I wrote about San Francisco based artist Lisa Solomon and her domestic scenes series in 2009. That series was all about beds and chairs… and I happen to love both as subject matter! Well, it turns out that I also have a thing for “toxins”, “viruses” and internal organs of the “body”… created, of course, with delicate, embroidered doilies. The body series is meant to “represent the 4 things you need to make art: your lungs, heart, brain, and guts.” Love, love, love that! And, her intention with the toxin and virus work is “to turn something ugly and horrible into something beautiful.” Umm… Check! 

ps. Here’s what she used to create these pieces… and yes, I’m jealous of this list: acrylic, ink, colored pencil, graphite, felt, glasshead pins, embroidery on duralar.

Ok, I was already jealous of New York based artist Emily Barletta when I wrote about her fibre art sculptures almost two years ago… and then, yesterday, I saw her most recent work. Sigh. Yep, it’s safe to say that these gorgeous embroidery on paper pieces have officially pushed me over the edge. So. Much. Love!

{via a tweet by Dana of Yellowtrace}

“…balance, color, composition, contrast, push-pull effect, shape, texture, variety of mark makings, visual weight…” These are the elements that go into the colorful, beautifully bizarre {embroidered!} wonderlands that are the work of Winnipeg based artist Takashi Iwasaki. Now, where did I put my sewing kit… I’m suddenly feeling very inspired!

I have a crush. Well, I have quite a few actually… so many, in fact, that I’ve turned them into a new series of guest posts, that start today, on the always lovely sfgirlbybay. The series is called girl crush. Can you guess why? Yep, the posts will feature amazing women artists that I have huge art crushes on! Here’s why I chose to do this…

When I was in university, I minored in Art History. As a young female artist, I wanted to know why there weren’t more women in my textbooks… surely they existed?! And it wasn’t just the Renaissance and Rococo periods that were lacking – I have a Pop Art book filled with artists that I love, but there is not one woman in it. Doesn’t that seem kinda crazy? Yes, yes it does. Luckily, contemporary art seems to be balancing things out a little more… I know that more than half of my posts feature women. Granted, I’m jealous of work regardless of the artist’s gender, but as a woman artist myself, I absolutely love to see, and celebrate, the successes of inspiring, crush-worthy “girls”… hence the catchy title of this series! Sigh… I have so many crushes, on so many artists, that these posts just might go on forever! So, now that I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve, you can tell me… who do you ♥?

{textbook worthy images by: 1. Tina Berning 2. Martha Rich 3. Maia Flore 4. Laura McKellar 5. Beth Hoeckle 6. Margaret Kilgallen ♥♥♥}

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.}

I’m sure you all remember that I went to Alt Summit this past January {you should… I couldn’t stop talking about it!} Anyway, on that life-changing trip I met some amazing people, two of whom happen to be the founders of cargoh, a curated online marketplace for indie designers/artists. Well, as of today, cargoh is new & improved, with even more fab features to help you buy and sell beautiful things. Here are a few of my favorite items… and yes, I realize that I have a bit of a feather theme happening. I was even going to throw a feather pendant in there, but I couldn’t not show that nerdy little eyeglass necklace!  Happy shopping, and congratulations to the whole cargoh team! xo

{1. wood earrings ~ billy would 2. spray painted owl ~ indigo 3. eyeglass necklace ~ giftgirls 4. embroidered bird girl ~ cindy steiler}

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 : )

Um… yeah. It’s pretty much impossible not to be jealous of New York based artist Nicola Ginzel. As you can see, she turns mundane, and in some cases, discarded items into precious works of art through the painstaking application of embroidery thread, a little paint, and the occasional bit of gold leaf.  Yep, anyone that can make an old paper cup {not to mention a piece of toilet paper} look this beautiful, is definitely right up there on my list of “soul-crushers”.

{Nicola is part of a two-man show that opens tonight in New York, at Heskin Contemporary. The other artist is Jazmin Berakha… who I also happen to love! Thanks to Kate at Art Hound for the head’s up on the opening.}

can’t. breathe. so. jealous. maybe I’ll just sit down for a minute…

Ok, I’m feeling a little better. So, where were we? Oh yes, this insanely gorgeous work by Inge Jacobsen. Embroidery thread stitched directly onto the pages of high fashion magazines. Uh-oh, I’m getting dizzy again… I think the only way I’ll truly feel better, is if I own one of these pieces. Maybe the horse. Yes, that would help. A lot.

{via frankie magazine}

There is nothing I love more than a sketchbook so thick with creative goodness, it can’t even be closed! My sketchbook is pretty fat, but thanks to Alison Worman, it’s about to get super-sized… beautiful fabrics, thread poking out the sides, layers of cut paper? Yes, yes, yes!

{via Book By It’s Cover}