

2009-05-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

i've been in love with tape since i was little. so of course i love any and all amazing art that is made with tape. the one below is really crazy. i wonder how she installs these pieces. it kinda gives me a headache just thinking about it, but the results are stunning.

josh keyes

2009-05-04T18:24:00.000-07:00

little did i know, i live very close to the studio of super amazing oakland artist josh keyes! that's very exciting. maybe one day i'll work up the nerve to go over there and talk to him.

bakertweet

2009-05-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

this creation is sort of like the light bulb over my head. okay i get it now. twitter is awesome.

heimo zobernig

2009-04-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

i'm officially obsessed with paintings that are bright colors and play with geometric shapes.

cosima von bonin

2009-04-30T21:40:00.001-07:00

i'm enjoying these fabric works by cosima von bonin, and wishing i could take a trip to new york for gallery hopping.

edgar mueller

2009-04-27T20:36:00.001-07:00

blowing my mind! 3D street art by edgar mueller via simpatico.

amy mayfield

2009-04-27T11:00:00.001-07:00

yesterday i was feeling pretty unmotivated and depressed. i think i did too much internet reading and saw too many small gallery websites and read too many articles and blah blah blah. but even though i overdo it, feel crappy, take a break and start to do it again, it just takes one artist's work to make me feel pretty excited about being an artist all over again. also, on a hopeless home design enthusiast note: those installation floors would be rad in an apartment, particularly the triangular one.

urban camouflage

2009-04-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

this is great. urban camouflage via swissmiss.

todo design

2009-04-24T15:37:00.001-07:00

i found the work of this italian design firm todo through poppytalk. work like this inspires me, and it motivates me to learn more about computers. i think the mere fact that i phrased it "learn more about computers" shows i need some help.

sarah bostwick

2009-04-24T09:53:00.001-07:00

i haven't made it over to the all the great galleries on geary street yet, but i like to check their websites sometimes for inspiration. i love these pieces by sarah bostwick at gregory lind gallery. i think they are all based on architectural elements around she observed around san francisco. they have a very quiet, simple beauty, and i love that they break the two dimensional aspect of a hanging canvas with wood or metal elements. but it's sort of tainted because they remind me of the ill-fated model making class i took in college...despite my love of miniatures, i was not very good at reproducing architecture in small scale and it ended poorly. oh well, moving on.

make something cool everyday

2009-04-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

when i saw the post with these beautiful "nonsense graphs" on design work life, i had to investigate further. apparently there are a bunch of people who are members of a flickr group called make something cool everyday. these graphs by chad hagen are definitely one of the highlights, but there's a lot of cool stuff.

another standout was the set of colorful patterns by c86.

michael kontopoulos

2009-04-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

i am just starting to think about experimenting with interactive installations and working mechanisms (i mean robot parts) but i haven't had much experience so i am a little nervous. unless you count how good i was at playing the incredible machine in 1993. god i loved that game!! but i love this art even more. these are all incredibly successful and engaging. particularly this first one that tries to draw a circle. isn't it incredibly wonderful to see a machine that is clumsy and fails over and over again? my immediate reaction is to anthropomorphize it. i want to give it a hug and say hey, it's okay. circles are tough.

thank you to boing boing for posting the art of michael kontopoulos, and thank you to noah for sharing it with me.

owen glidersleeve/ evening tweed

2009-04-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

when i found the work of sarah a. king, i didn't realize she was a member of a graphic design collective called evening tweed. all four of the designers do some pretty cool stuff, but today i was especially drawn to these typography designs by owen glidersleeve (now that's a surname).

eltono

2009-04-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

i can't say that i find all performance art accessible; if someone is acting weird on a city street i usually hurry past, probably missing something fascinating. and if i didn't know these posters were part of a public space project i would probably pass by them too, which is sad. when they are in a gallery space you really get to see how beautiful they are, and how much more beautiful they became from their public use. i love this and all of the projects by italian artist eltono. it makes me want to open my eyes more when i walk around san francisco.

this one is pretty great too. with full understanding of the logic behind the glitter/herpes analogy, i respectfully disagree and desperately wish i could have been in italy for this. the images above are from some "confetti graffiti" he did on his own in the streets, and below are some images from a gallery opening, which looks mega fun.

megan whitmarsh

2009-04-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

my last post about andreas banderas got me thinking about megan whitmarsh. his illustrations kind of reminded me of her embroidery pieces i remember seeing a few years ago (like the one above). but i haven't really kept up with her work so i decided to check it out. i really dig her new work! it's cool to go to her site and view the works organized by year so you can see the progression. and the part of me that loves fake food is the same part that is obsessed with the "soft" security system she built with caroline rankin. yarn lasers!! brilliant.

not to mention this is one of the sweetest portrait photos i have ever seen. take that, annie liebovitz!
(side note: i don't think much of annie leibovitz, and i know i am in the minority on this. i just don't find her celebrity portraits to be very creative or compelling. beautiful yes, inventive, no.)

andreas banderas

2009-04-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

i have never been very good at collage making, and i think there is a lot of crap collage out there (my own attempts included). but these are beautiful. andreas banderas lives in norway, another awesome place for art and design that i would love to visit someday.

via nous vous

sarah a. king

2009-04-17T15:25:00.001-07:00

i would love to be an illustrator but sadly, i lack the patience i think. not to mention the hand skills. sarah a. king used to be an intern for the incredibly talented mike perry, which doesn't surprise me. her work has elements of the intricately-ornate-meets-street-style that you can see in mike perry's work too. i wish these pieces were for sale, i would have a whole wall of them.

rachel whiteread

2009-04-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

i love those brits!! i wrote a paper on rachel whiteread's "house" series when i was in college, but then i kind of forgot how much i love her work. my friend is a huge fan of gordon matta-clark, who sawed buildings in half. okay that is pretty sweet. but making a cement cast of a house??? that is just....mega-amazing. not that's it's a contest. the great thing about the process is that the cement would grab old bits of wallpaper and paint from the walls of the house, like little souvenirs of the soul of this delapidated, soon-to-be-demolished home. i just purchased a book on how to make plaster casts and molds, but i am pretty sure i will never achieve this kind of result.

i also love the impressions of books on the shelves, especially where it looks like the plaster is discolored by the dye on the book pages. it's the same technque where elements of the missing object get trapped and archived by the medium. i would love to see her work in person, hopefully a show will come to the bay area soon. they probably won't bring a whole cement house though...

p.s. my DIY crazy mind is cranking over that crazy domestic chess set!

oisin byrne

2009-04-15T09:41:00.001-07:00

hooray for color! it's spring here and thankfully it's sunny, but it's cooold. especially in our dark apartment. i want some bright happy colors in my life today! this artwork by oisin byrne makes me feel good. oisin's advocates "art which is the product of play." um, yeah i can go for that! plus, i downloaded his thesis on olafur eliasson and james turrell, and would like to get around to reading it because it sounds interesting.

i really dig these origami installations! thank you to my friend joe for posting them.

klas ernflo

2009-04-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

all work by klas ernflo, via bloesem

because studio

2009-04-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

there are a lot of great uk based design firms out there, but this one stood out to me because of the cleverness and the sense of humor in each project. even the name is clever. loz ives, the man behind the because studio, divides his time between contract work and his own experimental projects.

this one is based on a quote from comedian demetri martin, and it's pretty funny. my boyfriend is a big believer of this sentiment, but not me. i get it, but i cannot help but love glitter in all its sparkly glory.

this is a brand/identity project for an idependent textile designer. i love the idea of creating a custom stamp as a less expensive way to produce an entire business card and letterhead package. good idea!!

dining tables

2009-04-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

my desire to have a place to eat food other then the coffee table increases daily. unfortunately, i am just not sure we have the space. but i keep dreaming, and the images from livingetc. magazine prove to be a major help for my daydreaming. these are all pretty small, but maybe not even small enough for my setup. sigh.

flickr find: moucri

2009-04-10T15:11:00.001-07:00

i don't know how i found these on flickr, but i love them. ever since i took the train from nyc to boston and saw the landscape on the way i have been on a cold, industrial, urban detritus kick (is there such a thing?) and these are all of that and more. i also want whatever camera produces this quality. wow.

mara baldwin

2009-04-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

i went to the CCA MFA open studios last weekend, and overall i was underwhelmed. a few people definitely stood out though, and i decided to look up more work by Mara Baldwin, one of my favorites there. i really liked the grad studios at CCA. they were big plywood cubicles basically, and the students had turned them into studios/apartments/installations/storefronts. they were all right next to each other too, so that you could pop in on any of your studio mates and chat. and i am pretty sure they are 24 hours, which is great.

cheery typography

2009-04-09T10:33:00.001-07:00

i think that in the muppet world of design, typography is the fozzie bear. or maybe the gonzo. this analogy is flawed, but you know what i mean! i feel like typographers really cut loose, and there are so many typefaces out there that are wacky and fun. i shouldn't use the word wacky because i hate that word, and i probably shouldn't generalize. anyway, a fun and cheerful typeface can always make me smile. here are some from imeus design, a uk design firm. a lot of their poster and logo work has a happy 60s vibe, which i love.

this one is called the siddartha mammory font! it's great.

hollis brown thornton

2009-04-09T10:11:00.001-07:00

i have always wanted to learn all the processes of image transfer. there is a class at cca on image transfer techniques but i never jump on it in time and the class fills up. i love these works using image transfers by south carolina artist hollis brown thornton. i also really love the color pallet when you look at all of his works together. i think that the hazy, vintage, polaroid-like feel is part of the image transfer technique...but since i have never learned quite how to do it i am not sure! it might also be that he used aged photogrpahs. either way, i love them! he has a lot of work posted on his website and on flickr so check it out.

these last three images were done with permanent marker! this is probably the best use of sharpies i have seen in a long time.

mrs. grossman's

2009-04-07T20:49:00.001-07:00

this must be a girl thing, because i asked noah and he had no idea what i was talking about, or why i would be so excited. but i just realized that the mrs. grossman's sticker factory is in petaluma, less than an hour away from me! i LOVED these stickers, and it is one of the few things from my childhood that still exists and hasn't been changed or discontinued. these are just good, simple, timeless designs, no question. i wasn't aware that mrs. grossman was an seasoned graphic designer before starting this company but now that i do know, i am not at all surprised. she says that it all started when she ordered some heart labels she designed as a one time request from a customer and instead of being in flat sheets they arrived in a huge roll. the visual impact of the thousands of heart stickers on a roll made her think about what a great product this could be. it is so true how the visual impact of something in mass can be truly inspiring. even looking at that factory shot above makes me want to buy a ton of stickers by the yard... here are some of the classics i remember from my youth:

supply shopping (aka pretty in pink)

2009-04-07T17:42:00.001-07:00

i finished my taxes today and decided to do some online supply shopping for some upcoming art projects i am planning. hopefully they will arrive by the end of the week so i can get started!

my crush

2009-04-06T20:59:00.001-07:00

i have several platonic female crushes, but none as strong as my girl crush on christien meindertsma. i want to be her!! look at her knitting away on her sofa with those giant knitting needles, like an adorably hip scandinavian alice in wonderland. not only do i love all of her pieces, but the process seems like truly satisfying, enjoyable work. i am not sure if she spins the supersized yarn herself, but i know she goes on trips to seek out the sheep whose wool she uses, which must be a pretty exciting adventure unto itself. she is definitely one the artists that inspires me most, so i was super excited to see a short spread on her in this month's ID magazine.

redecorating

2009-04-06T20:07:00.001-07:00

i just bit the bullet and got these curtains for our new living room setup. after struggling over what kind of curtains to get, looking for low prices, attempting to find fabric to make my own, i just decided to go for it. i hope they look right. i also need to find a small dining table so that we can eat somewhere besides the couch or the bed. i am probably going to get one of these tables from ikea:

if i get this white one, i think i would paint or cover the metal legs with something... drop leaf tables are so expensive everywhere else, and i just don't have the energy to try to solve it with a diy table. i think i have to make one of these work. i will post pics when as it all comes together!

bauke knottnerus

2009-04-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

last week i was intrigued by the trompe l'oeil room dividers posted on apartment therapy so i went to see the website of bauke knottnerus...wow! you know my weakness for oversize knitting so of course i was blown away by these pieces.

the distorted scale and plasticky finish kind of remind me of claes oldenburg sculptures.

jeff carter

2009-03-31T15:14:00.001-07:00

i found the work of jeff carter on ikea hacker, and i am so in love with it. what are the many things i love about it? i love the use of ikea materials (mass produced, banal, etc.), i love the anti-natural nature colors, i love the mechanized movement, i love the geometry, i love the humor...i could go on and on.

tulips

2009-03-30T15:42:00.001-07:00

these are real images of tulip fields! can you believe it? i have to make it to holland someday for the tulip season. according to this article, holland produces nine billion bulbs (two bulbs for every person on the planet) each year! wowza. even though i understand that this is clearly the most practical way to grow them, in rows of like breeds (is that rght? breeds of flowers? that doesn't sound right...the word is escaping me for how to say different types of the same plant, but you know what i mean), i am amazed that they can control it so well and have such cleanly delineated rows of color. i feel like this should be in the next todd oldham ad campaign or something.

naoto fukasawa

2009-03-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

i found this awesome package design project by naoto fukasawa on the dieline. i have to assume it's an expensive endeavor to mass produce these packages, but i am dying to feel one in my hands...apparently they mimic the feel of the actual fruit. i really appreciate the size differences too. this may not be practical, but it is a really cool idea.

etsy find: neawear

2009-03-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

i spent a long time browsing etsy this morning and found a shop i really like called neawear. she has some pretty jewelry pieces, but most of all i am loving these little embroidery works she does. she calls them "wallwear", which i think is truly appropriate because they are like little pieces of jewelry for your wall. love it!

lucy vigrass

2009-03-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

i am in a phase of seeking out illustration and graphic design that i like. here is an illustrator whose work really cheers me up: lucy vigrass. i saw her stuff in a design magazine a while back, and i decided to seek out her website. great stuff!!

if she hasn't met kate spade yet, they definitely need to set that up...isn't her work right up the same alley? i feel like i am looking at a kate spade planner right now.

she doesn't specify on her site if her work is made on a computer, or if it is hand drawn/painted. it is probably a mixture of both, which is always my favorite. this work makes me want to play with adobe illustrator and learn to master at least 10% of the amazing tools that the program provides...

death valley

2009-03-26T23:48:00.000-07:00

we are headed to death valley this weekend to go camping! i will try to take some photos of my own while i am there...

kwangho lee

2009-03-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

i am blown away by the work of kwangho lee, who i investigated after seeing her stuff at the recent canadian show 'come up to my room' (not in person sadly, but through various blog posts). i was hard pressed to choose my favorite images, and i also really love her website. she gives you the engaging story behind her body of work, her photos are great, her writing is articulate, and i love it when artists give you images of their process.

these pieces are all cut from large blocks of styrofoam! i wonder what kind of tools she uses to create that texture.

she has many variations on these knitted, knotted light pieces...i love them all!

also on her home page is a little update on her daily going's on, which i drool over. i love living vicariously through the blogs of other artists. nothing makes me happier than when i see they have just found a great studio space, or seeing them prepare for a show...it's a little weird i know. hopefully i will blog similar news someday soon!

bessma khalaf

2009-03-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

in 2005 my friend from college and i rented a live/work loft in an old cigar factory in west oakland. we had big dreams of producing tons of paintings and living the starving artist lifestyle. but it kinda sucked and we didn't get anything done. anyway, long story short we had to find a new renter to take over our lease and this girl from los angeles (i think) was going to get her mfa in photography from cca and ended up renting it. she was so happy with the loft and it was great to pass it on to someone who would actually use it. on a whim i decided to look her up on the ol' web to see if she was up to anything. and i think her work is pretty interesting! i wonder if she still lives in that apartment...

carolyn salas

2009-03-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

my friend joe introduced me to the sculptures and installations of carolyn salas. my favorites are the rug out of carpet foam and, of course, this antler piece "trophy"....

joanna mendicino

2009-03-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

i love these ceramics from joanna mendicino, especially the robin's egg bowls...

design studios

2009-03-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

here are some images from two cool uk based design studios that do all kinds of print, interior, identity, graphic design

all images above from bunch design

"conversation" public exhibition by burn everything

lisbet friis

2009-03-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

i keep hoping that these pillows by lisbet friis will go on sale at rose and radish, but perhaps they never will. her use of color and pattern is deeply inspiring for me. i can't even believe you can print textiles with such intense colors! another great talent from scandinavia.

animal portraiture

2009-03-20T20:08:00.001-07:00

i am thinking i will have to get a picture of jfk commissioned soon, i am loving these so much.

photography by edyta szyszlo

catherine ledner photography at the beholder

pet portraits via domino

taking a tub

2009-03-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

i now know that this is not how other people phrase it because i have been made fun of many times. but in my family, it was called "taking a tub". and even though i know most people say "taking a bath" i am still going to say "taking a tub" because hey, i like it. i think it sounds friendly in a country bumpkin kind of way.

however, if i had my dream bathroom (like one of these gorgeous clawfoots rounded up by apartment therapy), i would consider refining my vocabulary. but man, do i want to take a tub in these tubs! here are some of my favorites...

i don't love the chair there. this is more like you are getting some very serious advice and/or scolding while in the tub. but i love the soothing pastel colors and the light from the window.

this is my favorite i think. i love it because of the bench. a great place to entertain company while in the tub! or a very nice place to sit and unwind while you are running the water.

this has a lot that appeals to me; when it comes to tubs i like serene, simple, and spa like. but i guess it might seem a bit institutional with that high window. who has a bathroom that looks like this?

hisano takei

2009-03-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

i've seen work by textile artist hisano takei before, i am not sure where. but i stumbled across it again at felt club and i am really intrigued by it. the exaggerated pieces are amazing. they engulf the wearer almost to the point of becoming threatening. don't a couple of them look like they might eat you? i am not sure if that is her intention, but they are definitely cool. i would definitely wear this mixed chain link one below.

candy colored vintage

2009-03-20T15:58:00.001-07:00

i am visiting my family in nh until monday and i would love to share some photos of the landscape, but since it is march the scenery here is a bit bleak. i don't want bleak right now, so i am posting the opposite: these cheery vintage style jewelry pieces by sprout studio.