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

Actual helmets – from various wars and several countries – that have been hand-embroidered with delicate flowers. This series, titled, “Kill(ed) for Peace”, is the powerful and beautiful work of Lithuanian artist Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė. I got chills when I saw them, and this is why…

I have been so overwhelmed by, well, the general state of world. I feel nauseous every time we have to come up with a new hashtag to #prayformorevictims. I’m not sure what to say, how to say it, when to say it. I’m Canadian so I can’t make my voice heard by voting in the US election {I would if they’d let me, so if you can PLEASE DO}, and I can’t call a US Senator about gun control {I would if they’d take my call}. But the main thing I can’t do is this… I cannot even begin to make sense of the terrible attacks that are bringing heartache and pain to so many cities, families, and communities. You come here for art, I totally get that, but sometimes my artsy posts seem so frivolous in the social media news feeds compared to the shocking, upsetting, and absolutely devastating events that are taking place all over the planet. Yes, I want to deliver happiness, beauty, and the work of talented artists, but I also want to take a moment to say how much my heart breaks every time a horrific piece of news is reported.

And so here we are today. When I found Severija’s work, I wanted to share it immediately. Sometimes it feels like there’s not much I can do from my tiny corner of the world, but I know that sitting here silently isn’t doing anything at all. I can be one voice that says, ENOUGH. We are smarter than this. We are better than this. We are all human. Enough.

Adam Hall is a lot of things. He’s a Nashville based graphic designer by day… and an insanely talented, self-taught, oil painter by night. Wow. {Note: I felt the need to surround that brush fire with water images. As someone who lives in a 100 year old farmhouse in forest fire country, it just seemed like the responsible thing to do.} Ok, obviously his landscapes have an effect on me! Here are Adam’s words about his work:

“These Moments that grab us and speak to our inner selves when we least expect them to. Some of my most profound moments of discovery have been while staring out into the vast landscape and allowing myself to be open.”

Beautiful. Speaking of which, Adam also happens to be a dad… this was just too much sweetness to pass up on {plus the added bonus that you can see the scale of his work}

♥

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

Ink, pencil, torn and perforated paper…. LOVE. So much love. This is the absolutely beautiful work of Melbourne based artist Melinda Schawel. Sigh. I bet they’re even more impressive in person. Well, I can help with that if you happen to be in Melbourne at the moment! Melinda has a show opening TODAY at Flinders Lane Gallery, that runs through to August 6th. There is also going to be an Artist Talk/Presentation this coming Saturday July 23 at 1pm… RSVP by today!

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

Sunshine, reflections, floating in the cool blueness of it all. Ahhhh, yes… I could spend this hot July weekend in any of these gorgeous oil paintings by Spanish artist Josep Moncada. Yes. Paintings. How someone can do this with paint is beyond me. Stunning.

Josep is represented by CK Contemporary in San Francisco.

{via Booooooom}

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.

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!