.jpg)
it's currently 3:06 am here in philly & i've been up all night making new jewels, including a few pieces i'm thrilled about that are made with snake vertebrae. i'll be making more new stuff & have plans on having a separate collection of work specifically for my poor abandoned etsy shop starting next week.
a favorite friend recently lent me the vivian girls album, which i've wanted for a while now, admittingly only because they named themselves after henry darger's army of younglings, but really love it & have been listening to it on repeat all night while stringing together spinal cords with vintage brass. i've listened to it so much already that its become trance inducing. the ladies have a lo-fi style & sound like they may be singing in a damp, echoing tunnel underground or beneath a bridge. i hope to catch them live in person this summer.
'the way through doors' by jesse ball promises stories cradled within themselves//each other like russian nesting dolls to be unpacked page by page. i've been somewhat mute on the book front, reading journals instead such as the lovely annual 'bat city'; but need this book.
i've briefly mentioned the lovely new york artist ann wood before, when i posted about her cardboard castle. then i slightly let her slip from mind until i recently rediscovered her. i believe she may be best know for making little birds that people seem to go nuts for, but it's her clipper ships that really get me. part 'science of sleep', part paper mache and part literary collage, these lovelies, whether shipwrecked or floating, really resonant with my escapist desires for travel and the french ocean. 
these foggy photos, by photographer denise grunstein, of what appear to be faceless/masked children afflicted with some sort of madness or supernatural power, creep me out; much in the same way that when i have a snip of nightmare so weird i suddenly become aware that i'm (thankfully) only dreaming, then reach for the nearby notebook and pen to record it for later pondering and potential creative use. these images have that texture of residual dreams/nightmares and i found myself thinking of them long after i came across them while night voyaging on the internet. 
i recently met the multi-talented liz mcgrath when she came through philly to play at the khyber with her amazing band miss derringer. although i'm pretty shy when it comes to speaking to people, especially people who's work has been a big inspiration to me, my friend tim o'hanlon, who is currently showing his stenciled work at 'the toothless cat' was brave enough to strike up a conversation with liz long enough for us to realize that besides being incredibly talented, she's also very approachable and really lovely in person. i gave her a special jawbone necklace that she blogged about on her new blog over at juxtapoz!!!!
brooklyn artist Swoon has created an apocalyptic yet beautiful Noah's Arc (which has been expanded to three gypsy boats) with 30 or so artists and builders made entirely out of "trash." the boat was assembled out of discarded materials that was shipped to Slovenia from New York, about 60 miles from their destination of Venice, which they sailed to in their new home to crash the Venice Biennial. words can't describe how desperately i wish i was part of this project. all photos credited to todd seelie.
i recently had the good luck to visit the home & studio of a fantastic artist. (more on that in the upcoming months) amongst his many works was a skeletal version of this painting by jan van eyck. when i was in boarding school taking drawing classes, we often referenced 'the art book.' it was within it's pages that i had an early introduction to many of the great painters of the last few centuries, such as this one painted in 1434 and held in the national gallery in london. 'the arnolfini wedding' has always haunted me. it has a strange, almost supernatural quality to it, with the unseen presence of god heavily painted within the painting's many loaded symbols. what gets me most, besides the never ending question of "is she pregnant or not?' is the reflection of the sitters, witness and painter caught in the tiny convex mirror on the far wall behind the couple. 
nothing like a little death in the morning to get you going........ i just this second stumbled on jason clay lewis in the new issue of ruby mag. i was fascinated by his fur viper & owl sculptures, but it was these pieces in his 'the black death' series that really woke me up. the above image is a wooden heart box, the kind you hope you get for valentine's day, but this one is filled with rat poison chocolates. below are fed bullets etched with the death of things, such as 'charity' and 'virginity'. all of the work is clever, beautiful and deadly. i hope you go see for yourself!
i've been furiously working on my new show, 'i am writing to you with my eyes' that will be up at mew gallery next month. it seems there aren't enough hours in the day! & i imagine that soon i'll be sleeping less and less as i toil away with my paint and jewelry pliers. 
nicoletta ceccoli's escapist figures seem to be the heroines of my childhood. her work has a smoky effect, as if seen through an antique camera lens, slightly out of focus and dreamy. she'll have preciously rare new work this month at roq la rue, as her illustrative work usually keeps her very busy.
japanese doll maker jun takahashi recently had a photo/ doll exhibit of his Graces called 'Undercover Grace' interacting with human figures. i'm smitten with the above image and wish i could see it in person. check out more here.
blood tea and red string is the labour of love of stop motion film maker christiane cegavske. described as a adult fairy tale on the website, it follows two groups of woodland creatures and the doll of a woman whom both groups covet, and will do anything to obtain. there is no dialogue, which creates an eerie effect. this has been one of my favorite stop motion films and i hope that at least a few of you might watch it soon.
amberella sugary & sweet gallery & boutique that opened up near us in the piazza is having their first opening July 9, 10 & 11. The show, titled french for 'my life in pink', features 4 artists, several of them, including myself (!!!) are local philly painters with the addition of LA power house kime buzzelli. i'm super thrilled to be showing with her along with kris chau, who's been one of my long time inspirations! derek ihnat from curating space 1026 fame and fellow fecal face writer is showing with us ladies too. owner amber lynn is having a slew of special events over the three day opening including a harp player, an opera singer, pink vodka &&& hand rolled cotton candy from the machine we fired up last week. delicious.
as a home interior voyeur, i'm obsessed with design*sponge's sneak peeks section. this recent post about gemma ahern's newly renovated flat had me running to get a can of paint. we pooled together & bought a can of paint, 'mickey's shadow' to be exact and are now living in a rain cloud with lipstick colored couches. next up: can i talk the love into letting me spray paint a piece of furniture in barbie hot pink? ? ? or wallpaper one section of the area to look like a cluttered bookcase?
today i was lucky enough to find this paper cut necklace based on this frida kahlo self portrait. much like i imagine stencil making being, paper art seems to be a painstaking process meant for the patient and steady of hand. however, especially in the case of elsa mora's work, it's often incredibly delicate and beautiful. i highly recommend voyaging through all three of her blogs, they are overflowing with lovely inspiration and artwork.
do you know about muumuu house? you should. it's a collective of young writers headed by lost generation writer tao lin. these two books of poetry, "during my nervous breakdowns i want to have a biographer present" & "sometimes my heart pushes my ribs" are a double punch from the house of muumuu and i look forward to getting my paint crusted hands on them this summer to read and review. 
ellen kennedy has a e-book here at bear parade if you can't wait to see what she's all about.
