Jen May

I am completely and utterly head-over-heels in love with Jen May's drawing, sculptures, books and videos. Please, if there's a God, let me magically turn into Jen next year... just kidding, but her work is well and truly gorgeous, I'm sure you'll agree.

I think my new year's resolution this year will be to do a page of a sketchbook a day. That one is doomed to fail before it's even begun, but the intention was rather good. I think I might also try to do two or three in-depth posts a week, rather than a straggly one every day. We'll see about that one too...

This will probably be my last post for a week or so, although I will try to check back in. I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas. xxx

Something Colourful for a Grey Day

Cartonlandia (acrylic, collage, and mixed media on cardboard) by Ana Serano

Ana Serrano is a first generation Mexican American born in Los Angeles in 1983. Inspired by both of the cultural contexts in her life, she creates work utilizing a variety of mediums including drawing, collage, sculpture, and motion. Her work bears reference to those in low socio-economic positions, with particular interest in their customs and beliefs, as well as the architecture, fashion, and informal economies, present within this segment of society. A current theme explored in her work is the socio-cultural aspects of drug trafficking, and the branding and acceptance of the drug lord lifestyle. She recently graduated from Art Center College of Design with honors, and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Take a look at Ana's blog for lots more paper based colourful-ness.

Yulia Brodskaya

I’m constantly experimenting and evolving, always pushing my style in new
directions: my greatest passion is to explore the ways of combining illustration
and typography.

- quoted from website.

I hope that I will be able to keep posting occasionally over the Christmas period, but probably not as much as usual. I'll definitely be back tomorrow though... until then, I hope everyone is having fun (I'm at work, hm...).

Jonathan Callan

Jonathan Callan’s fascination with materiality has manifested itself in dismembered books, texts, maps and photographs often choosing to work with objects and
images that in themselves are considered to have little or no inherent physicality.
He painstakingly amplifies the physical aspects of photographic emulsion, printed texts, printed colour plates and maps.

Callan takes that which is readable and comprehensible and turns it into something that appears to defy its form. The book becomes an object not to be read, but experienced - sometimes exploded into thousands of pieces and at other times twisted or pumped full of silicone.

The Dog Eared Touch

I have long been fascinated by the marks left in books after they have been read and re-read - the scraps of paper left behind, finger prints, and folded corners. It is interesting that loving a book can ultimately destroy it. As a child I would shake old books to see what would come out of them, and I have made a number of small works investigating this too. So I find Selina Swayne's work The Dog Eared Touch really beautiful.

My work focuses on the details of design and putting a message in context, particularly in book design and taking typography into 3D. I am interested in what it means to be a graphic designer in the twenty-first century, where the boundaries of the discipline lie and how to cross them.

Thomas Allen

Thomas Allen, in essence, is a still life artist who through a very creative process disrupts the stillness. By carefully selecting from primarily vintage paperback novels and science journals, he brings two-dimensional images forward into three dimensional space. With simple lightning and the use of simple tools (i.e., scissors and razor-sharp knives), figures are cut out, bent and juxtapose in ways that present the tension and dynamics of staged drama. Other techniques are applied in achieving a pure sense of humor that also defy the original use of these materials and their ultimate destiny of being read once and retiring for eternity on the nearest bookshelf.

It's the weekend! And it's raining...

Antony Hart - Weather Report, series of 9 accurate rain drawings produced by placing letterpressed clouds, printed in watercolour on fences prior to rain.

AGGGGHHHH!!! I LOVE THESE! I want to start doing some more works on paper, intricate drawings, photocopies, etc. However, this weekend is going to be taken over with making Chrsitmas cards and presents (and a little touch of shopping). Have a good one!

Jacquline Rush Lee

As an artist I am inspired by the materials, colors and forms that I find in my everyday environment. I am particularly drawn to objects that record physical processes or bear the imperfections and scars of life. Intuitively chosen, these objects suggest layered metaphors of knowledge and corporeality as an embodiment of the transitory nature of the body, thoughts, memories, or one’s life experiences.

Quote from website.

Steel and Dirt into Lace

Read a New York Times article about Cal Lane and her beautiful work (above). It reminded me of Shelagh Wakeley's work (below), which I poured over during my university years.

Just quickly...

... want to show you this amazing cut book by Clare Bryan.

Su Blackwell at the Long and Ryle gallery

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that Su Blackwell currently has a show at the Long and Ryle gallery in London called To Take Us Lands Away, until December 20th. The new work looks spectacular, of course.

Su Blackwell graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2003. She makes intricate art-works from every-day objects, transforming clothes and books into fantastical three-dimensional forms. Using a scalpel she cuts and glues the pages of books to create miniature dioramas glowing with lights in wood and glass boxes, like Victorian relics found in a museum of intrigue.

She finds her books – or rather lets them find her – by trawling through second-hand book shops. She always reads the book first and this in turn inspires the work. Some of the books that come into the artist’s possession sit on her shelf for months and months. The books themselves, their histories and stories, also interest her. They hold in their pages a record of their past events, as physical objects; their damage, such as frays and stains, makes our relationship with the contents immediate and visceral, and in turn tells another story.