weiwei

Ai Weiwei

In China, when we grew up, we had nothing...But for even the poorest people, the treat or treasure we'd have would be the sunflower seeds in everybody's pockets.

Iron Wood Polyhedron

Bicycles

Only by encouraging individual freedom, or the individual power of the mind, and by trusting our own feelings, can collective acts be meaningful. - Ai Weiwei

1 cup = 16 tbsp

Kitchen Conversions by Sweet Fine Day

plexiroids

How cool are Grant Hamilton's plexiroids, you ask? Pretty damn cool.

Neopolitan #3

Super Awesome

Kisses & Hugs

Found via You Are My Fave

dopeness

Illustrated movie posters by Claudia Varosio.

So cool!!
A collection of these for our upstairs hall might just be perfection.

5

Agnes Martin 5

After getting Agnes Martin 6 back from the frame shop, I decided a 2nd Agnes was in order. So, I ordered 5. They will hang next to each other in the dining room, which is slowly coming together. I'll be posting room reveal photos before too long, I hope.

I heart Agnes!

a lifetime of wasted time

Alyson Provax - Time Wasting Experiment

30 minutes of misunderstanding.

6 minutes of hesitation & doubt.

i love you too

And, I love you, Nan Lawson.

IS

I recently discovered IS Photography on Etsy & fell in love with the images created by Irene Suchocki. Irene's photos of Paris, Italy, landscapes, and flowers are magical!

From Paris to the Moon

C'mon Get Happy - Burano, Italy

All the Pretty Horses

print love

Having taken a print class in college, I have a great appreciation for printmaking and all of the work that goes into creating a print.

Some recent Etsy favorites....

Feathers Block Print Letterpress from One Canoe Two

'Birdy Nam Nams' Original Etching from Atelier 28

Artic Animals Screenprint from Banquet

-5

Etsy art.

Aisyah Ang
Abstract Acrylic Mixed Media Art Diptych

Callaghan Art Gallery
World Map Collection 6 Original Silk Screen Prints

Orange Willow Painting
The Forest by Wendy Owens

Jason Edward Davis
Wake Up Sleepy Kitty

9

Art to heart.

Agnes Martin 6 - Art River
vellum print

First official new house purchase. Who better to start a new chapter with than Agnes?

botero

Fernando Botero
Pear, 1976

This was my favorite painting from the Bowers Museum exhibit, The Baroque World of Fernando Botero. Although his work doesn't exactly speak to my soul, I found a new appreciation for Botero's vision and perspective through this exhibit.
"Using a broad range of media, the Colombian-born Botero has created a world of his own, one that is at once accessible and enigmatic." - Bowers website

more agnes

The Sundance Channel was showing "Agnes Martin: With my Back to the World" by filmmaker Mary Lance last night, which I eagerly watched with great interest. The documentary gives insight into Agnes' life of solitude, her paintings, and her thoughts on the world with interviews given over the course of four years during the final decade of her life. It also features photos and archival footage along with readings of her poetry and lectures.

A poem from her book, Writings, & recited in the film...

I can see humility
Delicate and white
It is satisfying
Just by itself

And Trust
Absolute trust
a gift
a precious gift

I would rather think of humility than
anything else.

Humility, the beautiful daughter
She cannot do either right or wrong
She does not do anything
All of her ways are empty
Infinitely light and delicate
She treads an even path
Sweet, smiling, uninterrupted, free

"My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind." - Agnes Martin

Oh, how I do heart Agnes!

i heart agnes

My step mum and I went to the Illumination exhibit at the Orange County Museum of Art this weekend & it was wonderful. The collection brought together the works of four important American women modernists; Georgia O'Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Agnes Martin, and Florence Miller Pierce.
Of these four, I was only familiar with O'Keeffe's work going into it, but left with a greater appreciation of O'Keeffe and an introduction to three other extraordinary artists who led extraordinary lives.
My favorite (and new love) being Agnes Martin...

"I would like my work to be recognized as being in the classical tradition (Coptic, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese), as representing the Ideal in the mind. Classical art cannot possibly be eclectic. One must see the ideal in one's own mind. It is like a memory, an awareness, of perfection." - Agnes Martin

Untitled, 1967

Untitled, 1997

i heart art....lindsay!

Our friend, and resident art expert, Lindsay returns this week with another insightful I Heart Art!

Witold Wojtkiewicz

Garden Party, 1907, Private Collection

The turn of the century was a hard time for the Polish people; it was rife with political, social, and economic instability. The Russian revolution of 1905 had sharp repercussions on Poland, weakening the cruel Polish Kingdom, strengthening the nationalistic movement and acting as the epilogue to the nineteenth century. Witold Wojtkiewicz portrayed the vigor and frailty of human existence by pairing a sense of the grotesque with a satirical edge. Often incorporating marionettes and carnivalesque figures, his works seem to straddle the cusp between the ordinary life and an imagined Other. While his earlier works, such as Rozpustnica, contain distorted figures that are almost caricatures of human emotions, his later works exhibit a mature serenity and awareness. In Garden Party, the solemn twilight procession of near-faceless figures suggests a ritual voyage from day-lit reality to the dreamworld of Wojtkiewicz's mind. Wojtkiewicz melds his fascination with childhood, the sadness of human existence and the solemnity of ceremony, three subjects that he continually explores, in order to probe the human experience. He informatively contrasts illusion with truth, appearance with inner meaning, late nineteenth century sensibilities with grotesque figures from Polish fairytales.

Rozpustnica, 1904, Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw

Cyrk II, 1905-06, Muzeum Narodowe, Warsaw

i heart art...lindsay!

This week's I Heart Art comes from Seams of Thought reader and resident art expert, Lindsay Pomphrett. Lindsay holds a both a B.A. and a Masters in Art History and is devoted to the fine and decorative arts, with a special interest in art of the nineteenth century. Lucky for us, she is willing to share her love and knowledge with all of us!

Take it away Lindsay...

William Degouve de Nuncques

Nocturne au Parc Royal de Brussels, 1897, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Black Swan, 1896, Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterloo

The Canal, 1894, Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterloo

William Degouve de Nuncques was a Belgian Symbolist painter in the late nineteenth century, known for creating peaceful and harmonious images of solitude and silence. Symbolist painters, often working in France and Belium at the end of the nineteenth century, explored the borders between dreams and reality. The works of Degouve de Nuncques are typical of Belgian symbolism in that he moved away from imitations of nature to create his own emotive interpretations of it. The absence of detail and the lack of narrative in his pictures eschew a specificity of location; the landscape is merely a means of conveying the sense of melancholic solitude that permeates the scene. Devoid of human presence, his pieces suggest a dreamy, timeless other world that still resonates with twenty-first century audiences, transporting us to an internal dreamland.
- Lindsay

Wonderful, no? And there's more where that came from in the weeks to come. Thank you Lindsay!
You too can participate in I Heart Art, here's how.

Happy Friday all! Have a fabulous weekend!

i heart art....lindsey

This week's I Heart Art is by my good friend, designer, and mommy-to-be, Lindsey (of StoneTree Designs)! She previously gave us Monica and Michael Sweet and now she is sharing the Romanian abstract painter, Alexandra Nechita.
Take it away Linds...

This amazing talent began painting when she was just two years old. By the age of ten, she was already pegged as "The Petite Picasso". Born in 1985, she has so many more years to evolve as an artist. Seeing her originals in person is breathtaking. The large size of the canvases she usually uses is surprising and the colors are stunning. She has the striking ability to capture raw emotion in her paintings and invoke deep discussions of current world affairs. She enjoys painting angels and works that speak of peace and unity. The depth she creates on her canvases is like nothing I have ever seen, and I can only imagine what she will bring to the world of art over the next several decades. - Lindsey

Thanks Linds!
And, don't forget, you too can participate in I Heart Art! How to here.

i heart art...angela

I Heart Art is back! Yay, yay, hip, hip, hooray!

Angela, my sister-in-law and author of the great Mommy in Manhattan blog, kicks-off the great I Heart Art comeback with her artsy picks!
Take it away Ang.....

My husband & I have been lucky to find great artists on the streets of a few places we've visited. The first one is a painting we got in Hawaii. We were in our Latin dancing stage so when we saw this one we fell in love. The artist captured the strong & passionate connection between dancers. They seem to be the only people in the world & the only ones that matter to each other. Every time I look at this painting it reminds me of our "courting" days & an awesome vacation!

In Paris, artists are flooding the streets, but the vibrant colors of this Paris scene caught my eye. The warmth of the red emits passion & excitement, which mirrored my reaction to "La Ville-lumiere."

And last, but definitely not least, this drawing hangs in my son's room. It is especially meaningful because it is the drawing that my in-laws purchased when my husband was born. The caption reads, "Castles are made of dreams and sand." It echoes what we want for our sons...to maintain their playfulness, to dream big & follow their dreams whatever they may be.
- Angela

Thank you Angela!

SAVE I Heart Art!!

I have enjoyed the I Heart Art weekly feature so much......but, have you??
My supply of I Heart Arts is dwindling & I'm wishing, dreaming, pining for new participants!
Come on, join in! It's so much fun!!
I Heart Art is all about sharing your favorite painter, photographer, sculptor, illustrator, etc. with me & all of the millions of Seams of Thought readers (er.....close to millions).
Please, tell me how art has inspired you!

How do I sign up, you ask? Well, it's simple.....
Just e-mail me the following info:
1. 1-3 of your favorite artists
2. 1-2 of your favorite works from each artist & photos of the works
3. Reason(s) why you love this artist or work of art (length of explanation is up to you)

When your artist is featured, it will be titled as your pick (using your name & link to your blog, if applicable) and will feature photos of the work you have chosen & anything you have written to me about this artist.

Help save I Heart Art!!!

i heart art.....susan

This week's I Heart Art is by Susan.....and it has to do with me!
In 2001, I painted a rhino with watercolor to give to my dad & step mum for Christmas. My dad is a veterinarian and they are both animal/wildlife lovers, advocates, and conservationists, an influence that has become a part of who I am. I wanted to paint something that would illustrate our shared passion for these things, so I chose to paint them a rhino. I am not a realistic painter and see things more abstractly, hence using shapes and bright colors to make up the composition. I wanted to capture the mystical essence of the rhino, his strength, and his kindness. Not sure I accomplished these things, but that was the goal anyway.

Susan, my step mum, has chosen The Rhino as one of her I Heart Arts!
I'm touched and flattered....

This cheerful rhinoceros greets me every morning as he frolics on green meadow-pillows in the blazing hot sun. I love the geometry of his tough lattice hide, softened with Crayon colors. Gorgeous, by the artist formerly known as "DV", now known far and wide as the Seamstress of Thought. - Susan

Merci Beaucoup!

To participate in I Heart Art, click here!