palindrome press

i am loving these cards by palindrome press today. as i'm sitting here typing with cold fingers, i'm wishing for spring, and these cards are making me wish for it even more!

i especially love the idea behind the ones in the bottom image: in alisha's words they are: "a stack of tactile letterpressed notes just waiting for all of you list-o-philes." well, that's me alright! i loooove making lists. i am a list-making machine!

these beauties are available in her etsy shop, which is most definitely worth browsing. much goodness to see!

easter bunnies by onegirl designwrks

now i'm not much of a doll person, but these make me wish i had a little neice or nephew or cousin or something in the family, or a friend with a baby, so i could make them something like this. i think these little easter bunnies are so cute, and not in that gross pink bunny candy easter kind of way. sophisticated cute. :) that flower on the belly button is adorable, no?

i saw them on pinkshirtsandcarwrecks and had to post them here. they are made by leslie in melbourne, australia, who also has a blog (called one girl designwrks, ) and an etsy shop.

and look at this sweet one, straight outta the shop! you've gotta go check it out.

some new work

i am working on a bunch of new pieces for 2 galleries right now: i am part of a 3-person show at artstream gallery in april (specific dates to come) and yes gallery + studio in rhode island (opening in april!), and these first 4 images will give you an idea of what the work is looking like. it is a continuation of the work that i just exhibited at mint gallery here in atlanta-- most of the pieces are smaller (6x8", 8x8", 7x10", etc.), which means they are more affordable, which is good news for everyone!

i have also added quite a few new prints to my etsy shop, so if you are looking for even more affordable artwork, check it out now!

these 2 pieces below are a couple of new drawings i've done, and there are prints available in my etsy shop.

more is in the works, so do check back often!

hope you all had a nice monday. :)

diy: make a lightbox

ryan and i did a fun little project this weekend-- we made a light box, which was prompted by my annoyance at standing on top of my drawing table to get to the window to trace something in the sunlight. i though "there's got to be a better way!" thus, a lightbox was born.

i bought a new saw last weekend ( i am now the proud owner of two, count 'em two, saws), so we had no problemo cutting everything exactly as we needed. much easier than trying to find a competent helper at home depot! (oh, how i wish we had a more local alternative to home depot around here....)

so, voila! a new lightbox! i tested it saturday night (yes, ryan and i lead an exciting life together! saturday night playing with the lightbox...), and it gets the job done quite nicely.

if anyone is interested in how we made it, leave a comment or shoot me an email and i'll send you the info. it was super simple and took about an hour.

mark fiore: a political cartoon worth watching

check out this cartoon by mark fiore. clever and ironic. i love it.

i am loving...

these fonts from da font:

most of their fonts are free to download, and i could browse them for hours. now i want to make a new header for my blog with one of these fun new fonts that i found this morning!

jen bekman gallery and 20x200

i am pretty much enamored with jen bekman. she exhibits the work of emerging artists in the mediums of photography, works on paper, paintings and mixed media in her nyc gallery. she also runs a project called 20x200, which brings affordable art out into the world. it's cool, really: you can buy prints for either $20, $200, or $2000, depending on your budget. what a fantastic idea! she releases 2 prints per week, which go up for sale online tuesdays and wednesdays at 2pm EST.

these photographs from the gallery struck me in particular this morning.
in order:
ian baguskas
youngna park
christine callahan

happy valentine's day!

so, here we are, on this day of love. i will always be a valentine's day kind of girl. i love it. (not the mass-produced, commercialized part of it, but the real idea of it).

i found this on creature comforts this morning, and it got me thinking. i have plenty of love to give to the loved ones in my life (especially sweet ol' ryan, who's about to wake up and get his surprise ring! heee!), but how do i give love in the world? to strangers? just to be nice?

i love the ideas in this list, all about ways to make a difference in others' lives, with not much effort at all. all it takes is a little creativity. what a difference it would make in my life if i focused on creative ways to be nice to other people!

anyway, happy valentine's day! may it be filled with love and hugs and happiness for you. :)

[images from here, here, here, and here, all on flickr]

a valentine for my honey!

the fiance is getting a ring from me! the fiance is getting a ring from me! the valentine i made him is the super secret hiding spot for the ring i had made by etsy seller jasonsjewelry and then had engraved on the inside. i can't wait until tomorrow to give it to him.... good thing he never reads my blog!!

amy wheeler

i like these paintings by amy wheeler a lot. i like how they look sort-of like reflections, or raindrops on a camera or something. or the reflection of lights on a rainy street (which is one of my favorite things...)

[i found amy's work on grijs.]

oh, to have lived in the seventies.

i think this is adorable. oh, how times have changed!! the outfit on that boy is a riot. i have no idea where this image originally came from, but i saw it on the free people blog and couldn't resist...

morris + essex

i meant to post about these when i saw them on poppytalk the other day, and just came across them again in my saved bloglines. i LOVE (and i mean lo-o-o-ove) these block-printed/screen-printed card sets by morris + essex in buenos aires, argentina. they are just gorgeous. the fact that they are all printed by hand is quite simply amazing to me. i would love to see these in person (lucky me, she has an etsy shop! check it out right here.)

clever. so clever.

i just saw this on simply olive (it was also posted on treehugger today....) and i had to post it.
no clues. you just have to watch it.
(read more about it here)

i love these stamper cards that i just saw on design milk! they are from a company called luxeville out of the uk, and you can stamp the bird wherever you want on the card. is that not adorable?? plus, i love that rubberband- thing that's holding them all together. anyone know where to get those?

design your own textiles: at the victoria and albert museum website

i thought this was pretty fun-- you can create your own repeating textile pattern on the victoria and albert museum website! since i have repeating pattern on the brain these days, i thought i'd give it a whirl. and while it didn't teach me anything about actually creating the patterns, it was a fun little distraction from my work!! check it out right here.

{found via love forever}

ps: if you have not been to the victoria and albert museum, go there! i went several years ago while in london and saw a 'radical fashion' exhibit which was incredible.

i love you forever and ever

ah, valentine's day. it is upon us. i am loving this print on canvas from identity 5 that i found on 2modern, shoppe extraordinaire. wouldn't that just be so cute in my bedroom.....

(02.12.08 note: i originally saw this on bloesem, but i couldn't remember where when i wrote this post! sorry to irene... hope she'll forgive me!!)

i just made a valentine for ryan that i'm going to put a super-sneaky engagement ring in ( i like the idea of the man having an engagement ring, too, so in honor of our january 1, 2008 engagement, ryan is going to get one from me!). i'll be sure to post photos as soon as i have the whole sneaky plan worked out. :) it's going to involve a banner of some sort hanging in the living room i think...... i love surprises!!

argh, repeating patterns!

ok, so i am trying to teach myself how to create repeating patterns, and it is not as easy as i'd anticipated! here is one attempt... it looks alright, but when i make it repeat, it's a little screwy.
does anyone have any advice or brilliant tips for how to create seamless patterns? i'm about to go plop myself on the couch with a book on the subject... yay for sundays! it's windy here in georgia; the perfect kind of day to cuddle up, drink tea, and read a book. :)

helene manche

i can't get over this incredible mobile by french artist helene manche. i saw it on dear ada a few days ago, and have kept going back to peek at it. then this morning i clicked over to helene's website, and it is full of amazing work! she creates these mobiles out of bits of fabric, beads, buttons, and other repurposed objects. i am just in awe......

our minds meet

a new piece, "our minds meet," going to the show at MINT gallery on saturday night.

6x8", india ink, acrylic paint, linoleum block print.

mystery painting...

ok, i am in love with the painting on the wall in this photograph. in love. i want it on my wall this instant, and i have no idea who painted it. i found this image on desire to inspire, and it's in a house by the architects donovan hill in australia...

if you know who painted this fantastic piece, let me know!!! also, check out the rest of the amazing photos right here, and the desire to inspire blog (also amazing!) right here.

i've been tagged

ah, the tagging games continue...... is there anyone in the blogging world who has not been tagged at least once? gosh! i was tagged yesterday by sas of interior inspiration, whose blog i admire greatly.

so, in the spirit of learning more about each other in this vast world of internet friendship, here are 7 random things about me:

1. i just got my hair cut on saturday, and i cried when i got home, because i thought it was horrible. i have since remembered my favorite hairdo from when i used to have hair this length a few years ago, and i think i will be sporting it daily. the haircut is *not great* (to say it more kindly that i spoke of it on saturday), but i'm now making the best of it with my fun hairdo. :)


2. i recycle everything-- i'm talking the tiniest scraps of paper, gum wrappers, old ipods/computer monitors/ink cartridges, bottles, cans, styrofoam, you name it. i have been known to carry things around with me while traveling in europe with only a backpack to take home to recycle weeks later. i am not kidding.



3. i am following the 2008 election excitedly, and this is the first time i've ever really been interested in politics. i listen to podcasts about the state of the world while working in my studio, and i love it! super tuesday is tomorrow, and sadly, i did not register to vote in georgia in time to vote......

do you like my politically androgynous (and slightly outdated) picture? who am i rooting for? hmmmmmm..... guess you'll have to keep on wondering!

4. i don't like to wear jeans or regular pants around the house-- i have a collection of cozy pants (and shorts in the summer) that i wear all the time. i change immediately when i get home, and ryan thinks it's so funny sometimes i'll change about 5 times a day!

5. i like to drink hot tea out of quart-sized glass mason jars.


6. before i decided to be an artist, my plan was to be a singer/songwriter for a living. i started playing guitar when i was 15 (self-taught), and writing songs shortly thereafter, and played my way through college and the following 2 years until i got into my first juried art show. it faded out of my life since then (because art-making took over!), but i'm itching to pick up my guitar again...... perhaps i'll try to figure out how to post old songs i recorded!

7. i am weirdly obsessed with whales. i want to see one so badly in the wild. they are just magical to me. i would love to live by the ocean someday, and walk in the calm, early morning.

ok, that's it! now i'm supposed to tag 5 people, so i choose........ bowie, renee, ali, uncle beefy (he he!), and simply olive.
i'm extra sorry if you're sick of the tagging game, and if you don't want to play, i won't be offended. if you do play, it'll be fun to learn more about you!

500th post!! (and some super cool news...)

i can hardly believe this is my 500th post on this blog. i had no idea what a great time i would have when i started this blog about 15 months ago-- i've made friends, gottem comments from all over the world....


{image from natalie wright's flickr page}


so, thank you, dear readers, for helping to make my blogging experience so absolutely rockin!

and the cool news....

i'm the featured artist for the month of february on another shade of gray! check it out; there will be a link to my work in the top left corner of the blog all month long, but today you can read a little more about me and my work on the blog right here (in case you're curious about me...) :)

thanks to julie for selecting me as her featured artist/designer! i'm honored and thrilled.

happy friday to you all!

a couple new pieces

here are 2 new pieces i've made in the last couple days-- the first one is called "you'll be given love," and the second is called "cockleshells." the first is a linoleum block print/imdia ink drawing/painting on wood, and the second is a drawing i originally did in ink and then digitally colored.

see everything in my etsy shop and on my website! oh, and on flickr!

oh, and don't forget about the bleeding hearts benefit today, over in wolfie and the sneak's etsy shop-- check it out right now! it's full of great stuff!