rachel grimshaw ceramics

i do not frequently show non-functional ceramic art but i make the exception here for the minimally dynamic collection from uk artist rachel grimshaw. these slab-built pieces were inspired by architecture and natural forms found in arid desert areas, and are crafted from unglazed stoneware. i love the way the gritty textured pieces push and pull so nicely together.

see more works from rachel here.

share this story

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!

share this story

gypsy and twink collage art: miniview

pssst. let me take you into my imagination for a moment today if you will: a dappled candy forest filled with dark chocolate trees and gumdrop leaves, a rambling dulce de leche river, cotton candy clouds and tiny meringue mushrooms that the sprites regularly whip up into a tasty risotto. if such a place existed i do believe it would be populated by the charming birds, little ladies and other creatures crafted by kirsty macintosh, aka etsy seller gypsyandtwink. equally fitting on a shelf in a child’s room or a family room, these enchanting three dimensional collage pieces, with their vivid colors and patterns, just make my imagination go cuckoo. ever curious to know more about the brains behind the operation, i asked a few quick questions…

q: where do you live and what is your inspiration for these happy creatures?
a: i am a scottish lass living in the north of england. as far as inspiration goes - its everywhere isn’t it? i just love colour and pattern and shape in and amongst all that these things seem to pop up. i want to make nice things that put a smile on your face.

q: do you have an art background?
a: yes my background is art, i have a masters of fine art, and for the last 10 years or so i have worked in art education, community art and public art. i like to help other people bring their ideas to life. now i’m having a go at making my living through the things i make…the “art” world as such scares me a bit so i guess making the things i do. i like their simplicity, they don’t need to be “understood” because they just are… does that make sense?

q: who are gypsy and twink? are they the owl and the elephant in your shop?
a: gypsy & twink were actually my two siamese cats i had when i was growing up… their names go together so well in my head.

purchase these pieces and see kirsty’s complete collection over at her etsy shop.

thank you kirsty!

share this story

twig stool and bench by russell pinch

i am quite smitten by the gorgeous twig stool and bench from english furniture maker russell pinch. it’s made from the offshoots or stems from the stumps of hazel or sweet chestnut trees from a local forest, in a technique called coppicing.

see more beautiful work from russell here, and purchase these pieces and more beautiful, earth friendly goods at one eco home (based in the uk).

via HAUTE*NATURE

share this story

floridium clock

look at this stunning floridium clock designed by yee ling wan (the designer of the the ghost clock) for uk company innermost. it is a take (perhaps more robust than the ghost clock) on a traditional carriage clock but uses materials of mirror, glass, leather, steel and crystal for a more modern presentation.

find the clock at the design museum shop, and see more interesting products on the innermost website.

share this story

bob crooks art glass

it may be sunny outside today, but we are still in the throes of winter here and i still need my shots of color. i will take them with gusto from the inspired glass work of uk artist bob crooks. bob is an internationally exhibited artist who has a studio in devon, and his one of a kind collection is made entirely by hand. bob is inspired by the material itself, in addition to architecture, nature and geometry. drilling deeper into those ideas he has made a success putting together soft curves and crisp angles with cloudy and clear surfaces. he has created a collection that compels us to discover the details.

this work makes me feel good, looking at the colors. this work makes me feel inspired, to see someone who so clearly, masterfully, effortlessly seems to integrate his talents and skills. we should all be so lucky to do that. we should all be so lucky.

see more beauty on bob’s website. when visiting the victoria and albert museum, be sure to look for his work there in the permanent collection. you might also be able to spot select pieces at cecilia colman, tracey macnee and the steam gallery at beer.

share this story

suck uk drumstick pencils

i just need to share that i am bleary-eyed this morning. i think i mentioned that my husband’s birthday was at the end of january? i gave him the rock band video game for his gift, thinking it would be fun for him to play with his friends, but now i think i’m obsessed. gah! seriously, this thing is SO MUCH FUN. but i digress. check these clever pencils out from our friends at suck uk, for the musician in your life.

purchase them at suck uk in sets of two for £0.00 (us $0.00). whee! just kidding - apparently they’re not in stock yet so there is no price. i know i will definitely be tapping out nirvana’s in bloom on my desk as soon as i can buy these myself (even though i like being the singer in the band)!

via inspire me, now!

share this story

jake phipps jeeves and wooster pendants

okay, i will hang up the lighting now by signing off with these terrific ceiling fixtures from uk designer jake phipps for the hidden art collective. beautifully structured hats lined with decadent gold or silver that have people names are right up my alley! jeeves is the bowler and wooster is the top hat. i love the idea of taking a classically styled item steeped in tradition and turning it on its ear by utilizing it in a new creative, functional way. i would call these guys whimsical but i think that word gets a bad rap, so how about deliciously surprising? humorously stylish? playfully bold? i can’t decide. maybe all of the above.

i totally want to play monopoly at a table with the triple top hats hanging overhead.

purchase these lights and many more inventive things at the hidden art shop.

via bb-blog

share this story

advice to sink in slowly poster series

when i was a freshman in college, it would have been nice to get some sage advice from the more experienced kids on campus about what school would be like. the first year students at the university college falmouth receive a gift of a poster from recent graduates, permanently inked with tidbits of wisdom and gorgeous, inventive design. it’s called the advice to sink in slowly series. the more you peruse the selection here, the more you realize that it’s not just filled with a sense of humor and clever musings, but also astute advice that can be applied in everyday life too.

rebecca cobb; carys williams

temujin doran; luke tonge

david plant; jane laurie

i’ll take these over cheesy motivational posters anyday!

bonus: if you like them, you can buy them! the A3 (11″ x 17″) posters are only £5.00 each, so why not buy more than one?

purchase them here and be sure to check out their flickr stream too!

via kitsune noir

share this story

studiomold manimani clock

i like this lovely looking laser cut steel manimani clock, from multi-disciplinary uk designer brendan young for his studiomold company. it was inspired by the outline of a handful of antique clock parts that were dropped onto the floor.

loose and fun, and i like the industrial edge in the rusty finish.

purchase this piece (in five different colors and two different sizes!) and see more truly gorgeous product designs at the studiomold website, and view more work on brendan’s (and his design partner vanessa battaglia’s) design website.

via design milk

share this story

new prints from keep calm

if you loved the simply marvelous prints from hayley thwaites and lucas lepola’s keep calm gallery, but missed out on the extremely popular earlier editions, fret no more because the gallery has just released three new prints! from hayley and lucas, we have a reprisal for keep calm and carry on, screenprinted by hand and in a new colorway, as well as a nutritional message. missouri designer doug wilson’s letterpressed make your own path, in a new unlimited edition, is printed onto his own antique map collection.

find all these and more at the keep calm website, and be sure to check out doug’s portfolio here.

share this story

karen caldicott art and sculpture

do you ever wonder what it would be like if you chucked it all, left the city and moved out to the sticks? would you miss the option of thai food at 2 am? would your lungs expand from all the fresh air, and your mind expand out to the corners, in a more creative way? uk artist karen caldicott, a longtime brooklyn resident, currently makes her home in the beautiful hudson valley - and look at the amazing things she does! (okay, okay, she didn’t do it all out in the country.) you may know karen from her recent weekly contributions to new york magazine, where she created the disarmingly detailed plasticine models of important people and celebrities. these models were borne of an idea she had to bring her two dimensional illustrations to the next level. she would sketch, and create a clay model from it, then photograph the model and present both the two and three dimensional pieces together on display - quite an arduous process, and thorough and fluid too.

karen has explored her talents in a variety of media, with a seemingly effortless élan. she was drawn to the mix of urban and nature that gently used snow fuses into sculpture, and her strangely beautiful snow series of photographs was created.

her illustrations and artwork have piqued the interest of many clients, including the wall street journal, random house, the national law journal and time.

karen is now beginning to dabble in stop motion video and animation, a place where the progression of her clay pieces would naturally go (doesn’t it make sense?). this is a clip of johnny knoxville doing some moves (and i am really feeling a peter gabriel big time/sledgehammer-type vibe from this):

i am looking forward to seeing her refine and command this new medium, as she has consistently demonstrated with all the others she has used. there is also a certain smoothness in all these works that somehow makes their meaning clear, however simple or complex it may be.

karen’s marvelous clay heads will be on display in a show at the cooper union sometime next year. stay tuned for the details, and in the meantime check her website to see many more models, illustrations and photography!

thank you karen for all the info!

share this story