Oh. Black and white line drawings that have magically become beautiful porcelain objects. Ok, it wasn’t magic, it was UK based artist Katharine Morling. I wrote about her a year and a half ago, but when I saw those matches, well, it was time to write again {and don’t even get me started on that boom box… 1980’s teen flashbacks in progress.} Happy weekend, everyone!

Ah, more organized work that satisfies the over-organizer in me! I wrote about some tiny painted grids last week, and Australian artist Naomi Zouwer saw them on Instagram and thankfully pointed me to her Instagram feed! Little thrift shop finds, beautifully painted and organized into perfect lines? Yes! While on her site, I found another project she is working on… more objects, but for this series, titled “Auditioning Objects”, she paints them, cuts them out, and displays them like a beautifully bizarre shrine to odd objects:

Love.

Ahhh, gorgeous colors and folded paper… this is the delicate work of Paris based set designer and artist Laure Devenelle. She studied at the Sorbonne and during her studies she “discovered a passion for paper.” Yes, I can see that. She makes personal work, but also creates installations for various clients like Guirlain and Louis Vuitton.

Colored pencil and pastel on paper. What? LOVE. From heart-shaped glasses to golden ponytails on a field of pink. So much love. This is the work of Brooklyn based Alex McQuilkin, and if you didn’t pick up on it yet, I love it. That’s all.

Woods on wood. Oh my… this is the gorgeous work of New York based Alison Moritsugu. Forgotten chunks of wood bound for the mulcher become the perfect canvas for these stunning, strangely traditional, landscapes {and bathing beauties!}. So smart. So beautiful. If you’re in New York this fall, her work will be showing at Littlejohn Contemporary from November 12 through December 12. I’m going to miss it by four days. Damn.

{via Colossal}

November 1. You know what that means … unblock project 11 of 12! Only December to go? How is that possible!? {If you missed the other projects, no problem, you can catch up right here.} This project is from American artist Shannon Rankin, and it’s all about getting a new perspective on something you’ve already created…

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#creativeunblock // november // by shannon rankin, pg.249

“Use a cropping tool to find new compositions from an original piece. Enlarge this small portion of the original piece and create a new piece based on the enlarged composition.”

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Get our your scanners, photocopiers or just your eye, and turn your favorite corner (or least favorite corner) of a piece you’ve created in the past and turn into into something new! A new perspective indeed. If you’d like to share what you make, just put it up on Instagram or Twitter and hashtag it #creativeUNblock. See you out there!

Oh. Jessica Bell. She is one of the most lovely people you’ll ever meet, and someone that changed my outlook on my own artwork in one magical, caffeine/chocolate filled afternoon. She’s smart. And determined. And a self-taught artist who just finished her MFA. Yep, she has an undergrad in Art History, started making art on her own, got a teeny tiny studio space with a tarp instead of a roof {for real}, worked for years, applied for her MFA and then rocked it out. I was so excited to talk to her that, well, we just kept on talking! After we “hung up” I kept recording, so if you want to listen past the BEEP, please do. You can listen right underneath Jessica installing her thesis show, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, some of her mixed media work from a few years ago:

Ah. Paint, paper, tape, fabric, thread. And color. I absolutely love her sense of color. Now, as if finishing her MFA wasn’t momentous enough, she’s also just been nominated, for the second time, for the RBC Canadian Painting Prize {the winner gets $25,000 and their work in the RBC Collection… so yes, it’s a pretty big deal!} In 2013, as she was driving from Vancouver to Ottawa to start her MFA she had just been nominated, and two years later as she packed the moving truck to leave Ottawa and head back to Vancouver… you guessed it, she was nominated again! The two pieces are very different, yet you can absolutely see Jessica in both of them:

The winner {there are only 15 finalists} will be announced at the Contemporary Art Gallery of Vancouver on November 18, 2015. Good luck, Jessica… we’re cheering for you!

We talked a lot about her MFA experience. Turns out, quite a few of her final paintings were inflatable. Yes, I said inflatable:

I want to hug a painting! So, jumping back to the speed round, I purposely asked a question that would lead to this answer because I really wanted to show you the knitted wall hanging she made for me. I thought she was sending one of these smaller pieces {which would have been wonderful too}, but no, she sent me a huge, heavy, beautiful piece that gave her carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s hanging in my living room right now:

Love. So much. And with that, we finished things off. Jessica is exhausted after her MFA, so I suggested she take a nap for the winter. Look, she can do it on one of her inflatable paintings…

Shhhhhh. Thanks Jessica. And thanks to you… see you next week for another episode. xo

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Other links mentioned: Sarah Gee Miller, Ben Skinner, Being Boss podcast, Heather Craig {Heather was the artist who told Jessica, “You can’t make art in the cracks.” That might be my new most favorite saying}, and Initial Gallery in Vancouver. ps. Conan… Jessica is waiting for your call.

BOO!

Yep, you guessed it… I’ve been saving these creepy little gems for about two months just waiting for Halloween to roll around! These paintings are the work of Berlin based artist Sebastian Blinde. He has an on-going series, titled “Ghosts in Veils”, perfect for Halloween-eve, yes? Have a safe ‘n happy weekend everyone… but watch out for that bunny ghost. He looks like he means business.

Wayne Thiebaud painted the bakery, and American artist Carrie Mae Smith is taking care of the butcher block. Why all of the meat? Her father was a butcher. Yep, that makes sense. And, her love of food runs even deeper than that. Apparently, when she was in the third grade, she dressed up as Julia Child for Halloween! Amazing. Now, if you’re not a fan of meat {even beautifully painted meat}, don’t worry, Carrie has you covered:

Mmm!

Oh, be still my organization-loving heart! Grids of perfectly painted bits ‘n pieces that are… wait for it… also color-coded. Yes. This is the work {acrylic on panel} of Portland based painter Sarah Fagan. Is it weird that these make me feel incredibly calm? They do.

{Thanks to @acrossaday for pointing me to Sarah’s Instagram feed}