Ahhh, the milky blue pools and mossy hills of a far off land. If you can’t afford a trip to Iceland, no problem… pop on a woolly sweater, crumble up some chocolate cake, and just pretend you’re visiting Iceland. Granted, Vancouver based artist Eszter Burghardt actually went there to do a series of artist residencies, but thanks to her craftiness with a bit of Icelandic wool {top three}, a few ingredients from her baking pantry {bottom three}, and of course her trusty camera, she has brought the landscape of Iceland to us. Gor.ge.ous.

{If you would like to whip yourself up a little bit of Iceland’s barren highlands this weekend, here’s what Eszter uses: poppy seeds, coco powder, coffee, milk, and chocolate cake crumbs… mmmm! Oh, and thanks so much to my friend Michelle for sending me a link to Eszter’s work! xo}

Whoa.

These stunningly beautiful, insanely meticulous installations are by Brooklyn based artist Tara Donovan. I was thinking of leaving the close-ups out of the post so that I could have an amazing contest with fabulous prizes for the people who correctly guessed what each piece was made from… but the detailed views were just too fantastic, and I had to show them… oh, and also, I had no fabulous prizes to give out. Ah, details.  Ok, if I had actually planned an amazing contest, with fabulous prizes, these are the answers I would have been looking for: 1. styrofoam cups 2. buttons 3. paper plates 4. scotch tape

{via Curbs & Stoops… who I just wrote about earlier this morning}

Are you missing the pink hearts and red roses from yesterday’s Valentine festivities? No problem. I’ll ease you gently back into reality with these installations, from a series titled shredder, by American artist Jonathan Whitfill. Yep, nothing like a couple of rainbows on found books to get you over V-day and headed blissfully toward spring. Ahhh.

{via sodapopgirl. shake it. (ps. love that tagline!)}

{ps. If two rainbows aren’t quite enough for you, head over to sfgirlbybay… today’s curated collection is an ode to the rainbow!}

Now, just to be clear, I’m not a pyromaniac, nor would I normally ever suggest setting someone’s art on fire, but… Loco-Foco-Motto is the title of a series of breathtaking chandeliers made from thousands of wooden matchsticks {150,000 matchsticks per chandelier to be exact}, and artist Hema Upadhyay has never set one ablaze. I don’t know if I could control myself if I was her? Ok, I can understand that after all of the intense work, that clearly goes into each piece, she wouldn’t want to watch it all go up in a matter of seconds… but it would certainly be something to see! {Really, I’m not a pyromanic… right!?}

Who knew that a bunch of maps, and a box full of pins could be this fantastic? Well, American artist Shannon Rankin I suppose. I am in complete awe of her creativity and beautiful attention to detail … and I bet she never, ever gets lost.

{1. “Germinate (5000 seeds)”, 12′ diameter  2. “Matrix”  5’x6′  3. “Falls” 6’x7′}

That’s it… I’m packing everything I own into a bunch of tiny little pink and yellow suitcases, and then moving myself into this series of still life photographs {titled Our Home My Home} by New York based artist Erin O’Keefe. When I first saw these images, I couldn’t decide if she was trying to convey a sense of emptiness, or the promise of something new. Turns out, the answer is ‘yes’. Here, in Erin’s words, is what this project is about:

The photographs in this series are still life set ups that include images of various empty rooms that were part of a year of transition. I emptied my childhood home after the death of my father, and moved to a new home with my husband and children. I am interested in the tension between the space of the still life in my studio, and the spaces depicted in the photographs.

Nobody said breaking up was easy… especially with a city. Jon Jackson is leaving LA behind for NYC, but instead of being a jerk and dumping LA on a post-it, he decided to put up a series of gorgeous text-based art pieces, titled Adiós LA, on a bunch of really big billboards all over town. So, if you happen to be one of those people who likes eavesdropping on couples fighting in restaurants {what? I’ve never done it}, then until January 15th you can drive around LA and be a witness to this break-up. Poor LA… maybe we should set her up with someone?

{thanks to GregoryWest ♥‘s for sending me the link to this work}

The first thing I love about this insanely gorgeous installation by Italian artist Ludovica Gioscia is the title, Rococo-Hardcore. Awesome, no? The next 22 things I love are each and every layer of wallpaper {some of which are hand screen printed, others ready made} that she has applied to, and then peeled away from, this gallery wall in London. Yep, that’s a lotta layers of love!

{…thanks to Ben for sending her link to me!}

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas day! I’ve had a chance to tidy up, and now I’m ready for all of my guests to start dropping by… hot chocolate {with a shot or two of Baileys} for all! My first guest is Brazilian born, Vancouver based Lili Vieira de Carvalho. As far as I’m concerned, she has a dream job as the Associate Director at the Diane Farris Gallery. She also writes/curates her own blog called The Art Monitor, which in her words “is a natural side effect of a passion for the art world and the city she now calls home.” It’s really good, you should check it out… but first, check out who makes her jealous:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I am jealous of Aakash Nihalani.

This Brooklyn-based artist is highly influenced by graffiti and his work is playful, humorous and always exciting. The fluorescent 3D boxes made of paper tape are his trademark while in gallery exhibitions he shows another brilliant side of his creative brain – the guy doesn’t have a dark side! While choosing images for this blog post I just couldn’t make up my mind trying to pick just a few. I decided to concentrate on his street works, but his sculptures, prints, works on canvas and cardboard, are equally clever. Oh boy, I’m jealous!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Me too, me too! Love this post… thanks so much for stopping by Lili! xo

Can you imagine coming across either of these underwater installations while out for a swim?! I know. Insanely beautiful, kinda spooky, and environmentally friendly all in one shot. I am totally mesmerized by these life-size concrete sculptures by Cancun based artist Jason deCaires Taylor… oh sure, they may have started out as statues, but given a little time, and some amazing sea creatures, they have literally come to life. Stunning.

{Thanks to Briony Evans, Creative Director at the Honfleur Gallery, for sending this work my way.}