Silkscreen, paper collage and paint on paper. Gah!!! These gorgeous, color-saturated, flower-filled pieces are the work of Canadian artist Emily Filler. They’re already beautiful, but when you hear the story behind them, they’re even more lovely:

“The images photographs of flowers from my father’s garden that I arranged in bouquets from his vase collection.  My father is a very serious gardener and photographer, and being surrounded by flowers had a big impact on me growing up.”

Yes, clearly! {Emily must have one very proud Papa}. Happy first day of spring to my friends in the Northern Hemisphere… here’s to more flowers, less snow!

Aloha! Yep, I’m in Hawaii! What better way to kick off the week than with the work of a fellow, probably slightly frozen, Canadian. This is the work of artist/illustrator Genevieve Simms. Bathing beauties silkscreened in three colors and finished with hand detailing. Simple, gorgeous, oh, and that color palette… love… although, I’m hoping I don’t end up quite that pink.

Sigh. That’s the sound I make every time I look at the work of American artist Kristen Martincic. Refreshing water, lovely pools, paper swimsuits… yeah, paper swimsuits that Kristen sews. SEWS! Sigh. Ok, let’s get on with all of this gorgeousness. You can listen right up there under that deep blue pool, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

These were the first pieces of Kristen’s that I found a few years ago, so naturally we started there:

Gah! “Traditional print media and a hybrid of print, drawing and painting on panel” … don’t you want to jump in there? Me too! Well, safety first… paper flotation devices for everyone:

Yep. Sewn and stuffed paper floaties and life vests. Seriously, just too good. Oh and of course, you’re going to need a swimsuit too. Brace yourself. These are gorgeous:

Japanese paper, with a perfect touch of printed ink, sewn into delicate suits. Ok, I have to do it again… sigh.

Kristen is a new mom so she hasn’t been in the studio much these days. When she can get in there though it looks a bit like this:

If she “can just punch some circles” she considers it a successful day in the studio! Hilarious and so true when there’s a baby hanging out with you.

In the not-so-speedy speed round I had to ask her about diving boards, mainly so I’d have an excuse to show a few more of her pools … complete with diving boards:

Love. And finally, a few shots of Kristen’s gorgeous studio and her sweet baby boy who’s there to help his mama:

He looks like a natural artist to me… either that or a construction worker because he really wants in on that hammer! Thanks so much to Kristen for doing this with me even though she hasn’t slept much in the last 8 months; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this obsession of mine; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now – and thank YOU so much for listening ! There will be more art for your ear next weekend {and it’s going to be an interesting one… recorded at an event in Portland with Lisa Congdon!}

Other links:

1. Japanese Paper Place
2. Kate Bingaman-Burt

Well hello, pop culture explosion! First, let me begin by saying how much I love the hand-pulled screen prints of Australian-born, UK-based artist Heath Kane. Next I have to point out that these are two different series. Heath sent me a link to that hot pink, Queen Elizabeth filled series titled “Rich enough to be Batman” … maybe because my strange fascination with Liz is no secret. This collection “raises questions about wealth and social justice, through the idea that with enough money anyone can be a superhero.”  Love! However, while I was on his site, I also came across another series, titled “Masks of Fear”. Clearly, I had to show them. Donald in a luchador mask is just too good to pass up.

“Wildfires” … that’s a scary word where I live, and I’m guessing that’s the same for California based artist Clare Szydlowski. These dramatic silkscreens are printed by hand using the CMYK process printing method… so many colorful layers that need to be aligned perfectly!? The imagery is digital collage of photos Clare took of new suburban developments merged with images of historical / current forest fires and dust storms. What isn’t digital though is her very hands-on technique:

“When I first started this body of work while an AIR at Kala Art Institute, I found a lot of people thought my prints were digital. My answer to this was to work with bigger dots to expose the little variations seen in hand pulled prints. I grew to LOVE these juicy rosettes and little imperfections… traces of human touch.”

Sigh. I love those juicy rosettes too.

Gah! I could not be more thrilled with this gorgeous group of work. This is the Fall/Winter 2016 Wall Art Collection that I curated for The Land of Nod. From fall leaves to icy bergs… oh my goodness… so much goodness! There are ten very talented artists who created work for this project and I’m smitten with all of them. As always with my Nod collection, I aim to include art that will be amazing in nurseries and kids’ rooms, but I also want to make sure those pieces could hang in any room of the house {when your sweet babies get older and want Taylor Swift posters on their walls instead… it will happen.} Thanks to all of these amazing artists for creating such beautiful/fun work … love ya, mean it.

{The entire TJC collection from the past few seasons is available here}

Artists: 1. Martha Rich  2. Elise Morris  3. Agata Krolak  4. Liora Saad  5. Claire Softley  6. Lisa Golightly  7. Jay Dart  8. Mary Kate McDevitt  9. Cassie Marie Edwards  10 &11. Christine Lantz

Ahhh, simple everyday shapes that feel familiar no matter where you call home. Printmaker Laura Berman calls Barcelona home… she also calls this colorful series of monoprints home, well, “Umbra : Home” to be exact. They are her way of “describing objects and memories [she] lives with”. I’ll tell you what I’d like to live with… ANY of these gorgeous pieces, thank you very much!

Ok, first things first… Tallulah Fontaine… that may be the most amazing name EVER. Other amazing things: blue hair, lovely silhouettes, and a bright pink moon. This is the work of Toronto based artist/illustrator Tallulah Fontaine and everything about it makes me happy. The end.

Hand-printed images, Great-Aunt Doll, and a beautiful limited edition book titled Salami Dreamin’ – a not-precious artist’s book about family, cured meats, pro sports, and more. Oh. I’m so happy right now. This beautiful ode to Great-Aunt Doll is the work of Ohio based couple Michelle Maguire {images} and Aaron Beck {words}. I know what you’re thinking… Who is this Aunt Doll? I’ll hand it over to Michelle and Aaron:

“Aunt Doll, age 84, has lived in Canton, Ohio, her entire life. She curses, loves cured meats, knows more about the NFL than you do, plays strip mall slot machines with her vegetarian hairdresser of 42 years, isn’t trying to be funny but is, worships the sun from her concrete-slab patio, and frets about nothing except her beloved Italian bread packing on the pounds. Aunt Doll makes the most if it. The gist of her story: enjoy every chicken wing while you holler at the Cleveland Browns on your gigantic analog TV, because we aren’t here forever.”

Love. So much love. {ps. I included a few one-off prints in there too – something fantastic about screenprints that don’t line up.} Now, if you’re wondering… can I buy this book? What about the prints? Yes, yes you can! Pop over to their shop for all of your Salami Dreamin’ needs.

Yep, I feel like that sometimes. These fantastic pieces are the work of American artist Craig Hawkins. They are all from his series, titled “Superventions”, and are monotype prints with a swirling, twirling touch of acrylic paint.