This is not a new story, but it’s new to me and it makes me jealous… so here it is!

This is a sampling of work by a group of African American women from a small area in Alabama known as Gee’s Bend. Saying that these women ‘make quilts’ just sounds far too everyday for how impressive this bold and meaningful work really is. They can’t be called anything other than artists, because not only is their work stunning to look at, it’s also a huge part of American history/culture. There are so many stories, and heaps of interesting information about these ladies that I can’t possibly describe it all here. Luckily for me {and you} there is a book called Gee’s Bend: The Women And Their Quilts that has images of their work, along with in-depth biographies of each woman… is it too early to start my Christmas list?

{Originally I had 5 quilts in this post but as you’ll see in the comments below, one of them wasn’t a quilt by the ladies of Gee’s Bend… so I’ve removed it. Thanks Richard.}

Seriously, why have I not signed up for some sort of embroidery class by now?! I am totally in awe of this medium, especially when the final pieces end up looking like the work of Jazmin Berakha… hm, I may have to put together Sew Jealous Part II.

{I discovered Jazmin’s work on a blog called Color Collective. If you’ve got a thing for inspiring colour palettes, you have no choice but to check it out. Go on. You’ll love it.}

Ok, I’m showing soft sculpture two days in a row, but when I found this work by Australian based artist Helle Jorgensen I couldn’t control myself. Barnacles made out of reclaimed wool, and discarded plastic beautifully crafted into sea anemones… how could I not write about it immediately? I imagine that she finds the reclaimed wool at garage sales and thrift shops, but where does she get that plastic yarn? She makes it herself of course, and if you have the patience that’s required, she’ll even teach you how it’s done.

{I found her while searching around flickr for a knitted birthday cake. Oh, and if you like these, you’ll probably want to have a look at Emily Barletta’s work .}

Yep, an entire year of being ridiculously jealous… and I hope that’s only the beginning! That’s right, one year ago today I wrote my very first blog post, and I quote:

‘If I could curate an entire show of only felt food I totally would.  I think they are hilarious, weird, and beautifully hand crafted. Sadly, all of these objects are on etsy.com priced anywhere from $8 to $24 because they’re considered craft, not art. Show them in a white walled gallery with shiny wood floors, add some much needed intent by calling the show something like “Comfort Food – A Nation Consumed” and mark my words, they’d be selling like hotcakes for a lot more than $8. It probably couldn’t hurt to adjust the scale a bit too… just ask Claes Oldenburg.’

So, one year later, with a ‘jealously curated’ show section now firmly in place, here it is… Comfort Food – A Nation Consumed.

{The lovely little knitted birthday cake above is by Helle Jørgensen, aka ‘gooseflesh’.}

I’ve done a show on embroidery and a show on portraits so how can I not love these pieces by Jenny Hart. Actually, these could probably be the offspring of those shows if I left them alone long enough.. and let’s face it, with two of them being topless, half the work is done! Anyway, I digress. While my jealousy started off simply because of her work, it grew even more when I saw her resume. It goes a little something like this…

Her work has appeared in Spin, Nylon, Rolling Stone, Venus, The Face, Bust and Juxtapoz. She’s collaborated with The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, and with comic artists such as Dame Darcy and Gary Baseman. Oh, and her work is in the collections of Carrie Fisher, Tracey Ullman and Elizabeth Taylor. Seriously.

Wondering what to do with all of those Barbie dolls you have left over from childhood? No problem. Send them to Brooklyn NY, Attn: Margaux Lange… she’ll take care of them for you. Well, she won’t ‘take care of them’, but she will chop them up and turn them into very cool wearable art. These amazing, and hilarious, pieces are from her series called My Plastic Body. It is “the result of [her] life-long fascination with the icon, and a desire to re-purpose mass produced materials into handmade, wearable art”. My favourite piece is the necklace directly above, titled Mounds. Yes… they are what you think they are!

{If you’re in  Pittsburgh, she has a solo show called ‘Wearable Nostalgia: Deconstructing Barbie & Ken’ on at the Luke and Eloy Gallery until January 16, 2010.}

It’s like a biology text book and a ball of yarn fell madly in love, got married and had a few babies.  And the matchmaker that got these two crazy kids together? New York artist Emily Barletta. I have to admit… I might be a little bit in love too. I have a soft spot in my heart for work that blurs the line between art and craft, and she has definitely done that with these stunning, organic sculptures. Crochet, embroidery, clay, bead work and a very interesting concept behind it all. Yep, a match made in heaven.

Inspired? Yep. Jealous? Yep. A tiny bit scared? Yep!

Lynn Whipple is a fantastic, and very accomplished, American collage/assemblage artist. These pieces are from her lovely, yet kind of absurd, mixed media series called ‘Ninnies’. She has work in galleries all across the US, and is featured in more publications than I can list. I love her work, but what inspires me even more is a little section on her blog called 100 Bad Paintings. All of you artists out there – listen up! The idea is that when you’re starting out, or changing your style, or just working on new ideas, chances are you’ll do 100 bad paintings… so you might as well get started. ‘What really happens is, it frees you up to play and not worry. Now you can enjoy the process. The truth is you get better really quick, maybe even by #19. Try it!’ She has bravely posted a bunch of oil paintings (not her usual medium of choice) that she considers bad, but in progress.

That’s it, I’m starting on canvas #1 tomorrow.

This is insane… and photos don’t do it justice. I saw this life size ‘May Pole’ installation by Canadian artist Kristi Malakoff last spring up close and personal. Isn’t it beautiful? And wait, it gets better… the whole thing is made out of, brace yourself, cut paper. Yes. Everything. The curly hair, the lace, the ribbon, the birds. Everything.

{When you visit her site, make sure to check out the ‘Flower Installations’ section – all of which are made from thousands of flowers that she has photographed,  then printed and cut out of paper, and last but not least, arranged into words, scenes etc. Amazing!}

Yes. That’s right. Vintage tattoos made of hand-sewn lace.

You’ve got to think that for Theresa Honeywell this painstaking work must be almost as agonizing as getting a real tattoo. This is how she explains her process… “[Each piece is] made in the similar labor intense way that a tattoo is made, using only a needle to draw with, but instead of ink on skin, my medium is only thread on thread.”

I’m getting a headache just thinking about this. Ouch! Hand cramp! Ooh! And now my eyes hurt! Aaaa!