Posted by Manda on Jan 26, 2010 in
Featured Artists It’s no secret that we at LMC love knits. Knit clothes, the art of knitting – knitted beards?!
When I saw WifeOfBrian’s Shop featured on the front of Etsy today, my curiosity was sparked – instead of the usual boring hats, socks, and scarves, she’s turned her love of knitting into something slightly more amusing – beards, mustaches, and other funny disguises!
She describes her work on her website as a “beardy wonderland,” and that it is! All of her designs are clever and very beautifully crafted, usually in the form of fuzzy yarn facial hair to keep you warm or silly gloves to make a statement and sometimes scare your friends. She keeps up a blog with all of her goings-on, including crafts shows and fairs, so you might just get to see her beautiful beards in person!
We highly recommend taking a look at her stuff – it’s a must see for anyone with a sense of humor – or a desire for fuzzy facial hair. :)
Tags: crafts, england, etsy finds, knit, yarn
Posted by Leah on Jan 1, 2010 in
Featured Artists Tea towels and aprons. Seems like something you wouldn’t really consider art, right? Well not the way these guys do it. Studiopatró take domestic items and give them a life of their own beyond the kitchen. This San Francisco based company screenprints designs with a modern aesthetic and basic catalog of imagery. The ideas began as a collage of typography, leaves, maps, and architecture and blossomed into a simple blend of geometric patterns and organic shapes. Their color palette is a perfect match with neutrals on top of crisp white.
Towels are a highly useful and sustainable item which can take on many uses. Studiopatró prints quality images on high quality textiles that can be used, washed, and used again. Art takes on a new green meaning with these useful pieces!
On a side note, they have a kickass site with some kickass photography.
Posted by Leah on Dec 24, 2009 in
Featured Artists It’s that time of year when snowflakes and candy canes adorn every shop window and strings of lights illuminate every house. Yes, it’s the Christmas season again! While most people are thinking about getting their gift shopping done and cooking up the perfect ham, I’m thinking of all the wonderful winter crafts awaiting me in my very own home.
One such craft that caught my eye was both cute and made with recyclable materials. The mittens can be made with and old sweater and a simple stitch. An easy way to find a new use for an old item and to keep your fingers warm.
And while we’re staying green, I found another craft which shows how to make a christmas tree from an old book. This Paperback Christmas Tree requires few materials, but mostly a bit of time. If you don’t want to cut up one of your own books, try finding a used book store or Goodwill store in your area. At my favorite used book store I’ve found books that were being given away for free and were perfect for this sort of craft. When it’s not Christmas time, you can fold books into a variety of interesting shapes. Hardback books are the best for these kind of projects because the covers can serve as backing once all the pages are folded.
Posted by Leah on Dec 11, 2009 in
Featured Artists While searching for artistic inspiration, as I often do, I stumbled upon this fascinating artist. Jen Bervin is a book artist with a style that I very much appreciate. Her work incorporates two things that I dearly love (and use often in my own work), paper and fibers.
In these pictures, Jen took an existing book and made it her own with thousands of yards of thread. She hides some words, while exposing others to give the book a new meaning. Her voice is certainly unique in an art world filled with paintings and sculptures. Literature and fiber work are so often overlooked by Fine Art perspectives, but Jen’s work brings it back into the spotlight for a second look and a second chance.
Some of her other works follow this similar process of giving old text new meaning. She has even published a book, entitled The Niagara Book that includes famous works reinterpreted in her own style. But she is certainly not a one-trick pony and exhibits many other techniques and styles. She produces photography, multimedia work, and drawings, among other things.
So, is she destroying famous literature or giving it a new and unique voice? You be the judge.
Tags: books, fibers, paper
Posted by Leah on Dec 8, 2009 in
Featured Artists I recently was accepted to East Carolina University’s Textile Art program. As my first article here, I want to celebrate this overlooked medium. It’s more than just your grandma’s quilts. In fact, a lot more. There are a lot of processes and a lot of chemicals and dyes and techniques that go into making textile art. I haven’t learned that many in my short time at ECU, but I’ve had a taste and I’m sure hungry for more.
My art deals with the memory of both people and the objects which recall our memories. So, when I was working on my latest piece entitled Forgotten Memories, I found this artist which was a great inspiration. Rayna Gillman works mostly with batik and deconstructive screen printing. Like me, she also enjoys working in a spontaneous fashion which leads to quite lovely “happy accidents”. She also has a series that is based on memories and it is, of course, my favorite of her work.
Have you ever tried any textile art? Even just tie-dying? Maybe you should.
Posted by mandarific on Dec 7, 2009 in
Featured Artists Sorry for the lengthy absence! Traveling around Thanksgiving and making a small shift to being home “full time” have left things in a bit of disarray -the first of the month (December in particular!) is also very busy over at The Slytherin Dorms so I’ve been very busy over there! Today’s artist, however, clearly has way more dedication than myself – this artist from Asheville, North Carolina has decided to make one painting every day and post them on a blog for all of us to see – as well as in a shop for sale!
The paintings are usually simple, but just as often still eye catching – and it’s the motive that caught my eye: creating art daily takes dedication! It’s nice to also see such a traditional method of creativity popping up – though the occasional photograph shows up in the daily line up, it’s a breath of fresh air to see oil painted landscapes amongst today’s digital age. Speaking of Landscapes, especially – the forest, field, and lake scenes are so detailed at times that you forget the piece was only created in a day.
If you’re interested in checking out these instant masterpieces, you can sneak a peek at the One a Day Blog, or pick up one of your own at his Etsy Shop along with some other eye candy for your browsing pleasure, including some beaded jewelry. Well worth checking out!
Tags: painting, scenic
Posted by mandarific on Nov 26, 2009 in
Featured Artists Happy Thanksgiving to our American followers! In honor of Turkey Day, we present to you – the Johnson Family Pineappleurky, as presented by YA author Maureen Johnson via Twitter. Does your family have any tacky decorations, silly traditions, or handmade turkeys on display? Share them with us – and be sure to share some delicious eats with the rest of your family!
Posted by mandarific on Nov 25, 2009 in
Featured Artists Evan Penny’s hyper-realistic sculptures bring an eerie addition to modern silicon work – at first glance the photos of his work appear to be real people, often in a naked state, but then you can tell it’s something more – these works are often as tall as or taller than the artist himself and a real sight to see.
Many typically think of sculpture and picture welded steel rods or carefully chiseled marble, but not Penny’s work. Instead he brings the human image in it’s rawest form to larger-than-life design that makes you think twice. And as if these weren’t mind blowing enough, he also has a series of “warped” pieces that mimic the result of a photoshopped image – only six feet tall and three dimensionally.
One could stare at his portfolio for hours – and why wouldn’t you want to? The impeccable detail makes it seem as if you’re browsing a live photo gallery of real persons. Looking to see more? Check out his website at http://www.evanpenny.com for a truly unique sculptural experience.
Tags: portraits, sculpture
Posted by mandarific on Nov 24, 2009 in
Featured Artists While some artists disagree with the idea of art having a specific function, I find that sometimes the function is a part of the art itself. The same holds true for Laura Mason, who’s daintily embroidered designs usually adorn tissue holders, purses, and other useful things she sells in her etsy shop. Her latest project, however, she’s been sharing with us step-by-step on her blog: a hand embroidered clock with a unique image for different hours. Beyond just stitching the times, this graduate of the Royal School of Needlework in the UK is venturing on to put together the clockwork and set it to ticking.
She’s finished the center circle and two of the hourly markings now and is moving on to the rest. If you’re interested in keeping up with this project, be sure to check out Laura’s Blog at LAMdesigns. We’ll be keeping up with her as well, and can’t wait to show off the finished product.
Do you have a project in progress? What are you currently working on? Don’t forget to use the “Contact” page to send us your current works!
Tags: clocks, embroidery, housewares, in progress, needlework
Posted by mandarific on Nov 21, 2009 in
Featured Artists In a world where the “twittersphere” has quickly grown to be one of the simplest communication tools of the net, it’s also emerged as a great marketing device – and a great place to get free stuff! So it comes as no surprise when a friend of mine “retweeted” a message by @feltmeupdesigns to win a felt robin I was instantly enticed – with only one tweet-per-person-per-hour, Melanie’s giveaway had me over at her site in minutes, and the things I found!
Besides the giveaway robin (shown above), FeltMeUp has an assortment of take-home “tweets” – fuzzy felted birds, some designed from real birds and others more whimsical, all of them staring at you in such a loveable way that you can’t help but want to perch them nearby for a small bit of cheer.
If you’d like to see more of her birds, check out Melanie’s Blog – FeltMeUp Designs. Be sure to check out her Twitter Competition while you’re there!
Are you a crafter or artist looking to sell your wares on Etsy? As an added bonus, check out Feltmeup’s guide to conquering Etsy – it’s a good read for those looking to boost your sales in the online marketplace.
Oh, and one last bit – if you’re also on twitter, be sure to follow our new account – @LiveMakeCreate, where we’ll give you updates as the site updates, and the occasional bonus tidbit as well! :)
Tags: birds, felt, felting, giveaways, twitter, wool
