… nope, and it often doesn’t! California based artist, illustrator, business owner, mother Carissa Potter Carlson is on the podcast today! Now, you might know her as “People I’ve Loved”… she does have over HALF A MILLION followers on Instagram, so you could very well be one of them.

Now, if you listen to this podcast regularly, you know I have a format… but today I was highjacked! That’s right, Carissa tried her hardest to interview me!? Yep, it gets tricky when you turn the mic on someone who’s used to asking all of the questions. Anyway, this may not be the ‘normal’ AFYE, but it sure is a lovely, open, kinda raw talk between two artists who are “bad at keeping secrets”. Listen right up there under that very frank mermaid, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify.

First up, the graphic she posted {yet another truth bomb} when I was on her show:

Yep, WE ARE ARTISTS! Ah, that was fun… even though I made her cry and then I almost cried. But other than that, all good!

Next, a few of her art installations. Paintings and text and objects, oh my:

So funny. So smart. So bluntly insightful. Also, I could not love those birds more.

Ooh, and I have to show you Carissa’s work inside this VERY yellow ball pit at the Color Factory in San Francisco:

I want to go to there. I think ‘Celine Dijon’ is my favorite… or maybe imagining that I’m swimming in a big bowl of lemons. Love, love, love.

Okay, let’s take a peek at a few of my favorite things from the ‘People I’ve Loved” shop… from greeting cards to enamel pins:

HA! Now I want a reason to apologize to someone, just so I can send them that BUTT card!

And finally, because I’m 100% sure Carissa will have no problem sharing, a few photos of her sweet little family. Singing Josh, and baby Margaret:

Go, Margaret, go! Ahhh, I loved this episode so much. It took a left turn before we even started, but shaking things up is always fun. Thanks so much to Carissa for always being so kind, thoughtful and TOTALLY open; thank you to Wireframe Design Podcast for supporting the episode and, of course, huge thanks to YOU for listening! There will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend.

Other links:

1. Carissa on Instagram
2. People I’ve Loved {shop}
3. Bad at Keeping Secrets {her newsletter}
4. Carissa’s BOOKS … that we didn’t even discuss!?
5. Present Perfect Literary Agency {aka the ‘Kate’ we kept talking about}
6. dooce.com {Heather Armstrong! I remembered right, and it does still exist.}
7. Cystic Fibrosis
8. Mare of Easttown {TV show on HBO/Crave}
9. The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society {my newsletter}
10. Wireframe Podcast {today’s sponsor!}

Who better to have as my guest for the second installment of “PAINT CHIPS” than a junk food loving art consultant! Yes, my good friend Pennylane Shen is back on the podcast, this time with MORE CHEEZ TASTE! We’re eating Cheezies and talking about food themed art that takes our breath away. You can listen right up there under all of that cheesiness, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify.

First up, the entire reason we both showed up to this episode with a bag of Cheez Doodles, “The Cocktail Party” {1992}, by American artist Sandy Skoglund:

Yes, a party covered entirely in REAL cheese doodles! FYI this is showing right now, until September 2021, at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, TX. I’m guessing it no longer smells like fake cheese? Sandy coated all of these doodles in epoxy in 1992… but you never know!

Here are some of the other Sandy Skoglund installations/photographs we talked about… the very timely “Germs Are Everywhere” {1984}, the super creepy “Walking on Eggshells” {1997}, the very famous “Revenge of the Goldfish” {1981}, and the green cats from “Radioactive Cats” {1980}:

Notice how I just sort of snuck the snakes and eggs in the middle of all that so I wouldn’t have to look directly at them for too long?

Alright, we’ve had our salty snack… time for something SWEET:

 

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Okay, it’s not actually sugary icing… it’s oil paint. SO MUCH OIL PAINT. This is the piece I brought to the party today. “Under Heaven” by Xu Zhen. The Instagram video is the one I took while standing in front of this jaw-dropper at Art Miami in 2016. Isn’t it insane!?

And finally, a few throw back photos to when Pennylane and I actually got to eat junk food / talk about art IN PERSON:

Ahhh, good times. I can’t wait until we can do this again. Hopefully Nick the Nalley Chip guy will be there with his truck! Thanks so much to Pennylane for doing this with me… twice {I’m so glad we didn’t eat the cucumber chips the second time around. So. Gross.}  And, of course, thanks to all of YOU for listening… there will be more ART FOR YOUR EAR next weekend.

Other links:

1. Pennylane on Instagram at @dazed.and.confucius
2. Sandy Skoglund, Artist
3. “The Cocktail Party” now on at McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX
4. Xu Zhen, Artist
5. Art Miami
6. Episode no.200 hosted by Petah Coyne
7. The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society
8. Co-Loop Podcast Network

Gasp! Can you imagine discovering one of these magical pieces in the middle of nowhere? This is the breathtaking, colorful, large-scale textile work of Oklahoma based artist Rachel Hayes. Here are a few excerpts from an interview, giving insight into her work/process:

“I developed a love of materials, textures and processes while studying textiles and fiber art as an undergraduate student [Kansas City Art Institute]. Sewing, dyeing fabrics and weaving in particular are processes that I learned early on and continue to use to this day … When I first began my career, I wanted to challenge the dialog that often surrounded my work in relation to craft and specifically the process of sewing. Out of frustration, I created work as large and as bold as I possibly could – as if that would deem it more masculine, therefore more powerful – all while using delicate materials and building with tiny stitches … I lead viewer’s eyes with scale and the ordered construction of bright color, yet hope they will also experience more subtle and ephemeral nuances such as the changing light and shifting shadows or the sound of fabric rustling in the breeze.” ~ via she-explores.com

Beautiful.

{NOTE: This is the final week that new posts will be going up on the blog. Starting next Monday, March 15th 2021, all new content will be packaged up and delivered directly to YOUR INBOX! If you haven’t already become a member of ‘The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society’, you can SUBSCRIBE right here.} 

Reams and reams of ice-cream hued tulle spilling from a French castle? Yes, please! This is the work of Argentine born, US based artist Ana Maria Hernando, and everything you see gently falling from these windows, staircases and doors is part of her 2020 installation, titled “Flood”. Where is this magical place, you ask? Château de la Napoule, not far from Cannes on the coast of France… and yes, I want to go to there. Right. Now.

{NOTE: This is the final week that new posts will be going up on the blog. Starting next Monday, March 15th 2021, all new content will be packaged up and delivered directly to YOUR INBOX! If you haven’t already become a member of ‘The NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH ART Society’, you can SUBSCRIBE right here.} 

Okay, it’s a three-way tie between the scrambled pink phone, the giant yellow fan, and the nose light. So. Good. This is the weird and wonderful ceramic work of Haitian born, Miami based artist Woody De Othello. Here’s a description of his work via Jessica Silverman Gallery:

During his childhood, Othello saw these household objects as intimate presences, used to alter physical states and offer temporary comfort. Moreover, born and raised in Miami to a family of Haitian descent, the artist was enamored by the power of ceramic pots used to contain and overcome negative energy and bad spirits.

Using a hand-building technique called “slab construction,” Othello builds his ceramic sculptures up about six inches at a time. “The clay takes over; it has a mind of its own,” he explains. “It is a conversation and there is always space for me to react.” Othello pushes the forms up to a point where they are near collapse, working the unfired clay to a point of precariousness, giving each piece a psychological weight, a sense of movement and individual emotion. The glazes are then layered with many pieces being fired multiple times to achieve the depth of color and texture that Othello desires.

‘The clay takes over’ … love, love, love!

*Bio photo via Cultured Mag by Aubrey Mayer

I don’t know which noise to make first!? *Sigh* because of how beautiful and magical Bali is, or *Gasp!* over this insane installation! This is the jaw-dropping work of Jakarta based artist Agnes Hansella aka @macrame_id. Giant macrame made with thick rope, twisted and tied to reveal the “Sunset”, “Mountain” and “Ocean”. Each large-scale piece was on the corresponding side of the building, beautifully reflecting the area surrounding Locca Beach House Bali. Here are Agnes’ words about the project:

“The project involves 8 people including me, to knot a 16mm manila rope to the roof construction.
We finished 3 enormous pieces during 12 days of work. With the height from bottom to top measures 766cm, this enormous piece is fun and challenging for me to work with. With macrame, sometimes we can’t plan the whole thing in one go. The ropes have their own nature and we are the ones to follow. The design keeps evolving every time a knot was made. {Thankfully, I made it in time to finish all three just before the coronavirus outbreak in Indonesia.} This project is commissioned by Flowerbloom Studio.”

See? Sigh and Gasp are both required. Oh great, and now I want to go back to Bali. Someday.

{via Colossal}

Giant, ‘not-quite-right’ dollhouses? I can’t think of more perfect way to kick off a Monday morning! This is the work of Geneva based artist Denis Savary, and these images are from his current show, titled “Ithica”, at Galerie Maria Bernheim in Zurich. Here is the gallery’s description:

The name of the exhibition Ithaca refers to the American city home to the famous and liberal Cornell University, one of the main areas of development of the American film industry, which owes its name to the dreamed homeland of Odysseus. 

Three disproportionately large dollhouses are displayed on antique rugs, based on models of very common houses, a typical Swiss Villa. They seem pushed to the limit of their stability, revealing the weakness and the narrowness of their original suburbs, like those cut out by Gordon Matta Clark. Their intentional blandness lets through glimpses of strange interior scenes, forcing the viewer to approach them cautiously. Their dimensions, the meticulousness of their structures and the effects of distortion open them to our interpretation; simultaneously art historical and literary references come through, a room is plastered with a wallpaper based on Marcel Duchamp, who painted a reduced version of the “Nude descending a staircase” for the dollhouse of one of his collectors. One thinks of Robert Gober, whom Denis Savary had already evoked a few years ago, when he appropriated the gallery owner’s doll house, realizing a full exhibition as an extension of this work in a space whose architecture echoed it (La Villa, villa Bernasconi 2010), publishing as the only exhibition catalog views of the interior of this dollhouse. These new sculptures also recall early videos by Savary that seemed to be shot from the window of his family home, located on the outskirts of a small town with no specific quality.

“Ithica” runs until February 27th, 2021.

Well, this is the first time I’ve ever had someone on the podcast who’s done a commission for THE QUEEN!? Yep, London based artist Ann Carrington is on the podcast! I interviewed her for my book, “A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women”, a few years ago but it was all through email. Today I finally got to talk to her in person about turning knives into flowers, welding giant spiderwebs, and oh yeah, that time she hung out with Prince Charles on a barge to discuss a project for his mum’s Diamond Jubilee. WHAT!? Deep breath. Listen right up there under Ann in her studio, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and or Spotify.

First up, cutlery bouquets:

 

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Yeah, she “has a cutlery guy”. So amazing. Oh, and more amazing-ness that I totally forgot to mention, but I have to show you. Look what Ann does with beer & soda cans:

I mean, come on. The final piece is titled “Virgin Queen”, which I’m using as a royal segue into these “Pearly Queens”:

 

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Okay, there’s a lot to say about all of that! First, the black and white photo at the very top is a shot of a few “Pearly Kings and Queens”. The next image was the first of Ann’s Queens I ever saw, via The Novogratz! The “in situ” photo is from one of their shows … or books … or some fabulous project they did {it’s hard to keep up with them!}. The video at the bottom is only a few days old and gives a peek at the new punk-ish Queens she’s been working on. Now, the colored button Queen, both up close and in situ, is the commission Ann did for Jacob Rothschild. That was the project that led to this:

Whaaaaaat?! Yep. Hanging out with Charlie on a barge, as you do. This is the banner Ann was asked to create to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee {2012}, and now hangs at the Haberdasher’s Hall in London. Oh my word. Okay, I need a deep, fresh cleansing breath of sea air to help me deal with all of that excitement… how about a trip to Margate to see Ann’s “Shell Ladies”:

Oh my goodness, aren’t they all so lovely? And I looooove that her kids’ names are on the inside of those bronze shells of “Mrs.Booth” {which aren’t turning green by the way… they’re Verdigris darling, Verdigris.}

Up next, spiderwebs:

… and there she is, welding a GIANT one for a very special client. Herself. Yep, that’s the big web that will be suspended above the studio. Ah, another perfect segue! Let’s finish up with a look into Ann’s amazing building in Margate:

 

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Do you see why I invited myself over?! A stunning space filled with shipping containers packed with sparkly treasures. LOVE. Okay, and with that I will say thank you to Ann for being my guest today, and of course, thanks to you for listening. If you’d like to give me a little love over on Apple Podcasts, I’d be very grateful! Thank you xo ~ Danielle

Other links:

1. Ann on Instagram
2. Royal College of Art
3. The Novogratz on Instagram
4. Robert Novogratz on the podcast, episode no.11
5. “A BIG IMPORTANT ART BOOK – Now With Women”
6. Amber Cowan on the podcast, episode no.115
7. Turner Contemporary, Margate
8. Tracey Emin, Artist
9. YBAs
10. Alexander McQueen, Fashion Designer

 

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Gasp! It’s a teeny tiny magical fairyland! This is the delicate, meticulous work of Swiss artist Mathilde Tinturier. I wrote about her a couple of years ago {2019}, but every time one of her creations scrolls by in my Instagram feed, I catch my breath. Bits of nature – from colorful feathers and seed pods, to found petals and old leaves curling over on themselves – covered in homemade confetti, beads and pins all dangling from the ceiling, being gently moved by the wind. Aaaaand, exhale.

{Her work is available via Le Salon Vert, Geneva.}

Today’s episode is filled with insight, laughter… and paper made from old jeans? Yep. I wrote about American artist Rebecca Hutchinson a few weeks ago, and immediately had oh so many questions. There was something about pulp and handmade paper, but also porcelain some of which was fired and some wasn’t? Don’t worry, I got all of the answers! Rebecca and I talked about her childhood on the farm, how she found her way to sculpture, and not only did we get elbow deep in paper pulp, we also rolled up our sleeves and talked a LOT about how to deal with rude inner critics. Spoiler alert, sometimes it involves a mini trampoline! Seriously. You can listen right up there under Rebecca and “Orange Burst”, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and or Spotify.

First, this is the work I shared a few weeks ago. There’s a little sampling of everything… artwork for the ceiling, wall and floor:

See? This is why I had to get her on the podcast immediately.

Okay, but wait. Before we get into the process shots and video, I just had to share these pieces. Apparently, I’m a sucker for work that hangs from the ceiling:

Oh my word. So. GORGEOUS.

Alright, here we go. Rebecca’s studio {most shots are from her summer studio in Montana… you’ll understand why in a second}, and a couple of process videos:

 

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A post shared by Rebecca Hutchinson (@rebeccahutchinsonstudio)

Ahhhhhhh! Can you imagine spending the summer working in that gorgeous Montana studio, arm deep in paper pulp? Count me in! And, look at all of that teamwork in action… love, love, love.

Next up, a little peek at Rebecca’s current show, “Midnight Blooms”, happening right now until February 28th, at the Danforth Art Museum in Framingham, MA:

Blue!!!! Sigh. So dreamy. Speaking of dreamy, that little farm girl from the beginning of the episode is still very  much inspired by Mother Nature:

A sunset transformed into supplies. Yep, I’d be totally inspired working there all summer, too. Thank you so much to Rebecca for coming on the podcast, and thanks to you for listening. Now, all of you, go find a mini trampoline and jump all of that self doubt right out!

Other links:

1. Rebecca on Instagram
2. “Midnight Blooms”, her current show at Danforth Art Museum {until Feb 28, 2021}
3. Upcoming Workshop at Harvard
4. Adelaine Muth, Artist {Rebecca’s studio assistant} 
5. Archie Bray Foundation
6. UMass