Dreeeeeeaaaaaamy… bits of paper and forgotten scraps of fabric stitched together to create new, beautifully composed narratives. This is the work of American artist {currently based in Japan}, Linden Eller. Her color palette through her entire site has this quiet, muted, hazy feel. This is why:

“Choosing a distinctly pale colour palette together with the use of tracing paper, her pieces attempt to replicate the quiet hazy environment from which a memory is recalled.  Blending autobiographical narratives with larger collective subjects such as childhood, longing, and home, Linden thinks of her collages as field recordings from the mind.”   

Sigh. 

Thread. WHAT!? Yes. Coral and lily pads made from thread.  This is the stunning work of Australian artist Meredith Woolnough. How you ask? I have no idea, so I’m going to let the ‘about’ section from her portfolio site do the talking:

“… Through a delicate system of tiny stitches she creates intricate and complex openwork compositions that are then carefully pinned in shadowboxes, just like preserved specimens. 

The work maps the frameworks of the various veining systems found in nature to create work that explores the balance, harmony and connectivity of life on Earth. Inspired by the patterns, structures and shapes found in plants, coral, cells and shells Meredith’s embroideries represent both the robust beauty and elegant fragility of life.

Robust beauty and elegant fragility of life… love.

Well, this could not be more timely. I am so thrilled to have Kentucky-born, Brooklyn-based artist Natalie Baxter on the podcast this week. Her work is beautiful, smart, and yes, very timely. This was such an interesting conversation, with a very clever woman, who’s using her art to make people think. Granted, according to her comments section, people think all sorts of things about her work. Perfect – that’s the point of this whole art thing, right? You can listen right up there under that knotted/bloated flag, titled “AMERICA, CURRENT MOOD”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, Natalie surrounded by hundreds of plush guns in her Brooklyn apartment, followed by a few of my favorite pieces from her “WARM GUN” series:

Oh my word, I could not love them more! And in case you haven’t listened yet, the story behind all of her work is just so interesting. Almost a happy, obsessive accident thanks to her creative curiosity and growing up with a grandmother who knew quilting inside and out.

Alright, from a bunch of cozy guns, to “BLOATED FLAGS”. I love this series so, so, so much:

Gah! So good! And yes, that completely gold/tassel-covered flag is titled, “PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU’RE MAKING A TRUMP FLAG”. Again, the story behind that title is, in fact, gold!

Alright, from Trump flags to slightly droopy “artillery”:

Yep. The gun-lovers weren’t huge fans of these pieces (and, spoiler alert, may have been the ones leaving terrible, nasty comments on Natalie’s social channels.) Sigh.

And finally, during the not-so-speedy speed round, I asked Natalie if she could only choose one to work with from now on – would it be tassels or gold fabric:

She chose tassels… see, I told you she was smart. Thank you so much to Natalie for not only taking the time to talk to me, but for making this wonderful work. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the residency she’s doing right now. Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this 85th episode; and as always, big high five’s to you for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Natalie’s videos
2. Wassaic Artist Residency (NY)
3. Vermont Studio Center
4. Dooce.com
5. Alison Milne Gallery, Toronto
6. Nasty Woman Exhibition (SOLD OUT!)
7. Whitney Museum of American Art
8. This American Life
9. Ah Haa School for the Arts, Telluride CO

Wow, now these are a punch to the creative gut. This is the powerful, gorgeous, insanely detailed work of New York based artist Jeffrey Gibson. He grew up all over the US, not to mention living in Germany, Korea, and England along the way. With a Choctaw and Cherokee background, Jeffrey uses traditional elements (beads, metal cones) mixed with contemporary elements (Everlast punching bags) to make his very powerful point about the treatment of Native Americans. Most beautiful TKO, ever.

Gasp! Acrylic and fabric on canvas. This is the stunning work of French-born, LA-based artist Claire Tabouret. Her portfolio is full of amazing work but these four very unique, feminine, breathtaking pieces jumped out at me immediately. Those strips of paint-soaked fabric? Oh, mon Dieu.

The first time I saw this Iceland-inspired work, I gasped out loud… and then I gasped again when I realized these stunning landscapes were created using Icelandic wool, chocolate cake, and blue milk! Yep, Canadian-Hungarian artist Eszter Burghardt creates magic from everyday items. You can listen right up there under that wooly lagoon, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

The first series we talked about features these wooly wonders, titled “Wooly Sagas”…

That moss! That little chunk of blue ice! A wooly volcano!?

Ok, I cannot wait to show you a few of her pieces from the “Edible Vistas” series! Cake, coffee, poppy seeds, crumbled cookies… and yes, blue milk:

What!? Oh my goodness, I never get tired of staring at these. And also, I want chocolate cake now.

There was a bit of talk about imaginary friends who happened to be wolves, and the wooly wolf costume she made her husband wear for her project titled “In Sheep’s Clothing”:

Wow. That mouth is amazing.

Ahh, and one of Eszter’s latest series, “Tales for Tuktu”, the story of a tapir that tries to move north, but isn’t exactly welcomed by the locals:

So moving, and so much bigger than I realized! I included that last photo of Eszter in action so you could see the scale. Gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous, Eszter in her happy place:

Sigh. Yes, I can understand why she is so completely inspired by Iceland and all of its natural magic {these images, and many more beauties, can be found on her lovely instagram feed}.

Thank you so much to Eszter for taking the time out of her very busy day (she’s the mother of twin 3 year old boys!); thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now – and of course, thank YOU so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

A “disciplined free spirit” … that is officially my new life goal! Also, I want to change my name to Bunnie. This was such a funny, inspiring, and yes, cosmic conversation with Los Angeles based artist Bunnie Reiss. I only discovered her work last month, but the moment I did, I knew I had to have her on the podcast! You can listen right under those fabulously “cosmic animal gloves”, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First up, a few magical/cosmic paintings to put you in a Bunnie state of mind:

Oh. My. Well, that leads perfectly into this next batch of cosmic work. This is the book Bunnie made, titled The Cosmic Child, that we were talking about. It’s absolutely stunning. And cosmic:

Beautiful! It’s currently sold out (no surprise!), but she’s organizing another run very soon so keep your eye on her shop!

Next, I mentioned that Bunnie seems to really like painting on, well, everything. She agreed. Here’s proof:

See? We weren’t kidding! Boots, walls, books, and yes, her car.

These next images are so dreamy. This is what she was working on while she was in Paris last month … pastel and quiet and soft:

Lovely. It’s so cool that the work continues to look like hers, but the palettes and details often change depending on where she’s traveling. And yes, Bunnie travels a lot! {ps. these three images are from her inspiring Instagram feed}

And now, her murals. Of all the things Bunnie paints on, buildings are her favorite. Oh, and if you want her to paint on, or in, your building, CONTACT HER, because she’ll end up doing something like this:

Love! I included that scaffolding shot because she had talked about gridding out her murals by using the squares of the scaffolding… I’m going to have to trust her on that one, because my brain would not do that. My brain, however, can totally understand squirrels and rabbits eating donuts ♥

And last but not least, her gloves. This is how I first discovered the wonderful world of Bunnie Reiss, so I just had to share them again:

Gah! I love them so much… so much in fact that included a pair in the upcoming show, PRETTY / PECULIAR, that I co-curated at the Alison Milne Gallery in Toronto! If you’re in Toronto from Dec 1 – Jan 7th you have to go see them in person {ps. Dec 1 opening party info below}

And finally, a meringue-covered result of the not-so-speedy speed round:

Oh, that photo makes me so happy. Sunshine, laughing, and a GIANT lemon pie in Paris. Ah, oui… c’est parfait. Thank you so much to Bunnie for doing this with me and sharing all of her goosebump-inducing wisdom; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting yet another episode; thanks to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – it’s officially available now – and of course, thank YOU so much for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Bunnie’s shop (ps. A new series of affordable works will be available first weekend of December… including 6 new sets of Cosmic Animal Gloves!)
2. Margaret Kilgallen video/quote about embracing the imperfect lines
3. Honfleur Gallery, Washington DC
4. “Pretty / Peculiar” Show at Alison Milne Gallery, Toronto

      * “Pretty / Peculiar” Opening Dec 1, 7-9pm RSVP: gallery@alisonmilne.com

PRETTY / PECULIAR.  Oh my goodness, I could not be more excited about this show! I was invited by the Alison Milne Gallery in Toronto to co-curate an exhibition, which was ridiculously fun because, as you can see, we have a very similar taste in art. Enter “PRETTY / PECULIAR”… yep, two of my favorite things, especially when combined! Here is the curatorial statement, along with a list of the fabulous female artists who are participating:

“Beautiful and odd. Colorful and bizarre. From cashmere-covered deer to plush handguns, from enchanted landscapes to painted gloves and undergarments – the female artists featured in this exhibition create very different work, but with a very similar result. Their work is an invitation to escape into a world of the wonderfully weird. Come on in! Exhibiting artists include (order of images above: Seonna Hong, Natalie Baxter, Martha Rich, Rachel Denny, Tania Love, Tonya Corkey, Tina Berning, and Bunnie Reiss“

That’s right, the work of eight of my favorite artists all hanging in one gorgeous space at the same time. Ah-mazing! Ok, so here’s what you need to know: Dec 1 ~ Jan 7th  //  Opening Thursday Dec 1 , 7~9pm RSVP: gallery@alisonmilne.com  //  134 Osler St, Suite 3, Toronto  //  Enjoy!

Gasp! Sculpture? Fabric? Yes and yes… but also… jewelry! What!? This is the delicate, whimsical, gorgeous work of Japanese-born, US-based artist Mariko Kusumoto. Brooches, bracelets, and necklaces that look like they were found in a mermaid’s jewelry box… I already gasped, right?

I’ve talked to artists who work with hand-made paint, fresh flowers, tiny glass tiles, and delicate paper… but today is a new one. Lint – aka dryer fluff. Yes, Canadian artist Tonya Corkey creates these gorgeous pieces using lint from the laundry room! I wrote about her years ago {the second I found her work obviously}, and now thanks to the wonders of podcasts, I was able to ask all of my lint-related questions. You can listen right up there, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

Before we really get going, just so you believe me, look at this close-up of that first piece above:

Lint!!! Mind. Blown. Ok, moving on. This next piece is the colorful portrait that Tonya was talking about:

Just imagine collecting and organizing that much colorful lint? It makes me want to wash a bunch of red socks so I can send her a ball of pinky/red fluff! Now, not that I want Tonya to ever feel terrified, but I kinda love that this piece scared her so much. See, brilliant artists are humans too.

Ok, so here are some of her portraits. The first guy below, Freddie, was the first lint portrait she ever did, and is titled “Your Friend Freddie”. This piece is 5’x3.5′ and took months for Tonya to finish… which doesn’t surprise me at all:

She quickly embraced negative space which saved a lot of time… and lint.

Oh, and these! These are the mirrored pieces we talked about. STUNNING:

Right? Sigh. So gorgeous. Up next, the writing from the back of these nostalgic found photographs… some mirrored, some with a bit of a linty shadow:

Again, gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous, here is a shot of Tonya in her studio. I love seeing where/how artists work, and this photo is particularly great because you can see the scale of a few of the pieces from earlier in this post. Also, I love that she’s surrounded by bags full of dryer fluff:

Lovely. Thank you so much to Tonya for taking the time to tell her stories, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting episode 75; 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 every week! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links:

1. Queen’s University
2. Alison Milne Gallery
3. OCAD
4. Ben Skinner
5. California College of the Arts