A boy in a book. Love, love, love.

This lovely handset & bound letterpress book by Jacque Schiller is now officially on my Christmas list… ok, I’m starting a bit early, but can you blame me?! Under Cover is a 32 page story of a ‘tiny boy who lives inside the book and is constantly trying to escape the page boundaries’. Poor little fella… holes, folds and all sorts of paper mechanics stop him from finding his way out! Such a clever idea, and oh so beautifully executed. There are only one hundred of them, so I’m going to have to be extra good if I want Santa to bring me a copy!

{You can find ‘Under Cover’ at the following places… Supermarket, Desert Island, Brooklyn, Proteus Gowanus Gallery, Brooklyn, Wonder Fair, Lawrence KS, The Secret Headquarters, LA, or you can contact Jacque directly.}

Oh, Holly Farrell… sigh. She is one of my favourite painters, and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I was at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show last summer, and was lucky enough to have a chance to chat with her, and see her lovely work in person. I’ve written about her vintage, photo-real oil paintings several times, and I have absolutely no doubt that I will again. Her work is very quiet and sweet, however, the paintings that she’s jealous of are definitely not…

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I am jealous of Michael Harrington

When I first saw Michael Harrington‘s work I felt pretty glum – definitely a ‘why hadn’t I thought of that’ situation…  I recognized the things he painted, remembered the people he portrayed and felt the colours he smeared across his canvases.  He took scenes from my life (ok, not actually my  life, but close to what I knew growing up) and put them eerily to canvas.  His work is creepy, dangerous and funny.  His work is very Catholic – might be he is  – there is a religiosity imbued in his scenes, they remind me of the stained glass windows that would line the church aisles of my childhood (before I quit Church).  These windows would typically depict scenes of life, death and hope – mainly stories from the Bible – they were there to teach us all lessons.  I can’t help but feel that lessons go unlearned in Harrington’s scenarios.  It seems something bad is just waiting to happen.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Shudder. Yep, I don’t think those ‘cowboys’ are up to any good at all. Thanks so much for visiting Holly!

American artist Haley Hasler… hm, the Cindy Sherman of the painting world? Yep, I think she just might be! Most self-portraits show us the exterior of the artist, however, these ones also reveal what’s happening on the inside… and clearly, there’s a lot going on in there! With great painterly skill, she places herself into all sorts of crazy, iconic, ‘I am woman hear me roar’ situations creating beautiful, fictitious worlds inspired by her day-to-day reality. I’ll have to think about what my self-portrait might include… at the very least I’d need to throw in two wacky wiener dogs, and a creamy cup of coffee. Mmm.

{Haley is represented by Alpha Gallery in Boston.}

Titles: 1) Self-Portrait as a Mother  2) Portrait as Woman with Lamb  3) Portrait as Trick Roper  4) Portrait as Woman Guarding Prairie  5) Portrait as a Mail-Order Bride  6) Self-Portrait as a Bather

So, I saw my first ‘back to school’ ad about a week ago. I’m sure all of you students out there find that quite depressing, but not me! I used to love going back to school… granted, it was mainly for the art supplies. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil, a fresh box of crayons, and a big stack of brightly coloured paper – oh, the possibilities! And obviously, I’m not alone. I have a feeling that Dalton Ghetti {alphabet carved pencils}, Jonna Pohjalainen {log pencil crayon installation}, Diem Chau {carved crayons}, and Jennifer Stark {cut-paper sculptures} would have been thrilled to see that commercial at the end of July… ooh, maybe we could all get matching pencil cases!

Ahhh, I can almost smell the sweet summer air! Jeff Hamada {of Booooooom!} is the man behind this lovely art project called Little Drifters. He invited anyone who wanted to participate to make a boat completely of out natural elements. Once the twigs, flowers, leaves, and snails were in place, everyone got together and set their creations adrift. So beautiful… and I have to say, I’m looking at pine cones in a whole new light!

Jaunty, no?

Oh, there are so many reasons to be jealous of Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt, the duo behind Something’s Hiding in Here, but I’ll try my best to stay focused. The project that has my heart today is called Forage… and it’s fantastic! Hand-made bow ties, in a range of styles and sorbet-esque colours. I’m jealous of this idea, I’m jealous that they get to hunt around for beautiful fabrics, and I’m jealous of the final product… but I have to say, it’s their hand-printed promo postcards {complete with teeny-tiny little bow ties}, that have pushed the designer in me over the edge!  Jaunty, and soul-crushing… not bad for a Tuesday morning.

{…and speaking of accessories, ‘the house that jealousy built‘ got a walk-in closet today! come for a visit over at sfgirlbybay!}

Sigh. I can’t believe she’s leaving… although I’m totally inspired {and pretty jealous} about why she’s moving on. After five years of blogging about the art and design that she loves and admires most, Amanda Briggs of dear ada is laying down her typepad. Has she run out of inspiring work to write about? Nope. Just the opposite. She credits these other artists, and the time she spent on dear ada, with getting her an exciting new job, and a gallery that now represents her work! With an upcoming solo show, and who knows what else, she’s off to an amazing start! I’ll certainly miss her discoveries, but can’t wait to see what she creates… Good luck Amanda!

Pikaland, the one-stop blog for all things illustrated, is one of the best blogs out there! And the reason it’s so good… Amy Ng. She has an amazing eye, and consistently makes me jealous by featuring fabulous artists/illustrators. If you need a little inspiration, just bookmark pikaland.com and you’ll be all set. Want an example? Ok, here you go:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I am jealous of Tadahiro Uesugi

The way Tadahiro Uesugi draws those beautiful ladies wandering the streets of Paris, New York and Venice – such elegance! Head held high, stiletto heels and hair blowing in the wind – each one is truly a beauty. The color palettes he chooses are fantastically retro in style, and his patterned landscapes are dreamy. Plus the fact that I can’t draw human figures stylishly makes me all the more jealous!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

See? She knows what she’s talking about… and now I want to go to Paris. Hey Amy, I’ll meet you there!

Forget hanging out longer… I just wish I could hang out a little bit! I’m so totally and completely jealous of the people who will actually get to go to this weekend’s Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco! It’s a weekend chock-full of fantastic work, and amazing artists. Speaking of which, whoever takes that ceramic/thread brooch home… please, please, take good care of it. It deserves a soft and loving lapel. Sigh… I wish it could have hung out on my lapel, at least for a little while.

{The artists shown above will be there this weekend. They are 1) heyday design [jewellery] 2) heyday design [ceramics] 3) Mama’s Little Babies 4) The Mincing Mockingbird 5) molly m designs 6) The Heated 7) miki and nora 8 ) miki and nora 9) Raw Toast Design}

Ahhh, nothing says summer like drinkin’ and smokin’ in a pool.  I love these turban-toting, ridiculously pale ladies! I wish I knew what they were chatting about in there… I guess Nina Nolte is the only one who will ever really know. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off for a quick smoke swim.