Oh my word, I launched a podcast… what!? YES! Why? Well, mainly because I like poking around in other people’s lives.

Ok, so I’ve been quietly writing about artists that I love for over six years. Sometimes I email them to ask questions about their work, but I just get straight to the point… little do they know that I actually have a million questions for them, not all of which are art related! When I studied art history in school I loved learning about the work, but what totally sucked me in were the behind-the-scenes stories… a peek into the real lives of these art history icons. And so I thought, why wait for my favorite contemporary artists to end up in text books? I’m just going to pry into their lives right now! I want to know why they do what they do, how they do it, and, if they happen to have any hilarious stories for me along the way, well, I’ll happily take ’em. The episodes won’t be longer than 30 minutes because I know you’re busy. I’m going to keep things short, light, and fun… slightly different than those art history lectures some of you might remember.

I hope you love ART FOR YOUR EAR, because I think I’ve found my new obsession! You can pop over to iTunes and subscribe right this very second if you like, then you’ll be totally ready when the first episode is released this coming Saturday. Eep!

* I didn’t really get hooked into the world of podcasts until Serial came into my life… you too? In case you need a bit of technical help in this area {I certainly did}, here is an FAQ link from Apple that gives you the ins and outs of subscribing to podcasts. Oh, and if it sounds a bit echoey for the first episodes, forgive me as I slowly figure this out!

Oh. My. Have you seen this yet? I just stumbled across, The Flower House, a stunning project by Detroit based flower designer Lisa Waud. Here’s the deal – she bought two totally run-down, abandoned houses in Detroit for $500, and then filled the first one with thousands of flowers bringing new, colorful life into this forgotten home if only for a moment. The photos are stunning, but this video {created for her indiegogo campaign to help fill the second house this coming October, then responsibly tear these structures down, and turn the cleared land into a flower farm!} gave me goosebumps. So nostalgic, inspiring, beautiful…

Flower House Teaser from Hello Future Films on Vimeo. Photos by Heather Saunders.

{via My Modern Met}

This is the lovely work of Brooklyn based artist, and devoted bike lover, Taliah Lempert. Paintings, screenprints, paper-cut pieces all beautifully expressing her love for the bicycle. I found several bits of writing on her site, all of which sounded like bike poetry to me! Here are two of my favorite snippets:

“I paint bikes that are part of someone’s life, or have been, or are intended to be. The bike they ride around, race, present themselves with.  The right bike for the right situation. It’s worn when ridden, locked, or crashed. It’s grimy, sometimes cleaned, sometimes not. How they chose it, how they use it and how they care for it. How each bike looks develops because of a person. And says a lot.”

“… I love moving through the neighborhoods, the sites and people on my way. I am as fast, often faster, than any other way around town & always more fun. It’s wonderful riding down Broadway, through Times Square and Herald square. Watching the city lights as I roll over the bridge into Brooklyn.”

Sigh. Who wants to go for a bike ride? Yep, me too.

Whoa. Beautiful shards of ceramics transformed into colorful, striking {and I assume kinda sharp} blooms. Ah-mazing. This is the stunning work of Israeli artist Zemer Peled, and if you happen to be in Culver City, CA before June 13th you can see her work in an exhibition titled “In Bloom”, at the Mark Moore Gallery {She’s in good company… there are a few of Warhol’s flowers in this show as well.}

{via Colossal}

Oh, thank goodness… she’s still at it! I wrote about Australian artist Tanya Schultz, aka Pip & Pop, waaaay back in 2010, so I was thrilled to see that she’s still creating her magical, sugary, glittery, rainbow-filled worlds! I would love to spend an afternoon in the middle of this insane dream. So many colors. So many special details… pastel sugar lakes, shiny little beads, weird plastic flowers, and that pink polka-dot horse. Yep, I’m gonna need that pink polka-dot horse.

Yep, it’s my birthday. A perfect excuse to show a few delicious paintings by New Zealand born, UK based artist Joël Penkman. It’s also a great excuse to play hooky for the day… I’m off to give #creativeUNblock no.5 a shot! See you tomorrow!

Oh, I wish I could hear the songs that those little voices are singing… I’m kind of glad I can’t hear that accordion though. This is the lovely work of Beijing based painter Han Yuliang. His color palette for this series is killing me, and his loose/quick brush strokes that work in perfect harmony to create these gorgeous portraits… sigh… stunning.

Gasp! Bold botanicals that are calling my name! These are “embellished linoleum prints” by Atlanta based artist Gabriela Ibarra... I didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded fancy so naturally I needed to know how she made these gorgeous, layered, neon color-blocked bouquets! Gabriela told me that for each piece in the series she starts with layers of collaged tissue paper, then arranges the lino-print flowers individually, and finally she paints & draws on top of the botanical layers below. Sigh. Gorgeous. 

{These three pieces are available in my online gallery.}

Oooh! This is new{ish} work by American artist Michael Carson. The last time I wrote about him was in early 2013, and yesterday I stumbled across some work he’s done since… instant love. His work is always very recognizable as his, but I’ve never seen him paint men before, so these jumped out immediately. Same Michael Carson amazingness, now with the occasional suit & tie.

Let’s stay home all day. These lovely, calming pieces are the work of Japanese artist / illustrator Fumi Koike. Her muted palettes and simple observations of day-to-day life make me want to slow down for a moment, take a deep breath… and then have a nap with my dogs. Zzz.