Why is it that kids’ bodies and animal heads go so well together? Well, whatever the reason, San Francisco based artist Michael McConnell has paired them up beautifully in his series, little (animals). These paintings are ‘dealing with the characteristics that we associate with animals, in conjunction with how we are raising our children.’ Hm, I wonder what kind of  animal head my parents would have assigned to me? An angry bear? A nervous squirrel? I think I was probably that sweet, pensive deer… with a slingshot.

{If you want to know more, and I mean lots more, check out Lisa Congdon’s interview with Michael on Poppytalk.}

Awwww! Aren’t they sweet? Don’t you want to give them a good home? These poor little ceramic orphans were left all alone, badly painted and nameless, at charity shops all over South East England. Luckily, London based artist Emma Harding showed up on a rescue mission! She dusted them off, painted them in fabulously vibrant colours, and then lovingly named each one. Now they are shiny, beautiful and ready to find new homes. Yes, that’s right, all of these little thrift store orphans are up for adoption. You can take one home today if you like… but I call dibs on Pat & Una Thorpe!

{Thanks to the always inspiring and lovely frankie magazine for this find.}

For the longest time I wondered, ‘what’s the point of Twitter?’ Well, now I know. It’s so that I can sit back, drink my morning coffee, and wait for amazingly talented artists to just drop into my life.  That’s what happened yesterday. A little message in my in-box telling me that I was now being followed by American designer/mixed media* artist Lillianna Pereira. Oh social media, you’re the best!

*Ok, I realize that I’m on a bit of a mixed media kick this week, but I can’t control myself. I love it… and I won’t apologize for that!

Go for GOLD!!! Oh wait, the Olympics are over… but I still want to jump up and cheer for these hilarious skaters by Jesse Draxler. Mind you, I kinda want to cheer for the rainbow diamond hat and smiley Vietnamese kids too… if only I had a cow bell.

{I found Jesse Draxler’s work on the consistently awe-inspiring Society6. And surprise, surprise, he’s also a member of WAFA. I cannot get enough of those WAFA guys!}

Ah, my newest crush… The Beholder. An online gallery, and one-stop-shop for fabulous art. San Francisco based Director/Curator Suzanne Shade started the site in 2005 with only 15 artists, but now has over 70… and I love ’em all! I’ve actually written about several of them, so I knew I’d found a kindred spirit. Speaking of similarities, the mission of the gallery is ‘to use the reach of the internet to attract a wider audience for artists, and to encourage new collectors to become involved with owning and enjoying original art.’ Me too! Me too! Of course, on The Beholder you can actually buy the art… on The Jealous Curator, you can only wallow in jealousy. Well, we all have our strengths.

{The images shown above can all be found on The Beholder. They are by 1) Martha Rich 2) Jennifer Davis 3) Jennifer Sanchez 4) Leigh Wells.}

Oh man, I just had the weirdest dream. Oh wait, that wasn’t a dream… it was the work of Nick Paliughi. Nick, his pink scissors, and a whole bunch of old magazines are behind these very bizarrely beautiful collages. Maybe tonight, before bed, I’ll peruse a stack of vintage National Geographics, and then eat a huge hot fudge sundae… if I’m lucky my dreams will be half as vivid as Nick’s work!

Sigh. More amazing mixed media. I’m always so impressed {ie. crushed by jealousy} when an artist can do something so simple, using only a few elements, and still make their work feel special/unique. Chattanooga based artist Hollie Chastain is one of those artists. Finding her was quite unique as well… I was writing another post when my browser window popped up with her work on it {via Papernstitch}. Seriously. I don’t know where or what I accidentally clicked on but I sure was happy when her work dropped in my lap. Thank you Art Gods. I owe you one.

I would love to have the clout of a curator from a well-respected gallery, with the power to acquire art work from all over the world. However, by ‘curator’ I didn’t think I’d be referring to the NBA’s Shaquille O’Neal… but I am. On February 19th, ‘Size does Matter’, a show curated by Shaq himself, opened at The FLAG Art Foundation in New York. The show {that runs until May 27th} explores ‘the myriad [of] ways that scale affects the perception of contemporary art.’ So, not only am I totally jealous that he got to do this, but I’m also insanely jealous of the 66 artists he selected {Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, and Chuck Close just to name a few*}. He even requested that a few new pieces be created especially for the show! Now that’s a lot of clout… 320lbs and 7’1″ of clout to be exact. Hm, I guess size really does matter.

*The work above is not from the exhibit. I couldn’t find examples of what these 3 artists contributed, so I’ve just shown pieces from them that I’m jealous of.

{I originally read about this on Arrested Motion.}

Oh, how I love clever {and beautifully executed} typographic art. Sculpture, painting, mixed media, whatever… I love it all. Therefore, I have no choice but to love American artist Archie Scott Gobber, because clearly he does it all. Hm, I guess I’ll have to divide my heart between Archie and Wayne White, although I may have to fight Marty Walker for both of them. His gallery reps these two typographic geniuses so, ultimately, I’m jealous of him too. Phew, that’s a lot of guys to be jealous of in one day. I’m spent.

Ok, I’m showing soft sculpture two days in a row, but when I found this work by Australian based artist Helle Jorgensen I couldn’t control myself. Barnacles made out of reclaimed wool, and discarded plastic beautifully crafted into sea anemones… how could I not write about it immediately? I imagine that she finds the reclaimed wool at garage sales and thrift shops, but where does she get that plastic yarn? She makes it herself of course, and if you have the patience that’s required, she’ll even teach you how it’s done.

{I found her while searching around flickr for a knitted birthday cake. Oh, and if you like these, you’ll probably want to have a look at Emily Barletta’s work .}