* Etsy Edition * Artifact Bingo *

I'm back (hopefully) ... and to start things off again thought I'd share a new Etsy favorite, the shop of Artifact Bingo. I'm especially loving the Out of Context series, including the 'Alice. Getting Up.' image above, further described by the artist:

From the shoes’ point of view:
When you get up and move around, you have to be careful where you tread. If you are not watchful, you could ruin something fragile and new.

From the seedlings point of view:
All the work expended in getting up and breaking through can be cut short by forces beyond your control.

Don't we all know a little something about being careful where we tread, and those forces beyond our control?

Another piece, 'Alice. Nothing Suits.,' also adding new meaning to another page out of Alice in Wonderland.


And 'Crusoe. Strongest Building.' from Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe.”


Here's to a new week of getting up, even though nothing suits, and still overturning the strongest of buildings. ☺

[images © Artifact Bingo]

* Etsy Edition * Elle Moss Photography *

I am so behind! I was looking back at my last Etsy Edition post and see it was almost three months ago (!). It was then I shared my love for the beautiful paper works offered in the PaperSchmaper Etsy shop of the super-talented Krissy, of whom I've become a pretty big fan, both personally and professionally.


In trying to get caught up with, well, just about everything I've regretfully neglected over the last three weeks or so, I logged on to Flickr tonight to check out new work from my list of contacts, Elle Moss included. Self-portraits are her well-honed specialty, and each one ends up capturing not only her very lovely likeness, but the stories silently spoken from within each frame.


Her Flickr portfolio is expansive, with many of the images also offered in her Etsy shop. While her latest works are particularly fetching, I think this one below, Family Portrait, is absolutely one of my favorites.


Not only for the content and composition, but also because, as Elle explains in response to comments, the beautiful yellow dress she's wearing, so long it drapes the floor, was a $2 Salvation Army find. Two dollars! It has that classic vintage feel, and looks just beautiful on her.

I have never, ever, had any luck finding garments at The Salvation Army, or any other thrift store. It's not that I haven't tried because I have a time or two (usually when Alysha will spontaneously say, "Let's go thrifting," although we haven't done it in years), but I've never found anything I really love, or if I do like something, that fits me properly. I also like to take a concentrated approach to shopping for clothes, taking no prisoners and getting in and out of the store in the least amount of time as possible. I think thrifting requires much more patience than that, and willingness to search through racks and racks for that one perfect piece just waiting to be found. Or maybe you can just walk into the store and there it is, calling your name, but that's never been my luck.

Knowing a little bit of the history behind the dress makes the piece that much more intriguing, as if kismet played some part in it finding its way to Elle, to be worn so gracefully and captured so beautifully. I love it!

Check out her Flickr photostream, or her Etsy store, and prepare to be wowed . . . Thanks, Elle!

[images © Elle Moss]

* Etsy Edition * PaperSchmaper *

I know I say “I love . . .” a lot, but isn’t it good for the soul to express love at least once a day? Of course it’s not the same when you’re referring to inanimate objects, but I kind of think art and beauty each have a pulse and heartbeat all their own.

And so here I go again, saying “I love" about the work of Graphic Designer Krissy Erkmann, who just recently opened her PaperSchmaper Etsy store. I have a real weakness for fine paper products (there are still those sentiments for which an e-mail just isn't sufficient), and Krissy's fabulous work definitely meets the criteria. I was immediately drawn to her Glee note cards (there's just something about a girl in a petticoat; especially when she's been caught in the middle of a huge leap!) and everything she offers includes a perfect punch of color and design.


These Damask note cards are equally as fetching, especially as she's printed them on thin birch wood, making them unique pieces onto which a special dispatch can be composed.

I'll definitely be visiting Krissy's shop often to keep current on her new work, as with her talent and attention to detail I know she'll have some great things to come. Thanks, Krissy!

[images © PaperSchmaper]

* Etsy Edition * Pink Flamingo and FireFly Girl *

I'm really into collage art lately, especially as I'm still working on my big shadowbox collage birthday project, comprised of items sent to me by friends and family from near and far (I think I'm saying "I'm still working on ..." much too much lately, aren't I?). Thanks, again, to all of you who contributed, and sorry it's taking me so long to get the finished product put together. I'm writing a little (or a big) blurb about everyone who sent me something, and the time to get this done while paying it all proper justice is more than I anticipated. I'll be finished soon; promise!

As I started compiling things for this project, I also pulled together some pieces of my own, and sought out some other objects for little vignettes to place here and there in the shadowbox. Enter the Etsy shops of Philadelphia-based artist (and art instructor) Mary (PinkFlamingo61) and Arizonian Margaret (FireFlyGirl777) (why is the name Sister Mary Margaret running around in my brain?!).

At Mary's shop I found the 'Awake in the Dark' paper art doll, which I loved because sleep continues to elude me more often than not, leaving me literally awake in the dark. Plus the bottom of this little trinket has her standing upon the words 'Exciting and Unexpected,' two types of things you might encounter while being awake in the dark. ☺ I think it will be a great little piece to add some interest when mingled in with all the other objects.


I also picked this wonderfully eclectic "Does He Love Me" necklace, Mary's description for which begins with 'Does he love me? I saved the lace from the dress I wore that night, and a piece of the book he gave me, the rose I wore in my hair...' She further describes the objects she used in its construction: Vintage lace sandwiched between glass and soldered into charms, the same with a piece of old book cover from the 1800's. Very old rhinestone bead spacers, old deconstructed flower jewelry. A really neat spinner with English on one side and French on the other side with choices of love or not. Soldered brass heart, large turquoise drops, glass beads, vintage beads, lapis drops with sterling silver wraps. Every inch of this necklace has a little bit of treasure.

She tells a story with each of her pieces, which is my own goal for the shadowbox, so I think these are going to fit in quite nicely. Check out Mary's bio to read more about this equally interesting and creative lady. 'If it isn't fun,' she says, 'I don't want to make it.'

I also found some other little trinkets to include in Margaret's FireFlyGirl shop, another artist who uses found and unexpected objects to construct her creations. Here's 'Cute as a Button' residing in a salt shaker with verdigris lid:



and the captured fairy in a collaged tin, frightened by the prospect of her center stage appearance, only to be buoyed by the words, "Suit up...put on your wings! It is courage that counts..." And don't we all need a little boost of courage every now and then for whatever life may bring us?


You can see Margaret is another tactile story-teller, especially in her take on 'And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon' from the old Mother Goose nursery rhyme (which I haven't thought of for years!).

Thanks to both of these very creative ladies for their unknowing contributions to my own story, with both of their work becoming part of my own special collage (really, it will be finished one of these days!).

[images © PinkFlamingo61 and FireFlyGirl77]

* Etsy Edition * Cat Bishop *

Don't we all know someone who carries themselves like this; hands on hips in a determined stance, and you're just waiting to hear what's about to come out of that mouth (um, I think there's a mouth in there somewhere!)?

This piece is just one of the many creative sculptures (a/k/a/ recycled assemblages) constructed by North Carolina artist Cat Bishop and available in her Artsy Etsy store.


In addition to the actual sculptures, Cat has recently started selling prints of her pieces, and she's also self-published a book, Art of Cat Bishop featuring her work from 2006 and 2007.


In addition to the humorous characters she ultimately creates, I'm completely enamored with her re-use of objects which would probably otherwise be discarded, giving them a brand new life cycle as a work of art.


As her bio explains, "If our outward appearances were to accurately reflect the incongruity we feel inside, on a daily basis, we'd look like these people--eyes asymetrical, faces askew, legs off at uncomfortable angles, ill matched jello molds for boobs. The work is about the ways we assemble ourselves, the cobbling together of a self more presentable than the one we know."


I've never really thought about it that way, but if my outward appearance were to sometimes match that of my inward . . . asymetrical would merely be a starting point! ☺

I'm continually amazed by the countless different ways artists use to express themselves, and Cat's work is a perfect example of harvesting inspiration in even the most unexpected of places (or objects).

[images © Cat Bishop]

* Etsy Edition * Annette Mangseth *

I'm getting ahead of myself here, as I planned for my first few Etsy Editions to feature artists with a knack for reusing found objects, but I just received a second set of stickers I'd ordered from Carambatack, the Etsy store of lovely Norwegian artist Annette Mangseth, and had to share. I'm using these as envelope seals for cards and correspondence, and they lend the perfect extra touch.


She has so many wonderful pieces, and I love how she breathes new life into vintage book pages (from the 1800s, no less!) by using them as her canvases. They all have a softly ethereal element to them . . . and I find it awfully hard to pick a favorite.



I've been good, and have only ordered her stickers so far, but I see an original or one of her prints sneaking its way into my shopping cart one of these days.


Pretty as . . . a peacock!
[images © Annette Mangseth]

* Etsy Edition * Artist of the Week *

Well, I guess it’s time for me to make a larger leap onto the bandwagon of the sweet onion known as Etsy (I say onion as there are sooo many layers, only a smidgen of which I’ve really had time to peel away). I’ve written before about several Etsy artists whose work I’ve purchased, and I hope in those posts the Etsy link has been clicked and you’ve visited there to see it for yourself and learn what it’s all about. But, just in case you’ve negligently skimmed through that part (because if you have you're really missing out), I’ll quote from Etsy and those who created and continue to sustain it:

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. We built it for those consumers conscious of the true value of handmade goods and their creators, as well as to give all independent artists the technology and information they need to make a living, making things. Our intention is to offer viable alternatives to mass-produced objects in the world marketplace, and to encourage consumers to be aware of the social and environmental implications of their purchases.

The connection between producer and consumer has been lost. We created Etsy to help them reconnect, and swing the pendulum back to a time when we bought our bread from the baker, food from the grocer, and shoes from the cobbler.

Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice: Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

I like the idea of restoring that connection between producer and consumer, and can honestly say all my Etsy experiences to date have been just that – a connection. A lot of my Etsy sellers have convoed (a/k/a an Etsy ‘conversation’) me soon after a transaction to thank me for my purchase and if not via convo, I actually can’t remember any Etsy order I’ve received which hasn’t included a thank-you note. Some are elaborate, some just a handwritten 'thanks for your order!' on a print-out of my receipt, but regardless of form it’s genuine appreciation you’re not going to be the recipient of at any big retail store. How great is that, to converse (even if only virtually) with the actual person who’s created whatever you’ve purchased, and know the care of craft gone into bringing it to life? Honestly, if they'd form some kind of co-op with local farmers to offer home delivery of organic fruits and veggies (because you can find pretty much everything else you might need there, including cookies, soap, and even bras and panties), I might never leave home!

Etsy artists and finds are mentioned daily (sometimes more than once) on several great design blogs out there, and many other blogs are solely or otherwise not-so-solely devoted to all that is Etsy (etsy-love for one), but I’m taking a little more (unfortunately) diluted approach here and plan to start featuring at least one artist a week whose work I admire. Stay posted for lots of good stuff, including the first batch of artists who include the concept of 'recycling,' 'reclaimed,' 'salvaged,' and 'found' in their work (because you know I could talk about art all day long, and I'm really in eco-heaven when I can mention 'art' and 'recycling' in the same sentence!).

[image © Etsy]

The Lovely Lush Bella

The very lovely Lush Bella (a/k/a Kerry Pitt-Hart), at that! Her photo is included on the right inside fold of the dust jacket for her newly released self-publication “I Spy,” a hardcover copy of which I received today. After exchanging several e-mails with Kerry last year and ordering a handful of prints from her Lush Bella Etsy storefront, I can now finally see the beautiful face behind the creative tour de force.

I Spy is an elegant little book (it’s just so pretty!) and I’m sure a project of which Kerry is (and how could she not be?) extremely proud. I admire her for being someone who keeps following her heart, cultivating beauty along the way and sharing that gift with others. Congrats, Kerry! It's really something special.

Kerry published her book through Blurb. I haven't seen any other end-products of a self-publication site so don't have anything with which to compare it, but I could absolutely see this being amongst the art books at any of the big retail book stores. The Blurb Bookstore is definitely one to which I'd recommend paying a visit.

This is one of the first prints I purchased from Kerry. I love the image, but am even more partial to its title, "Without You I Am Nothing." To be the 'you' in that sentence is an incredible feeling, and to harvest that in some shape and form is no easy task, yet Kerry's image is a soft and comforting interpretation.



She's also continued the thought with the just as graceful "Without You I Am Nothing II."



This has me thinking . . . and contemplating perhaps publishing a little something of my own to document my Shadowbox Collage project (still working on it but all the details will eventually fill an upcoming blog entry). Some of you made submissions to this so you know to what I'm referring. It might be a nice way to thank everyone who sent me something, being able to read the page I'll be writing about each of them in a nice little book, with their names in print and properly memorialized for posterity. It's not something which would have any mass appeal or meaning to anyone other than the participants (maybe, who knows?), but I think the one-of-a-kind quality would be pretty exceptional. Contributors, what do you think?

See Kerry, you do inspire . . . more than you know!

[images © Kerry Pitt-Hart]

Keepin' It Real

A simple statement, but this is definitely when the phrase 'less is more' is completely appropriate. So the biography on Carol Lee Designs' Etsy store goes . . . and I love it! Wouldn't it be nice to leave this:


under the windshield wiper of someone who does this:


?!! I'm ordering up a bunch of these today! Every one of these cards is appropriate to one or another event we've all been through at some point in our lives (at least they are for me ☺), so why not order a healthy sampling from the collection for those 'just in case' moments (because you know you're going to need them)? Here are a few more of my favorites:







And, like me, if you're being especially enviro-sensitive this year and want to spare the planet the CO2 which would be emitted in its physical delivery, you can also send an e-card from the JunkMail Greetings site. What could be better (although receiving one of these in person would be priceless, and I'd really like to support this creative entrepreneur by buying her work!)?

Keep on keepin' it real, Carol Lee (so the rest of us can too)!

[artist images © Carol Lee Designs]

The Elegant Iridescence of Irene Suchocki

Another wonderfully talented artist I recently discovered is photographer Irene Suchocki.



Her Follow Your Bliss and This Bird Has Flown pieces are now amongst those hanging in the Appletini Green den, and blend in perfectly with the grouping of other works (yes, I think this wall is finally finished!).


I'm also completely enamored with these pieces from her Infrared Series, Possible Worlds, The Surreal Life and Awake to Dream.




I like the soft splash of color the blue sky holds in Awake to Dream. I can clearly imagine spreading out a large cashmere blanket under those two trees (I say imagine as a cashmere blanket really isn't in the budget, but if it were it would be an ivory color to blend in with the landscape), wearing an equally elegant Rochas dress by Olivier Theyskens (also not in the budget and I could never get away with wearing this, but can't you just see it being worn by the dreamer in this picture?) and laying down to watch the clouds roll by. There are countless other scenarios I can envision under that sky and beneath those trees, but that's what makes it so special.

The Possible Worlds piece is printed on gorgeous metallic paper, adding a beautiful layer of phosphorescent dimension. The pieces I ordered are 8x10s, but after seeing how dramatic the paper is I also ordered Awake and Surreal in 11x14. I'm running out of wall space so am not sure where they'll go, but I'll certainly find a proper place for them to reside.

I'm really becoming a photography junkie these days, but when presented with such talent as Irene's, how can I not form an addiction? I'm constantly amazed by the end result of a gifted eye's peek through the viewfinder, and her vision is no exception. Merci!

[artist images © Irene Suchocki]

One More Nod to Molly

Because these came out so beautifully, I just wanted to share my adoration for Molly Jey's work one more time. As I needed two more paper sculptures to complete the wall in the living room (I'll post a pic when everything is properly hung and in place) I asked her for more of her creative handiwork. My custom order was for "a glamorous woman with orchids in the background" (this one came out with a great art deco feel I hadn't expected)



plus "a woman putting her hand into a koi pond" (because at the time I was looking at my own koi pond, thinking about my little fish who've been braving the cold weather),



and these were her creations. Beauteous!

Now that she's finished with all my requests, I see her Etsy store is filling up again with new pieces, both paper sculptures and her handmade cards, all hopefully making their way soon to other lucky recipients of her incredible work.

More Magnificent Molly Jey!

Now that Christmas is over and the presents I was keeping under wraps have been opened, I can freely bestow an additional dose of praise upon artist Molly Jey. I've previously blogged about the beauty of her paper sculptures, which I've come to adore even more after she made several custom pieces for me to give as gifts this year. I really love being able to give someone a one-of-a-kind treasure, and Molly made that possible for me with her singular creations. I only gave her a brief description of what I wanted, then her imagination and talent went to work to perfectly construct the final product. These pictures really don't do them justice, but here is some of her recent handiwork:


For Bonnie, whose cat Zoë is an avid lizard hunter who likes to leave their lifeless little bodies at undisclosed locations throughout her house, to be discovered months later as nothing but skeletal remains. ☺


For Bruce, who usually prefers to see deer from his tree stand or through the scope of his hunting rifle (he's so Republican), but whom I believe recognizes their place in the wilderness enough to appreciate this intricately crafted piece.


For Jennifer, who's an avid collector of frogs in all shapes, sizes and mediums (I know she must have quite an extensive collection by now, so hope she'll tell me if she's running out of room!).


For the Fabulous Dorothy O., inspired by her beautiful 'Nest' piece.


For Gustavo, in honor of his love for the stately giraffe.


For Marla, whose cat Sadie is just as regal as this one.

And for my own collection, to help add a very unique touch to the overlapping squares design in my living room:








Molly's Etsy store has only been open for a couple of months now, and I hope her list of admiring customers will continue to grow. I wish her much success in the upcoming year and thank her for all her beautiful work. Grazie!!

The Marvelous Molly Jey

My early Christmas present to myself, these beautiful paper sculptures by artist Molly Jey arrived from Italy today, each one just as delicate and lovely as alluded to by their photos.


I have been looking for some small unique pieces to fill spaces in the overlapping squares design on one of the walls in my living room. When I recently stumbled across Molly's Etsy store, I knew these would be the perfect fit.


When I opened the package today and held one of them up against the wall, it really looked as if it was made especially for the space.


Because they are small enough for two of them to fit into one of the squares, I actually need four more to finish the look. I've already ordered an additional two (which is probably why Molly's store is a little empty right now, because I'm buying them as soon as they're finished!), and she's going to make two others for me as well. I'm not quite sure how she manages the intricate cutting and scoring of paper, but the end result is really something special.

Molly also enclosed one of her handmade note cards with my original order (which is so lovely I might never send it to anyone), along with a nice thank you note and origami swan. It's these extra touches, plus her incredible talent, which I know will further her success. Kudos to you, Molly!