Um, so I don’t know where American artist Crystal Wagner buys her paper, but MY paper does not do this! Crazy, beautiful, intricate, and in some cases, COLORFUL sculptures made of, yes, paper. My brain hurts. In a really, really good way. If you happen to be in San Francisco, you can see Crystal’s work at Hashimoto Contemporary … Join them for the opening night reception this Saturday, November 3rd from 6pm-9pm {ps. Crystal will be there!}. The show runs until November 24, 2018.

Newspapers. Yes. I have written about Canadian artist Myriam Dion before, and I’ll do it again! Since it’s Canadian Thanksgiving today, I thought posting about Myriam’s work would be a perfect way to give thanks … I’m thankful that there are amazingly talented artists in the world who are capable of turning today’s horrific headlines into paper lace. I’m also thankful that Myriam agreed to let me tell her inspiring story and share her insanely intricate work in my new book. How could I not, right? Right. Happy Monday, and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canucks. I’m going to eat pumpkin pie now. Bye!

Breath. Taking. I’ve written about New York based artist Jacob Hashimoto before {2014}, but after seeing glimpses of this absolutely stunning installation, titled ‘The Eclipse’, popping up over and over again on Instagram, well, clearly I had to write about him again. If you are in New York, please, please, please go to this … and then tell me all about it!

Governors Island (NY) Announces Immersive Public Exhibition by Artist Jacob Hashimoto. Two breathtaking installations [‘The Eclipse’ – shown here, and ‘Never Comes Tomorrow’] composed of thousands of delicate, hanging rice paper kites, cubes and funnels to be displayed in historic St. Cornelius Chapel and Liggett Hall Archway. ON VIEW: June 2 – October 31, 2018

Rawr! Ok, so to be very clear, I reallllllly hate snakes, so the fact that I love these snakes is a pretty big deal. This is the work of American artist Stacey Elaine, and before you ask, ‘What? How!?’, let me direct you to this tidbit from her site:

“… created by free-hand cutting designs into layers of tissue paper, which I then gently and patiently apply and seal onto heavy hot press watercolor paper. I’m drawn to the bold contrast between the saturated colors of the tissue paper and the bright white background upon which they are adhered.” 

Me too! Happy Friday.

ps. also, look at this! Some of Stacey’s work was recently used to bring a little jungle life into a spa in Mexico! That tiger, though… LOVE.

A post shared by Zhuang Hong Yi (@zhuanghongyiart) on Jul 26, 2018 at 5:57am PDT

… and now a whole bunch of closeups, just because!

Ceramic? Nope. Plastic? Nope. Fine rice paper and acrylic on canvas? Yep. This is the work of Chinese born, Netherlands based artist Zhuang Hong Yi. As if these “flowers” aren’t mind blowing enough, somehow he has painted/arranged these delicate little petals so that the color changes depending on the angle you’re looking at them from… click PLAY on that Instagram video above to see what I mean! Sigh… so beautiful, as is this description of his work via HOFA Gallery, London:

“The flower motif dominates Zhuang Hong Yi’s work – a significant image in Chinese culture which carries countless meanings and emotions yet with equally strong associations with the Netherlands, world famous for its flowers – and he works patiently and religiously on this subject year after year, intricately crafting his works with care and forethought. Zhuang’s well known and highly collected ‘flower bed’ works are crafted from delicate pieces of painted rice paper, which he has bent and folded into hundreds of tiny buds.”

{Thanks to @melaart for pointing me to this crazy beautiful work.}

Now this is some mixed media… and all of it is exquisite! Drawing, painting, and that paper-cutting!? Oh my word. This is the gorgeous work of Toronto based artist Christine Kim. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say… I’m too busy staring at that paper lace.

{via Thrive’s Instagram feed}

“Lately I’ve been obsessing over what it means to take up space and also to give space. Compositionally my minimalist aesthetic is an opportunity to give collage elements room to breathe, to create a sense of depth and movement, and to give viewers’ minds room to wander. In the works from the Cat’s Cradle series, the use of translucent vellum enhances this sense of depth and space to create an illusion of chronological distance along with physical distance between the parts. In a process of constant refinement, working within a minimalist aesthetic pushes me to edit continuously, so that only the most potent elements and drivers of narratives are fixed to the page.. More philosophically, the notions of taking up space and giving space are fascinating things to unpack in this time of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission; diasporic art movements; projects to decolonize brown and black bodies and honour indigenous and ancestral knowledge and culture; self-care as acts of resistance; and a growing awareness towards a truly inclusive feminism. What does it mean to take up and give space as a woman, as a person of the Filipinx-diaspora, as someone influenced by the works and writings of artists of the African-diaspora, as an arrivant on unceded land, as an artist using my own quiet voice? My recent works are meditations on these questions.” 

Embroidery on paper on linen… not to mention pearls, beads, and little yellow balls of fluff. This is the mixed media work of Amsterdam based artist Hinke Schreuders. I couldn’t find any information on why she does what she does, but I’m glad she does it. Lovely.

One of my favorite artists, especially when it comes to murals, is American artist Mando Marie… and starting TODAY, I’ll be spending the next ten days painting five murals around Vancouver for the Vancouver Mural Festival {and freaking out just the tiniest of bits}. Clearly I had to zip by Mando’s site for a little inspiration… but then I found these new paper pieces and suddenly I had an entirely new plan for today’s post! How gorgeous are these? They were hung in a show, titled “One Trick”, at First Amendment Gallery in San Francisco earlier this year. I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re made up of discarded “mistakes” from other works {but don’t quote me on that}. Either way, LOVE.

ps. While my podcast is on summer hiatus, you should go listen to Mando and I chatting in episode no.100 … it’s a good one!

Exploding boxes and really old envelopes … who needs fancy paper? Not Brooklyn based artist Allan Bealy! Allan has been creating collages for years, and yes, I really want to spend a day sifting through all of the thousands of bits and pieces he clearly must have in his studio. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and check the mailbox for potential art supplies.

ps. If your email inbox isn’t artsy enough for you, sign up for my weekly email “Art For Your Inbox”. It’s just a little recap of the week in case you missed anything. Sign up right here.