Yes, that is exactly how you start talking after you’ve spent a lovely, inspiring, creative day with Tif Fussell {aka Dottie Angel}

Sigh. What an amazing day we had at GIRL CRUSH Seattle this past Saturday, and it all started right here:

I had never been to Assemble Gallery in Seattle before this weekend, and I absolutely loved it! Emily and Andie, the lovely ladies behind Assemble, were amazing and made sure that everything was just right! It was beyond perfect for an art workshop & tea party… so airy, so pretty, and filled with artwork, design objects, & stacks of gorgeous books… including Uppercase Magazine! Thank you so much to Janine from Uppercase for giving each of us the latest issue… so peachy {as Tif would say!} Once we had everything in just the right spot, it was time to say hello…

What an amazing group of women. Lots of locals, and a few that weren’t so local. People came from LA, Boston, and Vancouver! We spent the morning talking… and talking, and talking. I was completely in awe of the transparency, and willingness to share. Tif’s story of her creative journey was so inspiring, and I was totally caught up in the reasons each of the women gave for being there. Painters, photographers, writers, performers, knitters. What we had in common was a passion to create… not to mention a few niggly doubts about what/how we create that have been slowing us down… well, no more!

I have a set of artist block crushing exercises that we spend the morning working through, and I am quite sure that all of us came away from them slightly changed. {There are already a few posts out there if you’d like to see what I mean… Here, here, and here.} We laughed, we cried, and so of course, by mid-afternoon we all desperately needed this:

So good! We had a lovely lunch catered by Macrina Bakery, followed by an afternoon of Dottie Angel inspired deer-adorned treats by Trophy Cupcakes… and our vintage teacups were constantly filled by the generous folks next door at Caffe Vita! Again, I am totally overwhelmed by the generosity that went into making this event happen.

So, after I finished my insanely delicious cupcake, it was time to lick the butter-cream icing off of Bambi’s hooves, and get to work!

Oh my word – I could have snipped, and glued, and painted until midnight! After a morning filled with amazing conversation, things went very quiet, very quickly. We listened to La Vie en Rose, and collaged like there was no tomorrow. It was heaven… and just like that it was over. I have to say, I felt a little sad to say goodbye to all of the beautiful women who I now call “friend”… oh well, at least we have Twitter!

Thank you so much to everyone involved in GIRL CRUSH Seattle… and to my lovely friend Tif ~ you truly are peachy, spiffy, and not at all ‘pants’ xo

ps. GIRL CRUSH Portland is only a few weeks away… if you’d like to come and spend a creative Saturday with me and Lisa Golightly {aka Kiki & Polly} you can sign up right here! If you’re thinking about it, please do come… we can’t make these events happen without you!

*Pants: adjective; British slang. Not good; total crap; nonsense; rubbish; bad; used quite a bit by the lovely Tif Fussell!

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These photographs were all taken by the ladies at the event… what talent! Thanks to Andie, Sandra, and Melanie xo

Gasp! Alabaster skin covered in bits and pieces of bizarre found imagery… LOVE. All of these pieces are from a series, titled Conquest 1, by Netherlands based artist Ashkan Honarvar. You know how I feel about work that is beautiful and totally weird, right? Yes, of course you do!

{via The Artful Desperado‘s guest post on Yellowtrace}

Birds, little feet, and bits of gold… oh, so lovely. These pieces, by Montreal based artist Dominique Fortin, are mixed media on wood, and are all part of a series titled “Entre ciel et terre” {“Between Heaven and Earth”}. I have to say, they make me feel a little bit sad, but I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I never had my very own peacock on a gold leash? Yes, I think I might have liked that.

Yep, it’s my birthday… the last one in my 30’s – um, when did that happen?! Anywho, I have always loved my birthday, and today is no exception! I thought I’d share a few of my favorite images from my “random lovely things” pinboard … because, quite frankly, most of them sort of scream birthday! Ok, here we go:

Thanks for being part of my special day… I’m going to spend the rest of the day riding my new pink bike with my lovely husband, and eating chocolate cake. A lot. See you tomorrow!

{1. Glass bubblegum paperweights 2. Painting by Amanda Blake 3. NOW mirror by Doug Aitken 4. Neon/neutral party decor 5. Donut Queen! 6. Donut painting by Emily Eveleth 7. Mixed media cake by Martha Rich 8. YOU LOOK GREAT mirror by Jade Rude 9. Mixed media photograph by Unknown … to me anyway}

How do you know when someone is your friend? When they find something like this, and immediately send you the link {thank you Victoria!} These amazing painted animal masks on photographic portraits are the work of French artist Charlotte Caron. They were featured on Trendland yesterday, {so I’m sorry if you’ve already seen them}, but I couldn’t control myself – I had to post them too… it was that petite deer in her cream cable-knit sweater that got me!

Pink. Black. White. Enough said.

…ok, wait… I have to say more! Not only are these gorgeous mixed media pieces {acrylic, graphite, pastel, and spraypaint on canvas}, by Argentina born-Brooklyn based artist Fede Saenz, a stunning yet simple palette of pink, black, and white, they are also really, really BIG! They’re all approximately 48″ x 68″… and I’m pretty sure that I heard one of them say it wanted to come home with me. For real.

Oh my word… I love this piece, titled Necklace, by Australian artist Kate Tucker. I have boxes of found bits and pieces, and I wish that they were hanging on a wall looking like this, rather than sitting in a dusty box in my studio! Gor.ge.ous. {I had to include that final photo so you could see the scale!}. And… if you’re not quite jealous enough, then have a look at these lovely, inky, gouachey, mixed media pieces that were also part of this show:

Sigh.

Oh my. French artist Stephane Dauthuille uses layers of lines and pattern to create these gorgeously ornate images. Orange legs, an orange “jupe”, and graphite details that I could look at all day long! However, there is something to be said for what’s under all of those layers:

Seriously, I cannot decide whichI love more… Stephane’s girls in clothes, or, well, not so much.

There are a lot of fun perks that come with having a blog, and this is definitely one of them! Jack Cards {via Sarah Bryden-Brown of Blogstar} asked a few bloggers to design a card for them. I jumped on the chance, as did Melanie from Inward Facing Girl, and Amy from Old Sweet Song.

For my card, I used one of my mixed media pieces {and then added a pink birthday hat}, and voila… a birthday card! We held a contest for people to come up with a message for the inside of the card, and there were sooo many amazing entries! Here’s the winning message:

Ha! I love it! As it happens, the chosen message was written by design blogger, Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay.com!!! Yep, she’s a style maven AND the queen of one-liners! I think it’s a pretty hilarious/weird addition to an already pretty hilarious/weird image.

All three of our cards go on sale today {mine // Melanie’s // Amy’s}…YAY! Thanks Jack, and thanks to Sarah for inviting us to be part of this!

Smashed cars, flower arrangements, and large fields of beautifully chosen colors. Seriously, how can I not love these collages {magazine clippings on panel} by American artist Matthew Cusick. They are all from his Happy Endings series, and they do in fact, make me very happy. The end.

{via Escape Into Life}