Evil Thoughts . . .

After the terrible day I had yesterday, I definitely need a nice distraction. What's better than chocolate and eating my feelings? A new, utterly pointless project! This morning I found this link and picture on my Facebook feed, and checked out the work of incredible papier mache artist, Dan Reeder. He got a commission to make a trophy of Maleficent's head from "Sleeping Beauty", and the results are pretty amazing.

Using paper and cloth soaked in glue, fimo clay, glass eyes, and a shitload of green LED's, Dan created the coolest representation of one of Disney's coolest villains (if not THE coolest villain, IMO). Naturally, instead of looking at something like this and thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool to have somebody make something like that for me?" I'm sitting here thinking, "How do I make that???" I'm not saying I'm going to do it. But, newspaper and glue are pretty cheap . . .

Preview . . .

Some people, when they get home from a long day at the office, like to flip on the tv. Some people sit in a bubble bath. Me, I turn on my laptop and spend two hours on Photoshop, coloring artwork for my next book cover;)

That's a little preview of the cover for "Celluloid"; the actual cover is designed to look like an old movie poster (I spent eight hours this past weekend working on it!) and has fighter planes and Nazis and the Hollywood sign, as well as the title smushed in there;) I'll post a preview of that when I'm a little closer to self-publishing; right now I'm entering the beta phase, and doing revisions. I'll keep y'all posted!

Body Paint . . .

I think I found my next tattoo artist.

Amanda Wachob was featured on Design*Sponge this morning, and I am in love with her work. I got my first tattoo when I was 20, and since then I've been searching in vain for an artist to do the next one. I've found some artists I like but none enough to pull the trigger and plunk down the money to put something permanent on my body.

Then, I saw the incredible work of Amanda Wachob. Looking at these, it's almost impossible to believe that this is done with a needle and ink. The beautiful painterly quality of these tattoos elevates them from the everyday, and that's exactly what I want adorning me.

The only drawback? She's in NYC. Gah! Of course, there's no reason I couldn't plan a visit in a year or two, and get a tattoo while I'm there, right? Head over to Amanda's site and admire her work or yourself . . .

Dubois and Barral . . .

From Collection Belle Epoque

I am absolutely in love with these artists I've just found. I usually find collage artists, especially those that deal with Victorian ephemera, to be a little busy/kischy. But the work of Laurent Dubois and Fabien Barral just blow me away.

La dame en noir

The Excelsior Latin Hotel in Paris feature murals and linens printed with their designs, which means that if I ever get to visit, I will have to stay here . . .

Unfortunately, you can't buy prints of their work any where that I can see, but you can visit their website to see more.

Mademoiselle de Lancey

I hope they continue to produce more beautiful work, and start up an online shop too;)

Flight . . .

So, I have long been an admirer of the work of artist Kazu Kibuishi. He is the genius behind such graphic novels as Daisy Cutter (a favorite of mine), Amulet, and the annual Flight anthologies. I do not actually own any of the Flight collections and I DO NOT KNOW WHY. Possibly momentary brain damage that prevents me from purchasing them.

Anyway, I also like to paint, but I suffer from a serious case of I-never-know-what-to-paint-and-probably-won't-be-able-to-do-it-justice-anyway. So, I end up painting reproductions of other people's work. For me, it's a way of getting to know a work I love, and being able to afford to hang it on my wall. I certainly don't know Mr. Kibuishi personally, and I hate hanging posters of artwork, so this is as close as I could get to hanging anything he's done.

The image above is the original Canyon Town. The one below is a picture of my reproduction, captured on my somewhat-crappy phone camera. I spent the better part of Sunday working on this, and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I would never pass it off as my own work, and I highly recommend you check out Kazu Kibuishi's stuff yourself. If you don't hate hanging poster art prints the way I do, you can buy some of his work at Nucleus Art Gallery.

Thanks for the inspiration, Mr. Kibuishi.

* This is actually my second repro based on one of his works. My first is Tree House, and is now hanging right above Canyon Town on my wall!

Favorite Site Tuesdays: Nancy Adams

Luna Moth Tea

This week's featured site is the shop for the clay artist, Nancy Adams. She manages to combine two of my loves: beautiful pottery and tea;) Her teapots are whimsical and functional, and I'd be inspired to throw a tea party with any one of them! Or two. Or three;)

Bluebird Teapot

Top Hat Lizard Bowl

Spiked Tea

Jade Waterlily Tea

Stop by her shop and take a look at Nancy Adams work. Absolutely beautiful!

Favorite Site Tuesdays: Creatures From El

Green and Cyan Tree Turtle

This week's favorite site was just discovered yesterday, but I was so blown away by her work, I had to feature her: Creatures From El. These small clay creations are the work of canadian artist Ellen, who holds a degree in Biological Anthropology and Art Critique. You can see both in her meticulous, beautiful pieces, which she makes with nothing more sophiticated than her hands.

Moss Feather Dragon

Parrot Headed Sphinx

Barn Owl

Ivory Headed Fin Dog

Her weird and wonderful creatures are delicate and amazing, and they are now a favorite of mine. Check out Creatures From El and see all of her lovely creations.

Favorite Site Tuesdays: Sleepy Robot 13

Free Hugs Robot

I am unabashedly fond of cute things. I know this is rather girly of me, and I tend to try to eschew the typically girly (with the exception of a shoe obsession), but I COULD NOT RESIST THE CUTE HERE. Sleepy Robot 13 is the creation of Lisastarchild, an artist from Cleveland who clearly has the same low resistance to cute. Her tiny polymer clay robots remind me of Dunnys and Munnys; clean lines, simple, and perfect.

Chick Magnet

Camera Robot

Chinese Take Out Robot

Robot and Toaster are Friends

I love these little guys, and I'm sure you will too. Check out Sleepy Robot 13; you will end up taking one of them home, guaranteed.

Favorite Site Tuesdays: Blik

Anise Wall Decal

This week's favorite site is Blik. As any habitual apartment dweller will tell you, it can get pretty frustratingly boring to never be able to paint your walls and bring your personality into a room. Blik solves this in the coolest way possible: removeable wall decals by graphic designers, artists, and interior decorators.

Apollo Wall Decal

From the simple to the elaborate, Blik has something for every taste and every style. Not everyone will want a half-naked tree woman in their front hall (but I know a few people who would!)

Storm

They also collaborate with Threadless and have produced several decals based on their designs. Being a huge Threadless fan, I'm pretty excited by that!

99 Luftballons

Many of their designs also come in multiple color choices too, so you can match them to your decor. Though, I don't kow why you wouldn't want red, in this case;)

Moon Kite

There are darkly goth designs, stark silhouettes, whimsical graphics, and utterly modern pieces. Check out Blik (and their 18 pages of designs!), and I dare you to resist getting something for your walls, apartment or not! I know I have a few earmarked for the new place . . .

Favorite Site Tuesdays: Untamed Menagerie

Curiouser

This week's favorite is a new find: Untamed Menagerie. Featuring the work of mother/daughter Tennessee artists Nikki and Penny, Untamed Menagerie is the most delicate and exquisite steel and acrylic silhouette jewelry. I was instantly in love.

Carpe Diem

Forgotten

Gnarled

Melancholy Lashes

Everything from design to name to presentation of the pieces is starkly beautiful. Visit Untamed Menagerie and I dare you not to walk away with one of their incredible necklaces, earrings, or brooches. I'm certainly eyeing a few myself;)

Bloody Good Art . . .

I'm already a big fan of Ty Mattson of Mattson Creative, after first seeing his work in a series of Lost posters a little while back. Now, he's won me as a lifelong fan. These Dexter inspired posters are cool, savvy, and if you're as big a fan of the show as I am, you'll see that each one is dedicated to a season, and full of little details from those episodes.

Can't wait to see what he'll produce for this season;)

 He's thinking of doing a limited edition of prints of these, so head over to his blog and leave a comment about it, telling him how much you love them!