I write about embroidery and crochet a lot, mainly for two reasons. No.1, I am in complete awe of anyone that can master these techniques. No.2, I absolutely love it when an artist is able to push this once “craft-only” medium into the world of fine art. Well, not only did New York based artist Nathan Vincent do that, he also managed to cross a few gender roles along the way… are these not the most masculine doilies that you’ve ever seen? And, if the tighty-whities aren’t “man” enough for you, how ’bout these bad boys:

Bang.

{Nathan is one of an amazing group of artists represented by Muriel Guepin Gallery in NYC}

Oh my. I wish I had a shelf FULL of these plants! They are the work of Polish artist/illustrator Agata Krolak… so simple, and oh so lovely! I’d also take a few things from this part of her portfolio too:

Gah! Now I want some “chipsys” and a strawberry shake!!! Yeah, I know that’s yogurt, but yogurt wouldn’t wash down my chipsys very well. Ok, I should probably stop there… I won’t though, because I also found these:

♥ … now I’m finished.

{A few of her prints can be found in her Society6 shop, and some of her beautifully illustrated books can be found here.}

YES! This is exactly the kind of portrait I need heading into the weekend… strange, vibrant, beautiful! These large-scale blue & yellow lipped faces are the work of Patricia Derks, and granted, I realize that Google Translate has something to do with this, but the first paragraph on her about page says “Painting, love to do.” Awesome. Happy weekend : )

Austrian artist tOmi Scheiderbauer is currently living in a beach town on Italy’s eastern coast. Well, clearly that’s reason no.1 to be jealous of him! Reason no.2 … his knack for seeing special objects and moments in every day life… which he then photographs, crops into this fantastic shape, and labels in a poetic, and sometimes hilarious way. He does all of that in a beach town on Italy’s eastern coast. I mentioned that already, right? Sigh. Jealous.

THIS JUST IN! Look what tOmi did for me after he saw this post! I love it soooo much!

Oh, the flora n’ fauna! These gorgeous nature-filled watercolor groupings are the work of American artist Michelle Morin.  If you happen to be in the market for a dodo bird surrounded in pink lilies, a pod of narwhales visiting a coral reef, or a spiky little group of cacti, then you are in luck… all the fantastic pieces shown here are available as prints in her Etsy shop!

{via Booooooom}

Oh my word. So good!!! I wrote about another embroidery artist last week, and in the comments field someone {aka Kelsey from The Tarot Nook} suggested I take a look at the work of Peruvian artist Ana Teresa Barboza. Yep. I loved it. I’m quite sure that an audible little ‘gasp’ snuck out of me when I clicked through to Ana Teresa’s site. Some of her work is so simple, and other pieces are incredibly complex – but all of them have so much feeling – and some of those feelings are pretty uncomfortable, especially in those last two pieces! Ouch.

I don’t even know what to write… this has been hush-hush for so long… but finally, I can tell you all of the ins & outs of my book that has just been released by Chronicle Books {available in stores all over the world?!!} Let’s start with the title. It’s called CREATIVE BLOCK, and here’s what it looks like (an instagram taken with my very old phone, but you get the idea):

*The cover was designed by Dinah Fried at Chronicle, and then painted by Toronto based artist Amanda Happé. I love it so much and am proud to have had such talented people working on this project.

SO, WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT:

I came up with the idea for CREATIVE BLOCK for myself, just as much as for all of you. I wanted to make something beautiful – a contemporary art book filled not only with inspiring images, but also inspiring words, advice, and tips to help amateurs and professionals alike, find their way through those days when the ideas just won’t come. Because everyone who dabbles in something creative feels that way at some point – right? Right. I wanted to write this book to show you that if you’re feeling this way you’re not alone either. I’ve written hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of posts about successful, working artists who seem to have this whole “creative thing” figured out. But surely they have blocks from time to time? How do they get through them? Where do they find fresh inspiration? How do they handle negative feedback? Does it stop them in their tracks? Now, these full time artists don’t have the luxury of not finishing, or giving up on a project – not when they’ve got a gallery or art buyer waiting on them! So how do they push themselves through those moments when the ideas just aren’t there? Or when the ideas are there, but their hands or materials will not cooperate.

THE ARTISTS:

Finally! I’m thrilled to reveal the list of 50 amazingly open, honest, witty, thoughtful, funny, talented artists that allowed me to interview them about their own creative blocks, insecurities, and inner-critics. Not only did they give us a candid view into their creative process, but each of them wrote a “creative unblock exercise” to help shake us out of our own blocks. Amazing? YES!

Gah! Almost 300 pages of stunning contemporary artwork, insightful advice, and creative-unblocking tips. It’s soooo good, all thanks to that amazing list of people who have been such a huge inspiration to me. I’ll hope, actually I know, they’ll inspire you too!

WHEN & WHERE:

The book is now on shelves, all over the world, as of March 2014, and online via GREAT.LY, Chronicle Books, and all of the other usual suspects. Check the side bar for upcoming book signing events! See you there!

ps. Thank you so much to Jerry Saltz, Brené Brown, and Faythe Levine for writing endorsements that will appear on the back cover – I love that you love it!

Pickles, ponies, and party dresses!! Now THAT is a sketchbook! And the creator of these amazing “sketches”… Brooklyn based artist, illustrator, AND designer Danielle Kroll. Now, if this is what her unfinished work looks like, just image the finished pieces! She has done all sorts of things for clients like Anthropologie, and Land of Nod just to name drop a couple of biggies.

One of my favorite things, aside from that fab sketchbook of course, is this personal project:

“In August 2012 I backpacked through the John Muir Trail. These photos are some of the sites I saw along the 200+ miles. There’s a lot of time to think while hiking and a few images really stuck in my mind – like what if the trail was rainbow colored? It certainly would be easier to follow.”

Sigh.

Hey Minneapolis, I know what you should do tonight:

Terrence Payne and Nick Howard have a new show, titled CAKE, opening tonight:

…………………………………

{this is the first of my new weekend posts. i want to give you the head’s up on a new show opening every weekend. so, galleries/artists/art enthusiasts… if there is a show i should know about, give me a shout!}

Oooh, a forest of glass! And those gorgeous colors… modern, but with an oddly familiar feel. I’m sure my grandmother had objects around her house in exactly the same palette. Anywho, I digress. This beautiful work is titled “The Woods” by Oslo based artist/designer Andreas Engesvik, and was created in collaboration with Norwegian design studios StokkeAustad. I love this description:

“The inspiration was found in the forests and the lights of the North. A tree changing colours and transparency through the seasons is a fascinating process which was captured in this glass object.”

Kinda makes you want to see Norway in all four seasons, doesn’t it? Hm, well I can’t give you that, so the least I can do is show you a tiny bit of the process behind these pieces:

Sigh.

{via The Art Cake}