So, summer is officially over {and then some!}, and so my lovely weekend guests have gone back home to blog, curate, and make amazing art. I absolutely loved having every single one of them here, and am so grateful to all of them for being my guests.  But don’t worry… it’s not over! The winter holidays will be here soon and I’ll have a warm fire burning, hot chocolate on the stove, and a whole bunch of “holiday guests” to make sure you stay jealous all winter long. Stay tuned…

Last year, someone pointed me to The Beholder, an amazing online gallery based in San Francisco… and it was love at first click. So many fantastic artists all in one place! Leigh Wells, Martha Rich, Jennifer Sanchez, Jennifer Davis, Mike Monteiro… shall I go on?  Yep, that’s when I knew I was officially jealous of Suzanne Shade, Director & Curator of The Beholder. About five minutes after finding her site, I was writing a post about it. Not only does she have fabulous taste, but she’s also incredibly nice! Don’t you just love it when that happens?

Anyway, enough about really talented, super nice curators who make me jealous… here’s a curator that makes Suzanne jealous {I’ll let her add the adjectives}:

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I’m jealous of Folkert Gorter

When you think of what a curator does (and I’ve been thinking a lot of that recently) it’s pretty simple: you are drawn by something, and you want to share it with the world. And sometimes, happily, the act of sharing helps you to discover what about that thing made you love it in the first place.

The really hard part about curating is giving your audience not only what you think is good, but giving them a way to see something that they may not have seen on their own. Crafting that moment where a work becomes so vividly clear: Ahhh yes. I GET IT now.

Folkert Gorter is one of those curators who can do that to you every time. That’s where the jealous part comes in. Folkert helps run a blog called “But Does It Float?“  His method is simple. He marries a ‘title’ (pulled quotes from folks like Bertolt Brecht and Jan Tschichold) which often are illuminating in themselves. He pairs that with the work of a selected artist. As the images float onto the screen, you are lifted up… it’s so addicting to scroll down a whole page and have it happen time after time.

Folkert is a Dutch interaction designer living in Los Angeles, and besides being an amazing curator, he’s also one of the founding creators of Cargo Collective, a web tool that powers a variety of creative communities in the fields of Education, Design, Research, and Conceptual Art. He’s the designer behind a site called Space Collective: The Future of Everything, and also developed a publishing platform for Good Magazine.

Oh, and did I mention that he’s also totally adorable?

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Adorable. Damn, I wish I’d put that in my list of adjectives! I’ll add that to your list Suzanne ; )

Thanks so much for this amazing post!

I found Dolan Geiman, or rather he found me, via Twitter last winter. I checked out his online portfolio and it was love at first site… get it? Web site! Ok, moving on. Anyway, I totally fell in love with Dolan’s folksy/urban work. Salvaged wood, found objects, and quite a few birds {painted ones, not real ones} all lovingly combined to create mixed media pieces that were true soul-crushers! I’ve written about him at least three times, and I’m sure I will again. I was thrilled when he agreed to pop in for the weekend, but was quite surprised by the work he chose to write about. It’s fantastic, but so completely different than his own… hmm, perhaps that’s why he’s jealous:

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I am jealous of Leo Charre

Leo Charre stepped into my life draped in black, smoking a cigarette with his skinny grinning (then) bride at his side, and masquerading as the puppeteer looking for his puppets. I was selling art on the street and, three days later, the couple moved into my abandoned warehouse with me and taught me how to smoke used cigarettes and how to paint (how to really paint) and also the importance of drinking a glass of wine while watching the moon relax into a nest of tree limbs.  Leo was the first painter I met who made me feel awkward and foolish and downright unlearned.  He would quiz me on various artists I should know, and he would watch as I fumbled through oil paint, finally giving up and retreating back to my acrylics to let the master take over. He worked tirelessly for months on one painting while I knocked out hundreds. One day he dragged in a piece of plywood and sanded it down and left it sitting like a new born baby in the middle of the warehouse.  I couldn’t resist, so I dove in and created my first real painting on wood.  He was irate at the time that I had stolen his wood, but it was the break I needed and two days later I sold the painting and we used to money to by some really nice wine.  We lived and worked for months for the sake of art. We rarely ate, smoked a lot, drank a little, but mostly made art all day and then dragged ourselves out to the street to hawk our wares. When Leo’s marriage was on the fritz, we parted ways. Those were sad days. I didn’t know how to move forward.  I moved to Chicago in search of something new and found it. Leo weaved in and out of my life for a few years then disappeared.  As an artist, I have always been jealous of his abilities. He is a master of paint, nothing less.  I can only hope that in time I will get to be in his midst once more and that some of the genius might rub off on me.  And this time maybe it will stick.

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I think it stuck the first time around… it just happened to stick to a piece of wood instead of to canvas! Thanks so much for sharing this Dolan. Keep us posted on what happens next, please! This is a great story… and I want to know how it ends ; )

Some of you may know Brooklyn based writer Alison Feldmann because of her inspiring/funny/kinda dark personal blog, TeenAngster… or maybe you recognize her name because she also happens to be the editor of a little blog called The Storque {yeah, that’s right… Etsy’s blog!}. Yep, she’s a very busy gal, which is why I’m so happy she could spend the weekend with us. When I invited her over, I couldn’t wait to see who she’d bring along… I knew it’d be a good one, and boy, was I right:

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I am jealous of Julia Solis.

Julia Solis basically has my dream job: she explores and photographs forgotten, paint-chipped mental hospitals, ancient tunnels beneath the city streets, and the detritus left behind after institutions fall into disrepair and become obsolete. Basically, abandonment city — cue my sincere and hand-wringingly strong lust to join her on these journeys. Julia gains access to the kinds of places I only stare at from a distance, wishing I had the cojones to actually climb over a barbed wire fence and risk stigmata to my delicate paws.

She’s done more incredible work than I could ever show in one blog post, but these photos of abandoned theaters — the series is aptly titled “Stages of Decay” — made me lose my breath. To imagine all of the dramatic enterprise that once took place in those gilded, velvet lined amphitheaters, now hanging in tatters. The ghosts of former performances hang around, I’m sure, reliving their glory days.

For more of Julia’s work check out her website, Dark Passage, for a full portfolio of her travels. Her daily blog, Dark Passage Travelogue, explores the artistic artifacts found beneath the crumbling walls she scales. If you’re in New York, she frequently holds talks and sometimes accompanies the public on tours beneath the streets — but I may just be making this up. She’s rad.

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And so are you Alison! Thanks for coming by : )

I first happened upon Sydney based interior designer Dana Hughes through a guest post that she did on sfgirlbybay. I was guest blogging that week too, and was quite happy with my contribution… until I read Dana’s. It was good. Really good. I immediately linked through to her lovely blog, and was hooked. If you’re looking for inspirational interiors, beautiful installations or stunning architecture then you owe yourself a visit to yellowtrace. But before you go, take a gander below this little dotted line to get a taste of the kind of amazing work that makes her jealous…

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I am jealous of Tokujin Yoshioka.

I am jealous of Tokujin Yoshioka. Why? First of all, he has a really cool name. And don’t even get me started on his incredible talent and his amazing mind. Tokujin’s work can’t easily be classified into any discipline – more of an artist than a designer, he is true magician of form, materiality and innovation.

His studio, Tokujin Yoshioka Design, was established in 2000 and since then he has done countless projects with Issey Miyake, Hermes, Toyota, BMW, KDDI, Swarowski, Cartier, Camper… ah the list is endless. Some of his most important works are displayed in permanent collections in the world’s best known museums such as Museum of Modern Art in New York, Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and Vitra Design Museum.

I am in complete awe of Tokujin’s mind and the way he talks about his pieces. He creates interiors, installations and architecture where people can feel the light with all their senses. He explores beauty born out of coincidence and beyond human imagination; his work echoes the beauty of nature with its ever-changing expression, giving the idea “that the design doesn’t even exist”.

Oh Mr Yoshioka, how I worship you and envy your talent all the same time.

x dana

{Image Credits: 1. Sensing Nature / Snow / Exhibition
Mori Art Museum / Japan 2010 / www.mori.art.museum;  2. Design Miami / Designer of the Year / Exhibition
USA 2007 / www.designmiami.com; 3. Museum Beyond Museum / Rainbow Church / Exhibition
Korea 2006-2010 / www.beyondmuseum.com;  4. WATERFALL / Museum Beyond Museum / Table
Korea 2010 /www.beyondmuseum.com;  5. Moroso / Tokujin x Moroso / Installation
Italy 2007 / www.moroso.it;  6. MOROSO / MEMORY / Chair
Italy 2010 / www.moroso.it}

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Sigh. So beautiful. Ok, now go to yellowtrace… a tonne of inspirational interiors await!

Thanks so much Dana! xx

Brian Downey is a curator at The Arts Company in Nashville. Not only does he have an amazing eye for art, he’s also ridiculously nice. We ‘met’ when he made a comment {a ridiculously nice comment, of course} on one of my posts about a year ago. Just so you know, whenever someone makes a comment, nice or not, I go and check out their site, and that’s how I found Brian’s very inspiring blog – Art, Design and Home. It was so inspiring in fact, that I ended up stealing writing about a bunch of his featured artists {don’t worry, I gave him credit… I promise!} Anyway, here is yet another fantastic artist that Brian discovered before I did:

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I’m jealous of Emily Eibel

I’m jealous of Emily Eibel.  As someone who took every studio art class I possibly could in college, I was constantly creating—pottery, sculpture, printmaking, even jewelry.  I’m not sure any of it was that good, and I can tell you with utmost certainty…it was nothing that anyone would ever be jealous of.  I was practically laughed out of my “Drawing I” class, so I have an enormous appreciation for someone who can put pencil to paper and create something that makes me take note and say, “Wow!”  Emily Eibel is one of those artists.  Not only does Emily create unique and quirky illustrations, she takes the process one step further by creating amazing, hand-stitched illustrations, and I have to say… I am in love.

These embroidered creations are sometimes disturbing, but always engaging.  These little gems would speak to anyone with a love of craft, which is one of the reasons I love them so much. Some of the most amazing works of art are the ones that combine fine art and craft, and Emily does this to perfection.  Her work is a more contemporary version of Miriam Schapiro’s “femmages” of the late 70’s, but with a simple style and a distinctly darker point of view.  I have only recently discovered Emily’s work, but I know I will be a fan for life.  How could I not?  She has quite a way with a needle and thread.  If only I had taken that darn embroidery class in college.

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Yes. My thought exactly! Why, oh why, have I never learned to embroider?! Thanks for stopping by Brian… and for being so ridiculously nice ; )

ps. Brian’s latest show, Inspired ~ featuring Julianna Swaney and Jonn Welles Bartlett, is on now until September 25th

Amy Kligman is not only the author of a fantastic blog called ARTNICKS, she is also an insanely talented artist. I love, love, love her sweet/creepy/colourful/pattern-filled paintings and am doing everything in my power not to show them right at this very minute… you should know that I really want to though, but I won’t… because this weekend is about who Amy is jealous of. Right? Right… {but if you click here it just might lead you to the post i wrote about her last spring.}

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I’m jealous of… Elizabeth Huey.

Ok, so choosing just one artist to be jealous of was so incredibly difficult. I think at least once a week I come across someone whose work turns my head. There is so much amazing art out there. OH! The options… Christa Donner, Dana Schutz, David Ford, Amy Ross…..the list goes on and on.

But- Elizabeth Huey, you are the one I’m shaking my tiny fist at today.

Huey’s dense visual narratives create epic scenarios in landscapes dotted with universities, elaborate homes, nurses, brawlers, and bystanders (among endless other things). You could spend all day in one image, bouncing around from one vignette to the next, playing out the exchanged conversations between the elements in the painting. The texture and quality of the physical nature of the painting also gets me in the pit of my stomach… a mix of masked acrylic and oil painting, a combination of looseness , visible brushstrokes and intense detail. Its dreamy. And captivating. And I am so, so jealous.

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Well, now I’m shaking my tiny fist at both of you! Thanks for stopping by Amy, and so glad that you brought Elizabeth with you ; )

Junk? I don’t think so. Gorgeous, eclectic, vintage, upcycled… yeah, that’s a better description of the amazing work that can be found daily on Junkculture, a fabulous blog that inspires me on a regular basis. When I asked him, ie., “the Junkculture guy” {I have no idea what his real name is – but hey, who am I to judge!}, to be one of my jealous weekend guests, I didn’t know how he’d be able to choose from all of the great artists on his site. Well, he narrowed it down and came back with a really, really good one!

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I’m jealous of Richard Slee {and I think you’ll be too!}.

Richard Slee is one of Britain’s most important contemporary ceramic artists. His work attempts to challenge every conventional notion of that genre by messing with the cultural and historic possibilities of the ceramic object, using puns, humour and his vast array of craft skills to transform the ordinary into the surprising.

Find out more about Richard’s work here.

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Ooh, you were right… I am totally jealous! So jealous in fact that i can’t control myself… here are a few of my favourite pieces:

So good! Thanks for stopping by “Junkculture guy”… Come back any time! ; )

If being the author of her own fabulous art blog {Art Hound} isn’t quite enough to make you jealous of Kate Singleton, then her personal art collection should definitely do the trick! Kate is a blogger/art consultant who puts her money where her mouth is. She is slowly building an amazing collection of work for her lovely apartment in Brooklyn… which, by the way, was recently featured on Apartment Therapy. Yep. I’m officially jealous. And so is Kate:

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I’m jealous of Sarah Rutherford

I’m jealous of artist/illustrator Sarah Rutherford whose old-timey line drawings grace the pages of the newly released “Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual”. The cookbook, like its eponymous Brooklyn restaurant, Frankies 457, is hot among Brooklyn’s back-to-basics gastronomic circle, and Sarah’s illustrations epitomize the aesthetic and culinary sensibilities of this crowd.

Although I’m not an artist myself, I’m jealous of Rutherford’s participation in such a cool, culturally-significant project. And I bet she spent quite a bit of time sampling the food she illustrated, which also makes me jealous. Regardless, when I buy my copy, I plan to put it to good use!

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Ok, that’s it, I’m coming over. A fabulous apartment filled with art, and delicious food? I want to be your weekend guest! {Thanks for visiting Kate!}

Talk about jealous! I could not be more jealous of Victoria Smith. Why you ask? Well, it all started when I found her photography series, Sunday in the City, featured on Poppytalk. I just figured she was an amazing photographer, until of course I followed the images back to her blog. Ahh, her blog. sfgirlbybay quickly became one of my daily reads. With a background in interior design, she writes inspirational posts on design, style, art, food… everything you need for a fabulous life really. Victoria, and her lovely home, {which I’m also jealous of by the way} have been featured in several design magazines. But wait, there’s more! She is a huge part of the blogging community… speaking at conferences, creating projects like blog it forward, and hosting various guest bloggers every week {including me, which I could not be more thrilled about!}. Anyway, it turns out I’m not the only one who’s jealous… Victoria is jealous of someone too:

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I’m jealous of Maira Kalman

I can never get enough of Ms. Kalman, an American illustrator, author, artist, and designer, originally born in Tel Aviv and transplanted to New York at the age of four. I get a sense that Ms. Kalman embraces her New York home whole-heartily…she walks the city streets and documents her travels consistently. She’s been known to say, “the best way to see the country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.”  It is that which I greedily envy. Her prolific illustrations poke mild fun at the absurd people she meets along her journeys, never mean-spirited, just with a keen eye and wry observation that I thoroughly enjoy.

She’s illustrated numerous New Yorker covers, and is the author of like over a dozen children’s books, including Stay Up Late (from the song by David Byrne – another person I’m very jealous of, but we’ll save that for another day), and Swami on Rye (see, just there, you can tell she has a silly sense of humor). She’s also written and illustrated two of my very, very favorite ‘grown-up’s’ books, The Elements of Style (and her little film of the same name), and her very charming and moving book, The Principles of Uncertainty, in which she asks the deep, existential questions such as ‘What is Happiness?”. But mostly, I’m just really jealous of her pictures. ; )

Maira Kalman is currently showing her work at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, should you be out for a stroll this way.

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I’m putting on my shoes right now! Thanks for spending the weekend Victoria! Come back any time : )