elfine photographic art: miniview

oh! what a terrific way to start out the week here. the fabulous australian artist linda kruger of yellow monday has opened a brand new shop called elfine, which features work quite different from the whimsical prints in her other beloved shop. linda is taking original photographs and enhancing them manually and digitally to create a beautiful new series of giclee prints. these new pieces have a more organic, worn feel to them — so welcoming and familiar even when seeing it for the first time. those qualities, coupled with a contemplative color palette and very affordable ($20-$60!) price range, makes each piece highly stare-worthy and collectible. ever curious to know more, i decided to ask a few questions…

q: have you always been into photography? how did you decide to put all the elements together for the collection?
a: i have always loved photography. i studied it at university as part of my film studies course, and loved shooting with film and using the darkroom. i mostly use my digital camera at the moment, but am interested in photography from older cameras. a while ago i stumbled upon some images taken with a diana camera - a cheap plastic camera made in hong kong in the 60’s. the diana is quite unpredictable with her results - random light flashes, soft focus, super saturated colours - and the effects are fabulous! so i was partly inspired by this. i also have a background in printmaking (etching) but had stopped doing it about six years ago due to space issues. anyway these photos reminded me about the work i was doing back then - abstract landscapes and details of buildings, with very coarse textures, and simple designs. so i guess these two things came together and i ended up with something new. i really wanted to get a particular look in the photos which was a combination of rough textures and a gentle softness, so i ended up working in layers (like in etching) but with paint, and pencil, and also with photoshop.

q: now that you have opened the elfine shop, what is in store for yellow monday? will you continue to work on both?
a: oh yes. i will continue to work on both shops. i like the fact that they are very different, and that i can engage with the different styles according to my mood, or whatever is inspiring me. but i have loved doing the elfine images, and feel like i am getting back on track with a side of my work that i’d taken leave from for a while.

q: do you have a favorite piece in elfine?
a: i don’t really have a particular fave - they all have very personal associations for me, and each is from a place which has had some meaning for me. i feel like i layer each image with colour and texture and also something of myself as well. if i had to pick, i might choose the warrumbungles tree series.

purchase all the pieces shown here at elfine, see linda’s other work at yellow monday and be sure to drop by her blog to say hi and see what else she is up to!

thanks linda!

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holly grace art glass

look here at the stunning glass collection from australian artist holly grace. holly uses sandcarving and mouthblowing techniques to craft her gorgeous works, which are inspired in part by nature, period styles and scandinavian design.

see more beauty on holly’s website.

via modamuse

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anna higgie illustration: let’s chat!

i am straight up crazy about these illustrations from anna higgie. when i browse through her portfolio i feel like there’s something for everyone here: contemporary and vintage influences, notable technical skills and just the right combination of sensuality and emotion that make me want to scan the whole piece of paper with terminator-like precision, just to make sure i don’t miss any detail. there is grace, youth and style, bold graphic abstraction and honest curves on edges of eyes, shoulders and faces that celebrate the human form. let’s have a chat with anna and find out more!

q: where do you live, and where do you create your art?
a: i was born in australia, but currently i live in bristol, in the south west of england. at the moment I make my work at home. i draw on a small scale (A4 and A3), so using my house as a studio is not a problem. i am thinking of renting a bigger space soon though, so i can make bigger things and make more mess.

q: what is your background, and did you study art formally?
a: i grew up travelling around with my family. my father was a diplomat so we we would go back and forth between australia and europe. most of my memories from childhood are from living in vienna, where we spent four years. when i finished school i decided to go to study art at the national art school in sydney, australia. i spent three and a half years there studying painting, drawing and art history, and then moved to london with my family and studied design there for about a year.

q: can you tell us a little about the techniques you use?
a: i work from photos a lot. i had some incredible drawing teachers at art school that really tightened up my technique. of course it was all life drawing at school, no photos. four hours a week every week for three years. i learnt that drawing is more a state of mind than a technique though. it is about seeing more than anything else, and about being highly critical and objective.

at the moment i love to use a pacer, which is one of those pencils that you click lead through. i haven’t used a pencil sharpener for years. i also love pantone ink pens, and i have to have nice paper, with a good thickness, and not too white.

q: do you think your work has transformed since you started making art?
a: i still have my sketchbooks from when i first started really getting into drawing when i was about thirteen years old. i hope there has been a lot of development since then, but i know that fundamentally a few things have never really changed. i have always had a preoccupation with feminine beauty, and in a certain type of clean technique and use of materials. i think i have gained confidence and learnt a few tricks since then though.

q: what is the price range of your collection?
a: i sell drawings for 200 - 300 pounds and giclee prints for 60 - 80 pounds. i do commissions at varying rates. it depends how much the project interests me.

q: what is the inspiration behind your collection?
a: my inspiration is the possibility that i might one day make something truly beautiful.

q: do you have a favorite piece you have created or a favorite theme to work with?
a: my favourite theme: poetic beauty vs. hard edge graphics. here are two of my faves…

q: i find many of the images in your portfolio provocative, and even when your subjects are at rest there is still a very powerful feeling that comes through - something dynamic and alive. is there a specific message you are trying to send through these pieces?
a: i am not trying to send a message at all. i choose my subjects because of something intangible that speaks to me in a face or a gesture. i suppose it could be called beauty, but i think it is a melancholic sort of beauty.

q: where can we go to see your collection in person, and is there anything else meaningful you would like to include here?
a: i am trying to find the perfect time and place for a show right now. if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, i would love to hear them.

select pieces of anna’s work are available for purchase at nucleus. see anna’s website to view her complete collection, purchase other original works and contact her.

thank you anna!

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robot stationery by moonmum

please enjoy the talents of bendigo, australia crafter belinda, aka etsy seller moonmum. she makes these sweet and funny little robot cards with a combination of machine and hand stitching. some of them even come with bonus robot doll! i love how some of them look like their mouths are open - they’re greeting cards after all, and have something to say!

if you have a girl or guy friend who likes the geekery, science or electronics, these might be a great gift for her or him. i do believe they are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

purchase these cards and see more delightful samplings here.

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carmel killin textile design: miniview

i enjoy the work of sydney artist carmel killin, aka etsy seller feedthedog. there is something hopeful and inviting in the appealing limited edition and one-off screenprinted cushion covers and wall hangings she creates. i like her textures and earthy colors and simple art styles, and i like the natural fabric she uses. ever curious to know a little bit more about the brains behind the operation, i asked two quick questions…

q: how did you get into designing?
a: the truth of it is, i’ve been “seeing” and visually “re-imagining” the world around me since the dawn of time, or at least since the age of 12 when my parents (who have no taste whatsoever, god bless ‘em) moved the family to a hideous new brick house in a freshly created suburb with no trees. the unbelievable ugliness of my interior and exterior surroundings at such an impressionable age had me begging my parents for years to follow my fabulously detailed design suggestions. to no avail. at the same time i was writing short stories and had a spurt of published fiction in my 20s. at university i dabbled in photography and film making, which led to many years working in the film industry. i’ve had no formal training as a designer, i have just always been attracted to the visual world and the desire to interpret what i see, give a common object a new visual story. as a devotee of DIY philosophy, i love doing short courses. knitting, sewing, screen prining, felting, welding, dyeing… done it. with a few non-design-related degrees under my belt i fell into tertiary teaching, but after learning the basics of computer design applications started teaching graphic design to university students. i still teach design, though these days it’s all studio-based and hand-crafted projects. which of course i adore.

q: what inspires you?
a: i think my love of story telling informs a lot of my visual work, though not in any obvious way. i’m also really captivated by the wonderful skewed shapes and lines of children’s drawings and their rough, scribbly colouring-in technique. i love odd creatures, plain creatures and silhouetted shapes. old national geographic magazines from the 60s and 70s have fabulous animals with wonderful personalities. a blank piece of highly textured fabric excites me with all the possibilities and challenges it presents. i love shapes and lines in the landscape, shapes and lines in common, plain objects. details, like stitching, shading, trims, buttons, are delicious to me. so too, unexpected combinations of pattern and texture, objects and things. oddness, whimsy, humour are very attractive to me.

well, after reading her answers doesn’t it all makes sense now!? two thumbs up!

if you’re a local, you can frequently find carmel at the paddington market in sydney. if not, see and purchase the available collection at carmel’s etsy shop, and be sure to check out her humorous, well-written blog too!

thank you carmel!

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st. kilda love ring

gah! this st. kilda love ring, in gold or sterling silver by brooklyn artist (by way of australia) nora kogan is simply stunning!

see much more on nora’s website, and purchase this piece and select others at auto as well as the clay pot.

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pamela tang silk accessories

i love these luxurious home accessories from australian born, singapore based pamela tang. pamela, a former interior designer, takes traditional quilt themes and twists them into fresh and modern cushions, coverlets and more in her sumptuous collection. these contemporary pieces are a reflection of her inspiration from her surroundings and search for accessories to make a living space complete.

what gorgeous things to wake up and see everyday! the finishes and color choices are beautifully executed.

see pamela’s etsy shop and her website for these items and more.

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bear art round up

new york giants 21, chicago bears 16.

i’m not the biggest sports fan in the world, but my home team, which should have won today’s professional football game, bombed out in the 4th quarter. i think i like these other bears much more right now:

birthday print from milwaukee’s little friends of printmaking

polar bear on ski vacation blank greeting card from delray beach’s citrus tree designs

bear vs. robot wallet by chris bishop for portland’s tiny meat

handknit merino wool koala bear from houston’s barking dog designs

long time original acrylic painting from tampa’s christina lyon

happy bears tee shirt from brooklyn’s marilyn patrizio

the bear regretted his decision print from sydney’s yellow monday

handmade benedict bear from adelaide’s little red pear

roomscape polar bear collage from austin’s one creative girl

surprise! they’re all available on etsy!

i think we have enough players assembled here for the tee formation now…

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