26.march.07

Northeast Minneapolis'  artist and entrepreneur (and Minnesota Rollergirl) Rebecca Yaker "Sock Monkey" dress from the Walker Center's "Un-Prom: Not Your Mama's Formal,"  a prom inspired fashion show presented by Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) and Anna Lee of Ruby3, producer of Voltage: Fashion Amplified. As a part of the Walker's OPEN-ENDED (the art of engagement) exhibition, WACTAC is taking prom by the heels and turning it on its tiara.

The Un-Prom will cut loose from the stuffy "suit and tie, cupcake dress" formal wear by asking seven Minneapolis designers to create garments that step out of the standard garb and envision prom as extension of the arts.

19 march 07

working with a flatbed scanner and computer, artist, maggie taylor is able to create complex color images from common and ordinary objects. her work is a blend of wit, irony, and realism that makes us smile and cringe at the same time. her images may contain as many as 60 layers.

Taylor has managed to successfully straddle the line between fine and commercial art. She estimates that 10% of her work is commercial in intent and includes a line of books and cd covers.

A book of Taylor’s work and her techniques has just been released as part of the Adobe Photoshop Master Class series, Maggie Taylor's Landscape of Dreams.

16 march 07

Marie Antoinette's life is one that is filled with passion, intrigue, scandal, politics, excessiveness and so on.  History is so complicated and can be so judgemental of events and people without really exploring all of the issues and complexities of that person. Like all of us, she had her weaknesses and faults, but also she had a tender, innocent, even child-like heart and soul which directed some of her ways.   M. de la Rocheterie, put it best, "She was not a guilty woman, neither was she a saint; she was an upright, charming woman, a little frivolous and throughtless in her policy, but proud and full of energy; a thorough woman in her winsome ways and tenderness of heart, until she became a martyr." 

15 march 07

so many things- starting with the obvious (1)everything works- meaning, the assortment of vintage, european, middle eastern, modern, repurposed, asian, etc. furniture, rugs, and findings all works together to create an electric (i really do mean electric) style.  it has punch, flavor, orginality- a fantastic collage of elegant flea market finds. now that i'm a train ride away from nyc- i'm hopping on the train and off to explore 4 FLOORS of inspiration.  life is not a pottery barn catalog. (phit tweey)  (2)what i love most of all about ABC is the fact that they are a sustainable company, meaning they support and buy community made, recycled, indigenous, fair and square, organic, pure and honest products.  the founder, paulette cole, started a foundation (the abc home & planet foundation) that encourages people to align their spending choices with personal values.  her goal is for the store to be 100 percent responsible design.  they're at 20 percent with made to order solar energy systems and furniture made with all organic upholstery. packing materials have been replaced with biodegradable alternatives and all inks used in packaging & stationery are soy-based.  how cool is that?  all without giving up one modicum of design aestetic. 

07 march 07

i'm currently reading The Poe Shadow which was my inspiration for creating this artist trading card for a vintage nude swap i'm participating in.  since i draw so much inspiration from books, i've added a new category on my blog, the reading room.  it's a list of books i've read/reading that i find inspires my creativity.

behind the scenes:  colorwashed card stock, photo transfer of image using gesso, layered sepia tone & off white washes over image, stamped raven, decoupage small girl in corner and text, added another wash, scratched some off, added a coat of decoupage paste over entire image, sprinkled fairy dust over card as a final touch.

o6.march 07

sometimes you find inspiring websites & blogs and you want to share these treasures with everyone. this happens to me often, i love stumbling upon beautiful sites, oohing and aahing, it's like walking into a dream.  it's so inspiring to see the vast amount of creativity taking place in the world. this is the first of what i call, "little morsels of magic," a creative version of paying it forward.  isn't this photo beautiful- so sweet and yummy- you must visit Le Jardin de Miss Clara. she creates the most beautiful ethereal treasures.  visiting her website is like entering a fairytale- the music, the graphics, her creations- everything transports you into another world.  take a few moments from your everyday life and visit Miss Clara.  because we all need a little magic in our lives.