a thousand thank yous and one inparticular...give away!

i'm lookin out for my shop's 1,000th heart...via Desire To Inspire

...because i want to say thank you to you individually and as a gesture to all who have added their hearts to my little shop. so i will be giving a little treat to the 1,000th person who hearts, err favorites, my shop. just a little something to say, "thanks mang!" i'm at 994 at this very moment so just 6 more...

is it you? let me know!
comment, convo, holla back and i will send you a sweet treat...

out and about...

... my embroidery work in the home of Amy, of the etsy shops Project 8256 and ameliamae. Amy and i worked together on a custom order for her friends and through the process I learned about Amy's work and made a new friend. I love seeing where the things I make end up and this scene is so nice- the light, the wooden drawer repurposed as shelf (great idea!) and the family photo.

via project8256

Amy's shop project8256 has a very inspiring goal. She is helping her sister and brother-in-law adopt 2! children from Ethiopia. All profits made from her shop go towards this cause and to AHOPE, which is an orphanage in Ethiopia caring for HIV positive children. Her story was featured in the Storque, the etsy blog, and you can read it here.

via project8256 - "Happy Birthday Rhinoceros" How could i resist posting this one...

As an update Amy told me that her sister is officially on the waiting list! Since she is not particular about the children's ages or sex, this helped them speed up the process. How generous and caring. I wish them the best of luck! Keep me updated too Amy! I'd love to hear how things are going...

You can also check out Amy's sisters shop, The Gathered Nest, where again, all profits go towards the adoption of two children.

p.s. i did a post on the NewNew Blog an interview Jen Pepper of PepperSprouts....

i miss everything...

...i work in chelsea and never go to the shows, because i just want to go home after work and don't want to go there on my days off either. its a shame because i miss things like Peter Callesen's first solo show in the U.S, Folded Thoughts at the Perry Rubenstein Gallery. (the title is unfortunate, but who am i to say such things?) while he does performance, installation and drawings he is best know for his papercuts. they are in large and small scale, with painful attention to detail.

White Diary, 2008

when i think of papercut work i think flat, silhouettes and his work jumps off the paper into three dimensions. i can't even imagine the kind of skill and patience that goes into making these kinds of works, but i like that his process shows...

Impenetrable Castel (detail), 2005

this is some of what i missed from his show. would have loved to have seen it...

Fall, 2008

Fall (detail), 2008

vampire love on valentines...

i've professed my love for Let the Right One In before and i guess it did not fall on deaf ears. this is Oskar and Eli from the movie...

and this is Oskar and Eli, the handmade dolls by Little Red Fox, sitting in my bedroom, a sweet Valentine from my boyfriend...such a great idea! i can't even believe that he thought of this perfect gift. its handmade, crazy thoughtful and so special to me. i love all the details. Eli's curly hair and huge eyes. the pink shirt from the movie and the blood on her lips, like the main movie still.

Oskar's bandaid and sad face kill me, as well as his little removable shoes. the movie and the book are worlds apart. the movie is poetic and haunting and turns the story in a softer direction, choosing to leave out, but hint at, lots of dark happenings. its one of my favorite films and definitely the best i saw this past year. the book gave me nightmares and i get creeped out thinking of a monster that never appeared in the movie. its the friendship between Oskar and Eli that holds me, that keeps me locked onto these characters... so if you haven't yet you should read the book and see the movie. i think you'll like it... many thanks to little red fox and my main man.

i wish i was a carpenter...

...because i would like to make this in my home.

found via dezeen

as much as i love collecting, i like storing them away so that i can come back to them. pull them out of a old cigar box or a drawer and go through them. the places that we store things and how we save our most beloved possessions interests me. the bell jar, the drawer, the vitrine. these separate the objects from the ordinary, the utilitarian and elevate them.

i like the work of Christian Boltanski and i was lucky enough to have seen his work in person at archive fever. this piece, Vitrine of Reference, 1971 is a great example of how ordinary objects change- their importance, use, and aesthetic qualities- in the context of how we keep them. theres a detachment and melancholy in their new beauty as objects in a collection.

i keep my stones in glass jars; picture in boxes and albums; keys, bugs, hair and sea glass in drawers. i like finding these things and finding ways to store them...what do you collect? how do you keep them?

falling....

found via Pigeon English (left to right: Marc Chagall, Li Wei,
Kerry Skarbakka, Denis Darzacq, Sam Taylor Wood, Stanley Forman)

the tree show...

...i saw mark ryden's book The Tree Show last night. his books are beautiful objects and i can only imagine what the paintings look like in person, especially considering the hand-carved intricate frames. they are works of art unto themselves...

so interesting to see the drawings that lead up to the paintings. i find the
drawings, with their collected images, as interesting, if not more so than the final
images. see the drawing also helped me see the details i missed in the painting,
like the shapes in the trees.

Tree of Life- Drawing, 2006

Tree of Mystery - Drawing, 2006

The Apology, 2006

Walnut Spirit, 2006

Redwood Spirit 2, 2006

for love of daguerreotypes...

i first came to art making through photography. its a great source of inspiration for me. i found these images on flickr, which has is an endless collection of amazing images. daguerreotype images are is so compelling to me because of their age, formality and because they are objects meant to be held. most came in leather cases with velvet lining, so you'd open this object and see an image of a loved one. sometimes there was text or hair included too, so there was this full sensory experience beyond just looking. it was about remembrance and longing.

I like the details in these images in the props, clothing, hair styles and gesture.

Daguerreotype Portrait, originally uploaded by jonnyphoto.

dag3, originally uploaded by J.P. banjos.

this little girl is so amazing. look at her gloves and the way she stares back at you.

Three Brothers - Daguerreotype, originally uploaded by photo_history.

that child in the center is actually a little boy, according to the person

who posted it on flickr. it's the part of the hair that lets you know its a boy.

Maria Weston Chapman, originally uploaded by Boston Public Library.

Daguerreotype by Anson (Great Grandmother Rook), originally uploaded by berndfr.

if you've ever seen daguerreotypes lit well they almost appear three dimensional and ghostly. i saw an exhibition at the george eastman house called, Young America, which was beautifully lit.

all of these images were goinked from the daguerrotype pool on flickr. you can find them here

finally sharing...

...my pieces from Forget Me Not.

collection of you

book of hours

the opening was great- so nice to see so many people out on a freezing night to see the show! and i was really amazed by all the great work. there were so many people it was hard to photograph, but here are some of the ones i really enjoyed.... bear hug, emily katz

Reflect, Home and Spring by Shannon Rankin
these pierced paper and collage works stood out. really beautiful

these had to be my favorites. Paw prints WRRRRRR....
by Nicole Licht

samski*art in the foreground

lovely work by Diem Chau

Sneak peek...

...of my contributions to Forget Me Not, which I dropped off yesterday at Gallery Hanahou...i want to wait till the show opens to show the full pieces. it's a small space on Broadway, but the staff and all the participants seem so excited about this show. if you are in ny are you going to come to the opening this friday on the 6th....!? heres a map so theres no excuses. hope to see you there!

Sneak peek..., originally uploaded by miniature.rhino.

a sweets apothecary...

always on the hunt for sweet treats and interesting places in the city we visited Lula's Sweet Apothecary this weekend. They are set up like an old time apothecary- lots of bottles, spoons in an disinfectant jar and toppings stored in rows of giant glass jars and in a vintage set of drawers. right outta the past. the ice creams are hand made, vegan and all natural. the flavors are crazy good and unique too, like chocolate peanut butter pretzel and cake batter. and whats even better is that the owners are so nice. Go visit them and have some great ice cream!

some other great things from this weekend....

+cat lady! hell yeah.
+the best use of old school school supplies. love this ruler box...
+mail art/ letter writing service, yes please...