To say that Jen Stark‘s work blows my mind would be a major understatement. I’ve written about her before, and I’ll write about her again. Her attention to detail, her color choices, her unique way of making you look at her work… and INTO her work in the case of those insanely stunning pedestal pieces. Sigh. Yep, all of this colored paper and perfectly “drippy” paint has me wishing that I was going back to school today.

Stunning ceramic necklaces… that happen to be up to 3 feet in length. Amazing. This is the organic, delicate, beautiful, large-scale work of Seattle based ceramics artist Katy Krantz. They are part of an ongoing series titled, The Gifts…. very appropriately named because all of these pieces have just gone to the top of my gift list {hint hint Gregory West}

{Her work used to be available through Totokaelo, a gorgeous shop in Seattle… but not sure where to find it now. If you know, let me know.}

Ok, I’m a little behind the times with these hilariously awesome “Yoga Joes” by Dan Abramson. Apparently there was a kickstarter last year. Well, it must have worked because you can find these old school army men, who have given up their weapons in favor of warrior pose, on Dan’s site.  Ah, just imagine if the world was really like this? Namaste. 

Normally I am not a fan of sharks, but make them out of clay and pair them with rainbows, and I’m totally on board! This is the ceramic work of California based artist Lorien Stern, and I love it all. A gallery wall covered in sharks and rainbows? YES. So much.

{via Pattern Pulp}

Oooh! Colorful paint squeezed from a tube… that leans against the wall on it’s own!? This is the sculptural painting work {acrylic on cut wood} by Irish architect, turned artist, Jack Hogan. The first piece in this post is titled, “Loo Lah”… and I love it more than words can say.

I was in the girl scouts when I was a kid. I made A LOT of these “Ojos de Dios” or “God’s Eye” pieces … well, these just put all of them to shame! North Carolina based artist Jay Mohler has been weaving since the 1960’s. Here, in his own words, is a small snippet of Jay’s story:

“I starting making Ojos de Dios in my hippie days, back in the late 60’s, after seeing Ojos sent as part of an exhibit sent by the Dalai Lama of Tibet. These ojos from Tibet were almost exactly the same as ojos I’d seen earlier made by Hucholes in Mexico. Since then I’ve evolved my own work to 12-sided designs that I believe encompass patterns of many beliefs around the world.”

Oh, they make me want to find some sticks, grab some yarn, and put my girl guide sash back on! If you want to try making one, Jay not only sells his work, but he also sells DIY kits for just under $30. Fun!

{via Honestly WTF}

Oh. There are so many things I love about this work by American artist Rebecca Vaughan… the color palette {all of those soft pinks are killing me}, the vintage landscape paintings, the ornate shapes, and of course, I need one those sculptural collages. Sigh. They make me want to run into my studio and start attaching stuff to other stuff until the wee hours of the morning.

{Sent to me by another sculptor, Jennifer Pettus}

Gasp! Love! Porcelain trophies given for the best reasons ever {be sure to read the blue handwriting on each piece}.  This is the fantastic work of Russian artist {Amsterdam based} Vika Mitrichenko. I’ve been trying to find the meaning of this series, titled Trophy Cups, and what I gather is that her father was a swim coach for the Soviet National team. Apparently he was asked to coach in the USA, but he chose not to do it because he couldn’t take his family with him. What a wonderful dad… clearly he deserves all of these gorgeous awards {that final piece really makes sense now!}

*Thanks to Jessica for seeing these beauties in Amsterdam and then emailing me about them.

Ok, I want this entire series in my house. This is the mixed media work {collage of paper, neon light, oil and acrylic on board} of Spanish artist Javier Martin. All of these stunning pieces are part of his “Blindness Light” series. In almost all of his work, his subjects’ eyes are covered in some way – in this case with glowing bars of candy-hued neon light – to “set a point about how society judges without looking further.”   

Stunning.

Here we are, more than half way through this 12 months of 12 projects {If you missed the first six projects, no problem, you can catch up right here.} July’s project takes us outside… thank goodness because my house is so hot right now! Yes, I’m quite excited to take this advice from Portland based artist Rachel Denny… ready?

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#creativeunblock // july // by rachel denny, pg.65