“Dimensional drawings”… that’s how Colorado based artist/assoc. drawing professor Ajean Ryan refers to these pieces from her very extensive portfolio. There is something so fun, experimental, child-like about them. Bits and pieces from everyday life assembled into delicate, 3D “drawings”… drawings that have me convinced to drop everything and run to my studio so I can start gluing something to something else!

Has it started snowing where you are? We got the first sugar dusting so I’m already in desperate need of some dappled sunlight shining through flowers… thank goodness for these gorgeous ink and acrylic abstracts by Florida based artist Carlos Ramirez. Sigh. So lovely. Speaking of lovely, I found this video of Carlos painting in his sun-filled studio. Captivating, and strangely relaxing, to watch him transform a blank canvas, layer by layer, into these nature-inspired beauties {I might also be jealous that he’s wearing flip flops}… take a look:

Thoughtful, intelligent, and full of great advice. Today I’m talking to Baltimore based artist, educator, and part-time MFA student Sidney Pink. I have loved his weird and whimsical work for years, and, I just recently found out about some really interesting research he’s been doing around “arts entrepreneurship” – standardizing and adding business curriculum to the world of art academia. Clearly I had to ask him about that… and while I had him on the line, might as well ask about the strange characters that make an appearance in most of his drawings. You can listen right up there under that Japanese schoolgirl , or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, a few of my favorite “Sidney Pink” pieces: some schoolgirls, a business man, and an astronaut… obviously.

Thank goodness for that lightbulb moment when Sidney realized that he loved white space and decided to roll with it! Gorgeous, weird, narrative… perfect combo. Oh, and among other odd bits {like an octopus}, here are the laser guns I mentioned:

… and one of my most favorite pieces from Sidney’s portfolio, two girls and a tiger mask:

Oh, and a girl in a cow mask with laser gun shooting astronaut, of course. I loved his reason for the masks {not giving it away – you have to listen!}. And along those lines, I also really loved his advice for embracing the things around you, objects and experiences that are in your day-to-day life, and incorporating them into your work. Animal masks, for example.

In the speed round I asked one question I knew the answer to. The origin, or inspiration, for his name… current name is more accurate, I suppose. Here’s where it all started:

Reptilicus by Sid Pink. Such a good story… again, you have to listen! Ah, good old speed round comes through again. Thanks so much to Sidney for all of his great advice and wonderful perspective on life as an artist; to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode; and as always, to you for listening. I’ve already got the next episode ready to go … it will be up next weekend!

Other links from our discussion:

AKIMBO Dance & Movement Art Festival, Baltimore 

The Critical Response Process by Liz Lermon

Society for Arts Entrepreneurship Education

Polka-dots, stripes, and a bunch of moody girls… yep, I love them all! These oil painting portraits are the work of Russian-Dutch, now New Jersey based, painter Larissa Eremeeva. So simple, yet so rich at the same time. Sigh. Gorgeous.

{via Saatchi Art}

The softness of fabric and thread, face to face with the harsh devastation of natural disasters. This is the work of American artist Christina T. Carrozza, and these are her words about this series:

“The disaster quilt series … was born from my experience of living through hurricane Sandy, in my new home in Staten Island … I began exploring the theme of natural disasters, using aerial photography as my primary resource. I am currently working on several pieces in this series depicting the earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Haiti, as well as hurricane Katrina. On the surface the quilts appeal to the senses with abstract beauty but when examined more closely, the viewer is made to recognize these devastating events as well as question the way in which they have been represented. I hope the viewer will experience a quiet realization as they peel back layers of signification and process.”

So good. And because I have always had a soft spot for artists who use traditional “craft” techniques to create fine art, I also have to include this bit from her artist statement: “I intend to break boundaries between fine art and craft by using embroidery, quilting and painting as an expression of the contemporary experience of women. I am exploring my relationship to craft, gender, style and authenticity.” Love.

Oh. My. I love this so much. The work of Brooklyn based artist Lourdes Sanchez {who I just wrote about a few weeks ago}, hand-in-hand with the best-selling book, “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert. This is the creative brainchild of art director Helen Yentus {fyi – she has designed so many beautiful books, including the now very famous cover for Eat, Pray, Love}. For this project Helen dug through Lourdes’ extensive painting archives and chose 250 pieces. She then made 250 totally unique covers for “Big Magic”. Sigh. Magical, indeed. Lourdes emailed to tell me about this fantastic collaboration, but instead of blowing her own horn, she wrote this:

“I just want to really stress that it was Helen Yentus’ vision – then rolling up her sleeves and figuring out how to make it happen – that brought this to life. My artwork being on the covers was one section of a much larger circle, {it was all work that I had done over the years, that Helen dug up from my archives} and I feel the star of  this particular story is Helen. But, it’s also interesting to me that the work of three people: a writer, an art director, and a painter – who have all been honing their craft for awhile – came together for a moment in time.“

Wonderful. On every level. These special one-of-a-kind pieces can be found here.

Bachelor of Fine Arts – The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Bachelor of Science – Eastern Michigan University; Master of Arts – The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Dept. of Art as Applied to Medicine; Doctor of Philosophy – Wayne State University, School of Medicine, Dept. of Anatomy & Cell Biology. Yep. All of that is hanging on the wall of Michigan based artist Megan Foldenauer. She draws all sorts of things {portraits, bio-medical illustrations, songs that she makes into quizzes}, but it was her very simple and very sweet series, titled “Morsels” that got me. Nostalgic, delicious, and beautifully drawn. Thank you Dr.Foldenauer… now I want coke bottle gummies, with a side of chocolate peanut butter cups, and one little candy-cane to help kick off the holiday season! Yum.

Now these are some serious landscapes that I would happily get lost in. These mixed media pieces, that celebrate every season so beautifully, are the work of American artist Sophia Heymans. I love them, and here’s why… first of all, they’re BIG {most are at least 5 or 6 feet if not bigger}; secondly these landscapes truly incorporate the landscape. Her materials list reads as follows: acrylic, moss, paper mâché, string, twine, prairie grass seeds, dried dill, oil on canvas. What? Amazing! And finally, perhaps the biggest feat of all… those crisp, snowy scenes are actually making me not dread the Canadian winter ahead.

ps. “Prairie Burn” is my favorite… love ♥

I have loved the work of American artist Jessica Brilli for years. I’ve written about her a few times, and I’m sure there are many more posts to come. She has a love of all things vintage, as do I. The other thing we have in common… curating. Yep, we’re going to talk about a very exciting show {that kinda makes me want to cry} which will open later this month, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Ok, you can listen right up there under that lovely couple, or you can subscribe on iTunes. First up, a few pieces from her “Static” series, the work I posted about way back in 2012:

So good. But alas, she “got tired of painting typewriters”, and so she turned her attention to vintage, suburban landscapes. I follow her on Facebook, and she often posts work in progress. I find it fascinating to watch her work develop that way. Here is one of my favorite progressions:

She is also concerned with the topic of health care and care for the elderly, this is an acute issue for many families and professional medical care for elderly relatives is an important social issue.

Ah! A peek behind the painted curtain. That piece is one of the images that was inspired by the set of slides she bought at a garage sale {such a cool story!}. Here are a few more from that “Slide Show” series:

… and those are the slides! I also asked for a tiny peek at her studio, and look, a vintage radio… surprise, surprise! Of course, I had to ask her about her motel paintings. The image below is one of my favorite pieces of hers. It whisks me right back to family road trips:

Love. Speaking of love… “Jealously Curated | East Coast Edition”. What!? Yes, Jess and a bunch of other artists have put this beautiful show together, that opens November 23rd in Cambridge MA. The theme… everyone in the show has been written about on my site! How crazy amazing is that? And yes, I got a little teary-eyed when they emailed to ask me if I’d be ok with it. Ok with it? Um, YES. Here is a peek at the fantastic artists whose work will be included:

Gah! So, so good! I wish I could go to the par-tay {Jess said the opening party was in November, but it’s actually on December 3rd}. If you can go, please do… and then send me photos! Alright, that’s that. There was a quick mention of a Big Salad with the Seinfeld crew in the speed round, and then we said goodbye. Thanks so much to Jessica, for EVERYTHING, and thank you so much to you for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

{Links to artists above: Anna Jensen / Jenny Brown / Airco Caravan / Erin Fitzpatrick / Jeremy Miranda / Leah Giberson / Taliah Lempert / Zin Helena Song / Jessica Brilli}

Can you imagine a place like this? Well you don’t have to, because it’s real:

Every three years, three hundred square miles of land in northwestern Japan are transformed into the most ambitious and largest-scale art installation in the world: the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field. One hundred sixty of the world’s best-known landscape artists, sculptors, and architects create artworks in two hundred villages that dot the mountains and terraced rice fields of the Japanese countryside, with the intent of rediscovering relationships between nature, art, and humanity, forging collaborations between global artists and local communities, and connecting people to each other and the land.

Half a million people make the annual pilgrimage to witness this unique art project. Art Place Japan offers an exhaustive full-color catalog of the eight hundred artworks created during the past fifteen years. For those lucky enough to visit, this book, the first in English on the subject, also offers detailed information on how to visit the often-remote sites, with travel information and a newly commissioned map that locates the projects throughout the Niigata Prefecture.

So there you have it! And if you can’t get yourself there, this lovely new book – Art Place Japan: The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale and the Vision to Reconnect Art and Nature by Fram Kitagawa – can help you at least pretend!

{1. Harumi Yukutake (Japan), Restructure, 2006-ongoing; Image credit: Masanori Ikeda  / 2. Kyota Takahashi (Japan), Gift for Frozen Village, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 ; Image credit: Osamu Nakamura / 3. Antje Gummels (Germany/Japan),
 Traveling Inside, 2009
; Image credit: Isamu Murai   / 4. Chiyoko Todaka (Japan),
 Yamanaka Zutsumi Spiral Works, 2006; Image credit: Hisao Ogose}

Available at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / PAPress / IndieBound