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Ok, I can’t decide if I want to spend all day cutting up old catalogues, or if I should use that time to redecorate my house ’60s-style! This is the work of American artist Cory Peeke. Not only do I love these beautifully composed collages, I also super crazy love this statement:
“I stick stuff to other stuff and kid myself about the rest.” ~ Cory Peeke
YES. Hilarious and amazing. Ok. Time to pick a dust ruffle for the bed.
{discovered via Kolaj Magazine}
Sigh. That’s the sound I make every time I look at the work of American artist Kristen Martincic. Refreshing water, lovely pools, paper swimsuits… yeah, paper swimsuits that Kristen sews. SEWS! Sigh. Ok, let’s get on with all of this gorgeousness. You can listen right up there under that deep blue pool, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
These were the first pieces of Kristen’s that I found a few years ago, so naturally we started there:
Gah! “Traditional print media and a hybrid of print, drawing and painting on panel” … don’t you want to jump in there? Me too! Well, safety first… paper flotation devices for everyone:
Yep. Sewn and stuffed paper floaties and life vests. Seriously, just too good. Oh and of course, you’re going to need a swimsuit too. Brace yourself. These are gorgeous:
Japanese paper, with a perfect touch of printed ink, sewn into delicate suits. Ok, I have to do it again… sigh.
Kristen is a new mom so she hasn’t been in the studio much these days. When she can get in there though it looks a bit like this:
If she “can just punch some circles” she considers it a successful day in the studio! Hilarious and so true when there’s a baby hanging out with you.
In the not-so-speedy speed round I had to ask her about diving boards, mainly so I’d have an excuse to show a few more of her pools … complete with diving boards:
Love. And finally, a few shots of Kristen’s gorgeous studio and her sweet baby boy who’s there to help his mama:
He looks like a natural artist to me… either that or a construction worker because he really wants in on that hammer! Thanks so much to Kristen for doing this with me even though she hasn’t slept much in the last 8 months; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this obsession of mine; 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 {and it’s going to be an interesting one… recorded at an event in Portland with Lisa Congdon!}
Other links:
Oh my … they’re like artsy word puzzles for your eyes! Can you read them? All of these messages – some on paper, others made with wood – are the latest work from Brooklyn based artist Scott Albrecht. If you happen to be in LA you can see this work in an upcoming show, titled New Translations. It opens on November 19th at Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles and runs until January 7, 2017. RSVP for the November 19th opening reception right here.
ps. I had to share this little sneak peek into Scott’s process:
Dreamy clouds, perfect lines, and little touch of gold here and there… sigh… this is the beautiful work {oil on paper} of San Diego based artist Leah Pantéa…. BUT, she happens to be living/working in Iceland at the moment. I can’t help but assume that this work is inspired by her time in that magical place. These are just a few pieces from her most recent series, titled “Janus”. Stunning. And I just had to get in there and show those close-ups, because, wow.
{You can reach out to Leah directly if you’re interested in purchasing her work.}
Pinups and Canadiana, indeed! Today I’m talking to Vancouver based artist/illustrator Ryan Heshka, a proud fellow Canadian, about his sassy, pulp-inspired work. There are mean girls, “Mystery Twins”, and so much perfect found paper I can hardly stand it … we also covered important topics like underage drinking in barns on the Canadian Prairies. You can listen right up there under “The Wood Gang”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
Ok, let’s kick things off with a few of my favorite gals:
Yes. I love these! I told Ryan I pictured him being a comic-obsessed kid when he was little. Apparently I was right, and here’s proof… two of Ryan’s “early” works, followed by a more recent piece:
Ha! So cute, so funny! Well, given his love for Batman, it’s not surprising that these masked ladies eventually showed up in his portfolio. Batman + babes =
Oh, the bubblegum… those two might be my favorite set of Ryan’s “Mystery Twins”! Up next, we were talking about a few of his pieces where text, from the found paper he uses, shows through into his work:
So, so, so good. And I can almost smell that old paper from here! Mmmmmm.
There were two pieces I wanted to hear the story behind… they’re the first two below. They kind of led us into a Canadiana tangent, so I put a couple of those here too {note “Rolanda” on the jacket of the Blue Bird on the right}:
Ah yes, makes me proud to be Canadian… I was never Miss.Canadiana though. Well, something to work towards I suppose.
Ok, now Ryan’s books! He’s done a few: “Welcome To Monster Town”, “ABC Spook Show”… but this one has to be my fave:
Smoking, drinking, and stealing bras. Yep, mean girls being mean. If you want your own copy of “Mean Girls Club”, you can find it here.
Oh, and I always like to know what an artist’s studio looks like, so Ryan sent these along for the post. Check out his amazing view of that Vancouver sky:
Wowza! His cat doesn’t seem impressed though.
And finally, after all of that pinup / Canadiana action, I felt like this was the perfect painting to finish with:
Yep, there’s even a beaver. Thanks so much to Ryan for taking time out of his very busy, sleep-deprived day to do this with me; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book! To preorder a copy for FREE {or to pick up any other book you might want} just use my link: audibletrial.com/JealousCurator. And as always, thank YOU for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
“Drawings are like wine, they need time to develop.” Lovely words from an amazing artist … who I might just have a major girl crush on. I have loved, and I mean loved, the work of Berlin based artist/illustrator Tina Berning for years. And now, if it’s even possible, I love it even more. Tina is obviously insanely talented, but I found out today that she’s also very smart, poetic, funny… and organized! I tried not to gush too much, but “fan-girling” was the name of the game. So, let’s get on with it. You can listen right up there under that lovely washy woman, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
First, these are just a few of Tina’s gorgeous paintings on found paper that are currently showing at Alison Milne Gallery in Toronto {until Nov 5, 2016}:
Gah! See? How can I not fan-girl over her! Now, here’s where the smart/organized part comes in. Everything she does goes into one of three boxes: CRAP*, NOT SO GOOD, NOT SO BAD:
*CRAP not shown here … Tina assured me that there really is a CRAP box, but I can’t imagine any of her work ending up there. I love love love this system and I am totally going to implement it in my studio, and I honestly think every artist should. She comes back to the CRAP and NOT SO GOOD boxes later and uses those pages for collage bits, or as a base for new work. Truly brilliant, and a perfect jumping off point for creativity.
Next, one of my favorite projects ever, “100 GIRLS ON CHEAP PAPER”… which is exactly that:
So beautiful. This project started online, it then became a book, and then a show… and then a traveling show. Most of the girls from the original exhibition sold, so when it traveled to New York and Japan, Tina had to paint 80 new women for each show! Here are two pieces from NY and two from Tokyo:
Do you know how much self control was required for me not to post all of the pieces from this series? Very. Difficult.
So, when you work on vintage found paper, most of your work will be small… unless you use old record album slips, or stitch lots of small pages together. Yes. That’s what Tina does from time to time, and no surprise, they’re gorgeous:
The staples! I love the staples!
And finally, in the not-so-speedy speed round, Tina told me her favorite paint colors are black and red. I guess she wasn’t kidding:
Yep, two words… Fan. Girl. Oh, I enjoyed this so much, and I hope you did too. Stunning work, a lovely person, and advice that I will use forever. Thank you so much to Tina for doing this with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book! To preorder a copy for FREE {or to pick up any other book you might want} just use my link: audibletrial.com/JealousCurator. But wait, there’s more… thank YOU for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
Oh, be still my collage-loving heart! “Greetings” is a 5’x5′ collage by Italian artist Caterina Rossato. She gathered hundreds of old postcards, organized them into categories {mountains, water, buildings etc} and with a great deal of patience, and a whole lot of cutting, she created this! One beautiful, big, dreamlike landscape that I want to travel around in for at least three months… maybe I could even hit the slopes with that little guy in the red sweater ♥
Oh my. This is the insanely detailed and thoughtful work of Brooklyn based artist Meg Hitchcock. Most of her work combines different religious texts, but I just had to include that first stunning piece which is made up of excerpts from her grandmother’s diary and letters cut from the Kama Sutra. Amazing! Here are Meg’s words about this beautiful work:
“In my text drawings I examine and dissect the word of God. I deconstruct a sacred text by cutting its individual letters, and reassemble them to form a passage from another holy book. The Koran is transformed into the Bible, the Bible into the Bhagavad Gita, and so on. I discourage a literal reading of the text by eliminating punctuation and spacing; a sentence from one text merges with a passage from another. By bringing together the sacred writings of diverse religions, I undermine their authority and speak to the common thread that weaves through all scripture.”
Beautiful. What a different world it would be if we could all just appreciate the common threads that connect us.
{A few of Meg’s pieces are currently showing in “Summer Breeze” at Margaret Thatcher Gallery in New York – 539 West 23rd Street – until the end of this week.}
I need to hold this in my hands, and flip those hand-made pages, and peek under the delicate layers of tissue. Sigh. This is a collage about gender – in the form of a tiny paper book – and it is the work of American artist Caitlin Metz. That suit jacket. That corset. And I’m pretty sure I can smell those roses. Love.
ps. if you’re a babe who’s into art, check out this group she runs called “babes send things”
Ink, pencil, torn and perforated paper…. LOVE. So much love. This is the absolutely beautiful work of Melbourne based artist Melinda Schawel. Sigh. I bet they’re even more impressive in person. Well, I can help with that if you happen to be in Melbourne at the moment! Melinda has a show opening TODAY at Flinders Lane Gallery, that runs through to August 6th. There is also going to be an Artist Talk/Presentation this coming Saturday July 23 at 1pm… RSVP by today!
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