GLASS. These are GLASS. And spray paint. And butterflies and guns. How?

“These original paintings are painted directly on the reverse side of the glass using hand cut stencils and spray paints.
Framed in a deep box, the [subjects] seem to be floating in the air.”

Yes, yes they do. Oh my goodness, I absolutely love these paintings on cut glass by a UK based artist that goes by the name of Vee Bee. That’s all I know. Well, I also know that I really, really want that polka-dot butterfly. And that blue china pattern covered gun. Love.

{via Saatchi Art}

Portraits and ceramics in one… I might be in love. This is the work of UK based artist Anna Collette Hunt, from a series titled Newstead Odditites. Here is the behind-the-curtain statement about this work:

“The Newstead Oddities is a collection that features marble statues as ‘characters’, who are found on research adventures to museums and galleries. Anna’s first characters came from Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire. She often visits Natural Trust Houses and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London especially to meet new characters and find fresh faces. It might be particularly eccentric hair, or a mysterious sparkle in their eye that capture Anna’s attention and imagination. The artist likes to playfully assign heads to different bodies. Marie Antoinette’s clothing and body can often be spotted with a different head. What’s odder still is that sometimes the heads have a striking resemblance to the artists’ face- Anna likes to see if anyone will notice.”

Hilarious! There’s a photo of Anna on her contact page… see if you recognize her on any of these pieces!

Oh, Canada. I love this colorful ode to Canadiana {magical beards included}. This is the work of Canadian artist Jay Dart. That hot pink log in the first drawing instantly made me think of “The Log Driver’s Waltz” … ah, memories. Yep, between Jay’s whimsical drawings and that classic tune, every Canadian should be feeling quite nostalgic! Ok, now that I’ve got you in the right frame of mind…

GO VOTE. See you at the polls, Canada.

Obsessive consumption, rule-based projects, impostor syndrome, telling our inner a**hole where to go, and “making piles of crap” because that’s the only way you get better. Oh. This woman. So smart, so funny, so talented. I’m talking to Portland based illustrator/educator Kate Bingaman-Burt … she always has a ton of cool things on the go, so I am slightly stunned that I was able to get her for the podcast. She tucked herself away in a quiet corner of her office at school, and we talked and talked and talked {we went a little longer than normal!}. Maybe it’s because she’s a teacher, but wow, she had so much great advice to share. Listen right up there under the swirly IKEA cone, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them. First up, one of Kate’s credit card statements… hand-drawn as self-imposed punishment:

Yep, she drew {and shared} all of her credit card statements until her debt was paid off. This is where her rule-based projects really took off. They of course led to her daily drawings… she drew everything she bought, every day, for YEARS. There are zillions of them, but here are just a few of my favorites:

Gah! So good… and what I might love even more is her hilarious commentary on each purchase! Clearly when obsessive behavior is involved, you have to organize your zillions of drawings somehow. Enter Kate’s monthly zine, “Obsessive Consumption” where she catalogued all of these hand-drawn purchases… which then became a big, beautiful book by the same title:

So. Good. Speaking of good, have you seen Handmade Nation? It’s a fantastic film by Faythe Levine. I love it so much, but until this podcast I had no idea that Kate did all of the illustrations for it! Who knew?

ps. If you haven’t seen this movie, you totally should. {Note to self: Invite Faythe Levine to be on the podcast}. And finally, in the speed round, I asked Kate about her favorite place to shop. I thought she might say IKEA or thrift shops, but nope… office supply stores! Apparently when Kate’s feeling creatively blocked, she wanders the label aisle to get unstuck {pun absolutely intended}. Here are a few of her purchases from the shelves that get her creative fires burning:

Post-its. Kate loves post-its, as I’m sure you can see from the number of pads she buys at one time. Ok, I’m off to set up some rule-based projects for myself so that I can make piles of crap, and you should too … because that’s how you get to the good stuff! Thanks so much to Kate for taking the time to do this with me, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and thanks to YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.

ps. I hate to ask, but if you like my podcast, could you rate it on iTunes? It helps spread the word! xo

Ooh la la! I love these paintings by Paris based artist/illustrator Lea Maupetit… and that first one would have come in really handy when I was trying to meet my book deadline this summer. I was tempted to buy it, but the original is SOLD {wahn wahn}. Maybe that vase of yellow flowers would make me feel better.

Rosebud lips, pink cheeks and the occasional mouse hat… ah, the lovely work of UK based artist Kristin Vestgard. I have loved her oil paintings for years, and I’m sure you can see why. Dreamy.

Ah, delicate, washy, floral perfection. This is the latest work from Brooklyn based painter Lourdes Sanchez. I wrote about her watercolor and ink pattern paintings a couple of years ago… in fact, there were a few new ones in that department too, so obviously I had to include them! Voila:

Love.

Wallpaper. Made from bugs. A lot of bugs. This is the beautifully buggy, ornately patterned work of Jennifer Angus. Crazy iridescents, bright electric colors, delicate wings… yes, she absolutely shows off these little wonders of nature, but she also wants this to be known about her work: “Part of my work is the rehabilitation of the image of insects — that insects are so vitally important. We need insects to pollinate flowers that, in turn, produce fruit. We need insects for decomposition… “ because without insects, we couldn’t exist. She uses her inventory of bugs {none of which are endangered btw}, over and over again in each of her installations. Creepy? Kinda. Mesmerizing? Definitely. If you want to see them up close and personal, the installation in this hot pink room will be opening on November 13, 2015 at the Renwick Gallery in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

{quote from Fast Company / images from designboom, photographed by rob blunt}

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada… you know what I’m thankful for? Insanely talented Canadian artists like paper-cutting genius Myriam Dion. These are newspapers. Newspapers! Newspapers cut into delicate, ornate, paper lace. Sigh. Amazing. Now I need some pumpkin pie. Happy turkey day to my fellow Canucks xo

ps. I wrote about her two years ago. Right here.

Yes, you’re seeing that correctly. It’s a bunny-deer. Today I’m talking to LA based ceramicist Debra Broz. Her work is so fun, and oh so very labor intensive. They’re like ceramic collages! All of these pieces are one of kind – two pieces truly merged into one… that’s right, no molds… just very precise cutting tools, a truckload of patience, and some major talent. I couldn’t wait to find out how she worked her “slow magic” to reimagine these little animals, and she was kind enough to tell me everything. Listen right up there under the bunny-deer, or subscribe on iTunes. As you’re listening, take a look at the things we talked about in the order that we talked about them. First up, the two-headed lamb that started it all {and a couple of my other favorites}:

Gah! So weird and amazing and bizarre and beautiful! I told her I was going to find a few critters at my local thrift shop so she could work her slow magic with them… this is what I found:

Um, yeah. I’m going to need to see that pig head on something… I’ll have to pack up a box and send him down! Ok, next up, the “Twin Persians” and the horses with hands {ps. she bought the hands in 2007 and the horses 2014… ah, a seven year wait but oh so worth it. They’re now joined in harmony!}

Weird! And wonderful. Here’s the bird/deer that she mentioned. I love this one. Oh, these colors!

I love it all! And before we wrap this up, here are a bunch of links to some other tidbits we talked about:

~ To buy her work, please visit her site, and if you’re brave enough to have her do a commission with your grandmother’s ceramics you can contact her via her site too!

~ If you’re in California before December 27, her work is in a show, titled RE-MADE, at the American Museum of Ceramic Art.

~ Speed-round gem, her favorite movie from her teen years… Reality Bites (classic!)

Thanks so much to Debra for giving us a peek behind the curtain, thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and thanks to YOU for listening! There will be more art for your ear next weekend.