coe & waito: jellyfish

this is completely incredible. i am rather obsessed with jellyfish, so this porcelain instalation by coe & waito is right up my alley.

these ladies do some really beautiful work, i do say. this was a special installation they created for the gladstone hotel in toronto. i wish i could've seen this in person. i think i would've stayed all day, just staring in wonder.

and if you haven't seen the rest of coe & waito's porcelain work, please go visit their website-- it is beautiful.

[via design-milk]

i'm on decor8!!

oh my goodness, i just saw that holly featured my work as part of her etsy take 5 tuesday series on decor8, and i'm so excited!!

check it out!

a big huge thank you and a hug to holly!!
oh, this has made my day. :)

ps- i just added that print on the bottom left to the shop this morning, so it's in there for the taking!

ryan quincy

i'm so in love with this painting by ryan quincy, it's ridiculous.
the colors, the imagination, that character with the glasses..... it doesn't get any better than this, folks. isn't it the best??

check out more of ryan's work on his website, his blog, and over at kitsune noir (where i discovered this painting-- it's part of kitsune noir's desktop wallpaper project, quite worth a visit)

anorak magazine

goodness, i'm totally digging this magazine for kids called anorak that i just discovered over on stickers and donuts. the illustrations are all so colorful and fun-- no wonder it's called 'the happy mag for kids'! i totally want to illustrate for them. do you think maybe they'd like my girl in a bear hat character?

anyway, the mag is based in the uk, and is a treasure trove for kids. the website features games, coloring sheets, stories, videos, and more, and i can imagine the real-life version is much the same. i'll have to go to borders or barnes & noble to pick up a copy!

here's part of the magazine's mission:

anorak’s main philosophy is to encourage children to make their own decisions and is here to amplify their voices. it has at the core of its offering a passion for words and images that challenge and stimulate.

whenever i have kids, this will definitely be at the top of my list for them! it reminds me of how much i used to love highlights magazine as a kid-- this seems even better!

new painting: this is the moment

ok, i am really pleased with how this painting called 'this is the moment' turned out. i just agreed to do a show at art & light gallery in greenville, south carolina last week (at the beginning of november! eek!), and this is the first piece for the show. hopefully the rest will please me as much as this one does! i really like the colors and the feel of the whole thing. (which diesn't happen all them time!)

i'll be posting more in the series soon-- these ones are on the larger side, too, which is really nice-- it allows for more freedom, i think, than my typical smaller size. this one is 24x24" and is done in acrylic, oil, india ink, and stamping.

daily photography love: amalia sieber

wow. wow wow WOW. i am in love with these photographs. amalia sieber is one talented lady!
i saw the image above (with the key and doorknob) on fffound, and then had to check out the rest. they are each more gorgeous than the next.

i would highly suggest going to visit amalia's flickr photostream and her web portfolio as well. i'm totally inspired by her beautiful images.

new pattern: fisheye

i had some fun last night making a new pattern-- it's been too long! i've been swamped with other work and the patterns have gotten away from me lately, and i'm glad to be back to it.

this one is called "fisheye", and you can see it here in 2 colorways. the bottom one feels a bit rainbow-y and candy-ish, but i thought i'd leave it anyway. what do you think?

{ps- this is my 900th post! wow!}

15-month calendar

good morning, my friends!! happy monday. :)

i feel pleasantly awake this morning (more so than usual lately), and ready to start a new week. (i think part of it is because i'm leaving on thursday to go to boulder for a wedding and to visit my family- yay!)

i wanted to share this with you quickly, because i thought it was such a grand idea that someone requested of me on etsy: a 15-month version of my small calendar!

i added 3 months, so it begins in october 2008 and goes through december 2009-- so you can start using it in just 9 days!

click here to get your very own, or one of the other versions of the calendar..... remember, if you order one before october 1st, you'll be entered in the giveaway for a second calendar for free!

a drawing of a jackalope

a sneek peek at some new illustrations.... some of you may know what for!

have you heard of a jackalope? i hear they are related to the easter bunny. :)

rejected drawings

i'm working on a project for a client to redesign her logo and brand, and part of it is creating an illustration that resembles her a bit and is quirky and fun, and i'm having a heck of a time coming up with something that she likes! thank goodness she's patient. :)

anyway, here are a few of the drawings that have been rejected so far-- thought you might like a peek!

disappearance

i really like this piece, but i have no idea who created it. it came to me via fffound, and i just can't seem to figure out who the artist is.

if you have any idea, please do tell and i'll add it in the post! i want to give proper credit if possible.

mlktst: drawings

i love these drawings by mlktst on flickr.
LOVE. THEM.

see more on deviant art, too. look at that apple hat below! so great.

black cab sessions

this is my favorite thing ever! if you get daily candy each morning, then you already saw this, but on the off chance that you didn't, i couldn't not post it.

the black cab sessions were created by just so films-- basically, musicians play & record a song in the back of a black cab, and it's so fun to watch!

plus, they seem to pick all my favorite bands/musicians to hop into the cab, so i'm even more thrilled to know about this now.

above is bon iver, whose music i just can't seem to get enough of lately. click here to check out the rest! and good luck getting any work done today. :)

elisabeth dunker + little paper planes

i just may have to have this poster by elisabeth dunker. i love it so.
you canf ind it in the little paper planes shop-- have you seen the new site? it's fantastic!
big congrats to kelly lynn jones on the new site launch, plus the accompanying show at tinlark gallery, which opened on saturday and runs through october 4. i'd check it out if i were in the area for sure!

hidden in plain view

i'm intrigued by this project called 'hidden in plain view.' it's a collection of postcards by 21 artists in northern europe, based on the concept of home and in the tradition of steganography, which according to their website is "the art and science of writing hidden messages, which has been traditionally popular on scandinavian postcards."

it's intriguing, yes? you can read more about the project right here.

[via it's nice that]

pedro lucena

these drawings by pedro lucena are wonderful, aren't they? i love how imaginative they are and how textured they feel. i really love artists that can make their drawings feel so textured by creating different patterns with a pen. amazing!

pedro is from brazil, and you can see many more of his drawings on his flickr page. go to it!

i'm back!

hi friends! i'm back from chicago and renegade, and boy am i exhausted! it was a whirlwind of a weekend-- and full of RAIN. and more rain and more rain....... i've never seen so much rain.

this is the only post i can muster today-- but you can see some photos of our booth (above is renee getting ready! below is my half of the booth), and then further below some photos of the rain and its effects on the fair.

thank goodness this didn't happen to our booth, but i felt so badly for people that had things destroyed. so many vendors went home early (we had to pack up early, too, unfortunately), and it was really sad. but the rain was unreal and really hard to deal with. sigh.

anyway, i'll be back to regular posting tomorrow once i recover a bit. hope you all had a fabulous weekend!!

going to chicago!

well, my dears, i am off to chicago! actually, i am off to greenville, sc, then to charlotte, nc, then to chicago. seems round-about, yes? but in fact, it's going to be an action-packed trip! i'm going to greenville to meet a wonderful gallery owner that would like to have me do a show at her gallery, and then i'm going to charlotte to gather up my booth mates, renee and charlie (well, to transfer my stuff for renegade from my car to theirs), and then we're going to trek (drive) through the dark night up to chicago so we can spend the day there tomorrow before the rest of our apartment crew arrives (christy, shannon, kurt-- can't wait!)

then tomorrow, renegade begins! (renee and i don't have to set up our both until 10:30 am, so we'll be hitting the wicker park farmer's market before that. yum! fresh farm goodies!)

if you are in the chicago area, please do stop by our booth!! we're #244, on the corner of division and hermitage. we'd love to meet you. :) it's so fun to meet people from blog-land in person!

i'll be back here blogging on tuesday-- hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!

[old chicago train photos: top 2-- cklx's flickr photostream, bottom-- library of congress flickr photostream]

cats

i adore this print called 'cats' by etsy seller be happy now. it's totally fantastic. look at those noses! goodness gracious, i'm in love again today.

check out more work by be happy now in her etsy shop and on her amazing flickr page!!

new painting: this is what i have to say to you

another new small painting. 6x8", acrylic, gouache, india ink, and linoleum block printing on wood.

lizzy dish fabric

i was so pleased to get an email from lizzy house showing me images of her brand new line of fabric, called lizzy dish, that is available from andover fabrics and will soon be seen at a fabric store near you!

remember when i posted about lizzy a few weeks ago? i was thrilled when i discovered her blog, where she enlightened us all about the process of getting her designs picked up by andover to be turned into fabric. check it out here.

and be sure to check out lizzy's etsy shop, too-- there is much goodness to be had.

thanks, lizzy!

sarajo frieden at rare device!

oh my, if there was ever i show that i wish i could see, this is the one. sarajo frieden + rare device = heaven for me. hopefully there will be lots of good images from the show on sarajo's blog and the rare device blog/lisa congdon's flickr page.

the show opens october 2nd (7-9 pm)-- if you are in, or anywhere near, san francisco, go to this show! i saw sarajo's work in person in march at little bird gallery in los angeles, and it was fabulous. FAB.U.LOUS.

yee haw!!

oh me oh my! these are by far my favorite thing i've seen yet today. wouldn't these yee haw tags by farouche be the perfect touch to pretty much every gift you ever give? i love them. i'm buying some. click here if you want to buy some, too!

jellyfish monster magnets

oh my godness, i'm totally in love with these jellyfish monster magnets by ~numb-synapse on deviantart. i particularly love them holding up that drawing. so cute!

and, speaking of jellyfish, you really must click here to see the most amazingly beautiful hand-drawn jellyfish by my uber-talented pal renee. they are gorgeous. really. click it. you won't be sorry you did.