Breaking

PhD sculpture student Jessica Harrison has a grotesquely alluring series of artwork that features delicate women figurines... and their exposed insides.  According to her Facebook Fanpage,  "Each piece is made using one of the mass-produced ceramic figures so familiar as the ornamental clutter filling shelves and gathering dust around the world, revealed and reshaped to show a soft and fleshy interior behind the brittle and fragile skin."

It is hard not to be intrigued by this juxtaposed mix of guts and glamor.

Tell Your Story - Wedding Print

ETSY shop Somethingblue, out of Athens, Greece, creates these great "It all began..." posters to celebrate how couples met.  The poster also includes the couple's name and the date they were married (or the date they met, or any important date you want).

This personalized artwork is lovely celebration of a relationship, and a great conversation starter.

Stupidhead

Ha!  It is payback time for Portland artist Aruppel.  She is getting her revenge on birds that have attacked her and her friends, through an absolutely brilliant series called "Mean Birds".  She has painted a collection of beautiful acrylic bird portraits, complete with a well deserved bad name they earned through their actions.  So enjoyable!

Prints available at @my ruppel's Etsy Shop.

Lumadessa

I'm enamored by the work of Portland Maine artist, Josh Brill.  He creates modern illustrations of birds and animals in an ongoing series he calls the Flora Fauna Collection which captures,

"The design identities of plants and animals from around the world. Examining the visual character differences and similarities of species. A field guide of discovery, beginning with birds."

Josh's website Lumadessa features a number of prints for sale ($10-$30) along with free smartphone wallpaper (my phone is currently sporting the colourful Western Tanager (above middle)).

Lunchbox Paintings

Dan Kenneally's Lunchbox paintings are half infographic, half culinary masterpieces.  Dan paints sandwiches as colour blocks of ingredients, neatly stacked in 18" x 18" acrylics.  It doesn't take an overactive imagination to recognize a cheeseburger, cream cheese and lox, or smore when you see one.  Mmmmm.  If none of these get you salivating, Dan takes custom orders via his Etsy store.

Leigh Viner

I just purchased my first Leigh Viner

print. Her work is a pencil, pen and watercolor combination, enhanced with digital love. Her subject matter is always quiet, powerful and chic.

You can purchase prints at the jkldesign Etsy shop. I also recommend checking out Leigh's YouTube channel that combines her art with the touching music of Olivier Bostvironnois. A nice collaboration.

K is for Karma

Robert Samuel Hanson creates some simple and elegant illustrations. His in progress Alphabet caught my attention with its witty characterizations of the letters. K is for Karma makes me smile every time.

Chris Ware's The New Yorker Cover

Chris Ware has created this thought provoking piece of artwork for the cover of The New Yorker's November issue. It is beautiful to look at, with a season appropriate theme, and some strong underlying messages about modern society. This panel is part of a larger comic called Unmasked. The whole thing can be seen here (although I think it is more effective as a stand alone piece).

(Found through Design Milk).

Kevin Cyr

Enjoying the realistic vehicle paintings of Kevin Cyr.

Found Functions

The thing about math is that, beyond the basics, I always found it hard to see real, everyday applications. Nikki Graziano's Found Functions has broadened my perspective on the natural beauty of math. She superimposes math functions on top of photos of nature.

Note to self: get to know more photographer/mathematicians. They have a uniquely beautifully calculated view of the world.

Rivane Neuenschwander

Rivane Neuenschwander's painting series Ze Carioca no. 4 is currently on display at MoMA. Rivane painted over a recently reissued Brazilian comic book series from the 1940s. The comic was a politically charged, but much adored Disney comic called Ze Carioca. In these pieces, the panels of the comic book are kept in order but the text has been blanked out, and the images painted over using the bright background colors of the original comic panels. The intention of the piece is for viewers to make their own stories up out of the emptiness, or to remember the stories from their own viewpoints, based on the titles.

(Found through Swissmiss)

Lineanongrata

I found myself staring dreamily at the artwork of German artist Lineanongrata (a.k.a. Julia Freund). She has a imaginative, quirky take on the world. Her style is super sweet, with just a little bit of edge to it. I particularly enjoy her interpretations of nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

Check out her Etsy store of prints, buttons and greeting cards or her blog.

Dark Doings

Street artist Dan Witzis previewing his newest project, Dark Doings. He has created intreging glimpses of narative through the windows of doors. There are two aspects of this work that make it particularly engaging. The implied exhibitionist aspect of subjects, and the voyeuristic aspect of the viewer. I'm wondering what my own reaction would be to passing this on the street. (Found through Wooster Collective).

Sisyphus Office

Jonn Herschend has curated an exhibit called Sisyphus Office, which pairs Houston artists with office workers to "highlight art as an integral and necessary distraction in our day to day life".

I haven't seen the entire exhibit, but I really enjoyed David Fullarton's contributions. David created a series of small art pieces, made entirely out of office supplies, around the theme "What I do at work when I'm supposed to be working". Some of them are just too good, like the note to the financial department about microwaving halibut, or the apology note (shown above) explaining tardiness.

The exhibit is currently showing in Houston until July 27, 2009.

3 Frame Movies

If you don't have time to watch movies, but need to catch up on a few classics, check out 3 Frame Movies. It is a website that summarizes blockbuster greats in 3 simple drawings. The 3 frames try to capture the essence of the movie... as the artist remembers it. Hopefully that means the good parts, but not always. You are all so free to submit your own movie requests.

Some of the interpretations are fantastically amusing. This site is like a mini lesson in storytelling. My favorite 3 Frame Movie is Jurassic Park.

Serious Drawings

My copy of Marc Johns' brilliant book, Serious Drawings, just arrived this week. I'm a big fan of Marc's work. I've been thoroughly enjoying the book. For a taste, go to Marc's website. It is a never ending supply of amusement and witty insights.

Making of a Comic

I am always in awe of the talent of comic book artists. I was inspired by this behind the scenes look at Hellboy Darkness Calls. It shows the script, sketch, ink, color, and lettering stages of a few pages from the comic.

The Tan Man

Earlier this year, idiot er... design student, James Titterton offered his body up as a canvas. He ran a design contest to offer his skin "as a light sensitive material, upon which I am willing to have appropriate visual content 'developed' as a suntan". The winning design was submitted by Finnish graphic designer, Janine Rewell. James documented the stenciling, tanning and exhibition process on his Tan Man blog. Oh dear.

BBC Blast Studio

The BBC currently have a great website up that allows you to play with interactive art in their studios. The BBC Blast Studios connects you to a live stream of the BBC studio (available 12pm-12am) where they have 3 interactive art pieces. Online users can choose an art piece to play with and then follow the instructions to participate.

My favorite is Mark, which gives you three paint gun shots at a large canvas. It is accompanied by a dragable timeline which allows you to see the artwork being created over time.

Fantastic idea. The combination of online visitors with real participatory art exhibits is almost too good to be true. This experiment in creativity will be available until June 9th.

Seconds

Jason Miller makes imperfect porcelain dinnerware. His collection of plates, bowls, cups and tea sets all celebrate the art of imperfection. The collection is called Seconds. Each piece is made up of multiple patterns, misaligned graphics or uncentered decorations... things that would generally be considered seconds. Jason argues that the unusual is more valuable, not less. In Jason's own words: Conventions are for suckers.

Available for purchase on Greener Grass Design.