art-work

illustration by katie c turner

lately I've been extremely aware of how little I've been making art. at first it felt perfectly natural. then it felt like a slump. now it just feels wrong and I hate it.

fast-forward to last night - at studio e I attended Beyond This Point with Danielle Krysa and Gabriel Stromberg: a dialogue on the creative process and defeating self-doubt. I have been a long-time fan of Danielle Krysa's blog The Jealous Curator and knew she was good people, but it wasn't until I met her and listened to her stories that I knew she wasn't just good people but my kind of people. she is exceedingly candid, open, HILARIOUS, smart, fun, and most importantly - extremely experienced working with many different types of artists. her stories were so inspiring I couldn't wait to get home and spend the next month working non-stop on artwork without sleeping or eating or anything. kidding aside, realistically, I plan on dusting off the cobwebs of my workspace this weekend.

Geronimo!

to say the very least, I am just a little bit enamored by the installations Jihan Zencirli and her company Geronimo Balloons has been coming up with.

via Oh Joy

patterns: the final frontier

I did it! a pattern a day for one whole month. finishing an entire sketchbook in one month is a really good AN AMAZING feeling. this was such a challenge at the same time so much fun. here is the last group of prompts for Pattern January.

Day 31: symmetry

Day 30: stipple

Day 29: diamond

Day 28: log cabin

Day 27: snowflake

Day 26: argyle

Day 25: put a bird on it

Day 24: supplies

Day 23: everyday

Day 22: letter

Day 21: cactus

Day 20: emoji

Day 19: groceries

patternjanuary week 3!

still at it, every day so far this month and I'm really enjoying the challenge.

Day 18: free

Day 17: pods

Day 16: layers

Day 15: mackerel

Day 14: dessert (camplife style)

Day 13: jelly

patterns for days

still keeping up with this month's prompts for Anika Starmer's Let's Make Patterns January.

Day 13: Jelly

Day 12: Mugs

Day 11: Geometric (for David)

Day 10: Time

Day 9: Monochrome

Day 8: Fast!

Day 7: Favorite

Day 6: Marks

Day 5: Collection

my jealous curator

The Jealous Curator is one of my favorite blogs ever - what an amazing idea (why didn't I think of it). for any type of creator, it's so true to see something and think "why didn't I think of that?!"
in my case this week, I've selected two artists.

the first I actually saw on Pinterest but was in fact posted via Jealous Curator: Shawn Huckins. his paintings are amazing. I've been collecting paint chip samples for decades, using them in collages or saving them because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them. I just love color families.

Shawn Huckins

secondly, these portraits from Erika Altosaar. such lovely, lovely lines.

hair portraits by Erika Altosaar via Wolf Eyebrows

sidewalk art

>>building some art making habits this week<<

goin' mobile

every year on our trip to the eastern Sierra Nevadas, I like to stop at a very small home called the Rock Pile in the very, very small (almost ghost) town of Keeler to buy minerals, wind chimes and mobiles. 

Rock Pile art

following our trip this year, I watched Pedro E Guerrero: A Photographer's Journey - a phenomenal documentary on one of my favorite photographers (more on Pedro another time) that used his lens to paint portraits of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright, Louise Nevelson and Alexander Calder - the creator of the mobile.

Alexander Calder stabiles in Sache, France, 1976, photographed by Pedro E Guerrero.
Credit: Pedro E Guerrero Archives via Thirteen Pressroom

is it the kinetic effect? the speed of the movement? maybe the memory of one dangling over our cribs as a child? I don't know but I truly love it. if you ever have the chance to see a Calder exhibit, make it a priority.

arrow mobile DIY

on the more obtainable side, I highly recommend this mobile DIY via Smile and Wave. I made one for my house and it really is perfect: simple yet very eye-catching. I used a different color, a red stain, to match my house. the movement is great, and withstands windstorms (several tests performed).

currently:

rockhounding & shootin' pics outside an old mine near Darwin, Calif.

trying to hold on tight to the memories (and the temperature) from Jake's and my trip to Death Valley. that was only a mere three weeks ago but it's starting to feel like a lifetime already.

building collages from vacation bits

wide-eyed over HQ Architects' interactive flower blooms in Jerusalem via This is Colossal 

drinking more tea than coffee (gasp!) 

listening to Leon Bridges

wanting a dramatic warm coat like these

also wanting to spend too much money on this TOASTER

making Whole30 pork carnitas for din-din