Vancouver based artist Jamie Armstrong has found his way into my heart with these vintage photographs complete with painted-out faces, rosy-cheeked men, and of course… a huge amount of gold glitter. Really, what more could a girl {and a bunch of rosy-cheeked men} want?

{Yet another find from The Cheaper Show No.10}

Hockey legends, and cross-stitching {yes, I said cross-stitching, not cross-checking}. And if the subject matter/medium isn’t fantastic enough, Canadian artist Mike Macri has framed his soul crushing work in fancy white frames. Yep, I can honestly say, I’ve never been a huge hockey fan, but now I’d do just about anything to have one of these guys hanging on my wall {including a little cross-checking, if necessary}.

{I saw Mike’s work at The Cheaper Show on the weekend, and you guessed it, I was jealous.}

Oh, where to begin. This year’s Cheaper Show in Vancouver was, umm, fantastic! From the Friday night preview show, to the giant line-up that started in the wee hours of Saturday morning and lasted late into the night, straight through to the actual event. An amazing venue, thousands of very cool people, some very tasty chocolate cake, and of course, fabulous art. I got there early on Friday night and was able to go around and see the entire show… that was a little trickier later that night, and almost impossible on Saturday {too many interesting people to stop and chat with!} As I made my way around the gorgeous space, this was the sound I kept making {please note, I was alone at this point so I’m sure I sounded like some kind of crazy art groupie}… Gasp! Wha?! The dialogue in my head went something like this: “What?! They’re in this show!? I’ve written about him/her, I love him/her, and now I’m seeing their work up-close and in person! Holy #$%@”. Yep, that’s what it sounded like inside of my head, all night long. 1. Ben Skinner, 2. Vincent Pacheco, 3. Aaron Moran, 4. Erin M. Riley, 5. Russell Leng, 6. Zoe Pawlak… and the list could literally go on and on. There were also a truck load of artists that I’ve never written about before who I now love, have seen their work up-close and in person, and will be writing about in the very near future. Like tomorrow.

{ps. I was lucky enough to have two of my pieces in the show, and they both sold! Yay/phew.}

Come on, paint a cigarette… all of the cool kids are doing it. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life  – ok, once at a bar in Belgium when I was 18 – it did not go well. I’m hoping things go a little smoother tonight at The Cheaper Show preview party when I find myself up-close and personal with the work of Seattle based artist Vincent Pacheco {aka Mudchicken, and the founder of WAFA!?!} I wrote about him last year, and have been insanely jealous ever since… obviously you can imagine my delight when I was doing a final perusal through the list of 200 Cheaper Show artists, and there he was. I’m not sure if he’ll be at the show, but if he is, let’s hope I don’t cough, choke and tear up!

{The Cheaper Show officially opens on Saturday night at 6pm… 200 artists, 400 pieces of art, everything priced at $200. Get there early… and I mean really early!}

You know my little phrase, “Damn, I wish I thought of that” – well, Australian artist, curator, and writer Tai Snaith has come up with a project that makes me think exactly that. She recently collaborated with eight writers, asking them to describe the one thing that they could not live without… and then she drew all of those things, as she imagined them from the writers’ descriptions, to scale! Um yep, I totally wish I thought of that.

The Best Things In Life Aren’t Things opens at the Helen Gory Galerie on June 29th.

{I wanted to show more images, but this lovely yellow dress is the only image I could find [via frankie magazine]. Hopefully when the show opens we’ll be able to see everything!}

Lots of lovely shows happening in June!

1. The beautifully odd photographs of Ranee Palone Flynn are now showing at Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art in New York… but hurry, because the show ends on Saturday, June 18th!

2. Ahh, the fabulous urban quilts of Amy Ahlstrom. The show is on now, and the reception is happening this Thursday June 16th at a.Muse Gallery in San Francisco.

3. Perfect for the beginning of summer! Samantha French’s paintings will be in a group show at 801 Artists Lofts in Minneapolis.

4. The Cheaper Show No.10 is a crazy, fun, artsy one night event on Saturday June 25th in Vancouver. 200 artists, 400 pieces of art, all for $200. Seriously. Get there early!

5. Pieces of the Moon, Photographs by Mikael Kennedy opens on Thursday June 30th at Catalog Gallery in Vancouver. Yes, a little bit of shameless self-promotion, but I’m so proud of this show! Hope to see you there : )

Yep. Still jealous. This is the third time I’ve written about New York based painter Samantha French, but when I received an email about a few of her upcoming exhibitions {see dates below}, I could not control myself! Archers, bathing beauties, and tranquil blue water… really, could you stop yourself from writing about her a third time? No, I didn’t think so.

1. Groveland Gallery / Summer Shorts: Contemporary Classics / Minneapolis, MN / Opening reception: Thurs., June 16, 5-8pm / Show runs from June 16 – June 28, 2011

2. 801 Washington Lofts / Summer 2011 Art Opening / Minneapolis, MN / Sat., June 18th, 6 – 9pm

“Pieces of the Moon ~ Photographs by Mikael Kennedy ”
Opening Reception ~ Thursday June 30th, 2011 6pm til late
Presented by Catalog Gallery, Vancouver
Curated by… me!

I am beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to hang this show! I have been a huge fan of New York based photographer Mikael Kennedy since the first time I wrote about him in 2009. We quickly became friends… well, email friends who have never actually met in person. Anyway, earlier this year I had an idea for a show, I emailed him about it {as email friends do}, and he said yes! Easy, right? Now all I had to do was find a gallery… and, thankfully, that was easy too. The guys at Catalog Gallery in Vancouver offered their amazing space in the very cool neighborhood of Gastown. I’ll keep you posted on our progress over the next few weeks… but until then, here, in a curatorial nutshell, is what this beautiful show is all about:

Over the past decade, American born photographer Mikael Kennedy has taken thousands of Polaroids during what has often been described as a ‘Kerouac-esque” journey, wandering back and forth across the continent, hitching rides, couch surfing, moving from city to city. In 2010, Kennedy had his first solo show in New York City, titled “Shoot the Moon” with the Peter Hay Halpert Gallery who now represents this immense body of work. “Shoot the Moon”, an exhibition 500 Polaroids was an introduction to Kennedy’s story, edited down from the thousands of Polaroids. I have looked at this series countless times, and while all of his work is a mysterious narrative, it is the photographs of the women that have completely drawn me in.

“Pieces of the Moon” features 50 images that have been pulled from the original “Shoot the Moon” show. When the photographs of these women are shown along-side the other 450 images in the series, they’re a quiet part of the overall story. But when hung together in this smaller, more focused grouping they create a beautiful, feminine view into the personal life of the artist. There is an undeniable intimacy in each image, revealing an obvious closeness to the subject – however, to the viewer, the details still remain vague. Were these friends, lovers, strangers, or all of the above? The images are titled with the name of the woman, the location of the photo, and the year, leaving it completely up to the viewer to piece these relationships, friendships, and chance meetings together. These are the women that have shaped Mikael Kennedy’s life over the past decade – and they are beautiful.

Ok, all of you moms out there… get ready to cry. These images are part of a show called Threads of Feeling that just ended in March, at The Foundling Museum in London. Here’s the story:

During the late 18th century women who, for whatever reason, couldn’t care for their babies could bring them to The London Foundling Hospital. The idea was that the hospital would care for the babies until the mothers were ready to come back and get their children – sadly, many of them never did. However, in hopes that these women would be able to return one day, they put a system in place. No names were recorded, instead each mother left a piece of fabric that was unique in some way. Part of the fabric was left in the baby’s file, and the other piece was taken by the mother. This would prove which baby was hers when, and if, she returned. Over 16,000 children were left there between 1741 and 1760. These beautiful, and unbelievably sad, images are from the hospital’s records during that time… are you crying yet? Yep, me too.

{There is a fantastic article in The Guardian if you’d like to learn more… oh, and also cry more.}

Mmm… nothing like some polymer clay, acrylic paint, and cardstock to make a girl wanna do a late night run through the drive-thru! Although the majority of Vancouver-based artist Chris von Szombathy’s work seems to be digital illustration, I just love {love!!!} his food sculptures… yes, even the healthy options, like some ‘flav R full’ milk or a few perfectly fine/slightly over-ripe bananas. Yum.

{ …and hot off the presses, yesterday the The Cheaper Show announced the 200 artists that will be in this year’s show, and Chris is on the list! June 25th in Vancouver. Hm, I may have to do a burger run immediately after the opening.}