Carrie Gustafson -- Glass Artist

I became acquainted (read: fell in love with) with the work of Carrie Gustafson at My friend Lori Warner's new Studio/Gallery in Chester, CT.

This Boston artist makes by far the most beautiful glass that I have seen anywhere. A graduate of RISD, Gustafson also studied in Murano. According to her website, her patterns are derived from nature. I find her finely textured is glass amazing and I think that I just talked myself into buying a piece. All of her work is at once delicate, yet substantive. She is a regular at the Smithsonian Craft Show. There is an excellent video describing the process here and it is clearly described on her website. Gustafson is also represented by the North Water Gallery on Martha's Vineyard.

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Christian Faur -- Crayon Series -- Encaustic Crayons

My friend John Simoudis (who designed my blog) recently told me about the artist Christian Faur.

I'm featuring the Crayon Series here, but his other work is quite -- if not more -- amazing. Certainly worth of another post. Stay tuned. He makes thousands of encaustic crayons and arrangers these pixels in wooden frames. Because the wax would otherwise render the pieces too heavy, his fbricated crayons are about half size. They are amazing. I would love to see one up close. Take a look at his Crayonettes. Faur is Director of Collaborative Technologies in the Arts at Denison in Granville, OH. His website can be found here and he is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie. You can see a close up below.

Umbilical Sky


The Dance 1

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Pssst! Non-profits, do something we actually WANT TO DO

Great idea for struggling non-profits! The Jepson Center for the Arts gets creative!

The Jepson Center, the youngest member of the Telfair Museum of Art trio, offers yoga classes in its stunning galleries. How cool is that? And, it purports to incorporate "various aspects of the artwork on display." Imagine the Yale Art Gallery doing this. Naysayers would counter that the wood floors don't look enticing, but I disagree. It's not the floor that matters. Members get discounts, NFP gets members. Isn't this what it's about? Check it out here.

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Currency Commentary -- the Art of Mark Wagner

I stumbled upon the work of Brooklyn based artist Mark Wagner this afternoon. He makes these wonderful Currency Collages.

Wagner takes the everyday -- in this case the dollar bill -- and makes art. The pieces are really quite beautiful. He is represented by the Pavel Zoubok Gallery in Brooklyn. I found his artist statement on their website:

The one dollar bill is the most ubiquitous piece of paper in America. Collage asks the question: what might be done to make it something else? It is a ripe material: intaglio printed on sturdy linen stock, covered in decorative filigree, and steeped in symbolism and concept. Blade and glue transform it-reproducing the effects of tapestries, paints, engravings, mosaics, and computers-striving for something bizarre, beautiful, or unbelievable... the foreign in the familiar.

On his website, Smoke in My Dreams click on the thumbnail and you find larger images 'd suspect. His work both fun and decent commentary on the world we live in.

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‘recollection’ New Works by Lori Warner

My friend Lori Warner has a show at the Soprafina Gallery in Boston. I am soory to have missed the opening, but will be sure to visit.

The exhibit, which runs through September 27th, is at the gallery's new address: 55 Thayer Street. Lori graduated from RISD (with highest honors I might add, but she will pshaw about). The show consists of monotypes (shown here) and several encaustics. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 11:00 to 5:30 or by appointment.

This is one of the pieces in my collection. It is called 'Cranberry Fog'.

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Glass House Video on Cool Hunting

The guys over at Cool Hunting made a video about Phillip Johnson's (1906-2005) Glass House in New Canaan.

The president of RISD, John Maeda, is featured discussing his thoughts on simplicity and how Johnson "manufactured" his simplicity (my word, not his). The surrounding landscape was tightly controlled by Johnson. He trimmed trees to create vistas. His stone walls look like much of New England, but they too were placed where Johnson wanted them.

I was fortunate enough to visit in 2007 on a chilly September day with my friend Laurie. The art gallery is built into the earth and contains a fabulous selection of contemporary art. I cannot even describe the way the paintings are displayed. It's so amazing. There are 14 builings in all and the tour is very tightly organized as the glass House is in a residential neighborhood and it certainly wouldn't be ok to have bunches of visitors traipsing around suburbia. That's why reservations are a must and 2009 is probably already sold out.

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Sturdy Summer Totes

I saw these friend wonderful totes at the Chester Gallery last week. I love them!

My friend and well-know basket maker, Sosse Baker made them as prototypes for a class that she's teaching at Wesleyan Potters in January. They are both Cherokee patterns. The bottom one is called the "Chief"s Coffin". I can't figure out which design I like better. I don't actually think she intended to sell them over the summer, but I know I want one. Now. I mentioned that they are sturdy and they are. You could carry two bottles of wine to The Blue Oar for a riverside dinner. They would certainly make a fun summer purse or a great knitting basket.
I'd love to see an orange one. Time will tell.

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