Arting

a blog about art and life. but mostly art.

[ink-splotch]

Hi, I read that post you wrote about Susan Pevensie, and it was genuinely quite beautiful. Do you ever write short stories or anything?

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it, nonnie. 

No, I don’t tend to write short fiction. I do write novels though. I have two completed right now and sequels for each of them in the works. If you’d like to read either, I’ve linked to them below. 

Sneak is book one of the Alliance trilogy, which tells the story of five young adults coming of age on different sides of a brimming civil conflict. 

Beanstalk: the Adventures of a Jack of All Tales is the first book of my Leagues and Legends series. Jack, a bright young backwoodsman, attends a school for adventurers and falls into both friendships and dangers. 

If you liked my Susan Pevensie, you might enjoy my Laney Jones, so I would recommend starting with Beanstalk. 

[artinglife]

^These books. You should read them. Especially Beanstalk.

[artinglife]

Ed Stockham is an animator. His stuff in whimsical. I especially like this video he made for an empathy project.

[artinglife]

Stick Spectres, Grace Li, 2012

[just-art]

Bottle Cap Portait by  Mary Ellen Croteau 

[artinglife]

Mary Ellen Croteau made this self portrait from bottle caps. Bottle cannot be recycled. I think it's quite beautiful. Mind blowing.

[artinglife]

Wow... This is incredible. Magnets are fantastic.

[artinglife]

These swings are fantastic. Although, in my experience, once swings are that long, it's difficult to get any height without someone pushing you, I still think that they're great, and wish that I was in NYC so I could see them. I love swings. I think I'm a sculptor for the sole purpose of creating and experiencing adult-sized playground equipment.

artist website: http://www.annhamiltonstudio.com

pic taken from:http://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/2012/12/07/im-jealous-of-ann-hamilton/

[artinglife]

Wow. Love this.

[artinglife]

Giuseppe Penone uses many natural elements in his art. In this piece, he hollowed out a large tree to reveal the young tree it had once been.

[artinglife]

This lovely bridge was created by RO&AD. Based in the Netherlands, they specialize in creative, sustainable architecture.

I must admit that whenever I see the word "Netherlands," I instantly think of "Neverland." Very rarely does this seem appropriate. But, in the case of sunken bridges where one can walk down though water, or hold one's hand out to touch it, well, this is the magic that Neverland is made of, so, the brain jump seems apt.

[artinglife]

Thread, nails, and wood. Fantastic.

[artinglife]

[artinglife]

This kid makes amazing things out of cardboard.

[artinglife]

A mentor suggested that I look at the work of Annette Messager.

Messager often uses taxidermy animals, stuffed toys, and photographs of body parts in her work. "One of Messager's intentions is that by drawing attention to the magical qualities of objects used in Western societies, the objects might recoup some of the status and even magic of objects used in daily rituals in other parts of the world."

The first piece, I chose to show based on its similarities to some work I've created (shadow puppets with an animal/circus theme.) I love the shadows that it casts on the wall.

The second piece's title roughly translates to "The Boarders," as in, things that are rooming for the night. On one hand, the birds are beautiful and the knit sweaters cute, on the other hand, the birds are dead and will never leave their space in the piece.

Somehow, Messager manages to be whimsical and disturbing at the same time.

[artinglife]

Simon Birch, a UK born resident of Hong Kong is particularly interested in transition.

Most of his paintings are portraits with faces obscured by movement.

He also creates sculptures and installations. I find his people covered in household objects to be quite interesting. Pictured here is a person covered in cable ties. For some reason, it reminds me of Sonic the Hedgehog.

[artinglife]

I had the pleasure of seeing one of Walter Robinson's pieces last night-- Quench.

I think I liked it because it was creative-- having animal crackers drink from a frosting pond...but, also, I just like the way animal cookies look (and taste.) So, having giant, seemingly alive cookies made me happy. And whimsical pieces that make me happy are my favorite (or at least high up on my list of what art I like.)

His other work is also quite amusing. I particularly enjoy his text pieces-- you can read each set of two words that are next to each other as their own concept. It's strange to see how the concept morphs throughout the piece.

Also pictured is the "Hybrid"-- horses and an SUV. xD

[artinglife]

I don't want to say much about this-- just that it's worthwhile to watch 'til the end.

[artinglife]

Karl Kerschl writes and draws the comic The Abominable Charles Christopher. One of my friends recommended this comic. I love the art and the story is quite sweet. I haven't finished the archives yet, but, I like it a lot so far. Also, the art is a great deal more realistic than most comics.