Ahhh, these paintings make me want to exhale. So simple. So quiet. So lovely. They are the work of American artist/illustrator Elizabeth Mayville. As much as I love these buildings, and simple still life pieces, it was actually a couple of slightly bizarre portraits that roped me into Elizabeth’s portfolio:

Yep. Ladies with birds on their heads. Love.

How do you know when someone is your friend? When they find something like this, and immediately send you the link {thank you Victoria!} These amazing painted animal masks on photographic portraits are the work of French artist Charlotte Caron. They were featured on Trendland yesterday, {so I’m sorry if you’ve already seen them}, but I couldn’t control myself – I had to post them too… it was that petite deer in her cream cable-knit sweater that got me!

Berlin based artist Nike Schroeder has me swooning over her series, Fundamental Reports. Her images are inspired by vintage photographs {usually from the 1940s & 50s} that she finds in thrift shops… and then, the embroidery begins! Anyone that can draw with thread is a-okay in my books {… and all of those loose strands – love!}. If you happen to be in Hamburg, you can pop by Urban Outfitters to see this work on display until July, 2012.

Oh, and also, there is this:

♥!

Pink. Black. White. Enough said.

…ok, wait… I have to say more! Not only are these gorgeous mixed media pieces {acrylic, graphite, pastel, and spraypaint on canvas}, by Argentina born-Brooklyn based artist Fede Saenz, a stunning yet simple palette of pink, black, and white, they are also really, really BIG! They’re all approximately 48″ x 68″… and I’m pretty sure that I heard one of them say it wanted to come home with me. For real.

Oh my word… I love this piece, titled Necklace, by Australian artist Kate Tucker. I have boxes of found bits and pieces, and I wish that they were hanging on a wall looking like this, rather than sitting in a dusty box in my studio! Gor.ge.ous. {I had to include that final photo so you could see the scale!}. And… if you’re not quite jealous enough, then have a look at these lovely, inky, gouachey, mixed media pieces that were also part of this show:

Sigh.

Hm, jealous isn’t really the right word… I think obsessed is much more accurate! Yes. I am obsessed with the tiny, lovely little world of Duesseldorf based artist Sabine Timm. I’m about to show you what seems like most of her flickr stream, but I couldn’t help it {hence the term “obsession” I suppose}:

Gah!! Yep, I want to live in a teeny tiny house so that I can invite Sabine over for a teeny tiny cup of tea on a little bitty table… I call dibs on the chair though:

{via Luna}

Ok, I have to say, I love this idea! Ez, over at Creature Comforts created this little project because of a Twitter conversation that popped up over the weekend. It all started because of this post written by Jess Constable.

Here’s what it’s about, in a nutshell: in this blog-world of ours, reality doesn’t always shine through. Blogs are brands, and the bloggers behind those brands want to put their best foot forward, right? Fair enough. Readers come for interesting content, beautiful images, and to walk away feeling inspired… but sometimes that means “real life” doesn’t make much of an appearance. And to be perfectly honest, I find it exhausting, and intimidating, sometimes – how do these people all have perfect homes, and perfect shoes, and perfect art projects!!! The truth is, no one is perfect… so, that’s what today is all about. A whole group of amazing bloggers {a full list can be found on Creature Comforts} are opening up, and sharing the “things I’m afraid to tell you”. I don’t share very much personal information on this site, so I thought today might be the day… here we go {gulp}:

Yep, I have a beautiful, hilarious, creative five year old boy {whose middle name is West, because we moved west to start our family}. I don’t write about him, because this is an art blog, and I assume all of you are coming here to read about art… however, I’ve always felt weird that I’ve never mentioned him, because being his mother is the most important, fulfilling, wonderful thing that I have ever done in my entire life.

I’m an artist, which you all know, but I’m very nervous about showing my own work. Like, “feel kinda sick & get kinda sweaty” nervous. I have shown it a little bit more in the past year or so {mainly because I’ve been pushed by some very lovely/convincing bloggers… Erin and Kate, I’m talking to you!}. I love my work… until I know that someone else is going to see it, and then I start second guessing every element in every piece. I don’t feel like my art is where I want it to be at this stage in my life, and that drives me crazy.

As much as I wish that I spent all day jealously curating {and getting paid for it!}, I don’t. I am a graphic designer, so I spend most of my day working away on client projects. Some are fantastic, creative, and a joy to work on… and some, well, they pay the bills! My dream is to have “The Jealous Curator” become my day-job, and I’m insanely jealous of the bloggers out there who have managed to do that… but until that day, I’ll be over here making logos bigger ; )

Phew, ok, those are the three biggies! I could tell you about my insanely messy closet, or the fact that I can’t keep a manicure looking good for longer than one day… but perhaps that’s more than you actually want to know! Thanks for reading… and if you have a blog, you should give this a shot. It’s quite cathartic!

{Thanks for getting this going Ez! xo}

I can manage a paper crane, but that’s where my folding skills end! I’m in awe of LA based artist/graphic designer Eva Black and her huge installation of paper triangles, titled quite appropriately Folded.

“I began the piece by collecting paper, using all found paper – paper that was given to me, paper I had collected over time, paper from old artworks, paper bags, or paper I bought from old bookstores. The piece has about 3,500 triangles and is about 12 x 13′.

It’s fascinating working with a medium in which a new tactile experience is explored. A medium that is often regarded as common, but has also created strong connections with its viewers. Each has a story to tell, from old maps to smaller paper remnants. These have been taken from their discarded state and folded three-dimensionally to further their transformation. A transformation that finds order in its details. A transformation into something beautiful.”

She’s also a very talented graphic designer – look at the show cards she designed for Folded… Gah! So gorgeous!

Oh my. French artist Stephane Dauthuille uses layers of lines and pattern to create these gorgeously ornate images. Orange legs, an orange “jupe”, and graphite details that I could look at all day long! However, there is something to be said for what’s under all of those layers:

Seriously, I cannot decide whichI love more… Stephane’s girls in clothes, or, well, not so much.

There are a lot of fun perks that come with having a blog, and this is definitely one of them! Jack Cards {via Sarah Bryden-Brown of Blogstar} asked a few bloggers to design a card for them. I jumped on the chance, as did Melanie from Inward Facing Girl, and Amy from Old Sweet Song.

For my card, I used one of my mixed media pieces {and then added a pink birthday hat}, and voila… a birthday card! We held a contest for people to come up with a message for the inside of the card, and there were sooo many amazing entries! Here’s the winning message:

Ha! I love it! As it happens, the chosen message was written by design blogger, Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay.com!!! Yep, she’s a style maven AND the queen of one-liners! I think it’s a pretty hilarious/weird addition to an already pretty hilarious/weird image.

All three of our cards go on sale today {mine // Melanie’s // Amy’s}…YAY! Thanks Jack, and thanks to Sarah for inviting us to be part of this!