Sigh. I want to lie under these magical trees, looking up at birds and feathers and flowers and, well, whatever else might be floating by… mushrooms, shells, scribbles of color. This is the work of Copenhagen based artist Benny Dröscher. He has worked in all sorts of mediums from 3D to 2D. I’m pretty sure these are acrylic paintings… or lithographs? Or some kind of fabulous combo? Here’s the thing, it doesn’t really matter because I’m madly in love with them either way.

ps. Last week I wrote about Swiss artist Mathilde Tinturier’s lovely  mobiles, and someone said ‘they look like a Benny Dröscher painting.’ That person was right!

Sigh. These gorgeous mixed media pieces by London based artist/illustrator Rose Blake make me want to cry. I miss galleries, and everything in her “Now I Am An Artist” series makes me miss them even more… art, people, actual clothes, leaving my house in actual clothes to see art and people. You get it. Speaking of galleries, Rose’s fine art pieces are available through Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London.

ps. She is represented for commercial illustration worldwide by B&A Reps, and for children’s books by Bell Lomax Moreton.

Ahhh, eavesdropping… it’s one of my favorite hobbies, and apparently I’m not alone. American artist Megan Constance Altieri turned bits and pieces of overheard conversations into an installation, titled “Sonder : The Art of Empathy Through Eavesdropping” {which was the “Installation Public Vote” winner of Michigan’s prestigious ArtPrize in 2018!} Here is the description of this lovely project:

“Sonder illustrates the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as our own. In our awareness of even a single other person we begin to grasp the magnitude of the 7.6 billion coexisting realities all as specific and important as one another. Over the past two years, Altieri has gathered fragments of overheard conversations and hand-stamped them on articles of clothing matching those of the speaker. Viewing these articles collectively challenges our capacity for empathy, curiosity, and awareness of others. Sonder seeks to help us grasp the beautiful complexities of humanity by allowing a momentary escape from our own lens. In exchange for our perspective, we are offered a truer understanding of our identity as a dot among a sea of dots.”

So, so, so many beautiful dots. FYI, Megan has recently turned this installation in to a book! You can find it here.

There is nothing I don’t love about these colorful-pop-culture-meets-monochromatic-floral pieces by Seoul born, US based artist Yoonmi Nam. All of these lithographs are part of her series titled “Arranged Flowers”. Here is Yoonmi’s artist statement:

Yoonmi Nam’s work considers cross-cultural experiences and a sense of transience through observations of everyday objects and occurrences. In her prints, drawings, sculptural works, and installations, she uses familiar disposable objects and cut flower arrangements as subject matter and explores their materiality, ephemerality, persistence, and the common and extraordinary way we structure our surroundings.

Beautiful.

Kate Bingaman-Burt is back on the podcast! Kate is a Portland based artist, illustrator, professor, entrepreneur, and now – thanks to a little fella named Hank – she’s also a mom. So, how does she do allllll of those things I just listed? That’s what we’re going to talk about in our segment titled “Kate Bingaman-Burt had a baby, and yes, she’s still an artist!”. I had a baby too, granted, that was thirteen years ago, but I still remember those early days like it was yesterday. I remember the fog, not showering for days, and feeling like I might not ever make art again. We’re talking rules, daily practice and that, YES, it’s absolutely possible to be a mother AND an artist. True story. You can listen right up there under Kate ‘n Hank, or subscribe on iTunes.

First up, what Kate’s daily “Obsessive Consumption” drawings used to feature:

Ahhhhh, I love it all. I also love that the items she’s buying / documenting NOW, are slightly different:

Haha! YES! Okay, she might not be keeping a traditional “Baby’s Firsts” book, but she’s definitely capturing everything in a super fabulous Kate Bingaman-Burt kind ‘o way! Also, that jean jacket is ridiculously cute. She posts these on Instagram now, so you can follow along over there.

Kate talked about how important having a daily drawing practice is to her, even if it’s only for 15 minutes a day. For years she has made time for this creative outlet… even one day after giving birth. Here are the hospital drawings she mentioned:

So, so special! What a way to capture Hank’s arrival into the world, and a wonderful way to keep a new mom calm (and feeling like herself in a time when it’s really easy to completely forget who you are. Yes, I’m speaking from experience!)

Next… ceramics!? Yep. Seriously, she is never not trying new stuff. Here’s what she’s been doing over in her mom’s kiln:

Oh, thank goodness… somewhere to keep my fingernails!

So, having a full teaching schedule, a daily art practice, and a baby aren’t quite enough for Kate. Enter her fantastic shop / Risograph print workshop studio, Outlet PDX:

Ooooh, I want to go to there. And look, it’s sweet little Hank giving Barbara a hug! Maybe that’ll keep her going just a little bit longer. Speaking of Barbara, she has a message about perfectionism for all of us:

Amen, Barbara, amen.

And finally, the project for this week. This was the unblocking project Kate gave me as part of her interview in my very first book, Creative Block:

Do it… and embrace every little imperfection. Barbara would want that. Thank you so much to Kate for taking time out of her very busy life to do this with me; thanks to both of this week’s fantastic sponsors – Thrive {sign up for their Mastermind group!} and Carve Out Time for Art {preorder their book!}; big mama love thanks to my very special guest at the end of the episode; and as always, huge thanks to you for listening. I’ll be back again next weekend with a new episode. ~ Danielle

Aaaaaand, exhale. This is the work Tokyo born, UK based printmaker Misa Gott. These pieces are from her most recent series, titled “AOKI FUMU”, which translates to “stepping on green grass”. Sigh. Beautiful. Speaking of beautiful, I usually just take a small excerpt from artists’ sites, but in this case I couldn’t decide! Here’s Misa’s entire artist statement:

“I am an artist printmaker working in south London. I was born in Japan and grew up on the outskirts of Tokyo, but have lived in the UK for more than half of my life. 

I produce intricate abstract images by cutting, layering and overprinting prints made using variety of printmaking techniques, mainly monotype, relief and collagraph. 

The starting point is always my relationship with nature, one that was forged in Japan where the natural world is woven into the fabric of daily life. Instead of Us and Nature there is a real day-to-day sense of Us as Nature.

My images are visual Haiku poems that celebrate the elusiveness and transiency of nature; their simplicity belying the complexities involved in their craft and production. They play with the juxtaposition within nature of apparent amorphous randomness and the underlying systems, patterns and rules. The inherent contrasts between randomness and regularities, fluidity and stability intrigue me.

Printmaking helps me to cultivate colours, shapes and patterns in my work. The process facilitates a sense of spontaneity and happy accidents. Nature is constantly changing, destroying and recreating in order to maintain a dynamic state. My practice explores this constant movement: Yuragi (dynamism/ fluctuation) in nature in the process of creating images. 

Through my work, I try to open up rooms for reflection, contemplation and imagination.  I hope the viewers will sense the flow and the shapes and patterns in my work will carry on evolving in their imagination.”

See? Beautiful. Happy Monday.

Risograph prints, costumes, and odd characters who I assume live in those dreamy candy-hued houses. This is the whimsical and vibrant work of Netherlands based artist and illustrator Ellis Tolsma. Her portfolio is full to the brim with weird wonderfulness, from animations to installations. Check out her Instagram feed for lots of lovely stop-motion movies and closeups of her prints {also, go follow her because she only has 476 followers which seems crazy to me}.

An art show AND an art challenge all rolled into one? Yep! California based artist Clare Szydlowski Odom stepped up to that challenge by creating 50 artworks in 50 days. I’ve written about Clare’s 2D silkscreens before, but these lovely, beautifully composed houses bring a whole new dimension to her work {see what I did there?}. Not only is there actual folded dimension, but she’s also constantly on the look out for even more than that:

“For the past three years I have been photographing the shadows in my suburban neighborhood in Burlingame where my husband and I rent an in-law unit. This Spring, we adopted a baby boy and on our walks I have continued this practice. The forms of these shadows are visually intriguing, but more interesting to me is the simultaneous sense of presence and absence they project, appearing at once substantial and insubstantial. I am also drawn to the way they mark the passage of time shifting across lawns, sidewalks and on the sides of houses. These shadows have become ghosts of my desires to own a home, to be able to freeze the precious moments of my son’s babyhood and to make the passing of time feel more substantial, something I can hold on to. Collecting these shadows has become a practice in understanding these desires, but also appreciating where I am in the present moment.”

Collecting shadows… sigh… beautiful. Clare’s shadow-covered houses are currently floating on the wall at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica,CA as part of their annual 50/50 Show. The show, featuring 50 pieces by over 60 artists*, runs until September 22, 2019. *Art math… that’s over 3000 pieces!

Etching on lingerie … swoooooon. This is the delicate work of Australian artist Kate Hughes. I’m going to pass it over to Kate for the description / explanation:

“My practice is multidisciplinary working with textiles, etching, and photography, often in combination. Seductive and feminine the imagery of delicate landscapes and laces is overlaid on the imperfections of the body, it’s flesh and warmth, creating a new girly wilderness. Attachment to place is an ongoing theme that I have explored in my work through the depiction of landscapes using craft techniques … Exquisitely detailed etched landscapes emphasise naturalistic and historic views of wilderness spaces. The greyscale palette and traditional media give a sense of authenticity and documentary truth that is broken by the very personal form of underwear. I’m interested in how art and craft transform place into home, creating an intimacy of space.”

One of my favorite artists, especially when it comes to murals, is American artist Mando Marie… and starting TODAY, I’ll be spending the next ten days painting five murals around Vancouver for the Vancouver Mural Festival {and freaking out just the tiniest of bits}. Clearly I had to zip by Mando’s site for a little inspiration… but then I found these new paper pieces and suddenly I had an entirely new plan for today’s post! How gorgeous are these? They were hung in a show, titled “One Trick”, at First Amendment Gallery in San Francisco earlier this year. I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re made up of discarded “mistakes” from other works {but don’t quote me on that}. Either way, LOVE.

ps. While my podcast is on summer hiatus, you should go listen to Mando and I chatting in episode no.100 … it’s a good one!