roadside scholar

stuff i found on the highway of life

• Home
• about gigi leonard, aka the scholar

jesh de rox photography

I know some of us think wedding photography can be so cheesy, but have you seen these wondrous images from contemporary Canadian artist Jesh de Rox? They are simply extraordinary, with an elegant, vintage timeless feeling achieved using modern techniques. His intimate and textural style feels like it comes much more from an whole, artistic point of view than the old methodology. And the breathtaking results transcend the traditional ideas of wedding photography and what we thought were its subsequent limitations. These are thoughtful portraits that can so easily be diplayed everyday in your home instead of in a dusty old album.

The loosely styled, posed-but-not-stiff looking images capturing the beautiful nuances of a moment in time were exactly the kind I had wanted for my own wedding so many years ago (15 years to be exact!). We did our best to articulate it to the person we had hired to shoot the wedding, but it really did not work out the way we pictured it in our minds. We can always hope for something exciting if we do a 20th vow renewal though…

For those of you lucky enough to be living in Western Canada, Jesh takes on a few commissions per year, so you might be able to ensure that the dreamiest, happiest day of your life will be recorded in the most special way. If not, you can always enjoy more of Jesh’s stunning portfolio on his website, and follow along with him on his life’s journey on his blog.

---

nellie king solomon paintings

i am falling into the delicious, foreboding abyss of these dynamic large scale (up to 8′ x 8′!) works by california artist nellie king solomon. it’s an extraordinary swirling, sweeping style which to me is not unlike the beginnings of a tornado. the way the blacks kick out on the surfaces is dramatic but grounding too. nellie, who uses a combination of materials including acrylic, soda ash, coffee, house paint, ink and dye, says she paints things she knows are there but cannot be seen.

see more brilliance at brian gross fine art as well as nellie’s website.

---

tony forte photography & design: miniview

i am back in the saddle this week and today’s miniview brings us more insight into the projects of tony forte, a graphic designer who creates works through digital techniques and photography with strong urban themes. tony’s photography is striking and his rich mixed media pieces with glints of vintage influence intrigue me, so i thought i’d ask a few questions…

q: where do you live and where do you create your work?
a: i’m living in north new jersey, and all the creative workload gets done in my office/studio which is also in jersey.

q: do you have a formal education in art or design?
a: i have a degree: applied science in visual communication and graphic design. i’ve been drawing since I was a kid, and have always appreciated photography.

q: can you tell us a little about the backyard project you have founded?
a: backyard project was founded in late 2005. it was a venture that i had been trying to get off the ground for a very long time. it was tough with working during the day, and bar tending at night. (NO sleep.) me and dan puleo, a friend and artist who shared similar taste when it came to throwing ideas around, launched the backyard site. we had put some cash together to get the website up and running. it was a great way to finally get some more exposure, and also develop a t-shirt/apparel line, with one-color design concepts. the apparel mainly concentrates on simple designs that represent our everyday creative outlook in our neighborhood, that we can share with the world.

q: do you have a favorite piece in your collection?
a: um, i think one of my favorite pieces is “Yesterday” (below) which can be also viewed with many other pieces of mine on my website. i really do NOT get tired of looking at that piece, i feel that i get something else that pops out of it every time i look at it. it’s hanging in my apartment.

thank you tony!

---

hollis brown thornton art

have you seen the impressive moleskine piece collection by south carolina artist hollis brown thornton? they are acrylic and pigment transfers.

absolutely gorgeous, thought-provoking ideas going on here.

go to his flickr stream or website for more info — right away — to see more beautiful work!

---

jennifer collier paper fashion art

look at this paper fashion collection from uk artist jennifer collier. she has mastered a multitude of techniques, including weaving, stitching and waxing, and has created a group of garments so fascinating to view. carefully crafted from bits of paper, plastic and assorted found objects and materials, these transient and disposable materials are skillfully transformed into items which have distinct and dynamic value.

see more works of art on jennifer’s website. she’s also exhibiting in well thread at the biscuit factory in newcastle from april 25th – june 1st 2008, just in case you’re in the area!

via craft

---

hudson beach glassware

look at this beautiful, functional glass collection from hudson beach glass. the four artists who make up this collective — john p. gilvey, wendy gilvey, michael benzer and jennifer smith — use several techniques, including casting the glass by hand and etching it for even more texture and depth. nature and the sea are influences, as you can see from the organic detailing they’ve included on these pieces.

 

purchase select pieces here and there, and see more of this sculptural collection on the hudson beach glass website.

via the ecosalon

---

elizabeth perkins glass art & sculpture – let’s chat!

beloved readers, let’s all take a deep breath and dive into the amazing art, sculpture and installation work that virginia artist elizabeth wade perkins creates. it is simply mesmerizing and after a good long stare, i am swept away by the richness of even a single vessel, so fluid and steeped in her personal history it all is. elizabeth uses a variety of techniques, including casting, blowing and pâte de verre, which is the centuries-old type of casting she does to create her beautifully detailed lace pieces. to me, her noteworthy technical skills aren’t the only secret of her success here; there is also the skillful underworking (or should i say perfect-seeming working?) of an amalgamation of ideas — the concepts of time, place and memory. in these works you will find a consistent complexity that is whole and complete, and collections that are wry, nostalgic and absolutely current. let’s have a chat with elizabeth and find out more!

q: where do you live, and where do you create your art?
a: i live on a farm named red bud in bumpass, virginia. it has been in my family for seven generations and its older name was seclusion farm. it is located in bumpass by neighboring areas called three square, tip top, cuckoo, and holly grove. bumpass is between richmond and charlottesville in louisa county. i make my work in my grandfathers old fix it shop. it’s a wood frame building covered in metal. it’s heated by a wood stove that my grandfather fabricated out of a number of wheel rims (from an old pick-up). he mended and made things in there to keep the farm running; everything from tractors to electrical. he invented this really cool system to keep his pigs hydrated. my favorite thing he invented in the shop was a light that was over the fridge to indicate that the toilet was running. he had hearing aids, so he couldn’t hear it. however his chair in the den was situated so that he could not only see out the “picture window” or look at television, but he could see the light over the fridge which indicated the toilet was running. when the light would turn on, he would go in the bathroom and jiggle the handle. god only knows why he didn’t just fix the toilet, maybe because it only ran sometimes or maybe because he used what he had at the time to fix the problem.

i think the whole thing is just awesome and ingenious. i’d like to think i got my creative mind and hands from him.

q: what is your background, and did you study art formally?
a: i grew up in southern rural america. my undergraduate degree is in sculpture from the atlanta college of art, and my graduate degree is in craft material studies from virginia commonwealth university. my favorite place to learn is at the penland school of crafts. though i am formally trained as an artist, i have learned a lot from my personal experiments and am more frequently informed by my subjects rather than my “education”. i seemed to get in trouble from time to time in school; like the time i showed up with a huge bale of hay as a component of one of my works. let’s just say… when you see those things on the side of the road out in the field they seem kind of small, but they are not. they are massive and beautiful. sometimes it takes bringing the outside inside and the inside outside for us to really have an understanding of what we are looking at. if you see the forms in resuscitation (photos below) they are taken from that bale of hay. everyone on my graduate committee at the time told me that piece was technically impossible to build in porcelain and impossible to slump over in glass. i like making the “impossible” possible. they don’t teach you how to do that in school. i think those kinds of quests are personal and are brought about by our experiences, desires and willingness to fail.

q: (without giving away any secrets of course!) can you tell us a little about the techniques you use?
a: there aren’t really any secrets to it. mostly it’s paying attention to what you’re doing, learning from what you do, seeing the potential and identifying the control in your artistic experimentation and investigations, working hard and being patient. i use many processes. i blow glass free hand, i also blow glass into both cold and hot blow molds. whatever is appropriate for the form and will make its potency more… stinky and real, honest perhaps.

i also kiln cast and use the pâte de verre method of casting. i use techniques that are appropriate to my forms and the ideas i want them to convey e.g., fragility, texture etc. most works contain glass.

q: how do you think your work has transformed since you started making art?
a: in one of my artist statements i say, i am still the naive child searching around the house for hidden treasures in the old furniture and cupboards. i have the same nosiness and fearlessness as i did as a child. (inquisitiveness, perhaps.) as i’ve grown i have discovered the complexities of these nooks and crannies and have built a larger visual vocabulary by being inquisitive. i have practiced a lot. i have been seduced by my material and its traditions but i walk and practice outside those traditions and former histories. i think there are so many new forms to be made in glass.

q: what is the price range of your collection?
a: $50.00-$20,000.00

q: what is your inspiration for these works? do you have a message you want to send through these pieces?
a: i am interested in values and traditions; how they evolve and linger through the ways we experience life, art, and craft. i am interested in what remains inside and outside of these notions; works that give the viewer something to hold onto and in some cases to let go of. in other words, what we give birth to, what we pass on, and what we take with us when we pass away. i feel my most successful pieces deal with these complexities simultaneously.

q: where can we go to see your collection in person? is there anything else meaningful you would like to include?
a: i will have a trio of medium glass lace pieces in the urbanglass gala and auction in new york on april 4th, 2008. i am currently seeking gallery representation. i have a website with many of my works. my email is included on the site, and if you are interested in buying my work you may contact me through my website.

thank you elizabeth! and special thanks to burt for putting us together (and taking these last two photos)!

---

cool carpets and renegade rugs (round up)

i wish for a new and exciting carpet for my family room and have secretly been visiting a bunch of them online and therefore i wish for you to enjoy this round up of artsy rugs seen below:

brushwood carpet by dima loginoff

itu rug by tuttu sillanpää for verso design

die-cut wool runner by bev hisey

moon carpet from atypyk

manuscrit rug by joaquim ruiz millet for nanimarquina

funniest rugs ever from dan golden

hudson carpet by sophia wood for modus

formosa rug by wenlan chia of twinkle living

interlocking puzzle rug from katrin sonnleitner

wow carpet from bentley prince

pebble rug from 2form design

reception carpet from studio voortman and girod

recycled bicycle tire rug by ariadna miguel for nanimarquina

someday if i don’t have any animals living in my home (oh you know i complain but i love them so) i will buy a fabulous carpet and enjoy how clean it remains from day to day. until then though it looks like it’ll be that two tone polypropylene number from the blue and yellow store.

---

next page »