Sigh… this is the latest dreamy work from London based artist Sue Williams A’Court. And yes, I included close-ups because these “portraits” are drawings. If you happen to be in London this weekend, you can see Lady Di, Rocky, Belle and Audrey starting THIS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 14th at START Art Fair {Stand 12 BoLee Gallery} Saatchi Gallery in London, 14-17th September. Here is a description of this Rococo-ish work:

Sue Williams A’Court’s exquisitely intricate and beautiful Escape From Eden borrows details from Arcadian landscapes of historical works to create an extraordinary series of ‘portraits’. Exploring the way we subconsciously see human forms in the world around us, the muted, delicate paintings evoke Victorian photographs, yet the faces within emerge from delicately interwoven trees, paths and boulders. Playing with ideas of identity, and perception questioning reality, the portraits are landscapes of our own imagination, a state of mind rather than a specific location. Hovering ambiguously between our inner and outer worlds, their mesmerizing, miniature scale invites viewers to lose themselves in an intimate, contemplative reverie in which we no longer feel wholly separate from what we observe.

Lovely. For ticket info etc, visit the START site.

What? Oh my goodness… none of my paper looks like this. This is the absolutely lovely work of Dutch animator turned artist Vera van Wolferen. These pieces are part of an installation, titled “Plant Life”, that is currently showing in Porto, Portugal in one of the city’s oldest bookstores – Livraria Lello. Clearly, if you’re anywhere near Porto you have to go see these beauties in person. Oh, but before you do, I have to share part of the email Vera sent me… I love this:

“During my study in Fine Arts I was in the sculpture department, and kept making videos of my sculptures. That’s why I went to do animation, cause everyone said – hey you should make your sculptures move! So I did stop motion for a year, but figured out I was most interested in creating the set design, lighting and photographing the sets… not so much the animation part of it. I now focus on making “Story Objects”, sculptures that are vehicles for the imagination of the viewer. It feels like the objects contain a story, but it up to you to create your own.”

Sigh. This is the absolutely exquisite work of Canadian painter Shaun Downey. I’ve written about him before, and I’ll do it again. Shaun’s oil paintings take my breath away … his color choices, those lovely everyday settings, and don’t get me started on those mirrored portraits. Beautiful. {Also, I need a rose for my hair now.}

Paper, maps, paint and pins all living together as a delicate, intricate, important narrative. This is the gorgeous, mind-boggling work of Fidencio Fifield-Perez. He was born in Mexico and grew up in the USA. After graduating from art school, he has focused on creating these beautiful, intricate, paper-cutting mixed media pieces. How do I know this? Well, I got an amazing email from a woman that runs the galleries and visiting artist lecture program at his alma mater. She wanted to make sure people knew about Fidencio’s work, and his very important/timely story:

“… Last semester I hosted an exhibit of paintings and cut paper installations made by one of our alumni, Fidencio Fifield-Perez. Fidencio is a DACA recipient, and has spent his life as an artist advocating for fellow undocumented residents and making gorgeous, pointed artworks about his experience living undocumented in the United States  …  Some of his most poignant works are made from appropriated, painted maps. He cuts away the “real” things the map represents- land, water, cities, people- and leaves the imagined, the drawn- roads, latitudes, boarders. Is this mud? A field to be harvested? A body of water to be crossed? Fence, net, or viscera? Every piece is meticulously cut and pinned to the wall with red map pins.”

Beautiful. The world needs more artists like Fidencio, and more people who send this kind of email.

Yes, yes, yes to all of this! These pieces are part of a new series by Canadian collage artist Danielle Cole. I was already totally in, then I read this chunk of her artist statement and I knew this Danielle and I shared more than just our first name:

“Michelangelo said of his art ‘every block of stone has a statue inside and it is the task of the sculpture to discover it.’ This quote holds true for the construction of all my handmade collage and mixed media work. Sorting through hundreds of images until the magical moment when you get to say: that vacuum belongs in that dinosaur’s hand.”  

Ahhh yes, a woman after my own collage-loving heart. Danielle has a show opening next Thursday, September 14th {till Sept 24th}, at Unloveable Gallery in Toronto. It’s titled “Course of an Empire” and features all of these fabulous cars and legs. Go!

Is it possible to be in love while somewhat terrified? Yes, yes it is. This is the beautifully made, sweet ‘n creepy work of Canadian ceramicist Susannah Montague. Butterflies, bones, and babies … I scoured her site looking for the stories behind these gorgeous / scary pieces, but I believe she’s left it up to our imaginations. At this stage all I really know is that I want to ride around in a row boat with a pink beluga.

ps. I do know why Susannah creates these lovely “blastocysts” though…  “This [work] is about my twins as five day old embryos. The day they got transferred into me.”

Beautiful.

Ahhh, yes. I love linocut prints oh so very much… enter the elegant work of UK based artist Ellen Von Wiegand. I am completely smitten with her color choices, her lovely lines, and her very precise registration {fyi: I minored in printmaking and loved linocuts, but my registration did NOT look like this.} I love getting a sneak peek into an artist’s process… doesn’t seeing those chunks of lino, scraped and carved away make you marvel at those gorgeous final works even more? {although, I have to admit, I’d totally hang a few of those lino ladies on my wall too!}

ps. Ellen has some of these original prints available on her site.

Ah, the lovely work of Canadian painter Kirsty Templeton Davidge. When I saw the first image in this post, I assumed it was a photograph. It wasn’t. Then, I assumed she’d been a working artist for years. Wrong again. Kirsty just graduated in 2015 after deciding to go back to school to get her BFA. I was so curious to know what she did in her pre-BFA life. Hand model, perhaps? I emailed her to ask, and this is what she told me:

“… I was a stay at home mother to four kids. I always did things with my hands (made baby clothes, made things for our house etc) but I wanted to find the root of my ‘making’.  I also wanted to get a degree as a life goal so I returned to school and took my BFA.  I worked hard and really focused on becoming better and focused on  the fundamentals – drawing, painting and sculpture.  In my final year I took the painting path.  It is my privilege to paint and because I got a late start, I’m not wasting any time.”

Well, now I assume she’s amazing and totally inspiring … and I’m right this time. Happy Monday. ps. follow her on her brand new Instagram feed!

A self-described “maker of unusual things” … um, yep! Cute meets creepy as little ceramic faces are housed inside felted creatures / mushrooms. This is the whimsical and weird work of UK based artist Lizzie Pearce. I’d love to pick a favorite, but that feels totally impossible. Clearly I need all of them. Happy September!

ps. Some of her work is available in her shop.

Chills … that’s what the thrifting, treasure hunter in me felt when I saw the sculpture work of New York based artist Rina Banerjee at the Venice Biennale a few weeks ago. Honestly, my heart starting beating faster when I got up close and personal with these crazy collections that Rina has gathered, assembled and then transformed into objects that look like they belong under water or in outer space. Lightbulbs, shells, feathers, rope, beads, antlers, netting, and countless other bits and pieces go into each of her beautifully bizarre creations. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I HAVE to go to my local thrift shop.