This really is happening, and YOU could be part of it! Yep, if you’re slightly addicted to documenting your life with Instagram, your photos could be included in this new book by Chronicle Books! Seriously!!! For more information on this super-duper fun project click here, and to upload your super-duper amazing images click here… oh, and since I’m totally lame, and don’t actually have a phone worthy of Instagram, please find inspiration in a few people that make me jealous with their lovely, day-in-the-life, Instagram shots:

Victoria Smith {sfgirlbybay}

Lisa Congdon… and her feet {lisacongdon}

Tif Fussell {dottie angel}

Ok, now it’s over to you! Good luck… let me know if your shots get in – happy weekend!

Ok, let me take a quick step back here. Vancouver based artist Fiona Ackerman is an amazing painter who I’ve loved for ages. I’m sure you know her, but here’s a quick reminder of the work she’s famous for:

Gorgeous! Now, on to today’s post. I just came across her latest series of paintings. They’re totally different, yet I recognized them immediately as “Fiona Ackerman”. These new, large-scale oil paintings look like photographic studies, or dissections, of everything that has come before… and I LOVE all of it!

I totally admire anyone that continues to push, change, and grow with their work. That would be you, Fiona!

{I saw this new work featured on Booooooom – thanks Jeff!}

Oh! Look what arrived in my inbox a few days ago… sponge popsicles! They are the work of PUTPUT – a Swiss/Danish artist group established in 2011, and based in Copenhagen. They make, and then photograph some pretty fantastic things… like those sponge popsicles, of course, and these perfectly cut cinderblocks made from pink foam:

Yep. Jealous.

Oh my word… I am totally overwhelmed by the weird cuteness of Nathalie Choux’s ceramics! I love their moody eyes, and greyscale color palette {with the perfect pop of red, of course!} I need all of them. Hm, and while I’m being greedy, I’ll take these strange, rosy little friends as well:

{via the art cake}

So, this painting is the first thing you’ll see on the site of Beijing born, New York based artist Yuanyuan Yang. Awesome, yes?! But if you click a little deeper into her portfolio {which of course you will, once you’ve seen that fantastic first image!}, you’ll find these lovely/weird little gems:

Ok, I’m just going to say it… that little nudie karate kick is my favorite. HI-YA!

{ps. Yuanyuan has a show opening in New York, at Fuse Gallery, this Wednesday, October 24th at 7pm. The work is this show is from the same series as the painting at the top of this post… you should go!}

I’m not even sure where to begin. I had a girl crush on Shauna Alterio before I got to Philly last Thursday night… but then I met her {and her wonderful husband Stephen!}, and well, I am in complete awe of both of them. They literally are creative geniuses, and their home… my word, it’s like waking up in an artsy heaven! Have a look:

Yeah, I know! We spent Friday setting up for Saturday {and we may have found some time to go out for brunch, and then a delicious dinner in downtown Philly!}. I fell asleep in this gorgeous loft, and woke up bright and early – ready for another GIRL CRUSH to get underway! An amazing group of women arrived {along with a whole bunch of much-needed coffee and plates full of yummy pastries}, and then, the even more amazing conversation got started:

This is GIRL CRUSH No.5, and I am always still so moved by the conversation that springs up during our morning of creative block bashing exercises. There are definite themes that have come up at each event, but the most consistent thing is the open, honest, heart-felt words that each person openly shares. Without getting too mushy on you, it truly does warm my heart.

Ok, so after about five pots of coffee {thank you Stephen!}, it was time for a delicious catered lunch… and then, of course, onto the art!!! Oh. So. Many. Supplies!

Collages on found book covers! Love, love, love! What else do I love while making art? Yes… whoopie pies!

Sugar. An essential part of the art-making process. They were graciously donated by Coco Love {thank you!}… oh, and speaking of graciously donated things, the gift bags were so heavy, I could barely pick them up!!!

Thank you soooo much to our lovely sponsors:

decor : bhldn // gift bag : green market / girls can tell / made by hank / giant dwarf / seed house

Yes. It was an amazing event! My crush on Shauna has definitely grown, but she might have a little competition, living right under her very own roof:

{photo credit: all photos were taken by women at the event. The last two in the post were from Lisa, anything with a little ‘L’ in the bottom right corner was taken by Leslie, and everything else was shot by Shauna & Stephen. Thank you all!}

Wow. That’s all I have to say about these paintings by Buenos Aries artist Diego Gravinese. Wow.

{via Artsy Forager on Pinterest}

Ok, who else wants to start worshipping at the church of The New York Times? American artist Donna Ruff finds beauty & inspiration in “sacred texts such as the Torah and the Qur’an, but also in the New York Times and the Manhattan phone book; in cathedrals, mosques and synagogues.” Guess where I find beauty & inspiration. Yep… you’re lookin’ at it.

{via Poppytalk on Pinterest}

American photographer Neil Krug has me swooning… again. I wrote about PULP ART BOOK in 2010, but now there’s a volume 2 – and it’s filled with even more sassy, vintagey, vixen-ish images that I absolutely love! These shots look like stills from a 1970s B-movie, and they kinda make me want to light a fire and commune with nature! However, there are also these ones {no nature in sight, but I was totally incapable of leaving them out of this post!}

Love.

Gah! Siobhan McBride’s work is dark & moody, gouache on paper. Ok, now I’m feeling a little dark & moody that I don’t know how to make gouache look like this on paper! Here is her description of this work:

They are descriptions of awkward experiences, passages from books and film fragments, things caught in the corner of my eye, and an attempt to conjure slippery memories … I hope the work is strange and suspenseful like the excitement of exploring a new place, and the thrill of knowing you are drifting back into a frightening dream.

Yep!