Archive for the ‘art’ Category
Friday, January 30th, 2009
I first met Jenna of Soopajdelux a few years ago at a craft show in Los Angeles where she was selling her paintings and prints. I was selling my own crafty wares at a table across from hers and was instantly attracted to the melancholy characters in her paintings. The more I looked at her work throughout the day, the more I was drawn to them and their peculiar mix of sadness, hope and humor. So at the end of the day, I took all of my meager earnings and purchased two tiny paintings (approximately 6×6 inches each). Jenna was incredibly nice and even gave me an extra bonus…a yarn necklace with a handmade glass pendant that had one of her characters encased inside. I certainly hope to someday commission her for a larger painting to hang in my studio. Her current body of work has expanded beyond paintings to include sculptures, objects and most interestingly…the world of vinyls. Learn more about her work at Soopajdelux. (Photos from Soopajdelux).
Tags: artist, jenna, painter, painting, sculpture, soopajdelux, vinyl dolls, vinyl figures, vinyls
Posted in art, object, painting | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Looky what I found…Xenia Taler and her amazing tiles! I would definitely buy these tiles to hang as artwork because each one is like a whimsical little painting. I can also imagine installing these little pieces of art as a surface treatment for a very special tabletop. And of course they can always be grouted and installed on any interior surface just like any other typical tile application (although I think they are a bit too precious for that). Here are some of my favorites…but definitely go to Xenia Taler’s website for more tile goodies. (Photos from Xenia Taler)
Tags: art tiles, ceramic tiles, grout, tile, xenia taler
Posted in art, design, interiors, object | No Comments »
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
I’ve known about Etsy for awhile but just never bothered to fully explore the possibilities of a deeper and more meaningful relationship until now. And in case you’re not familiar with Etsy…it’s an online “place to buy and sell all things handmade”. After countless hours of admiring and coveting creations by other people, I’m now considering setting up my very own Etsy shop and I can’t wait! I’m hoping to coordinate the opening of the shop and the launch of my new website to happen at the same time. I’m so happy to have found a forum to share with other like-minded crafters, designers, artists and do-it-yourselfers. It really is a very joyful place filled with creativity and a supportive entrepreneurial spirit. Here are some of my favorite Etsy finds…all very cool one-of-a-kind hand-made items…Go to Etsy to check out more!
Felt and Fabric Necklace for $65
Hand-knitted Flower Ring for $6
Kiss-lock Frame Pouch for $24
“Cloudburst” – Limited Edition Print by Yellena for $20
Modern Mugs for $25 each
Tags: ceramic mugs, cloudwest, coin pouch, crochet ring, eleen, etsy, felt necklace, fishgreendesign, illustration, jsartist, yellena
Posted in art, bags, design, illustration, jewelry, pottery | No Comments »
Monday, January 5th, 2009
This is Chris Burden’s “Urban Light” sculpture (2000-2007) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. According to LACMA’s press release, this permanent installation “incorporates 202 antique cast-iron lampposts from various cities in and around the Los Angeles area. In the 1920s, each city designed its own streetlamps as a form of public art and civic identity. Over the past seven years, Burden recovered and restored many of these vintage one-and-a-half ton lampposts. When they arrived at the artist’s compound in Topanga Canyon in pieces, they were sandblasted and missing parts, including the hand-blown glass lanterns and globes, were fabricated or salvaged from other lamps. They were then painted a medium grey and electrified. The artist painstakingly catalogued each streetlamp by individual type according to the year of its manufacture, its original location, its height, and the number of lamps it contains. Gathered into a whole, the artist describes the streetlamps as ‘a statement about what constitutes a civilized and sophisticated society: safe after dark and beautiful to behold.’”
We drove by this installation this past weekend…after dark when it was all lit up. I like the simple repitition and it really was quite magical to see. (Above photo from LACMA’s website and detail photos below were taken by me with my iPhone)
Tags: chris burden, lacma, los angeles county museum of art, public art, streetlamps, urban light
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Friday, December 19th, 2008
Some of the things that I admire most about my Chinese heritage are the historical traditions in art, calligraphy, literature and poetry…and most certainly they are always iconically stamped with the creator’s personal seal…and always in red ink. These stamps are little pieces of art in and of themselves…usually carved out of wood, stone or bone by a master carver especially trained in this craft. Not only do they carve the bottom of the stamp where the actual name seal is located, but sometimes (depending on the material chosen) they also carve the top of the seal (usually in the form of the name bearer’s corresponding Chinese astrological sign or some other fortuitous dragon/lotus/phoenix bird symbol). I think almost everyone in my family has at least one stamp of their own…and when I got married, my mom commissioned a pair of stamps to be made for me and AK. I will include a photo of the actual stamps once I dig them out of our packed boxes, but here are the actual name seals for both AK (left) and me (right). Each of our names consists of three characters and are meant to be read vertically from right to left…with our surnames as the first character.
Tags: carved seals, carved stamps, chinese name, red ink
Posted in art, design, graphics, object | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
If I were a queen, this would be my throne. This incredible Brazilian piece is called the “Quotation Marks” Lounge Chair, designed and made by Sergio Rodrigues in 1962. It currently lives at NOHO Modern in Los Angeles and is available for sale at a price that far exceeds my very-unqueen-like annual salary. According to NOHO, “This is the only chair in existence. It was made for the 1962 exhibition ‘Furniture as Objects of Art’ and was never put into production due to the great expense. It is made from solid jacaranda and leather; even the armrests have sculpted solid jacaranda that are wrapped in leather.” Nothing else compares and I am in complete speechless awe. It looks alive…as if it’s some mystical creature ready to get up and walk away at any moment. There’s a small part of me that feels slightly afraid, but mostly I just want to be embraced and protected by this magnificent beast of a chair. A big THANK YOU to NOHO Modern for allowing me to share this in my silly little blog. All photos are from NOHO Modern, and please check out the rest of their drool-worthy inventory for more amazing things!
Tags: 1962, exhibition, furniture as objects of art, los angeles, noho modern, quotation marks lounge chair, sergio rodrigues
Posted in art, design, interiors, object | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
My husband AK is having his first photography exhibit “Twigs in Profile” showcasing images of tree silhouettes from various locations in the Los Angeles area. His curiosity in photography was first sparked when my Uncle Eddy gave us his unused Canon 20D a few years ago. Since then, AK has acquired a few more fancy lenses and has amassed quite a portfolio of images from a wide variety of experiences ranging from daily life of family and friends to special events like the San Diego Comic Con and Anime Expo. Among my favorites are photos of our funny and ornery Polly (aka PollyBear, P-Dog, Beast, and PollyPoops). I also especially like these portraits of our nephew Sinjin taken on the day his baby sister Zoe was born. Visit AK’s flickr site to see more of his work.
Tags: ace kim, exhibit, opening, photography, twigs in profile
Posted in art, family & friends, photography | No Comments »
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
AK bought me the diana+ camera nearly 8-9 months ago and I was so excited and thrilled to have it. However, I’m ashamed to admit that I am just busting it out from the box today. My only excuse is that we’ve been living in total chaos with the house re-design, and I’ve just been too lazy about starting any kind of art project. I know…shame on me blah blah blah. But at this point with the house still not finished, I am totally desperate to unpack all my shit and to get back into all the fun things that I used to do. So it is with great joy that I am finally embracing my diana camera, and hopefully I’ll have some cool photos to share in a few days. woot! (photo from www.lomography.com)
Tags: diana+, film, medium format, photography
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