Oh my goodness, I am in love with everything this woman makes. I am so excited to finally be talking to London based artist Katharine Morling. Her work looks like wonky black & white drawings… that happen to be made of porcelain! I had so many questions about her narratives, her process, and of course her story. Where did the idea for these beauties come from?! You can listen right up there under that lovely “pot of pencils”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

Let’s get started with “Nature Boy”, shall we? He started in this little box, which led to all of the work below him {and there’s even more on her site!}:

Porcelain cameras?! A butterfly net?! No, no, no… it’s all just too good.

This is the piece Katharine was talking about when she said she’s still not quite sure what it’s actually about! This is “Shifting Diamonds”:

Gorgeous. Up next, the sewing basket she got at a very exciting Tupperware party when she was a kid, along with her mother’s sewing machine:

I mean, come on! I want need a pair of those scissors.

This next piece is “Equipped”. Note the crosses she mentioned in a few of these beautiful household utensils:

Lovely. That whisk might be my favorite.

Ah, her typewriter! I have loved this piece, titled “Poison Pen”, for ages but boy oh boy it certainly has new meaning after finding out that Katharine has severe dyslexia:

… hence the wonky, confusing state of this lovely, porcelain machine.

I loved hearing about her process too! From sketching, to clay, to the fine line work {and I had to include a photo of Katharine so you could see the gorgeous woman behind that lovely English accent}:

Ah yes, nothing like a little peek behind the curtain!

And finally, a gem from the ‘speed round’. Katharine’s first job, when she was 13, was at a tiny little green grocer’s. This was their cash register, and it inspired a piece titled “Plenty”:

Her whimsical detail is just so insanely amazing! Look at that little box of matches… and those pencils… and allll of those coins! Sigh. Too good. And with that, I’ll say thanks to Katharine {and Rosie!} for spending an hour with me, big thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting episode 60 {!?}, and as always GIANT thanks to you for listening each week. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other Links:

1. Cockpit Arts, London
2. Royal College of Art, London
3. She is represented by Long & Ryle Gallery, London
4. Louisa Taylor
5. A few of the studio shots are from this New York Times article
6. Some of Katharine’s smaller works are available in her shop

I’m not sure how to explain how much I love these… hm… well, I made a strange gasping sound when I saw that first piece, so that might do it.  Beautifully drawn graphite ropes living in perfect harmony with sherbet-hued gouache on really big pieces of paper. Yep, madly in love with these gorgeous compositions by Philadelphia based artist Jen Wink Hays. Sigh. Happy Monday.

{You can find some of Jen’s work at Uprise Art}

Oh, so many mysterious landscapes, strange little girls, and what I can only assume to be a lot of empty tubes of black paint! I’m talking to Vancouver based painter Rebecca Chaperon today, and as usual, I have lots of questions. Warning: We had some major technical difficulties getting this episode recorded, but we did it! There is the occasional wifi glitch, so just ignore those, ok? Thanks! You can listen right up there under Rebecca in her studio, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

Let’s start with the first series of Rebecca’s that I ever saw… “Like a Great Black Fire”:

Gorgeous! And surprising to learn that she didn’t actually use that much black paint. Speaking of which, we talked about the dramatic swing she took with her color palette – from dark/moody to pastel/sweet. Her work still looked like her work, but the colors were flipped. Here’s a little visual evolution:

Ahh! I love it all, but if you follow me, you’ll know that I have a soft spot for pink. That final piece – “Lady of the Pink Lake” – yeah, I am completely and totally in love with that! It’s a perfect blend of all of her work… ice, landscapes, portals, weird little girls. Love it.

Other things I love from Rebecca’s portfolio? These amazing crystals, ie. her “Tesseract” series:

Oh my goodness… it’s like her flat portals have found a whole new candy-hued dimension! And onto more pastel gems from here. Rebecca’s mini iceberg series:

I’ve loved these for years, but had no idea the lovely story behind them {hence the reason I’m addicted to doing this podcast!}. 

So, from paintings of icebergs and crystals to this beautiful/creepy book, titled “Eerie Dearies”

Ha! So great! An A to Z book that gives you “26 Ways To Miss School”. Edward Gorey would be proud!

Oh, and I was very excited to find out more about this. Secret painting parties? YES!!!

Crystals, moons, ladies and paint… sounds like a perfect evening to me. If you’re interested in finding out how to get yourself into one of these secret painting parties, click this secret link.

And finally, Rebecca’s black bob that I love oh so much:

So chic … well, except for the spiders. Thank you so much to Rebecca for doing this – and bearing with me during our technical difficulties – thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode, and big thanks to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other Links:

1. Emily Carr University of Art & Design
2. Opus Art Supplies
3. Grunt Gallery
4. Little Mountain Gallery
5. Richmond Art Gallery
6. Vancouver Art Gallery
7. Dandelion Emporium
8. Pecha Kucha (Vancouver) & Rebecca’s talk

Whoa. These are way beyond my level of patience. These are DRAWINGS. Chinese ink drawings from Beijing based, Ukrainian-born artist Alëna Olasyuk, and these are her words about her work:

Complexity and simplicity, chaos and balance, movement and tranquillity, transiency and infinity – these are the subjects that Alëna explores in her oeuvre. Her series of works reveal the visual and spiritual experiences of her life in China and her growing interest in philosophical ideas of Buddhism. The main idea behind her works is perhaps the idea of the world’s duality. Alëna’s works refer to the main binary oppositions in Chinese ancient classic – Yin and Yang.

Lovely… I’m feeling more at peace already.

Colored pencil on paper. Yes. Amazingly beautiful landscapes drawn by UK based artist Marcus James. The colors, the mark making… absolutely stunning. Oh, and just to add to that… the scale! I had to include those last two photos so you could see these pieces in all of their splendor. Ah, nature.

Intricate ink drawings on gorgeous dyed paper… all of these pieces are from a series, titled “There Is No Road” by American artist Jeanne Heifetz. I absolutely love her statement about this work:

“… As a child, I was always afraid of making the wrong decision. Selecting from many possible options was torture unless I could find a convincing rationale for my choice, some external justification beyond my own desire. Fear made me superstitious. I enlisted numerology, mythology, arcane patterns of all sorts to confirm the “rightness” of my decisions.

This body of work confronts decision-making head on. Still craving a system, I borrow one from nature: Plateau’s laws, which govern the branching and growth of many natural forms. Within that system, I improvise, lighting out for the territory without a map. Each drawing grows by slow accretion as I allow myself (or force myself) to make hundreds of tiny sequential decisions…”

So. Good. What a beautiful challenge to give herself… as are the results.

Just to be clear, I hate deviled eggs. As in, HATE… until I saw this beautiful little morsel. This is the work of South Korean born, New York based Mie Yim. Tiny food drawn in pastel on Martha Stewart paint chips! LOVE. She has a delicious Instagram feed full of these yummy little things, and it was actually kind of hard not to post all of them. Yep, anyone that can make me like the look of a deviled egg is clearly very talented.

{Thanks to Jeanne Heifetz for sending me the link to Mie’s tiny work}

Ah, I love a good zine! I’ve written about New York based artist/illustrator Aimee Bee Brooks before, but when I saw this sweet little zine, titled “Color Theory”, well… here we are! I think the blue page is my favorite… or green… or maybe orange. Sigh. Did I mention I started a club in the sixth grade called “The Rainbow Girls”. Yeah, I totally did.

I would happily live in one of these paintings… I’ll take one with a pool. This is the gorgeous work of London based artist Charlotte Keates. Her statement says it all, so I’ll let Charlotte take it from here:

“I am particularly interested in the dialogue between architecture and nature. Ever-inspired by the 1960’s and 70’s classical architectural interiors, I aim to create intriguing and surprisingly illusionary interiors. These spaces convey a sense of stillness, a peaceful and calm location of contemplation – a space to think. Particular experiences and observations forge the main architectural structures, angles and objects in my paintings, where I aim to portray the beauty achieved through geometric simplicity.

The outdoors spills through a window or door, location or setting. Pots and plants teeter on the edge of a table whilst trees grow convincingly from rooftops and pillars are cut off abruptly, hovering slightly above ground level. The interiors are minimally furnished with large glass open spaces, leaving it exposed to the vulnerability of the outside world that encroaches upon us. The landscape has no boundaries; we are unable to control and confine it, forcing the inside out and the outside in.”

Sigh. Lovely.

{ps. She has a show opening next Thursday, June 2, at Arusha Gallery in Edinburgh.}

I often curse the internet for being a rabbit hole, but in this case it totally worked for me! So, when I interviewed Zoë Pawlak for the podcast this past weekend, she mentioned her trusty right-hand woman, her studio manager Ariane. Naturally I looked her up {it is the internet after all} and look what I found… color pencil on wood panel celebrating the coming of summer with these beautifully drawn swimsuits! LOVE. Yep, this is the work of Montreal based artist {and studio manager} Ariane Fairlie ♥