Pastel icebergs floating in a flat, muted sea of embroidery thread… sigh. This is the lovely work of Istanbul based artist Defne Tesal, from her contemporary embroidery series, “Sea”. I would love to be adrift on this hand-stitched water, although the pieces in her “Along the Road” series might bring me paddling back to dry land:

Love.

Sigh… I wish someone would send me a flower arrangement like this! I love these botanical, graphic, muted, vintage-ish, kinda strange collages by San Francisco based artist Leigh Wells. I’ve written about Leigh a few times because, well, her work is amazing. However, each post has been quite different because, well, Leigh is amazing. She continues to push herself, always working working working, discovering new ways to create. That makes me super jealous {in a totally and completely “get back into the studio “inspired kind o’ way}. For example… here are a few tidbits from two other series she’s been working on:

So good. Originals from her “Pearl Diver” series are available on her big cartel site, and her landscapes can be purchased from Gathered. OR… If you want one of her gorgeous “flower arrangements”, they’re from her versos series – you can contact Leigh directly about those. Ok, now everyone… back to the studio for the weekend! Thanks for the push, Leigh!

Um… I love all of these pieces by London based artist/illustrator Alice Ferrow. Beautiful little collections, tiny cactus, coral, bell jars… and a bobcat. And her color choices? Don’t even get me started. Ok, now… here’s the thing. I am terrified of snakes. Terrified. But I have to say, Alice might have convinced me that they’re actually quite pretty:

Yep. When they’re 2D, and completely motionless, I like them. Kinda.

Oh boy. Where to start? This is so romantic, and so artistic… and soooo romantic! Ok, on their first date, while out for a walk in West Virginia, Photographer Nick Olson and designer Lilah Horwitz sat and watched the sun set from a hilltop. Yes, that’s already romantic… but wait… it gets even better! While chatting on that hill, they thought it would be amazing to have a house made out of windows so that you wouldn’t have to watch the sun set through one small square…. so a year later, and a lot of time spent at garage sales and flea markets, they built a cabin of windows in the same spot where they had that very first date. Told ya… love, love, love – on so many levels!

There’s a very sweet film about this artsy couple by half cut Tea – have a look:

{via Colossal}

Ok, who wants to eat fruity popsicles while watching the sun set? Me too! Ahh, simple slabs of vibrant color – this lovely work by American artist Malissa Ryder is making me wish that I hadn’t given up on watercolors so quickly! Gorgeous.

{ps. Her originals start at $65}

Now this is a lovely, quiet, and peaceful way to start the week… I can almost smell the fresh morning air from here. These oil paintings {some on linen, some on board} are the work of Australian artist Judith Sinnamon. Her description of this work is almost as beautiful as her paintings … it’s like a poem and I just had to share it:

When concrete bollards and earthmovers moved in and restricted access, I returned to my studio studies of local flora.

Here, I worked from life, suspending branches of dotty zig-zag wattle and entwined weeping melaleuca above my easel with light flowing in from large glass doors. Using the pale blue of early morning skies and the soft shadows falling across the leaves, flowers and branches I aimed to evoke the luminosity and stillness of first light and the delicate muted tones of coastal flora.

Sigh. If you happen to be in Australia {Brisbane to be exact}, you can see Judith’s work at the Edwina Corlette Gallery until August 17th, 2013.

{via art hound}

Oh my. When these washy beauties showed up in my inbox I almost started writing today’s post immediately (ok, not almost… I totally started that very second). These dreamy, yet kinda eery, watercolor & resin portraits are the work of American artist Lisa Krannichfeld. All of them (and there are many more where these came from) are part of her “Glass Menagerie” series. Here’s Lisa’s explanation:

During my undergraduate years as a biology major I took a course in entomology. For an assignment I had to create an insect collection, carefully collecting specimens, killing them in a way as to not damage their bodies, posing them to best display their anatomy and containing them in a pristine wooden box.  Beautiful, numbered and preserved for all time.  In this series I wanted to explore capturing human emotion in a similar way. The problem with that is emotions are fleeting, inexact, and often blended with other feelings. The free, impulsive nature of watercolor offered a perfect medium.  The colors bleed and crash into each other; thin in places, intense in others, as the complexity of the emotions unfold.  The pieces are finished in a high gloss, indestructible resin, readying the specimens for display.  Together, a Glass Menagerie.

(ps. a few of these pieces are available as 11″x14″ prints… for $35!! um, yep, i’ll meet you over at her shop!)

Houses, trailers, AND embroidery thread. Say no more. I’m in. Speaking of “in”, yes, I’d like to live in that A-frame …  but I don’t want to play favorites … I love all of these homes {most of which are from a series titled “Dwellings”} by American artist Stephanie K. Clark. Oh, oh! But wait  – we can’t leave out this sweet little piece that she made for a baby girl’s nursery:

Yep. A great white shark themed nursery. Kinda awesome.

{Thanks to her lovely/supportive sister, Staci, for sending me a link to Stephanie’s work!}

a quick post about something i’ve been thinking about a lot lately:

“NO”. it’s the new black.

i am a people pleaser. i always have been. i’m also super-duper type A so i never want to miss an opportunity… of any kind {i’m told that i suffer from FOMO – fear of missing out}. granted, the result of this condition has been lots and lots of amazingly cool things that i am so blessed to have been part of, but … i’m tired … the weird thing is, i didn’t even realize it. that’s just how i operate – a zillion things in my head at once, heart racing, go go go, etc etc. it wasn’t until this summer that i made a conscious choice to start saying that scary little two-letter word… no. i felt a lot of guilt the first few times i tried it out, but miraculously the world didn’t fall apart! no one was mad at me either. weird. not what i was expecting. once the guilt faded i actually felt a huge sense of relief. i’ll get back to my regular life come september, but i am definitely going to throw my new favorite word into the mix a lot more often! you should give it a whirl… it’s fantastic.

{art from the sketchbook of martha rich}

I honestly don’t know what I love more… the beautifully complex wire sculptures of Asian American artist Ruth Asawa, or the photographs of Ruth with her beautifully complex wire sculptures. Sigh… it’s all just so stunning. Sadly, Ruth passed away, at the age of 87 in her San Francisco home on Monday night. I found this lovely statement about her, from the curator of American art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco {Timothy Burgard}:

“Ruth Asawa will be remembered for the extraordinary wire sculptures that so beautifully interweave nature and culture… [she was] a pioneering post-World War II modernist whose works have transcended the multiple barriers she faced as an Asian American woman artist working with traditional ‘craft’ materials and techniques. She lived to see all of these confining categories challenged and redefined.”

Rest in peace, Ruth ♥