I was at the library today and saw a Salvador Dali book on the shelf, which reminded me that I probably had my next post in an old photo album somewhere. I went to Dali’s Theatre & Museum in Figueres, Spain years ago and was totally inspired to say the least. I was there for about 4 hours and still didn’t see everything. The art on display was weird and wonderful as always, but what I loved so much was how crazy the actual house was, and he really lived there… in a pink house with popcorn-like sculptures stuck to the exterior walls, huge eggs lining the top of house, and Mae West’s nostrils as his fireplace(s). I wonder if I could get at least one nostril installed before winter?

{I ended up finding only one of these photos in my album. I have no idea where they all went?! Well, thanks to all of you other travelers out there that I ‘borrowed’ most of these images from!}

I Can’t Apologize Enough ~ oh no no, not me ~ that’s the title of David Fullarton‘s new book. It looks amazing and hilarious, as usual when it comes to his work, and can be purchased riiiiight… here.

When the moon hits your eye like a big gold couch… that’s amore!

That’s amore alright! I love these photos by 2009 Ryerson University grad Stefanie Fiore. These images are from a series called A New Home in which she explores first generation Italian-Canadian residences. Here’s her insight into their decorating decisions… ‘Using local materials and notions of the baroque to create replicas and pastiche resembling their homeland, the families are referencing the rich cultural history of their homeland in a country in which they have no history.’ Pretty insightful… Um, Stefanie, do you have fancy wallpaper and gold throw pillows at home too? It’s Ok, you can tell me…

This is insane… and photos don’t do it justice. I saw this life size ‘May Pole’ installation by Canadian artist Kristi Malakoff last spring up close and personal. Isn’t it beautiful? And wait, it gets better… the whole thing is made out of, brace yourself, cut paper. Yes. Everything. The curly hair, the lace, the ribbon, the birds. Everything.

{When you visit her site, make sure to check out the ‘Flower Installations’ section – all of which are made from thousands of flowers that she has photographed,  then printed and cut out of paper, and last but not least, arranged into words, scenes etc. Amazing!}

I’ve written about Anthony Zinonos before, but today I discovered his very simple / totally fantastic handmade zine, Le Dot.  Xeroxed photos whose subjects are totally engaged by orange dot stickers. Such a simple idea… surely if given enough time I could have come up with this?! Well, maybe not. I find Anthony’s use of white space so inspiring. He can tell a story with so few elements… aaaand here comes the jealousy.

And for today only, you could add this little gem to your own personal collection for the low, low price of $3…  Ok, you can actually get it any day for that price. What a deal!

{Some of these images are from Anthony’s etsy page, and the others were found on the always amazing blog, Book by It’s Cover}

I find artists in all sorts of interesting places, but today I found one sitting innocently in my Facebook fan list. Now, in a totally non-creepy way, I occasionally google the people that show up on that list, just to see if they’re artists that might make me jealous… and today was one of those days. I found Claire Brewster, an artist from London who works with old maps and atlases, snipping and cutting until she winds up with these amazing birds. They are either pinned to the wall in large scale installations, or captured on a smaller scale in shadow boxes {both shown above}. The shadows that they cast are so beautiful too, and almost give the work a sculptural feeling. And so, at the end of the day, it turns out that I’m a fan of hers! Oh, I love art karma.

One Two Three Four – I declare a thumb war!

Ooooh the graphic designer in me is crazy jealous. I love this limited edition hand-bound book by John Hersey, yet another San Franciso artist {I keep writing about them lately}. Such a fun idea with very cool illustrations… AND a wooden cover with laser-cut lettering? Are you kidding me?! Love.

Pen on paper. Sure, that seems nice and simple.

I love these pink and red tangled up knots by San Francisco artist Leigh Wells. They’re so complex, yet so simple at the same time. Lovely.

Share Some Candy has a section on artist’s work spaces, and I when I stumbled upon it the other day I couldn’t control the jealousy. My favourite studio belongs to a very talented illustrator/artist named Camilla Engman. She’s got a cute & creative loft in Göteborg, Sweden. Such a great space to spread out your supplies and just make beautiful stuff all day long. And the cherry on top of this studio? A little dog on a gold couch… I’ll take one of each please.

Coming up on November 7th, 2009

1 night. 50 artists. Crazy amounts of hot one inch action!

This is such a fun show (I wish I thought of it!). It was started in 2004 and has become an annual event in Vancouver. Here’s how it works… The founders of the show, Chris and Jim, choose 50 artists from the many submissions they get. The artwork is then made into 1″ buttons and hung on the gallery wall. At the show you pay *$5 for 5 random buttons out of the 50. You then spend the rest of the evening in a totally packed out gallery engaged in hot trading action trying to acquire the buttons you really want/love. It’s fun, it’s crazy and you come away with some very cool wearable art… albeit very tiny.

… I have to point it out – how awesome is that nipple button?! Worn strategically on one’s jacket you could be quite the conversation piece.

*Last year is was $5, I assume it will be the same this year, but don’t quote me on it.