“Paradise” – a lovely, magical, pastel-hued series by British artist/illustrator Katherine Tromans. These were “the outcome of [her] final degree project… that explored the theme of paradise, interpreting different people’s descriptions of their own individual paradise, and then transforming them into otherworldly landscapes.” Sigh. Otherworldly, indeed! Ok. so I realize that final detail is a bit pixelized, but I really wanted to make sure you saw that tiny blue village, perfectly perched on that pink grass, only inches away from glass-like cliffs. Oh, and those pastel trees on the far right… Love! {ps. That final drawing looks like pelvic bones, right? I wonder what that particular friend’s description of paradise was? Curious.}

{via Fine Line Magazine}

Well, I’m off {literally on a plane right this very moment} to Tennessee! It’s going to be an amazing trip. Here’s how the next few days fold out:

Wednesday:

* Finally meet Mark Bradley Shoup! : Atlanta airport

* Start installing Beautifully Boring at Tanner Hill Gallery

Thursday:

* 10 am EST : Airing of interview with NPR affilate, WUTC ~ wutc.org

* 10am ~ 4ish : Tours of the Art & Design students’ studios ~ University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

* 5:30pm : Lecture at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Friday:

* Hang out with Leah Giberson and Samantha French… wishing Holly Farrell was with us too!

* 5:30 – 8pm : Opening of Beautifully Boring at Tanner Hill Gallery (Curatorial Talk ~ 6pm)

Oh, and one more crazy perk to this trip?! I get to meet an artist that I have loved for AGES… Chattanooga based artist Hollie Chastain will be swinging by the opening as well. Here are a few of my favorite collages by Hollie:

Sigh. I feel like I might to get wrapped up in a cozy diamond blanket when all of this excitement is over! Stay tuned – I’ll have photos of everything very, very soon!

Ooh la la! Lovely little french storefronts, pulled out of their environments, dropped against color-blocked backgrounds, and painted oh so sweetly by Johnny Bull. As far as I can tell from his blog posts, he was actually living in France while he did this work. Here is that post, from 2011:

I love ’em, those French and their cheeky shops. The chocolatier Joël Durand has a shop that just reeks of class and, er, chocolate; you’d think he was part of a huge chain with all his specially printed boxes and tissue paper. There’s a universe of difference in attitude between us when it comes to service; don’t ask me why, it’s a bit more of a vocation with them. I’d feel quite happy going to work at the Folie Du Pain… How couldn’t anyone? What a beautiful place. Full of attitude and all of it friendly.

I’m sure you all know of American artist/knitta Magda Sayeg, the queen of knit-bombing, {I showed this bus in 2009, and I’ve seen her work featured all over the place} but today I saw this video for the very first time:

I don’t know how to knit, but watching this on a Sunday afternoon made me want to make stuff. Colorful, happy stuff. Right now!!! I love it when I feel like that. So, ok, off I go to make stuff. See you there?

In one week from today, I’ll be at the opening of Beautifully Boring, a show that I’m curating at Tanner Hill Gallery in Chattanooga, TN. Beautifully Boring was a totally make-believe show that I put together a few years ago… look to the right in my ‘jealously curated’ section. Yep, there it is. Anyway, Tanner Hill contacted me and asked if I’d like hang a smaller version of it for real, and I said YES! Here is my curatorial statement:

There are beautiful things that we experience every day, but don’t really see. Buildings you pass while rushing to work, an old coffee mug on your desk, the cozy chair that you flop into when you get home from a busy day. Most people would never consider these things special enough to be artistic subject matter, but this collection of work is just that. Everyday things that your eye most likely skips right over. We need to take the time to slow down, and study the lovely objects and places that surround us… whether we realize they’re there, or not! All of them have a story to tell, and I think you’ll find that ‘boring’ really can be beautiful.

There are four fantastic artists involved {Holly Farrell, Leah Giberson, Samantha French, Mark Bradley Shoup}, and I am so excited to see all of their paintings hanging together. It’s going to be beautiful. And boring. Here’s a tiny sneak peek at a few of the pieces in the show:

Sigh. Lovely.

{ps. If you happen to go to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, I’ll be doing studio tours all day Thursday Feb 7th, and I’ll be speaking at the University from 5:30 – 6:30pm on Thursday night…. and, of course, I’ll be at the opening on Friday night too! Oh, and I’ll have a few exciting guests with me!}

♥ City map quilts. Paris, New York, San Francisco… and your home town!

Gasp! So gorgeous! They are made by Haptic Lab, in Brooklyn. The company was started by architect/textiles designer Emily Fischer in 2009, but the “soft-maps” were originally part of an academic experiment in tactile wayfinding {2002}; the quilts were inspired by Emily’s mother, Peggy, who had begun losing her eyesight from complications of glaucoma.

There are cities from all of the world available on their website, BUT you can get them to make custom quilts! Your favorite runs at your local ski hill, your tiny town, or have your house/address sewn right onto your street! YES!!! {This is in bold so that you don’t skim over it, because you would hate to miss this part… I just know it.}

I already said Gasp, right? I just moved back to my tiny little home town, and you probably can’t guess how badly I want my town map laid across my bed!!! {Answer: Badly!}

But wait, there’s more… what better way to teach your baby a little local geography:

Love. So, so, so much.

{via Design Crush}

Watercolor on paper. Um. What?! That metallic oil can, that mixer… but how? The matchbook and candles are oil on panel, but still, I’m in awe… Yes, Robert Townsend, you have me baffled. Hm, it feels pretty good on a Wednesday morning, actually. Thanks, Robert.

Whoa. Delicate, layered, ceramic dioramas? Yes, I think so! I have no idea how Finnish artist Caroline Slotte does this to found dish ware, but I’m so glad that she does it! All of these works are from her series, titled Rose Border Multiple. So amazing… and even more amazing when you see the close-ups:

And I reiterate… whoa.

I’m just back from Alt Summit, but instead of doing a recap post, I have to write about this! Stefan Sagmeister probably needs no introduction, but just in case… he’s an Austrian born, New York based designer. As a designer myself, I’ve admired him for years, and at Alt I got to hear him speak. He talked about the in’s and out’s of happiness – it was fascinating, and to be completely candid, life-changing for me. He, and his “filming accomplice”, David Hillman Curtis {shown with Stefan, above} worked together to make a beautiful film, called The Happy Film. We only got to see 12 minutes of it {it will be shown in film festivals later this year}, but what we saw was amazing! The idea is that “in the course of a year, Sagmeister will experiment with various practices that are widely touted as increasing one’s happiness: meditation, cognitive therapy, and pharmaceuticals.” It was so interesting, touching, inspiring, and don’t even get me started on the typography!

I think that this film is going to be a huge hit, and I truly hope that:

……………………………………… but wait, there’s more ………………………………………..

i’m jealous of stefan sagmeister … part II

So, it’s not quite enough that he’s made this beautiful film, but he has also transformed his happiness research into an interactive art/design exhibition, quite appropriately called The Happy Show. It just left Philadelphia, and is now in Toronto at The Design Exchange {until March 3, 2013}… and I believe LA and Paris are up next. Charts that show happiness when it comes to marital status, free candies {Stefan’s favorites}, gum balls that let you rate your own happiness, and a lovely white stationery bike that reveals an illuminated message as you exercise… all perfectly designed, of course. Have a look:

Brilliant! You know what else is brilliant? This:

Yep! Not even the overly harsh lighting can take away the happiness I felt meeting, talking, and getting a smooch from Stefan Sagmeister!

{The Happy Show credits: CREATIVE DIRECTION: Stefan Sagmeister // ART DIRECTION & DESIGN: Jessica Walsh // DESIGN: Verena Michelitsch, Jordan Amer, Simon Egli, Martin Gnadt}

Ah, yes… it’s that time of year again! I’m off to Salt Lake City today, for Altitude Design Summit {affectionately known as Alt}. I’ve got my stripes, a bit of glitter, and a whole stack o’ business cards! I’ve spoken at Alt the past two years, and this year I’ll be on a panel called “Building Offline Events” – Friday at 10:30am. I’m thrilled to be sharing the stage with three amazing ladies: Laura Mayes of Blog con Queso/Go Mighty/Mom2.0 , Megan Gilger of The Fresh Exchange , and Stacey Ferguson of Justice Fergie/Blogalicious. My part of it will be covering a few helpful tips and tricks that I’ve learned hosting GIRL CRUSH over the past year. ie., make sure you have vegan options for breakfast, when the host artist is vegan {Right, Lisa?}!!!

Anyway, I’ll be on twitter, instagram, and Facebook while I’m gone, and back here with regular posts on Monday. If you don’t hear from me, I’m probably covered in glitter and trapped in a photobooth! Don’t worry – I’ll be ok in there.

{Photo by Janette Crawford ~ my roomie from 2011, and roomie again this year!}