Tiny paper houses, clearly made with love, by Barcelona based artist Mar Cerdà. She illustrates children’s books for several publishing houses, but it’s her paper dioramas that grabbed me… painted tiles, little framed artworks, and windows lit from behind! Oh, and those final three are housed inside tuna cans from Portugal. So good.

Ahhh, spring. Well, kinda. Yes it’s only February but that means the Spring 2016 Collection at The Land of Nod is out… which means that the “Jealous Curator Spring Collection” that I curated for Nod is out! I’m not very good at keeping secrets so I’m always happy when I can finally share this stuff! From collages to sculptures to paintings… I love this group of work, oh, so much. I think my favorite part of working on these collections is collaborating with contemporary artists that I love, and seeing what they decide to make for kids! That being said, my goal with this project is always to put together a group of work that you could totally hang in a nursery, but that you’d also love to have in the living room … because eventually your sweet babies will get older and want to hang posters of Rob Lowe on their wall {or was that just me?}

Artists: Laura Berger / Xochi Solis / Lola Donoghue / Lucy Engleman / Casey Roberts / Laura Johnston / Jenny Lumelsky / Katy Smail / Clare Celeste Borsch

Cool collages… except that they’re oil paintings. What?! Yes. This is the fantastic work of American artist Jennifer Nehrbass. It’s safe to say that I am, in fact, smitten.

Gasp! Perfect plants, perfectly adorned, and perfectly photographed on perfect fields of color. This is the simple yet stunning combination behind this series, titled “Wonderplants”, by Berlin based artist Sarah Illenberger. She describes what she does as “working at the intersection of art, graphic design, and photography.”  Yep.

{via Design Crush}

I have looooved the work of Indianapolis based artist Casey Roberts for years, so I’m a little embarrassed to say that it wasn’t until preparing for this interview that I realized these are cyanotypes, not paintings. Who knew? Well, not me. Casey met me in a quiet library in Indianapolis, with a glass of gin & tonic in hand to calm his nerves. I absolutely loved this chat… he is so talented, and an unbelievably nice guy. You can listen right under that stunning stump, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, some of Casey’s most recent work. They’re absolutely beautiful – like an ethereal exhale:

Sigh. So, so beautiful. Cyanotypes might just be the absolute perfect way to create nighttime scenes… for example:

Gasp! That glowing moth! Man, he’s good. Speaking of good, here’s Casey’s lovely piece that I included in my latest collection for The Land of Nod. So sweet!

Aww! And now, my favorite pieces in Casey’s extensive and beautiful portfolio. His carved trees:

Aren’t those amazing? And he does commissions with your special initials and dates… just sayin’. Also, I want one. And finally, I have to show this photo of Casey and his beard. Does his look not match his wild wilderness work perfectly?

Yeah, he can never shave that beard. It just works. And that’s that. No need for nerves, but clearly a glass of gin & tonic never hurts… unless of course someone makes you laugh and you have a small coughing fit. But other than that. Huge thanks to Casey for doing this with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode {and giving away a $50 gift card!}, and a big thank you to all of you for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

Other links: Parts Gallery, Toronto / Walker Contemporary, Vermont / In Search Of TV show

ps. casey’s cat heads…

Not only do I have a thing for botanical subject matter, I also have a major place in my artsy heart for negative space… I’m sure you can imagine my pure delight when I came across the work {sumi color, watercolor, acrylic ink on paper} of Seattle based artist Claire Cowie. Two words: Stun. Ning.

My latest thrill? Finding brand new work from Vancouver based artist Ryan Heshka! The last time I wrote about him, all of his originals were sold out, for obvious reasons. Well, I just happened to be scrolling past his site and found these new pieces! Love, love, love all of them so much… those bee ladies? Killing me.

{new originals, and prints, available on his site}

Whoa. I have written about New York based artist Matthew Craven a few times before {here and here}, but when I saw this recent show, titled MONUMENTS, well it was time to write again! His work is absolutely stunning in person… a gorgeous combination of collage and detailed drawing. If you happen to be in Houston, this show will be up at David Shelton Gallery until February 6th.

Acrylic, Enamel, Primed Canvas… and a words that “read as provocations, ambiguous slogans, and as disillusioned statements”.  This is the work of Portland based artist Calvin Ross Carl… and I want to touch one. I won’t. But I want to.

As we speak, I’m on my way to the beaches of Maui. I’m hoping to end up like the girls in that final piece… the rest of those ladies look a little, well, tied up. I’ve written about the simple, graphic, smart paintings of LA based artist Geoff Mcfetridge before, but these pieces from his series Meditallucination, were calling my name.

{via Little Paper Planes}