Okay, I think I just found a new thrift shopping friend! This is the work of Australian artist Edward Waring. Vintage Crystal and Glass. Epoxy Adhesive. Acrylic Paint. Hard Acrylic Extender. Yep, that sounds like my kind ‘o materials list! These are all from his series titled “Memory Sticks”, each one named with a woman’s name … from Betty to Mabel! Here’s part of his artist statement that focuses on these candy-colored towers of repurposed crystal goodness:

Currently, Waring is utilising vintage crystal and cut glass, repurposing and altering the once cherished tableware to create pieces that require the audience to re-explore what could be considered old fashioned or ‘passé’. Waring’s work reclaims old traditions and old fashioned ways of life and creates a space for them in the contemporary. His use of tableware once saved for ‘best’ in households gives new life to forgotten pieces, and asks the viewer to reflect on feelings of childhood, memory and family.

Absolutely! I’m quite sure my grandmother, Blanche, had most of these vessels, and all of them were filled with colorful Liquorice Allsorts or fruity Jujubes. Ah, good times. Edward’s work can be found via Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, Sydney.

Wait for it … quaranteens! So good. Clearly, my first thought when I saw the ‘Quaranteen Creeps Class Reunion 3020 Senior Class’, was to save this post for Halloween… but there is no way I could wait that long! These creepy weirdos are the latest work by Austin based artist Combs. As a mother of a boy who just started high school yesterday, in the middle of a global pandemic, yeah, these spoke to me. Wash your hands and wear your masks, kids!

This is the work of German artist André Schulze … and three other artists: an unlisted artist who clearly loves horses, W.Engelhardt 1930, and J.Vahlert 1928. That’s right, these originals are painted on other originals. A lot of artists who work with vintage landscapes typically use mass-produced prints, but not André. Perhaps that’s because he has expertise in this area… yep, he’s also in the business of repair and restoration! He really knows what he’s doing… and then from time to time he turns your grandmother’s painting of a horse into a flamingo! I wrote about his work, that doesn’t have others’ work underneath it, way back in 2016, but when I found those horses I just had to show this ‘Vintage’ series. Here’s what Andre says about it:

“In my ‘Vintage’ series I am concerned with the restoration and remodeling of old paintings from the period between 1900 – 1960. I change the content of the picture with the utmost respect for the artist’s work and create a new work of art. It is particularly important to me not to destroy the work, but to enrich it. I am fascinated by the traces of aging and painting technique of my original works, which I also like to consciously leave in the picture. It is important to me to keep important areas in the original painting and to keep them visible.”

So good. Now, if you’d rather not have a smiley cruise ship entering your fjord, just go for the cleanup package… I, however, will take that cruise ship, an aqua cottage, and at least one or two flamingos.

Okay, it’s no secret that I love the combination of embroidery on photographs, but these lovely pieces by Palm Springs based artist Han Cao have taken these found images from the past, and brought them directly into our current situation. This series, titled “Quarantine Collection”, is her latest work. Here are her words:

“This collection was created as a way to remember this significant, historic time, focusing on our collective individual efforts to protect and save the lives of others.”

Beautiful. Wash your hands and wear a mask. It’s really easy.

Oil paint on found thrift shop paintings… loooooooooove. This is the work of New York based artist Dave Pollot. Before becoming a full-time artist, Dave was a software developer but, clearly, those days are far behind him. Now he spends his time painting bits and pieces of pop culture into thrift shop finds:

“Painting has always been something of a hobby to me, but it wasn’t until I started repurposing thrift art in 2012 that I did it with any real consistency.  The idea actually began as a joke between my wife (who loves to shop at thrift stores) and I, but it quickly evolved into an attempt to answer a question:  Could I take a piece of unwanted art, and without changing its aesthetic, change its meaning by painting into it some bit of pop culture/nostalgia and make it desirable in the modern world?  Since that time, I’ve also started to explore a number of more personal themes in my work.  For example, using popular food items inserted into still life paintings to represent the distractions (both mental and material) that prevent us from being present and focused on where we are and what we’re doing.”

Ah, so good! Dave is one of the artists I’ll be talking about TODAY Tuesday April 14, at NOON EST. Yes, he’s donated one of his pieces to be sold as part of the online fundraiser being put on by Showfields NYC and TAX Collection… and hosted LIVE by me. Eep!? You can RSVP to this online art sale right here… {and wish me luck!}

Embroidery {and on two of the boys, inkjet as well} on found images. Oh, the work of London based artist Julie Cockburn. LOVE. After my post on Tom Butler’s gouache paintings earlier this week, I got a bunch of comments asking if I knew Julie’s work. I do, and I love it! I’ve already written about her, but when I checked the post it was WAY back in 2012!? Well, that’s far too long! Stunning compositions, gorgeous palette choices, and insane stitching skills. Again, LOVE. Happy Friday.

GOUACHE. He did this with gouache!? These are a few recent pieces from UK based artist Tom Butler. His delicate, tiny, wispy brushstrokes transform these proper subjects, on their vintage Albumen prints, into hair-covered wonders {that I’m quite sure Diane Arbus would love to photograph}. I found Tom’s beautifully bizarre work through Charlie Smith London.

It’s the first full week in March! Okay, fine, I know it’s not the first day of spring, but at least we’re in March now… I’m hoping the flower and bird filled collage work of American artist Vivienne Strauss will help move things along. Hilarious and beautifully made… perfect combo. Happy Monday.

{Vivienne’s work – both prints and originals – available in her shop.}

Embroidered plants on vintage photographs. Lovely… but so much more powerful when you read the description of this series, titled ‘Strange Plants’, by American artist Heather Beardsley:

Last winter I visited Pripyat, the ghost town closest to the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, where over the past thirty years nature that was destroyed by human hubris and incompetence has grown up to dominate the abandoned man-made structures.  The series uses this powerful juxtaposition as a lens to look examine the current relationship between mankind and the natural world.  In a time when cities are growing at an unprecedented rate, nuclear tensions are at a post-Cold War high and we are feeling the effects of climate change more every year, these pieces pose questions about what the future holds.​

Although created in an intimate scale and presented in a whimsical fashion, using embroidered floral and plant motifs usually pejoratively ascribed to the realms of “decorative art” or “craft”, on closer examination the implications become more sinister.  As plants seemingly grow uncontrollably through the buildings and streets, people are either absent from or oblivious to the situation.  Viewers are left to wonder about this change in dynamic, what preceded it, and what can prevent it.  The resulting works exist in an ambiguous space: a drastic shift has clearly occurred, but nature has fought back and perhaps a new balance has been reached. 

Have you ever wondered what ghosts do when it’s not Halloween? Well, American artist Angela Deane has allllll of the answers for you… turns out they ride bikes, float in pools, and go on cruises {obviously}. Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone!