Look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday! Yes, it’s the beautiful new book featuring the photographs of Austin based artist Alyson Fox. Now, to be totally honest, I didn’t even know that Alyson did photography work, as she’s best known for her beautifully bizarre drawings {which I absolutely love!}. Well, I’ve officially added this book, titled “A Shade of Red”, to the list of reasons to be jealous of Alyson Fox. She took portraits of 100 women, with basically nothing in common, except that they were all wearing the same shade of red lipstick. There is a quote at the beginning of the book that gave me shivers… and made me want to get myself a tube of bright red lipstick:

It was shortly after the British Red Cross arrived, though it may have no connection, that a very large quantity of lipstick arrived…Women lay in bed with no sheets and no nightie but with scarlet red lips, you saw them wandering about with nothing but a blanket over their shoulders, but with scarlet red lips….That lipstick started to give them back their humanity.
~ Colonel Gonin (commenting on the liberation of the Bergen-Belson concentration camp)

Thank you so much Alyson… this is an amazing addition to my collection of art books! xo

{The book was published by Chronicle Books, and be purchased here.}

Oh, Gary Taxali… sigh, if only I still lived in Toronto. Well, for those of you who do, I’m jealous of you! Why? Tomorrow night, Wednesday September 21st, the very talented, Toronto based artist, Gary Taxali will be signing two of his new books, I Love You, OK? {shown above} and Mono Taxali, at The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Be there from 6 – 9pm… oh, and while you’re in my old neighborhood, pop over to The Grange and have a spring roll for me! Mmm.

Ok, all of you moms out there… get ready to cry. These images are part of a show called Threads of Feeling that just ended in March, at The Foundling Museum in London. Here’s the story:

During the late 18th century women who, for whatever reason, couldn’t care for their babies could bring them to The London Foundling Hospital. The idea was that the hospital would care for the babies until the mothers were ready to come back and get their children – sadly, many of them never did. However, in hopes that these women would be able to return one day, they put a system in place. No names were recorded, instead each mother left a piece of fabric that was unique in some way. Part of the fabric was left in the baby’s file, and the other piece was taken by the mother. This would prove which baby was hers when, and if, she returned. Over 16,000 children were left there between 1741 and 1760. These beautiful, and unbelievably sad, images are from the hospital’s records during that time… are you crying yet? Yep, me too.

{There is a fantastic article in The Guardian if you’d like to learn more… oh, and also cry more.}

Oh, how I wish I could step into the pages of this wordless book, by Rotterdam based artist Masha Krasnova-Shabaeva… although, the gas masks are a little disconcerting. Oh well, I could deal with that. I think it would be worth it to wander through magnified gardens, ride giant bumper cars in a city square, and spend sunny afternoons poolside with sea lions. Hmm, and maybe after a dip in that pool I’ll grab my crayons and get started on those fantastic coloring book pages. See… who needs words? This story really just writes itself!

{Thank you to my nameless friend at Junkculture for knowing that I’d love Masha’s work… xo}

Are you missing the pink hearts and red roses from yesterday’s Valentine festivities? No problem. I’ll ease you gently back into reality with these installations, from a series titled shredder, by American artist Jonathan Whitfill. Yep, nothing like a couple of rainbows on found books to get you over V-day and headed blissfully toward spring. Ahhh.

{via sodapopgirl. shake it. (ps. love that tagline!)}

{ps. If two rainbows aren’t quite enough for you, head over to sfgirlbybay… today’s curated collection is an ode to the rainbow!}

So, here we are on the last day of 2010! Pretty exciting for all of us, but especially monumental for San Francisco based artist Lisa Congdon. Today marks Day 365 in her A Collection a Day, 2010 project! Yep, that’s right – every single day of this entire year Lisa photographed, or drew a collection of things, and then posted them to her blog. It’s an unbelievably beautiful bunch of stuff {vintage toys, art supplies, buttons & thread, and the list goes on}. I’m totally jealous of her knick-knack packed shelves… oh, and also that Uppercase Gallery has turned these daily posts into a beautiful little book due out in the Spring of 2011! It’s going to be gorgeous!! Ok, ok, but enough about my jealousy, today is all about who makes Lisa jealous ~ Enjoy:

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I’m jealous of Alexander Calder.

From the moment I saw Alexander Calder’s show at the SF MOMA many years ago, I became smitten. I immediately bought two books on the man, Calder’s Universe and a vintage copy of his monograph entitled Calder (by Maurice Bruzeau, now out of print and difficult to find). I lay on my sofa and devoured them in less than a week.

Alexander Calder is best known for his mobiles, but he touched practically every artistic medium of his time (stabiles, graphic design posters, rugs, toys, sculpture, painting, drawing, jewelry, ceramics, etc.). Two years ago I had the privilege to see his work again at the Whitney. They featured his wire Circus, which made him famous in the 1920’s (he was a bit obsessed with the circus). It was incredible to see. He is one of the most experimental and prolific artists of the last century.

Born and raised in the U.S., Calder left for Paris in 1926, when he was 28 years old., and there is art career blossomed further and he became part of the avant-garde art scene of the day. In 1931 Calder married Louisa Cushing James. They traveled continually. By all accounts he was a good-natured man.

Intensely creative, fearless, prolific, modern, good-natured, lived in Paris in the 1920’s, world traveler, kept enormous messy studio. What is there not to be jealous of?

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Exactly! Thanks so much for dropping by Lisa, and congratulations on your lovely collection of collections! Can’t wait to see the book.

Oh, how I would love to spend Christmas in the cozy, and unbelievably sweet, cottage of Dottie Angel {aka a displaced Brit living near Seattle named Tif}. Seriously, how can one person be this creatively crafty? A handmade Christmas tree covered in buttons, thread, and knitted garlands? Are you kidding me?! Ok, ok, Christmas isn’t about being jealous. It’s about love, and joy, and… oh, who am I kidding?! I’m totally jealous. She’s beyond amazing!

{If you want to know & see more about the life that Dottie Angel leads in her mossy shed, you can pick up “The Suitcase Series Volume Two : Dottie Angel” that Uppercase Gallery will be releasing in the summer of 2011. This is actually on my Christmas Wish List… I’m hoping Santa puts in a pre-order for me!}

I’ve been jealous a lot in the last two years, so this wish list could easily go on forever, however, I’ve managed to control myself as much as humanly possible. Here are a few things that I would love to see under my Christmas tree this year… Santa, are you listening?

Ok, now this last one isn’t art {technically}, but it’s been on my wish list every year since I was a kid:

Mmmm, chips… no, no – not a huge, sculptural installation that looks like a pile of chips {although that would be pretty cool}… I just want plain old potato chips. Preferably with dip.

I hope that all of you get what you’re wishing for too… Happy Holidays everyone! xo

{1. Laura McKellar 2. Martha Rich 3. Wayne White 4. Rachel Denny 5. Abigail Ahern 6. The Exquisite Book 7. Suitcase Series Volume 2 ~ Dottie Angel 8. Su Blackwell 9. Tanja Ufer 10. miki and nora 11. EmersonMade 12. delicious chips}

“Identities Now” will be a book comprised of select images submitted by photographers around the globe. The mission is to explore the current state of the photographic portrait through gathering the best work from a diverse cross-section of artists. ~ Peter Hay Halpert of Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, New York

That could be you! If you’re a portrait photographer, you have until Friday December 3rd to submit your work to be included in this amazing book. Peter Hay Halpert has assembled a very impressive crew* to review the work, and make the selections… is it too late for me to try and be a portrait photographer? Yeah, ok, i know… but it’s not too late for you! Good luck!

* Selection committee shown above:1) David Harris, Design Director, Vanity Fair Magazine  2) Laurie Kratochvil, Photography Editor/Director  3) Sam Shahid, President and Creative Director, Shahid & Company  4) Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Photographer/Director  5) David Schonauer, former Editor in Chief, American Photo Magazine  6) Peter Hay Halpert, Principal, Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art

This ain’t no regular library. Nope, this library is actually a series titled Every Book Ever, by Mary Alyssa Block. It consists of over 70 books whose covers she’s meticulously recreated onto the appropriate sized pieces of found wood. Love, love, love! Granted, with this collection of books I might never be able to identify a bird in California, and there’s a very good chance that I’ll over-water my cactus… but hey, that’s the price I’m willing to pay for beautiful art!

{via Junkculture}

ps. I think I’ve found the perfect place to stack these books ~ the house that jealousy built of course! pop over to sfgirlbybay and have a look at my latest room… the library!