the clay cliche show

today i installed the clay cliche show at the old firehouse art center with my good friend and clay artist extraordinaire, caroline douglas. the pieces above are made by me (in my kindergarten clay abilities!), and the photo below is of a chunk of the show with everyone's work. it's been such great fun to begin learning a new medium, so different from painting. it's like playing inthe sandbox again. :)

the idea behind the work is that for the past year, caroline and three other artists have been teaching classes based on cliches (example: "you crack me up," "holy cow," "space cadet," "mad as a wet hen," etc etc), and this show is a visual display of all the cliches we worked with! so much fun.

i'll post photos from the opening on friday night. it's sure to be a good time.

[ps- i got word a couple weeks ago that i was accepted for a show at the old firehouse art center next summer, which is a huge honor! i can't wait.]

terra pass for everything!

did you know that you not only can get a terra pass for your car and the specific amount of driving you do, but also one for your home, flight frequency, and even your wedding?

so cool. according to the terra pass website, i need to get an "around town" terra pass. for only $29.95 i can offset my carbon emmissions for a whole year! pretty darn awesome if you ask me. check out the terra pass website right here, and see what you can do to offset your carbon emmissions.

bjork is the coolest person on the planet for sure

have you seen this? if not, watch it.

and this? watch this, too.

who doesn't love bjork??

books i'm lusting after

Patterns- Drusilla Cole

The Red Book: Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to the Divine Spark- Sera Beak

Ways of Seeing- John Berger

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World- John Wood


No One Belongs Here More Than You- Miranda July

The War of Art- Steven Pressfield

Coming of Age in Samoa- Margaret Mead

Eat Pray Love- Elizabeth Gilbert

book of Robert Kushner's art


Where’s Waldo?- Martin Hanford

things from my sunday morning walk

it's a gorgeous spring day, and my neighborhood is in bloom! so much fun to walk around and check things out... birds singing, people on bikes with dogs, gardeners, sunday morning newspapers waiting to be picked up by sleepy day-offers, bees on flowers... i love this tims of year.

feels sort-of frida kahlo-esque

something about this sevilla cuff bracelet really strikes me...

from etsy seller bombalurina

rollerskates!

loving this rollerskating print from etsy seller etui...

gallery news

exciting news: i've been scooped up by exhibitrek gallery here in boulder! this is quite an honor, as mary (the owner) has one of the nicest galleries in town.

i'll post photos of my work in there when it's hanging at the opening next friday! both paintings and tables. so exciting...

wallpaper + notebooks? i'm in love

i love these wallpaper covered books by hargreaves-gervis. seems like something i'd maybe see on etsy. they are covered in wallpaper from the 1930s-1970s, and oh so cute. see more here.

(via sprayglue)

the cutest shoes in the world

this shoe is just about my favorite thing that i've seen in a long time. i would wear those shoes everyday if i had a pair. i would never tire of them. they are so darn cute, i wish i lived in morocco just so i could get a pair. but in fact, i just looked at the trippen website, and the company is based in berlin germany, so i guess i'd have to go there first. or maybe they'd let me order a pair. maybe i'll do that anyway, i love them so......

(see more trippen shoes right here)

(via my marrakech)

newly discovered blogs

elly could turn into a daily read for me. those images above are too good to be true. the thing that amazes me is that they are real things that exist in the world-- from a book called heaven and earth, i'm going to have to get my hands on it. elly's blog is all about pattern and shape, but the cool thing is that a lot of it seems to be pattern in the natural world; not your typical pattern blog.

she also posted about this great book art nouveau jewelry by vivienne becker. i have a thing for art nouveau design, so i'm admiring these pieces (even though i wouldn't wear them!)

[all via silk felt soil, another new favorite blog.]

weekend highlights

it was about 85 degrees here yesterday, and it finally felt like winter might be officially over!!
highlights from the weekend: the teenage marimba band at the boulder farmers' market on saturday, getting my "space cadet" sculpture out of the wood fire kiln on sunday morning, barbequing in the backyard with ryan sunday night (he thought it was hilarious that he took a photo of his lone bratwurst on the grill and emailed it to me... as i am a vegetarian going on 15 years...), and beginning to test linoleum block prints on fabric last night. so much fun.

today i am... wanting to start an etsy shop

this is something i've wanted to do for a while now. i have all these ideas of things i want to make and sell in the shop, but i haven't made any of them yet. i have a list of things to do before i can start setting up the shop: wash out screens for silkscreening, buy fabric printing ink, make sure printer prints perfect replicas of my paintings... instead of just starting it and going from there.

so, my promise to myself: i will start my etsy shop by the end of may. that gives me a month and 3 days to get it all together. starting TODAY.


(ceramic candle holder byetsy seller sumiko)

new tables at translations gallery

i wanted to post some photos of 2 brand new tables i made! i'm in table making heaven these days. i delivered these two to translations gallery in denver yesterday, where hopefully they're going to be scooped up this weekend! you can see my full collection of paintings and tables on my website right here.

let me know what you think!

nadia sparham

i had to share the internet love on this great designer from the uk, nadia sparham. i just looked through her website, and her products are so versatile-- can be turned into wallpaper, cushions, plates, upholstery fabric, you name it. and the best part is, she makes everything by hand. what a feat! screen-printing, sewing, embroidering, painting, appliqueing... see all her designs right here.

(via bloesem, via karin's style blog)

spring time in the rockies

some images of spring in boulder. i saw deer eating out of trash cans on my walk home today. lovely. next come the bears and the mountain lions.

the bottom photo is the love of my life [ryan] and me.

another great artist... casey roberts

for some reason i am immediately drawn to art that is slightly askew and out of proportion, and even a little bit childlike. maybe because i can feel the freedom that the artist must feel while painting like that coming through the artwork. i'm not sure. but i admire it, and here is another artist that fits the bill: casey roberts. check out the rest of casey's great paintings right here.

cool artist.. nicole mauser

i really like these paintings by nicole mauser. the layers are so intriguing and make me want toget inside the paintings. check out more of her work at greene contemporary in sarasota, florida.

writing about life

(tree carving on flickr)

sometimes i forget that life is more than work, and "getting somewhere," and being productive and financially successful. i think every self-respecting and ambitious 20-something may feel that way at times. sometimes i feel like i may be a little more neurotic than most, but that's a story for another day!

i was reading the sweet juniper blog this morning, and i had a little awakening. my life is RIGHT NOW. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, not 10 years from now (my favorite thing to fixate my thoughts on), but right now. So simple. So why is it so easy to forget? reading this blog also mad eme feel like i want to have a kid, but that is also a story for another day! i won't tell ryan about this little dream this morning. :) he's busy studying for the mcat . med school awaits.

it's a rainy morning here, and it feels like a real spring day. it's nice to feel an actual change of seasons-- it seems the last few years we have jumped straight from winter to summer in boulder, and i am loving the delicate spring days as of late. tulips, rain, longer days, sitting in the backyard in a tanktop for the first time, peeking at the garden everyday for signs of sprouting...

life is truly amazing, and i have no idea why we're here, but that doesn't mean i shouldn't make the most of it. life is not about making money. it is not about getting the most things done in a day that you can. it is about having love and giving love, and creating a memorable experience for yourself. maybe not even memorable, but an experience nonetheless. feeling the full range of feelings. profound joy and then deep sadness, letting it all go. this is what i would like to aspire to. and realizing that it all passes. nothing is permanent.

what i would like to aspire to, in order to deepen my experience of being alive and being a human being:

1. writing in my journal instead of watching tv. tv feels like a brain drain to me lately.
2. spending more time with family and friends
3. doing one thing at a time
4. let go of expectations of other people and myself
5. start writing my morning pages again (see julia cameron's the artist's way)
6. be gentle with myself
7. write more on my blog ; create a balance between product posts. these just get me into the more more more mentality. i want my life!

cheers to you all on my rainy little morning.

(alaskan tree carving on flickr)

miranda july

miranda july, filmmaker, performance artist, writer... her work is truly inspiring, and i just came across a website for her new book of short stories, no one belongs here more than you. (thanks to sia!) this is definitely on my looooooong list of books to buy!

check out the clever website right here, as well as miranda's interactive website learning to love you more, which is so great. you can also visit miranda's official website right here.