Weaved photographs? Nope. Vintage photographs chopped up into perfect little diamonds, mixed up with each other,  and then rearranged into new dizzying images. Whoa. Today’s lovely touch of vertigo is brought to you by Californian artist Allison Diaz.

{via crisaris}

Embroidery and vintage postcards… Oh, Shaun Kardinal, what are you doing to me? No self-respecting person should be this jealous on a Friday morning.

{via Junkculture… via Booooooom}

I absolutely love this project! Ok, let’s start with the jealous part. Canadian artists {and brothers} Jeff and Andrew Topham did what most of us would love to do – they got to relive their childhoods… kinda. In the late 1970’s they lived in beautiful, war-free Liberia. They played on the beach, ran around the jungle, and even had a pet chimp named Evelyn. Their dad, John, documented all of it through his own amazing photographs {also part of the series}, labeling his negatives, and ultimately giving this project it’s title… Liberia ‘77.

So this is where it gets inspiring/scary. Thirty years later Jeff, a film maker, and Andrew, a photographer, decided to go back to the location of their idyllic childhood and document the changes. As you can imagine, they were drastic {note the two “gas stations” above… yes, those are jars of siphoned gas in 2010}. Jeff and Andrew have created a series of photographs, and are currently working on a documentary. So far I’ve only seen the photos, and the stories behind them made me tear up almost instantly. I imagine I’ll need a full box of tissues for the film.

As if you need another reason to go to Paris, but I’ll give you one anyway… well, two actually… Leo & Pipo. They are the artists behind these beautiful, and kinda ghostly,  life-sized portraits that can be found on lonely concrete walls all over Paris. Maybe it’s because Hallowe’en is just around the corner, but I have to say, that boy on the roof scares me a little bit… not enough to stop me from buying a ticket to Paris mind you, but enough to freak me out in a “sixth-sense/I see dead people” kind of way.

Um, can you say every little girl’s dream?! Yes, it’s a real-life dollhouse. I really, really, really want to live in this amazing on-site installation by Canadian artist Heather Benning. Granted, that huge plexiglass wall might leave me a little exposed to the local farmers and the odd cow, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for art! Below are images of the transformation… from an old abandoned farmhouse in Manitoba, into, well, my new home:

Sigh… amazing. And, it even comes with a rainbow! Throw in a unicorn grazing on the grass and you’re lookin’ at my childhood dream!

So, on the last day of my ode to magazines week, I’ve decided not to feature a magazine. I know… crazy! Instead I’m going to make day 5 all about the art that exists because of magazines. A little snip-snip of the scissors, a bit of glue, maybe a splash of paint, and voilà… these old LIFE magazines, sexy/glossy fashion magazines, and good old National Geographics are transformed into something entirely new. From one kind of art form, into another. Sigh. So, so inspiring. In fact, maybe I’ll go and grab my scissors right now! Oh, but I promise I won’t cut up any of the publications I featured this week… well, not yet anyway.

{1. One of the forefathers of pop culture collage, Richard Hamilton 2. Ciara Phelan 3. Chad Kouri 4. Natalie Perkins 5. Stina Persson 6. Joe Ryckebosch 7. Jesse Draxler 8. Abigail Reynolds… ok well, this final piece actually uses book pages, not magazine pages… but, hey, it’s my blog, so I’m putting it in anyway!}

I wrote about the ridiculously creative, San Francisco based artist Lisa Congdon and her blog, A Collection a Day, way back on day 10 of this 365 day project. Well, here we are with less than 100 days to go, and she’s still finding stuff to photograph every single day! Actually, Lisa has inspired me to start my own little collection… reasons for being jealous of this lovely project:

First of all, the idea is fantastic. Then of course, there’s the fact that she actually owns cupboards full of this weird & wonderful stuff {I especially love those doll hands!}. And finally, the most exciting development… this smart/simple little blog of hers is being turned into a book by Uppercase Gallery. It’s going to be beautiful, and it will definitely be added to another little collection of mine… art books that make me jealous!

‘Now isn’t that lovely’… yes indeed! Oh, and that also happens to be the title of this series by London based artist Stephen Johnson. I’m sure my grandmother had at least half of these little figurines on her living room shelf… why on earth did it never occur to me to stick them all together, delicately balanced on the nose of a brass deer? Damn it.

{via junkculture}

Jaunty, no?

Oh, there are so many reasons to be jealous of Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt, the duo behind Something’s Hiding in Here, but I’ll try my best to stay focused. The project that has my heart today is called Forage… and it’s fantastic! Hand-made bow ties, in a range of styles and sorbet-esque colours. I’m jealous of this idea, I’m jealous that they get to hunt around for beautiful fabrics, and I’m jealous of the final product… but I have to say, it’s their hand-printed promo postcards {complete with teeny-tiny little bow ties}, that have pushed the designer in me over the edge!  Jaunty, and soul-crushing… not bad for a Tuesday morning.

{…and speaking of accessories, ‘the house that jealousy built‘ got a walk-in closet today! come for a visit over at sfgirlbybay!}

I have a studio full of found objects. You know, stuff like old knitting needles, a small metal duck, and more ceramic doll limbs than I know what to do with… so, what am I going to do with them? I have no idea. If only I knew how to blow glass, then I’d be all set!  Perhaps I should dust off my weird little collection of knick-knacks, pop them in a box, and send them directly to Dutch artist Ellen Urselmann. I am absolutely positive that she’d know what to do with them!

{via junkculture}

{ps. come and see my dream bedroom over at sfgirlbybay today! ‘The House that Jealousy Built’ ~ Room No.3}