Creature Comforts USA - Art

Marilyn Painting

For Christmas this year I decided to do a painting for my favorite blogger friend. Little did I know just how long an oil painting would take...the first week or so seemed disastrous. The next few weeks, things improved...slightly...and finally, the last couple of weeks the painting actually looked the way I'd imagined.

Maybe if I had more time and energy for painting this process would progress a little more. Currently I have two paintings sitting half-finished on my easel. Maybe by the end of 2009 I'll be able to finish them. Funny how life gets in the way of art!

Happy Holidays!!!

~flutterbyblue

Design Hive

Although I'm really not a fan of Fox News in any sense, there might be some redeeming value:

Design Hive was featured this past Tuesday on Fox!

"The Design Hive is a rotating collective retail experience featuring different designers every week. It's a great alternative to mass-produced, mass-consumed goods and it's way more hip."

I, for one, am really looking forward to checking this place out! My good friend, pequitobun, will be there today and next Saturday as well. There will also be around 50 other independent designers selling their wares at Design Hive for the next 6 Saturdays! Find everything from clothing and jewelry, to handbags, housewares and art!

Happy Shopping!

~flutterbyblue

The Design Hive is within walking distance of both Harvard and Porter Squares in Cambridge.

Maria Baldwin School (formerly the Agassiz School)
28 Sacramento St. (off Mass Ave. @ corner of Oxford St.)
Cambridge, MA 02138

Image lifted from www.designhivemarket.com

Bleach Painting: moth to flame

I love this piece by moth to flame. Deborah Gwinn works from her small design studio in Seattle atop a hill with a scenic view. In her words:

Not that it hasn't been great to work in my pajamas and slippers if I want, but my “assistants”, that are now 3 and 4, are less than cooperative and much more demanding than I had imagined they would be. They do not follow orders well, talk incessantly and completely off topic during client meetings, and throw grapes and other snack foods at me if ignored for too long. I have written them both up on several occasions but I don’t think they are grasping the full severity of the situation. While firing them is out of the question, I think a transfer to a Day Care division may be necessary.

Gwinn's work is surreal and organic with rich, earthy tones. She also has a website and a blog site where you can read more about her bleach painting technique.

Enjoy!

~flutterbyblue

Joy of Painting: Bob Ross

One of my childhood memories consists of sitting in front of the T.V. and watching the folksy guy with the fro paint landscapes in under an hour. Bob Ross, from the Joy of Painting, was one of those reverse chic gurus whose soothing voice was once compared to Demerol. He would contend, that given half an hour, just about anyone could paint a landscape following his instructions for, "happy little clouds" and "pretty little mountains." He made it look SO EASY.

Imagine my surprise when I took my first oil painting class...

...the colors all muddied together and despite my best attempts, no "happy little trees" or "happy little streams" or even any "happy little accidents," magically materialized. Ah well, maybe I didn't pay close enough attention when I was little.

I recently found this YouTube clip of Bob Ross, "happy little outtakes." Not to be irreverent (I still loved his show!) but I find it weirdly entertaining:


Image lifted from wikipedia.com

Kendra Binney

While perusing Etsy one day I came across some fantastic work by Kendra Binney. Binney describes her studio as 9'X16' with no windows, a place where she paints, daydreams and paints some more. The images she creates are simple, magical, and inspired by her childhood when she spent most of her time "barefoot, searching the tall grass for spiders, snakes, and other hidden treasures."

These limited edition prints are mounted on thick birch plywood and sealed with plastic resin. Everything is signed, numbered by the artist and arrives ready for display.

Check out more of her ethereal pieces on her online gallery.

Images lifted from kendrabinney.etsy.com and www.kendra-binney.com

Letters from Nature

lutterbyblue in Letters from Nature:

Butterfly Letters (wings)
Nature Letters

Image lifted from metaatem.net/butterfly

Franc Grom: the new Fabergé

Until recent years, I was never a huge fan of eggs. For eating that is. As time went on I began to appreciate this food under certain conditions. However, regardless of my food particularities, I have always loved egg art: gaudy fabergé, hand painted Ukrainian Easter eggs...and now add to the list, hand drilled eggs by master egg artist, Franc Grom.

Using an electric boring tool, Grom is able to drill several thousand holes into a single eggshell. Inspired by Slovenian designs, he creates works of art from this simple, yet elegant "canvas."


Images lifted from news.nationalgeographic.com and www.hemmy.net

Etsy art: fall down tree

I absolutely love the etsy shop, fall down tree. These creative images are adorable and somewhat other-wordly (in a fun kind of way!) I particularly love the prints based off of children's stories: "humpty", "3 mice that are blind" and "Little Red." A series of these would be perfect for just about any part of the house (and I don't even have children!)

Adam Record, the owner of this quaint little shop, also has a blog where one can view more of his work.

Enjoy!

~flutterbyblue
Images lifted from falldowntree.etsy.com

papercuts

Every now and then I come across something extraordinary while surfing the web.

Peter Callesen works somewhere between two and three dimensions. Taking a SINGLE flat sheet of paper, he is able to cut and fold miraculous images of beauty and whimsy, pulling from tales of Hans Christian Anderson and the drama of nature. See where impossibility, illusion and reflection all meet:

Peter Callesen


Images lifted from www.petercallesen.com

V-J day in Times Square

Perhaps one of the most famous photographs from the 1940's is this image, originally published in Life magazine, and captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt, a German American photographer and photojournalist. He is known for his candid photographs, frequently made using a 35mm Leica M3 rangefinder camera. In 1945, he snapped this image of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J day in Times Square. Due to the chaos of this happy, celebratory moment, he was unable to get names and details of his subjects.

In 1980, Life magazine reported that 11 men and 3 women had come forward to be the kissers, although I'm not convinced the real identities of these individuals will ever be known for certain. Perhaps it's for the best. The image evokes a celebration of the times and is a representation of Americans. The faces in the photograph are hidden and could be anyone; maybe that's the point. In some ways, the power of this image would be lost if one were to know the true identities of the individuals.

~flutterbyblue

Etsy Holiday Guide: Homegoods

One of my favorite homegoods designers is PataPri. Featuring linen kitchen towels hand silkscreened with all sorts of adorable and whimsical images, this shop is so much fun to browse! The colors are bright and cheerful with a fun and slightly retro feel. Choose towels covered with penguins, raindrops or funky modern patterns running up and down. Each design is limited to 100 prints so what you buy will be unique to your kitchen! The shop has been featured in DailyCandy! Go check it out!

Another fun find is the littletilegnome, a shop that specializes in pretty tile coasters backed with cork. Tiles are decoupaged with a variety of patterns from her vast paper collection, then twice sealed with waterproof varnish to add shine and protection. I especially love the Retro Floral and Happy Hippie patterns. Sweet and functional! Who could resist?


maryink silk screens cute aprons, clothing and votive candle holders. The green apron printed with Russian nesting dolls would be perfect for crafting or for cooking (two of my favorite activities!) The pretty votives are silk screened and decopaged with all sorts of fun and funky patterns!


When it comes to pottery, work by Kim Westad is unparalleled. The creamy white ceramic pieces are smooth, elegant and pristine. Some items have a splash of color on the inside or outside while others have a sprinkling of individually applied pebble-like dots. Items have a beautiful, tactile quality that will add elegant beauty and drama to your home. Kim Westad also has a website featuring more of her gorgeous work.

Images for each of these shops were lifted from their etsy site

Etsy Holiday Guide: Art

Today's topic is ART. Check out Chic&Charming for more featured artists!

First up is VEDANA. The striking images are raw and graphic. The powerful lines, forms and color are bold and in-your-face fantastic. Utilizing mixed media on canvas, VEDANA works to create gorgeous prints filled with intensely eye-popping oomph. The vector illustration of Marilyn Monroe is brilliant and strong. A classic image, reworked on canvas banner.






The Bjork portrait is also quite sensational. The image was done on paper then scanned and colored in a vector program.

Each print is signed and some are limited edition. These are fabulous pieces to spice up a wall and add color and life to your world.





Linda Plaisted of ManyMuses Studio is a classically-trained painter, photographer and mixed media artist. She has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the country. Images are eerily beautiful with an ephemeral quality created by layering images and textures from her drawings, paintings and photographs. I love the ghostly crows and pensive landscapes. These pieces are dreamy with a dark voyeuristic mood. She offerse a limited selection of pieces on Etsy, but more of her work is featured on her website.Images for each of these shops were lifted from their etsy site

So go find your favorite print and start your own art collection!

~flutterbyblue

Philly Top10 list

Here are my Top10 reasons to go to Philly (in no particular order):

1. The Naked Chocolate Cafe
Try the Aztec drinking chocolate made with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Rich, thick and utterly delicious!

2. Sticky buns supposedly made by Amish people
Although it's not "traditional," the version with cream cheese frosting is pretty incredible.

3. The Liberty Bell
Surprisingly diminutive in size. And oddly enough, rather fake looking!

4. Cheesesteaks
No further description necessary

5. Monk's
See previous posting

6. Department store shopping
The draw here is not so much the stores themselves, but rather the fabulous architecture of the old, converted buildings in which the stores are housed. Many of the stores have stained glass windows and high ornate ceilings. The Macy's downtown has a large, fully functional pipe organ.

7. Chick Fil-A
Sure, you might be able to find one of these if you were willing to take a drive out from Boston a ways, but when it's right in the airport, it can't get any more convenient! The odd "Eat Mor Chikin" Holstein cow campaign is a little bizarre, but that hand breaded chicken really is freaking good.

8. The well-organized streets
Coming from Boston, the common sense ordering of blocks and numbered streets is very refreshing!

9. The museums
Although the Art Museum is renowned for its collection, we instead spent an afternoon at the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The old-school high-ceilinged gallery houses a collection of medical oddities that is designed for meandering perusal. The library-like dark wood-trimmed display cases hold an impressive number of wax models, skulls and skeletal bits and pieces. Kind of gross, but kind of fascinating at the same time.

10. The friendly people
While hunting for the location of a classical music concert, we were stopped by a man on his cell phone who wanted to know if we needed directions. He seemed very enthusiastic as he explained that the restaurant down the street would know exactly where we wanted to go. He then proceeded to walk us in through the door of the Prime Rib Steakhouse. A gentlemanly host from Prime Rib then walked us back outside and a bit further down the block so as to better point out where the concert hall was located. I guess Philly is just North of the Mason-Dixon line so Southern hospitality isn't so outlandish down there.

If we'd had a little more time I would have explored the city more in depth. There is a fascinating dichotomy between old been-there-forever hole in the wall places and brand new yuppified shops all in the same city block!

~flutterbyblue

Blogging dreams

Last night I had a dream in which I was writing a blog about the Old State House in Boston. In my blogging dream I woke up, thought about my blog dream, and started writing a blog about the Old State House in Boston. In other words, I dreamt of blogging about the Old State House TWICE in one night. My boyfriend says this makes me a square, but I think it's a sign that I should indeed write a blog about the place. We have a friend who works at the museum in the Old State House and she often laments the fact that so few people know and appreciate this valuable piece of history.

The Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in Boston, was built in 1713 to house the government offices of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It stands on the site of Boston's first Town House of 1657-8, which burned down in 1711. There is in fact a museum one can visit inside the building (I know this because my friend works there!) and although I have not yet stopped by, I am thinking a little historical education wouldn't hurt.

I think I may go have a cup of tea to celebrate our country's historical pride.

~flutterbyblue

Friday afternoon blog

Welcome to my blog site! To be honest, I'm probably quite inept at this sort of thing, but a good friend of mine has convinced me that blogging for the program-challenged is possible! So here it is...

...a blog devoted to all of my favorite things:

good food
pretty jewelry (things I make and things I wish I could make!)
art and shopping

Oh, and I spend most of my day in a laboratory posing as a graduate student. ;)

We're just getting started, so I'll check in again soon!

Cheers,
~flutterbyblue

Stop by my new etsy shop here!

amusing inspiration