The New Heath

The new special edition Heath pieces are so minimal and so vibrant. Don't you just want to eat your granita out of one of these? (Maggie & Shiv, any recipes for us?) The color is simply just right.

Location, Location

Readymade's WPA poster series is so spot on--especially these two. I've lived on both coasts but somehow not until I moved to Nebraska did these ways of living really come into focus for me--farmer's markets, gardening, bicycling, local schools. I'm a city girl at heart but somehow living here is the perfect fit.

Home Is Where the Art Is: Tony Fitzpatrick

Looking at the latest copy of Poetry, I found myself completely enamored with the cover art by New Orleans artist Tony Fitzpatrick. The events of Hurricane Katrina are something I care deeply about--watching the documentaries, reading various writers experiences, taking in the photographs. I don't have any direct ties to the community--no family or friends, never traveled there--but, years after the levees broke, I still feel this great empathy for the people of the region. In an interview with the Times-Picayune Fitzpatrick was quoted as saying: “We love in poetry but, unfortunately, we live in prose. Sometimes the two are not congruent. What we remember of love is usually a fiction. What we aspire to is haiku: short, sweet, perfect.” Aren't these collages doing just what poetry should? The music of the words, the energy of the images, the vital remembrance.

{Click images to enlarge and see all the wonderful detail.}

Home Is Where the Art Is: Rose Cabat

Reading through the NYTimes art section today, I feel in love with this image (top) of Rose Cabat's pottery. After her children were raised, Cabat returned to making the art she loved as a child. Often working in isolation, critics have said her work is truly original, influenced by no other potter or trend. Cabat created a line of pots she called 'Feelies', vessels with narrow spouts and glazes that feel feathery to the touch. Some are as small as 2 inches (to fit in your hand!) and others of much grander sizes. Get this: Cabat is still living in Tucson, she's almost 100 years old and she continues to make work! I can't get enough of the jewel tones, the rich earthy tones--I need to see them in person. I'm truly becoming ceramic obsessed...!

(Images found here, here and here.)

Sweet Find: Bold & Noble

Simply elegant--I love these intricate, folksy designs from Bold & Noble. I'm all about giving art--wouldn't these be great for weddings and baby showers?

Sweet Find: Three Eyeballs

One of my studio pals from college, Emily Wick, was featured on National Geographic this past week--so exciting! She's created a wonderful US map with each of the state mottoes--isn't that just brilliant? I'm thinking "Equality Before the Law" would look pretty sharp by my desk...!

Sweet Find: Kiki & Polly

I adore these line drawings from Kiki and Polly--so playful!--and get this: you can order custom portraits. What a delightful gift one of these would be this holiday season!

Sweet Find: Emily Sutton

Alyson posted about Emily Sutton's birds the other day--aren't they just the most engaging little things? I'm loving the illustrations too--such fine lettering and color.

Home Is Where the Art Is: Twinrocker Paper

One of my very favorite artisans is Twinrocker Paper, makers of handmade paper and letterpress printmakers (and Martha loves them too!). Learning about book arts in college in California, I dreamt of their watercolor papers for illustration--each piece is simply the best of the best. Little did I know that later on I would live fifteen minutes away from their storefront shop in the tiny town of Brookston, Indiana. An American craft legacy. I mean, traditionally crafted handmade paper--just imagine the wedding invitations! Not to mention, their paper has been used to create some amazing fine art books, including this one by 21st Century Photography with the work of Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison (if you haven't seen their work, it's amazing stuff--imagine the wish you could make with a dandelion puff of that size!). Needless to say, I keep a couple pieces of the beautiful paper around for rainy day inspiration!

Sweet Find: Jennifer Davis

These days, I'm thinking the work of Jennifer Davis is out of this world. Painted cigar boxes--kids, friends, loved ones, what a brilliant gift one of these would be! Really, I just can't get enough of her Necco-flavored colors. Delicious, delicious.

Sweet Find: Eden and Eden

Honey, did you stop and get the kitsch? I'm really thinking, snuggling in for the cold weather, that I might have a use for a tea cosy after all. Eden and Eden has really done it right. The whole shop just makes you want to rock their goods. Everything's dream-y.

(Via d*s)

Pretty Primer: It's in the Mail Art

To celebrate our upcoming reunion, my alma mater has invited alums to send submissions to a mail art exhibition with the plan of saving everything as the basis for a new archival collection. Isn't that a brilliant concept? I'm imagining the gallery full of all sorts of creative collage mailed between good college friends--what a way to catch up with one another! In fact, my friend Ben and I are thinking of collaborating--pushing the envelope, if you will--just like old times. The perfect excuse for getting back to playing with my paintbrushes and illustrating.

Do you have any favorite mail art pieces? What materials do you think we could use? Right now, I'm dreaming up schemes with raffle tickets, distorted photocopies, a little gouache, maybe some stitching with colored thread. Of course, the work has to make it through the post. Hmmmm!

(A couple of my favorite pieces from Donald Evans and Litsa Spathi. Evans makes these lovely stamps from imaginary lands. A Fluxus artist, Spathi blends media to create her multilayered collages.)

UPDATE: How fab are these vintage paper packs from Estate Sale? I think I may need to pop one of these in the mail to my penpal....

See you Thursday!

S and I are off to Kansas City for a couple days to visit with good friends. If you've never been, KC is such a wonderful town. I'm a big fan of the art museum--one of the finest here in the States and with an unbelievable new contemporary wing. On exhibition right now is Art in the Age of Steam and the curators have put out a request for journey stories. I know I've got a few that come to mind--how about you? We're not going by train this time but I sure would like to be! I'll settle for taking in the experience via these two fine paintings though--Kirchner and Kandinsky.

Colorography: Warm Apple Yellow

Today, in the poetry workshop I'm teaching, one of my students had the most wonderful description of a color: warm apple yellow. She was trying to portray the Nebraska sun setting behind farm fence posts (can you see it?) but, to test the description, I was thinking of all the possible ways to describe this color. I was thinking, is it like mustard? Or is it lighter? Like cream? Maybe even softer? There was simply no other way to describe the color--this apple was a perfectly unique specific shade. Poetry at its best.

Have you heard any brilliant descriptions of color lately?

More of the 101 list soon--it's been such a busy, busy week!

(Braised apples with saffron and cider from Martha Stewart.  Other yellowy sources: screenprint by Camilla Engman, The Yellow House by Van Gogh, No. 13 by Mark Rothko, illustration by Maira Kalman.)

Update: Check out Anne's amazing 'mustard' post on City Sage--looove that color, all bright and earthy!

Giorgio Morandi at the Met

Is anyone heading over to the Met any time soon? These Morandi pieces are so subtle, poetic. That clay color--ah! If you go, let me know your review? I really need to get to the city and soon!

Home Is Where the Art Is: Handcrafted Furniture

Some day I would love to invest in and enjoy a piece of Thos. Moser furniture. The craftsmanship and design is out of this world--I can't get over the modern lines of the Pasadena sofa (above right).