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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let’s celebrate by taking some art out for a walk around the neighborhood… what?! So magical! Can you imagine coming upon any of these tiny masterpieces out in the wild? This Norway based Dutch artist – who goes by the alias Miss.Printed – is “filling the gap between collage, photography and street art”. Ummm, there is nothing I don’t love about this clever work. May your LIFE be filled with adventure, travel, and lovely art in strange places in 2021.

{Found via Kolaj Magazine}

Sigh. These are some of the most recent mixed media paintings by Canadian artist Meghan Hildebrand. Anytime I write about Meghan, I make sure to include closeups because there is so much going on in every piece! Tiny houses, ghosts, forest animals… and is that a wizard three images up? I dunno, but what I do know is that I’d love to settle into one of those little log cabins for the next month or so. The final painting above is titled “Tucked In”, and yes I realize it’s only Tuesday, but that sounds like a great idea to me.

*Meghan’s work can be acquired through these galleries.

Gasp… cowgirls, gold leaf, and tassels!? Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! These beauties are the most recent work by Pittsburg based artist Crystal Latimer, and as we speak they’re being installed at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia. Here’s a description from the gallery’s site:

“In her practice, Latimer reinterprets Western historical art to create a connection between the past and the present. The mixed-media paintings in KEEPSAKES are colorful and bold, as the artist uses acrylics, gold leaf, and cotton fiber tassels. The works look like tapestries, an art form that was long ago favored for its accessible and portable storytelling abilities and through the use of contemporary iconography, Latimer tells stories of inner strength, positivity and triumph. In her previous work, the artist painted masculine imagery like battle scenes of conquest and male historical figures, but for KEEPSAKES, the imagery and color story is re-interpreted as feminine. Power comes from within and Latimer’s works act as an evocative visual reminder of that inner strength.”

Amen to inner strength! “KEEPSAKES” opens TOMORROW, Friday December 4th at Paradigm. Find more info on their live online event right here. A link to the live event will be emailed to all ticket holders prior to the opening.

Okay, I think I just found my new dish set! So, let’s kick things off with a dictionary definition:

“Kintsugi… a Japanese method for repairing broken ceramics with a special lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum / Nothing is ever truly broken – is the philosophy behind the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi, which repairs smashed pottery by using beautiful seams of gold” … OR chains, twigs, buttons, thread, and the list goes on if you happen to be Glen Martin Taylor. Yep, he has definitely put his own spin on this ancient art form by transforming broken plates and vessels {some of which were his grandmother’s, some he creates himself} into entirely new objects. I’d recommend following him on Instagram, because the captions Glen writes are just as poetic as his work. Happy Monday.

She’s done it again… another immersive, jaw-dropping collage that I want to move into immediately. “Biodiversity” is the latest insane collage by Berlin based artist Clare Celeste Börsch. I’ve written about her several times, she was on the podcast in 2018, and so when I saw this installation, clearly, I had to share it too! Here are Clare’s words about her newest paper wonderland:

68% of biodiversity lost in just 50 years…

My latest artwork shares a message of love, urgency and hope. Love for our planet, our future selves, our children and future generations. Urgency, because climate change is upon us and the predictions of what to come are dire. And Hope, because there is still a narrow window of time to act and there is still so much we can save.

We are currently on track for 4 degrees of warming by the year 2100. This means a future marked by increasingly violent storms, droughts, wildfires, flooding, and crop shortages.

But we have the tools and technologies to respond to this crisis. We must now collectively and individually rise to this unprecedented challenge. In the video, I list concrete ways you can make a difference today. Please watch and share! It is available on YouTube.

Soooooo beautiful! Happy Friday.

*photos, video and editing by Patricia Schichl.

You might know her as @mrsciccoricco on Instagram… that’s how I knew her for years before we finally met in person! My guest today is California based, Dutch artist Natalie Ciccoricco. Obviously we’re going to talk about her insanely beautiful/poetic “Nesting” series {born during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic}, but we’ll also cover important topics like day jobs, motherhood, qualities that make for a perfect stick, and the reasons why she loves David Lynch. Oh, and at one point she ended up interviewing me about my latest book, but I quickly got things focused back on Natalie! You can listen right up there under “Nesting No.64”, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

First up, a few images I posted of Natalie’s “Nesting” pieces, fairly early on in the series:

I mean, COME ON! I love them all so much. And can’t you picture little Lou finding sticks for his mama on their daily walks? So crazy cute. This is just a fraction of the pieces in the series at this point. Personally, I think Natalie has struck creative gold. Speaking of striking gold, did we discuss the circular paper she sourced?

Yeah. ROUND RAG. Ah-mazing! {I can’t remember if we talked about this, but had to include a few images. Clearly.}

Next up, the really big commission Natalie just completed earlier this fall:

Chunky cross-stitch + found drift wood = LOVE.

Moving along to this dreamy series… ‘Color Holes’. This is what Natalie was working on before COVID hit:

Beautiful… the work, and Natalie standing in front of this series at Rasmussen Gallery in California.

Now, I was wracking my brain before we chatted because I could not picture the work she did before the color holes! Ahhh, the mixed media fairies, of course:

So lovely. That shot in the middle is from “Plus One”, a show Natalie invited me to be part of. Each artist from The Main Gallery chose their “plus one” from outside of the gallery to show with, and Natalie picked me! So there we are, up on the wall together in the summer of 2016. Ah yes, simpler times.

Now, I asked Natalie to send a photo of her embroidery thread, because I wanted to see if she really is organized. She is. I, however, have a slightly different storage system for my thread collection:

Hm. Well at least my collage cutouts are organized… really! THEY ARE!

And finally, a little touch o’ Halloween to end the episode. Sadly, Natalie does not have a picture of herself as a singing banana, so instead please enjoy these photos of my first ‘trick or treating’ experience:

A 2 year old bride? Okay. The ‘after’ picture is actually my favorite … the sorting is always the best part! Thanks so much to Natalie for coming on the podcast, and huge thanks to you for listening. Have a safe and happy weekend, and I’ll meet you back here next Saturday for a brand new episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR.

Other Links:

1. Natalie on Instagram
2. Natalie’s Shop
3. #30DayArtQuarantine {that has become a never-ending art quarantine}
4. Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch {the book Natalie loves}

We got our first snowfall this weekend, so obviously I felt that a post filled with buckets of summer flowers, and bees on books was necessary! This is the mixed media work of Minneapolis based artist Amy Rice, and this is her artist statement:

“I am as inspired in my art as much by childhood memories of growing up on a Midwestern farm as I am the urban community in which I now live. I am influenced by bicycles, street art, gardening, and random found objects, collective endeavors that challenge hierarchy, acts of compassion, downright silliness, and things with wings.

I use nontraditional print-making methods–including hand cut stencils and a Japanese screen printing toy called a Gocco printer–as a starting point for original mixed media pieces. I use spray paint, acrylics, gouache, and inks, and print on a variety of surfaces including wood, fabric and antique papers (preferring handwritten love letters, envelopes, journal pages, sheet music and maps).

I am most satisfied when I can make a tangible or visceral connection between the materials used and the image rendered. My work is deeply layered, often both literally and figuratively. My imagery–nostalgic and wistful–is largely biographical and reflective of my pensive nature.”

Amy’s newest show opens this Friday, October 30th, at Outsiders & Others in Vancouver, BC. Take a peek right here.

Tiny sculptures… that you can wear! Oh my word, this is the work of UK based artist Faye Hall, and yes, it’s jewelry. Here is Faye’s description of her process and her pieces:

“Originally trained in textiles, and with over thirteen years’ experience designing highly tactile fabrics for fashion and interiors, I now apply my perpetual curiosity for surface and materials to create bold pieces of art jewellery which marry my textiles practice and silversmithing. Influenced by my collage work, I am interested in finding beautiful solutions to combine materials of different weights and origins through embellishment and placement. I am very curious about the use of embroidery as both a decorative and construction tool within my work and I like to challenge that fine line.

Every piece of jewellery is handcrafted in my workshop and created in a very intuitive way; I like to be playful with my material choices and to juxtapose elements that you may not typically put together, such as linoleum and silk, or formica and gold. Working with found colours along the way only adds to the challenge of combining components that are inherently different in weight, structure and surface into an intriguing object which is tactile and harmonious.“

Tactile – check … Harmonious – CHECK! Faye’s work can be found in her online shop. Happy Monday.

Gah! So smart! This is the work of Buenos Aires based collage artist Paulina Alonso… one found image and some crumpled paper, and voila, a brand new {very dramatic} story in every single piece. Love, love, LOVE.

{Found via the Edinburgh Collage Collective on Instagram}

Sooooo, who wants to start Monday morning by licking some art? Me too! Okay, fine, I won’t actually lick/touch this work by Baltimore based artist Nicole Dyer… but I really want to! Gooey paint and googly eyes, sparkly pompoms and puffy stickers. Yes, yes, yes, YES. The combination of hilarious kitsch and obvious artistic skill is one of my most favorite pairings… much like candy-covered cupcakes and grapefruit-flavored fizzy water. Ew. Actually, never mind that last one.