Ok, who else wants to start worshipping at the church of The New York Times? American artist Donna Ruff finds beauty & inspiration in “sacred texts such as the Torah and the Qur’an, but also in the New York Times and the Manhattan phone book; in cathedrals, mosques and synagogues.” Guess where I find beauty & inspiration. Yep… you’re lookin’ at it.

{via Poppytalk on Pinterest}

Gah! Siobhan McBride’s work is dark & moody, gouache on paper. Ok, now I’m feeling a little dark & moody that I don’t know how to make gouache look like this on paper! Here is her description of this work:

They are descriptions of awkward experiences, passages from books and film fragments, things caught in the corner of my eye, and an attempt to conjure slippery memories … I hope the work is strange and suspenseful like the excitement of exploring a new place, and the thrill of knowing you are drifting back into a frightening dream.

Yep!

These paintings by American artist Kate Russo are speaking to me. It could be because we just sold our house, and have to be out in two weeks. I wish our pile of boxes looked this pretty! Anyway, I thought I had everything I needed for this post… and then I found these:

Gah! Colored pencil on graph paper. Holy moly… the detail and precision in this work is killing me! Hm, I wish I could pack a stack of these amazing drawings {there are plenty more where these came from!} into one of my moving boxes ♥

{via curate1k}

Maps, folded into perfect little dresses by London based artist Elisabeth Lecourt. Sigh… fantastic. All of these pieces are from her series titled Les Robes Geographiques. So delicate, so pretty… but don’t worry fellas, I’ve got a little something for you too:

Yep. Bringing new meaning to “folding your shirt” ♥

{…thanks to Hagar for sending me a link to this lovely work!}

Whoa. I am in complete awe of Australian artist Lisa Rodden. I would never ever ever be able to create work with such insane precision {especially those last two geometric pieces!!!}. And so, on this fine Monday morning, I must reiterate… whoa.

Um… little houses AND embroidery? Yes. This is a direct path to my heart! I wrote about Amsterdam based artist Hagar Vardimon-van Heummen last year, and then yesterday I saw her latest body of work… well, you know I had to post it! These pieces are from a series titled “Lonely Houses”. Hm, they wouldn’t be lonely if they were hanging together in my house! But wait, there’s more! Look at these strange little gems:

Sigh. Gorgeous. And with that, have an amazing weekend! Make sure you come by on Tuesday… it’s my 1000th post, which can only mean one thing – it’s time for “THE 1000th POST GIVE-AWAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!” Seriously. Some amazing artists have donated work that I’ll be bundling up and sending off to one of you! Can I get a ‘woot woot’!

I thought this was perfect for the last day of the long weekend! This is a pretty funny/very relatable drawing project by Barcelona based artist Soledad Penadés. It’s titled “Summer Struggle”, due to Soledad’s seasonal attempt to clear out her closet. Let’s just say, she has a hard time saying goodbye to the old friends stashed away in there… oh, just to be clear, I’m talking about the clothes that she loves. She doesn’t have actual friends living in her closet… I hope. Anyway, she has documented all of these beloved bits and pieces in a lovely visual journal that you can find right here.

ps. I have those shoes too, and I will never throw them out. Ever.

I wrote about Vancouver-based artist Sarah Gee, and her paper-cut circles, last year… but when I saw her newly invented “drawing machine”, I just had to write again! She’s taking perfect circles to a whole new level using a drawing machine that she built herself, out of various household appliances… um, can you say genius?! Here, watch this… and I dare you not to fall into a meditative trance:

Ahhh, I’m so relaxed/totally in awe of Sarah’s hand control! Wow. Here are some of the results from this amazing machine {and it’s amazing master!}

Seriously. I sooo want to try this! However, for now I think I’ll just buy one. The original drawings {ink and/or graphite}, which are really, really big {22″x30″ on Stonehenge paper} are only $150. What?! Yep, it’s true. Visit Sarah’s site to pick one {ps. there’s more being photographed as we speak}, and then just email her to arrange which gorgeous, colorful, mesmerizing circle you want for your wall… but I call dibs on this one ♥

I absolutely love mundane subject matter, and so obviously I love these beautiful, washy, everyday things by Chinese artist Guo Hongwei. He layers/dilutes watercolor paint on paper, creating this blurred effect,  in order to “mimic the way memories get eroded, replaced and deleted.” Yep, another perfect addition to my “beautifully boring” list!

Whoa ~I’m feeling dizzy from the jealousy overload. Ok so, this is the third time that I’ve written about Italian artist TRACCIAMENTI. I love all of her work, but her dress series… well, it kinda kills me. That first one with the rainbow? Neon yellow on black? And that final one above???… LOVE! Oh dear, I might have to sit down for a minute.

{Happy weekend to you all… and if you live in Vancouver, I hope I’ll see you at Gather Pop-up in Gastown!}