BOOM! The first time I saw the work of Los Angeles based artist Samantha Fields, I thought “Wow, amazing photographs!” … until, of course, I realized that they were paintings. Yeah, PAINTINGS. Sam airbrushes layers and layers and layers and layers of misty paint to create the most ethereal, absolutely stunning work. You can listen up there right under that sky full o’ fireworks, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, some of her latest work along with a peek into her studio/her process:

There’s Baby at work – that’s Sam’s airbrush, not my nickname for her! Wow. She wasn’t kidding about all of those layers and her minimal studio. It would have to be, otherwise all of her trinkets and plants would be covered in a thick layer of paint, eventually.

Alright, these pieces are from Sam’s storm chasing days… her poor mother.

See! Proof… Sam in the middle of a highway just lookin’ for trouble to paint!

Again, more proof. The wildfires of California that called her name every time a new blaze broke out:

Destruction and beauty, rolled elegantly into one image.

This was such a good story! When Sam set off to document the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption, but instead found, well, FOG:

Gasp! Who knew fog could be so absolutely beautiful! Thank goodness for happy accidents. I had to include this close-up… it still doesn’t do her work justice, but at least you can begin to see the “wisps” of paint. When she said she “paints atmosphere with atmosphere” she meant it.

Ah, next… the rainy highway paintings. These were some of the first pieces of Sam’s I ever saw. And yes, I totally thought they were photographs:

Right!?  They make my heart skip a beat.

Now, usually I start these posts with my favorite pieces, but today I’m ending the post that way. Sam’s fireworks. Oh. My. Goodness.

I can almost smell the smoke, and hear those chest-thumping BOOMS echoing through LA’s hills. I cannot imagine being able to paint like this, let alone with an airbrush named ‘Baby’. Sigh. I’m so glad Sam was able to do this with me. She’s insightful, determined, and creative to the core; thank you to Saatchi Art for supporting episode 91; and thanks to YOU for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

ps. Here are a few pieces from the portfolio of Sam’s very talented husband, Andre Yi:

Other links:

1. Aaron Smith Episode
2. Ashley Mistriel Episode
3. Sam’s work at Good Eye Gallery, LA
4. Cranbrook Academy of Art
5. Beverly Fishman
6. Cal. State Northridge
7. Charles & Ray Eames
8. Museum of Art & History, Lancaster (Sam’s retrospective show will be here)
9. Traywick Contemporary (Sam’s LA Gallery)
10. Mr & Mrs Exquisite Corpse

Oh, that dapper man and his electric blue beard. Love. On this episode I’m talking to LA based painter Aaron Smith. I was lucky enough to meet Aaron when I was in LA a few weeks ago. He’s a good friend {and former teacher} of Martha Rich. Aaron arranged for us to come and speak to the students at the Art Center College of Design, where he happens to be an associate professor, and the associate chair of the illustration department. I liked him instantly… it might have been his warm personality, his big curly beard, his amazing tattoos, or the fact that he made me and Martha the strongest cup of coffee either of us has ever consumed. Whatever it was, I was in! I wanted him to be my friend, and what better way to make that happen than to have him on the podcast. You can listen right underneath the blue-bearded gentleman, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First, I have to show you a few pieces from his “Museo” series. When he was telling his childhood backstory, he mentioned that he and his twin brother loved museums and would even set up their own museum-like displays at home. So amazing, AND it makes these pieces make even more sense:

Oh my word. His colors, those brushstrokes… sigh. {This body of work was Aaron’s first show after his three years of experimentation/break from showing that he mentioned.}

Alright, I can’t very well have Aaron Smith on the site without showing as many bearded men as I possibly can. I asked him, “Why all the beards?”, and his answer was fantastic {listen to the podcast!}:

Oh, that paint looks like icing! And look at those candy-hued colors! Very peacock-ish, yes?

Alright, here’s my favorite blue-bearded fella from the top of the post. This is the painting that took my breath away when I walked into Aaron’s house. Here he is, in all his glory, on Aaron’s living room wall:

Gorgeous! The second painting shown above is the other piece of Aaron’s work that’s hanging in his house. And yes, I also gasped out loud when I saw this one {it’s really big too!}

One of my favorite things to show in these posts, is an artist in his/her habitat … so here’s a peek at Aaron’s studio, and a little look into his office at Art Center:

So. Cool. Ok, I may have thrown those in so you could see his amazing beard. Please note the Martha Rich painting just over his shoulder. Such a brilliant gang of friends these guys have!

Alright, now you’ve seen his beard up close, time for a few of his tattoos. The not-so-speedy speed round revealed Aaron’s two favorites {although he had a hard time choosing}:

Tribal art from Papua New Guinea on his hands, and the artwork of Bill Traylor on his neck. Cool, smart, funny, generous, and passionate… yes, I want to be his friend, and I think we might be on our way! Thank you so much to Aaron for fitting me into his very busy schedule; HUGE high fives to Mrs. Mazzoni for changing the course of Aaron’s artistic life on that day in the sixth grade; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; and thanks to YOU for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Art Center College of Design
2. La Luz de Jesus Gallery
3. Mark Todd & Esther Pearl Watson
4. Souther Salazar
5. Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago {Aaron’s current group show}
6. Sloan Fine Art, LA

Cute on the outside, clever on the inside. Yum! Ok, I may have just copied and pasted every piece of art on the website of Kentucky based artist Lori Larusso. Can you blame me? I mean come on… cucumber Shamu cut from metal and then painted perfectly!? I’ve written about several of Lori’s series, and at face value they’re funny, sweet, retro-looking food art. But I knew there was more to them, and I was so excited to finally talk to Lori and get the inside scoop! Listen right up there under Shamu, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, her most recent series that will be showing {March 3} at the James May Gallery in Wisconsin, “Eating Animals”:

Those broccoli dogs. So good… and an excellent point about food consumption – kids think broccoli is gross, but if it looks like a dog it’s on the menu! Hm. Funny, weird, smart.

I grabbed these shots from Lori’s Instagram feed, so you can truly see how cool they are. Cut metal, beautifully painted and floating on the wall … or sitting on her table, depending how far along they are!:

Next, yet another of her ongoing series that I’m totally in love with – “It’s Not My Birthday, That’s Not My Cake”:

Love! And of course, the aftermath. A few of my favorites from Lori’s “Afterparty” series:

“Broken Heart, Plastic Plate”. Oh my word, I love it so much.

Alright, moving on to the first pieces of hers that I ever wrote about. These beautifully cut {um, jigsaw goddess!} interiors are part of Lori’s “Shapes” series:

Aaaah! I loved them years ago, and I love them just as much now! Ok, I had a lot of saw questions mainly because I’m pretty scared of power tools. She does have a few pieces that she borrowed a laser cutter type thing for… the drippy ice cream, and that apple peel for example:

Yeah. If she did that with a jigsaw… well… I don’t even know.

Now, brace yourself. Hopefully you won’t be offended by what you see next:

Yes. That’s a cigarette beside that half-eaten cupcake, and cup o joe. Gasp!

Moving on to something a little more tame. BUTTER. So. Much. Butter:

Yay! So glad I asked her about this, because the butter is no longer on her site. I’ve remedied that – she promised she’ll put the butter back on. And there is Chef Tanya at the University of Kentucky who made one of Lori’s butter paintings into a delicious little yellow cake. YUM!

I totally set Lori up for this not-so-speedy speed round question too, mainly just so I could show you the paintings from her “Bourbon” series:

Oh those cherries, the orange twists, the reflections on the glassware! I know Lori says she likes her bourbon ‘neat’, but those garnishes are fabulous, no?

And finally, she couldn’t track down the photo of herself {at age five} dressed as an artist for Halloween, but that’s ok because look what her mom sent through!

Awwww! Little Lori and her 3rd birthday cake. And because we were both deprived sugary treats when we were little, I thought I’d surround that photo with her favorite accessory… maraschino cherries! HA! Thank you soooo much to Lori for telling us the stories behind her work; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; and high fives to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Golden Paints
2. French cleat (how-to!)
3. University of Kentucky show
4. “Eating Animals”, March 3 at James May Gallery, WI
5. KMAC
6. Porter Contemporary, NY
7. Jordan Faye Contemporary, Baltimore
8. Skidmore Contemporary, Santa Monica

An Italian artist in London, who I met at a Belgian pub in Ireland… and I’m calling her from Canada. Yeah. Naomi Vona creates whimsical, wonderful work using found photos, stickers, tape, paint … a lot of which is neon. See? Right up my alley! You can listen under that lovely lady surrounded in tape {which I happen to own!}, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, images covered in pattern:

Obviously it wasn’t a shock to find out that as a kid she covered all of her books and binders with dots and lines and pattern! How fantastic is it that she still does that!?

Next, there was a lot of talk about dots and tape, and for good reason:

Gah! I love them all! Now, one of the main reasons I love doing this podcast – getting all of the behind the scenes info, and images. Here is the piece just above, in progress on her cutting mat {along with a few piles of found images}:

They are all so precious … which is why I admire her even more for taking on this “fearless act” again and again and again!

Ok. Her masks! I am sooooo happy I asked her, ‘why all the masks?’:

Delicate, mysterious, beautiful. Speaking of which:

There she is! Naomi in her very own paper mask. Dreamy. Thank you so much to Naomi for chatting with me; Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; and as always, thank you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

ps. Tokyo galleries… scoop her! Amazing art for your gallery, and her dream comes true – win win!

Other links:

1. Naomi’s Etsy Shop
2. Naomi on Saatchi Art
3. Naomi on Instagram

For months, I’ve had people asking me to invite this talented woman onto the podcast… and the only reason I hesitated? I knew she’d just had a baby and thought it best to leave her alone for a little while! Well, her baby is now eight months old, and I couldn’t wait any longer. Today I’m talking to California based artist Elise Morris. Her ethereal, abstract botanicals make me stop and breathe. Deeply. I’ve always imagined Elise lying in the grass, under a sun-dappled tree with the California breeze dancing through the leaves… I guess we’re going to find out if that’s how she works. Or not! You can listen right up there under those dreamy petals and leaves, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First, her work on paper, because… well, just look at it! Graphite and acrylic {that I totally thought was watercolor… right!?}:

Sigh. Stunning.

Equally as stunning, Elise’s gorgeous paintings on canvas:

I’d love to see those up close ‘n personal … that’s why I included the closeups, so we could all pretend that we’re right in front of them.

We talked a lot about her process – from photographs of leaves and magnolia petals, to blind contour drawings, to loose color blocking – beautiful! My favorite part? That there’s no overthinking… she “just goes”. Quite appropriate that such organic subject matter is created in such an organic way, don’t ya think? Here are a few of her studio/in-progress photos, found on her lovely Instagram feed:

I want to go to there. Those colors, the scale of her work, that big lovely space. Sigh… again.

Alright, so in the not-so-speedy speed round I asked about her favorite color. Any guesses?

Yep, it was a tie between pink and green. Clearly.

I can’t believe I almost forgot to bring this up!? I’ve just “hung” the second show at my new “Fancy Schmancy” online gallery. The show is titled “Au Naturel”, so obviously I asked Elise to create a brand new original piece specifically for this show, and thankfully she said yes! I love it so much… so much in fact, that I used it as the main image for the show:

I mean, come on! Look at those pencil lines, and my goodness, I had no idea acrylic paint could do that! It’s 22″h x 24″w on paper, and is titled “Calling Dawn I.” There is only one, so go buy it right now!

And finally, Elise is the mama of two boys – eight years old, and eight months old. Those lucky boys get to have their mom’s work in the nursery, living room, everywhere:

Aw! I had to include a shot of Elise in her studio with her bebe … those cheeks! Thank you so much to Elise for using an hour of her precious studio time to talk to me; Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; and as always, thank you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Bunnie Reiss episode
2. “The Studio Work” – Elise’s blog
3. “Color Play” – Upcoming show at Town of Danville Gallery
4. Upcoming show at Ann Connelly Fine Art, Baton Rouge
5. Sorry, no Peace Corps mural photos – you’ll just have to imagine!

ps. I’ll be in LA next week doing all sorts of book events. One of those events is an art show at Saatchi Art in Santa Monica, Thursday February 17th. I’ll be there from 5-6pm for a little meet & greet, and if you have any of my books, bring them and I’ll have a pen ready for signin’! {more info here}  I’ll also be at Skylight Books, with Martha Rich, doing a talk/signing on Saturday Feb 18th from 5-6pm.

Today we’re taking a little trip into the woods, to a magical place called “Yawnder”. I’m talking to Canadian drawist {that’s an artist who draws}, Jay Dart. You can listen right up there under that bearded log driver, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

I’ve been a fan of Jay’s work for years, but I’m embarrassed to say it wasn’t until his most recent show,  “Greetings From Yawnder”, that I finally began to understand his work, and more importantly, the secret meaning behind it.  The “Field Guide to Yawnder”, a lovely little book that he created for the show, is to thank for this. It’s insightful, insanely detailed, and a true field guide complete with maps, glossaries, definitions and introductions to characters that I want to be friends with… like Jiggs and his trusty dog Floyd, for example. Jiggs is Jay’s muse/alter-ego who travels Yawnder searching for creative inspiration:

I want to go to there. Geist trees growing ideas, “Beyawnder” where you’re free to be as creative as possible, and a land called “The Unknowns” … nobody knows what happens there, obviously. This is the part in the podcast when I made Jay read his own poetry. I love this, especially the bit about the referers:

Hilarious and so smart! If you have no idea what this is about, then you haven’t listened to the episode yet. What are you waiting for!?

Next, this is the self-published book, “Wanderer of Yawnder”, that Jay was telling me about. I have a copy and it’s so lovely, magical, and beautifully made:

Note the author: writing credit to Jiggs! LOVE. Speaking of love… magical mystery beards, and branch libraries:

So simple. So Magical. That last framed piece is the branch library that Jay made for my Land of Nod collection.

Oh, the geist trees. The entire idea behind these rainbow-hued beauties is absolutely brilliant:

Sigh. Wouldn’t you love to spend an afternoon in Jay’s mind?

Aaaaand here we are… we’ve arrived in “Beyawnder”. This wonderful, creatively-carefree place is a collaboration between Jay and his little boy. One of them is in charge of scribbles, the other takes care of the wanderers:

Yep, anything is possible in this wonderful little corner of the map.

Now, we thought we were finished and then I realized I forgot to ask about these fabulous album covers that Jay designed for his friend, and talented Canadian musician, Donovan Woods:

Ah! I love all of them, but that geist tree cut-away?! So, so good.

And finally, in case you want to see his ginger beard, a photo of Jay mid-install at Galerie Youn in Montreal {they were the first gallery to represent his work, and he’s forever grateful.}

I think I see a bit of Jiggs in that photo of Jay, can’t you? Thank you so much to Jay for taking us to Yawnder; Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; and you guessed it, big high-fives to you for listening! Now normally I say, “there will be more art for your ear next weekend”, but I’m in Hawaii at the moment and didn’t get organized enough to have an episode ready for next week… but there will be one waiting for you the weekend after that {I promise!}.

Other links:

1. Galerie Youn, Montreal
2. University of Guelph
3. Elspeth Pratt, sculptor/professor
4. Toronto International Film Festival
5. “Beautiful Losers” documentary
6. “Greetings From Yawnder” Show, Art Gallery of Sudbury (Feb 3)
7. Jay’s next show, Wall Space Gallery, Ottawa (May 5)
8. Jiggs’ site (yes, Jiggs has his own site)

ps. “Log Driver’s Waltz” for all of you true Canadians out there:

Simply complex, indeed! Beautiful colors, clean designs, and perfect stitching. Today I’m talking to New Zealand artist Jane Denton. As always, Jane and I have “known” each other for years, but today is the first time we’re talking. We recorded this just before Christmas so it was cold and snowing in my Canadian backyard and Jane was boiling hot on holiday at a lake in New Zealand! Well, even though we were on opposites sides of the world, I was still able to ask her all of the questions I’ve had for years. Ready? You can listen right up there under Jane and her gorgeous work, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

As usual, let’s start with a few of my favorites:

Sigh. The designer in me, who’s also obsessed with embroidery thread, is smitten. I mean, those colors, come on!

So, it turns out that Jane and I have a friend in common… the always fabulous LA based designer and stylist, Emily Henderson. She loves Jane’s work as much as I do, and in case you need proof, here are some images from Emily’s site. Oh, and first image below is the cover of Emily’s book, STYLED. Look to the far top right… oh hello, Jane Denton circles:

Gah! That light pink X and O in Emily’s nursery might be one of my favorites of Jane’s. Lovely, lovely detail and that delicate pink thread is killing me. So continuing with this artsy connection, Emily and Jane just did a “maker collaboration” together. Here’s the simple, yet complex, design that resulted:

Beautiful! I love how much texture Jane’s pieces bring to a gallery wall. {All of the photos are from Emily’s site, on the post she wrote about this project.} 

This is a perfect segue into these next few images. Circles. Tricky on a square grid, yes? Um, yes:

… yet somehow Jane makes them look simple. Ahhhh, gorgeous. I had wrongly assumed that Jane went to design school – wouldn’t you think so with these beautifully composed pieces? Yeah, me too. Nope, business school. Hm. Perhaps that’s why she’s so good at the whole marketing thang.

Up next, the two pieces I was a little bit involved with. The top piece was the pointy triangle piece that I brought to New York for a maker event, and the bottom piece {triptych on the far left} was her contribution to my Land of Nod collection:

Dreamy. All of it. And that’s that! Thanks so much to Jane for taking time out of her family holiday to do this with me; thank you to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode; and of course, thank you so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other Links:

1. Jennifer Pudney’s kits
2. Emily Henderson Collaboration
3. Framebridge
4. Jane’s online shop
5. My new art site
6. Susanna Bauer, Episode No.40
7. Flight of the Conchords

ps. This is my 4’x4′ “Type A” button piece I mentioned, along with photographic proof of how “organized” my thread jar is:

Yeesh.

Aw! Those are two of my favorite photos with my mom. I’ve talked about her a lot on the podcast… she’s an artist and some of my earliest memories are of her painting at the table, getting ready for shows, and of course, letting me use all of her materials! Today, on Christmas Eve, I’m talking to Judi Cumming, aka my mom. I feel like a bad daughter because I didn’t know a lot of these stories (self-absorbed teenager), but all of that changes today. You can listen right up there under that dandelion/poncho shot, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, her show at “Delphine’s” in Vancouver when I was just a teeny tiny baby:

Love it! That’s the front window of the gallery circa 1974-ish.

From there, our little family was off to live on the other coast… from the Fraser Valley to the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. There were a lot of apple blossoms in her work at that time. The only one I could find was from this set of notecards she used to sell. I’ve had this in my stash for years, and didn’t realize until taking this photo the other day that there was a little surprise inside:

A little note from me to my grandmother, Blanche (my mom’s mom). I’m pretty sure that’s a chicken head. Why? I have absolutely no idea.

This is the photo I mentioned… my mom hanging her “Life Beyond Death” show. I was probably a tween or young teenager at the time and I remember thinking what a cool mom I had. Granted, I think my dad caught her off guard in this shot, but still, very cool:

Beautiful. That’s one of the pieces from the show. It’s truly crazy to me that she thinks watercolor is “easy”. ?!

Anywho, I forgot to bring up this story, but I should have. About a year ago I was visiting a friend, who happens to live next door to an old friend of my parents. I hadn’t seen this woman in decades, so we popped in to say hello… and what was the first thing I saw on her wall. One of my mom’s paintings from the 1980’s! Here it is:

I love those little birds. I’ve always been in awe of the way my mom paints branches… a skill that was not passed down in the DNA.

Up next,  a piece from the “In Tandem” series that she did with her friend, artist/calligrapher Susan Nelson. This is the one that I own:

Ah, so dreamy. I love that we have it in our home.

Next, we talked about her foray into acrylics. Let’s just say acrylics are not her medium, but I love that she is never afraid to experiment! Needless to say, I begged her to go back to those “easy” watercolors, being sure to explain that not everyone finds them easy – she just happens to be really good! Guess what? She listened to her kid! Here is one of her more recent works, and a shot of her in action at an outdoor art show:

My mama in the sunshine! Thank you so much to my mom for being completely up for this… I’m so happy we finally had this very long overdue, artsy conversation (and thanks to my Dad for rounding up a lot of these photos!); thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book! To pick it up (or any other book over there for that matter) just use my link: audibletrial.com/JealousCurator. And as always, thank YOU for listening.

Have a happy, safe, fun-filled holiday! I’ll be back with new posts the first week of January (and a new podcast episode on Jan 7th). I’m going to make lots of art, drink coffee by the fire, play in the snow, and most likely eat my weight in chips. I encourage you to do the same! See you in 2017 ~ Danielle xo

Oh, Lamonte. How cute is that hairy little sidekick? If New York based artist Trey Speegle hadn’t been in LA during this conversation, we might’ve been able to have Lamonte on too… next time. I’m guessing there will be a next time, as this is actually the second time Trey’s been on the podcast! He was my guest for episode no.4 … that was before I really had any kind of podcast groove, AND before the “not so speedy speed round” was even invented, so we’ve got some catching up to do! You can listen right under Trey and Lamonte,  or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, just a few of my favorite Trey Speegle paint-by-numbers text pieces {and a few horses thrown in for good measure} …

Gorgeous – and full of hope and wisdom! Where else you can find words of wisdom from Trey? On the back of a paint can, obviously…

“What do you want? And what are you willing to do to make it happen?” I love that so much. Lots to think about, yes? YES!

Next, our five minutes together on Lincoln Road in Miami last week, documented with this humid, sticky, sun-drenched selfie…

Ha! So funny! Boy, Trey’s lucky he’s bald, because look what Miami humidity does to a gal’s hair-do?!

Alright, next… Trey’s barn. This is where Trey lives in upstate New York. Oh, sure, it looks like a barn from the outside, but wait until you see the inside of this “barn” …

What the?! I want to live in a barn like that! And look at Lamonte… right at home on that fabulous spiral staircase. Hilarious! *Interior shots via SCENE Magazine

YES. Trey’s new book! If you haven’t already become part of this whole coloring book thing, now might be the time to “transform your life with color by number”…

Gorgeous {and cheap! Oh, I mean, affordable}.

We went off on a little tangent {that happens quite a bit with us}… we were talking about how to get this coloring book into the hands of Princess Kate Middleton. I suggested his pal Stella McCartney {?!}. His YES painting was used as a backdrop for one of her beautiful runway shows. Here’s proof …

So. Freakin. Cool.

Alright, so staying in the fashion camp, here are a whole bunch of lovely clothes covered in Trey’s paintings via the folks at PAOM. I just bought the first dress below, and I LOVE IT…

Exactly. Love.

What else do I love? That I finally did the “not so speedy speed round” with Trey, and found out about his first summer job …

… as a pig wearing a sailor suit at an amusement park in Texas!!! OMG. I’ve never been happier with the result of a speed round! Oh, but I have to clarify, in my outro I said “Astroland”, which is totally wrong. This magical place was called “Astroworld”. There, I feel much better. Thanks so much to Trey for being so entertaining {as always}, and for sharing his experience, wisdom, and general fantasticness; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now; and thank YOU so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Trey’s Coloring Book… BUY IT HERE
2. Wow Report on World of Wonder
3. “Surviving Trump: The Art of Resistance” – CALL FOR ARTISTS {Jan 1 deadline}
4. The Novogratz
5. Work of Art TV show {on Bravo}
6. Peregrine Honig Podcast Episode No.5
7. Stella McCartney
8. Trey’s Clothing line on Print All Over ME {PAOM}
9. Audemars Piguet {Swiss watchmakers}
10. TWYLA

The first time I saw this Iceland-inspired work, I gasped out loud… and then I gasped again when I realized these stunning landscapes were created using Icelandic wool, chocolate cake, and blue milk! Yep, Canadian-Hungarian artist Eszter Burghardt creates magic from everyday items. You can listen right up there under that wooly lagoon, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

The first series we talked about features these wooly wonders, titled “Wooly Sagas”…

That moss! That little chunk of blue ice! A wooly volcano!?

Ok, I cannot wait to show you a few of her pieces from the “Edible Vistas” series! Cake, coffee, poppy seeds, crumbled cookies… and yes, blue milk:

What!? Oh my goodness, I never get tired of staring at these. And also, I want chocolate cake now.

There was a bit of talk about imaginary friends who happened to be wolves, and the wooly wolf costume she made her husband wear for her project titled “In Sheep’s Clothing”:

Wow. That mouth is amazing.

Ahh, and one of Eszter’s latest series, “Tales for Tuktu”, the story of a tapir that tries to move north, but isn’t exactly welcomed by the locals:

So moving, and so much bigger than I realized! I included that last photo of Eszter in action so you could see the scale. Gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous, Eszter in her happy place:

Sigh. Yes, I can understand why she is so completely inspired by Iceland and all of its natural magic {these images, and many more beauties, can be found on her lovely instagram feed}.

Thank you so much to Eszter for taking the time out of her very busy day (she’s the mother of twin 3 year old boys!); thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now – and of course, thank YOU so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.