Oh dear! … get it? Dear/deer? Ok, bad deer jokes aside, I absolutely love these mixed media pieces by California based artist Masako Miki. I mean, come on… what’s not to love?! Rainbow-hued embroidery thread, flat patterns, and a deer being lowered slowly into a tank of aquamarine water. Oh deer, indeed!

{Masako is represented by Swarm Gallery in Oakland, California}

That’s it… I’m packing everything I own into a bunch of tiny little pink and yellow suitcases, and then moving myself into this series of still life photographs {titled Our Home My Home} by New York based artist Erin O’Keefe. When I first saw these images, I couldn’t decide if she was trying to convey a sense of emptiness, or the promise of something new. Turns out, the answer is ‘yes’. Here, in Erin’s words, is what this project is about:

The photographs in this series are still life set ups that include images of various empty rooms that were part of a year of transition. I emptied my childhood home after the death of my father, and moved to a new home with my husband and children. I am interested in the tension between the space of the still life in my studio, and the spaces depicted in the photographs.

Eyes that look like fallen cherry blossoms, and tiny teeth nestled into a little blue mouth. I’m trying really hard to think of something clever to write about these delicate {yet somewhat disturbing} watercolor paintings by New York based artist Austin Power, but truthfully, the only thing in my head is this:  wow ♥

{via Art Hound}

Spray paint on water color paper. Wait… spray paint?! Yep, painstakingly stenciled spray paint. I know. Amazing, right?

So, remember when I said I met lots of great people, from every possible area of expertise, when I was at Alt? Well, there was a very cool couple, Paul and Cariann, who run cargoh.com ~ an online marketplace filled with lots of very nice work. A woman named Indigo is one of the artists they feature, and when I saw these owls on Friday, I literally thought  “Oh yes… that’s my Monday post.” And voila, here it is!

Whoa… what an amazing few days in Salt Lake City. Alt Summit was sort of like summer camp {in the winter} for art & design bloggers. Graphic designers, artists, writers, interior designers, magazine editors, event planners, fashion writers, all showed up to share everything they possibly could about their areas of expertise. I spoke {which was an insanely amazing thrill!}, I learned a truck load of stuff, barely slept,  and had more coffee than a girl should probably consume in three days. But I think the most fantastic part, was the fact that I met so many people who, before Thursday morning, I had only known by their twitter handles. Now of course they should all be filed under #brandnewbffs.

{Image: the lovely view from our hotel, courtesy of one of my roomies, Janette Crawford of storeenvy.com}

Obviously a Canadian would know exactly what to do with a bunch of images of snowy mountains! Toronto based artist Liam Wylie has taken found images, done a little geometric slicing and dicing, making me a very jealous girl who is now in the mood to ski! Perfect actually, because…

I found Liam’s work via Design for Mankind, which just happens to be written/created by Erin Loechner, who just happens to be my roomie at Alt Summit in Salt Lake City this week! {I thought leaving you with a post full of snowy mountains would be quite appropriate, no?} Anywho, I’ll be knee-deep in snow and the world of design blogging from later today until Saturday, so I’ll see you back here on Monday the 24th with a full report! Wish me luck!!! xo

Ok, I’ve written about Australian artist Laura McKellar at least four times, and yep, I’m still jealous of her work. Today however, I’m also jealous/inspired by her generous spirit. She is auctioning off the above artwork {as well as a photograph by Nikki Toole} in an effort to help those affected by the flooding in Queensland. The auction will “raise money for the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. All of the money raised will be donated. The auction will finish 9am Monday January 24th.” Please help if you can ~ Thank you!

{Oh, and speaking of good causes, yesterday I received my very own “green bag lady” cloth shopping bag in the mail, courtesy of the very sweet Teresa Van Hatten-Granath. It’s soo cute, and until the end of today you can get yourself an anniversary freebie bag… Yep! Just click here}

Ah, the power of a circle. Granted, these images are striking on their own, but something fantastic happened when American artist Marco Suarez cropped these landscapes into circles… they kind of look like their own little planets now, any of which I’d be quite happy to live on!

Oh yes! I would happily serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert on any of these weird little miss-matched animal portrait plates by LA based artist Angela Rossi. Don’t worry… I won’t serve venison.

Nobody said breaking up was easy… especially with a city. Jon Jackson is leaving LA behind for NYC, but instead of being a jerk and dumping LA on a post-it, he decided to put up a series of gorgeous text-based art pieces, titled Adiós LA, on a bunch of really big billboards all over town. So, if you happen to be one of those people who likes eavesdropping on couples fighting in restaurants {what? I’ve never done it}, then until January 15th you can drive around LA and be a witness to this break-up. Poor LA… maybe we should set her up with someone?

{thanks to GregoryWest ♥‘s for sending me the link to this work}