Remember What is Great

There has been a lot of sadness going on in my town. A few weeks ago a student went missing. She was a freshman art student who was last seen telling her friends she was going for a walk. Over a week later the worst case scenario happened when burned remains of a body were found in the park she was going to. Now it feels as though the whole town is holding it's breath while we wait for answers. We don't know if we will get any answers.

Many people, naturally, are talking about this situation. A lot of people are questioning whether the authorities have done the best they can do while others wonder about their own safety and what can be done to make them feel better about it. All I can think about is that this freshman art student only got a taste of how wonderful it can be to be part of an art community.

Maybe I'm projecting too much and I am completely wrong but for me at least, being the "artsy" one meant never really feeling like I fit in. Many adults would remind me that things would be much better when I got to college. They were right. I finally found my niche. I found people like me who thought like me. For once I didn't feel different anymore. I'm so sad that this girl did not get to fully relish this experience. A family spokesperson for Antinette Keller said that she absolutely loved school. I have thought of that sentence over and over again. I hope that she breathed the same sigh of relief I did when she stepped into her first art class. I hope she was so incredibly happy.

Again, I may be completely projecting my own identity to hers. This sort of thing just hit really close to home. I want to honor her memory by asking all of you to think of things in your life that make you so incredibly happy. You don't want to forget any of it. Place it on your highest shelf.

Love you all.

Someone Else's Home

Last week I mentioned starting a new regular post where I would photograph someone's home and/or studio. I'm actually following up on that! This plus my Dreamy, Artful Couple regular posting... that makes me feel like I'm starting to be a real blogger! I sent out the call and many responded. I have a lot of studios and/or homes to show you in the coming weeks (months, even!)

The first Studio/Home Chapter begins with Tessa Shackelford. You may know her as Grue, runner of Dumbkat Press. We were in grad school for one year together. As Tessa is entering her second year of grad school she is starting out strong with great collages and woodcuts. See her website here and read her blog here.

In my own low-fi way I interviewed Tessa. I did this as soon as I got to her house by politely asking her to give me a piece of paper and a pen. I did give her a bag of baby carrots (the halloween ones called Scarrots) so it was a pretty fair trade. After I wrote out some questions, or busy work as I like to call it, I had Tessa write down her answers as I went around her house taking photos. This is the end result. She drew a pretty great "butterfinger."

This is Tessa doing her homework.

Tessa's home is filled with amazing, kitschy vintage finds. They are everywhere. I would like to know the number of cats (objects, not the actual animal) she owns. Maybe we could do a joint giveaway if someone guesses correctly. I'll see if it's possible for Tessa to count all the cats.

I gave her that reclining lady cat with the balloons!!

Tessa's boyfriend Josh brews his own beer and they have a pretty handy set-up for it. Josh turned this extra fridge into his own kegarator.

Tessa throws great parties and this always comes in handy. This is the inside. If i was a girl who drank fancier beer than Miller Lite or PBR I would surely be in heaven.

I also met up with Tessa at her studio for a visit. The lighting there was pretty bad so the photos are kind of green. Tessa is making some work. Don't worry she didn't drink those PBRs. I did.

Tons of ephemera for her collages.

Kitsch everywhere!

That is the end of the tour. Please be sure to check out the gift shop!

For more photos of Tessa's place check out my flickr here.

Loss

I am so very sorry to say that Sarah Gardner passed away yesterday. She was obviously such an amazing person because so many people came together and prayed for her and did what they could do to help the family financially and emotionally. I know everyone hoped for a different outcome. The image above is what many people used on their facebook profiles to show their support for Sarah. Thank you so much to all of you who participated in my fundraiser for the family and thanks to all of you who found room in your heart to think about Sarah and hope for the best. You can continue to follow the family's story here.

Go today and hug your loved ones. If you can't hug them tell them you love them. You never know how much time you have on this earth and you don't want to waste a second of it.

Love to you all.

Dreamy, Artful Couple

This weeks artful, dreamy couple is an adorable pair living in Nashville, Tennessee. I went to undergrad with Adrienne Miller and after graduation she set off for a summer internship at Hatch Show Print in Nashville and never looked back. While interning she met one Brad Vetter who quickly became the second part of this dreamy, artful couple.

(photo source is facebook.)

In undergrad Adrienne divided her time between photography and printmaking. Now it's obvious she is still dividing her time in her work and is making stunning mixed media pieces. See more of Adrienne's work here and go here to see Adrienne talk about art and influences.

Below is a panorama of the couple's studio space. That's Brad working hard at the computer (or is he just facebooking?).

When Brad is not facebooking (haha) he's constructing these beautiful collages and printing rad letterpress posters at Hatch Show Print. To learn more about Hatch click the link. That place needs it's own posting and hopefully I will do that one day. Brad has been working there for quite a while and I think it's evident how that job has influenced his personal artwork. See more of Brad's work here and read about Brad's inspirations here.

The couple sometimes collaborate on posters. These are a couple of their designs.

(image source)

Brad and Adrienne have an Etsy shop online called The Clearance Sale. Go there to find great work at amazingly reasonable prices.

And Cheers! to this dreamy, artful couple.

performance art?

Please please take a few minutes of your time watching this fabulous video. I promise you will not wish you got your time back. Unless you get addicted and watch it a million times.

Dreamy, Artful Couple

I'm crushing...

When I came up with the idea to post on artsy couples I wanted to stick with people I knew but while I wait for images I just have to tell you about Herb and Dorothy Vogel. I watched this documentary last night and learned all about this unassuming couple that, in their lifetime, have put together one of the most amazing collection of art of the 2oth century. Neither are rich and live in a modest one-bedroom apartment in New York City. They are also untrained in modern and contemporary art, they just like what they see. They collected a lot of Minimalist art when it was cheap and easy to get. They never sell the work, they are not interested in the money, they just love art. It is so sweet and pure. I found this website here with a great timeline of their life. This is their website that was recently launched that shows their entire collection.

Watch this documentary and fall head-over-heels in love with this unique couple.

Did you hear?

So I'm always the last to know many things in the cool internet world but just in case you are like me and are unaware of most things I want to share this amazing book with you. I first heard about this book coming out forever ago on someone's blog and I bookmarked it and waited and waited for the release date. Meanwhile I never bothered to find out that there is a great blog by Todd Selby that I could have been looking at every day. That blog is here.

So finally the store where I worked got the book and I lusted after it for several weeks until I finally bought it. The Selby Is In Your Place is a wonderful collection of photos of artists, musicians and other great personalities in their homes or studios. The images have really inspired me to get moving and create my owns inspirations. I also think I would like to start going into people's homes and finding their own creative spots. I always adore looking at homes on the outside, now I think it's time I stepped inside. So I would also like to start making that a regular on my blog. Can I photograph your home?

Here are photos that are both from the website and the book.

Feel Better.

I have plenty of things I should be doing but I'm sleepy and tired from working all day and feeling a little bit lonely. So I looked at this video of bunnies in paper cups. I'm still sleepy and tired and lonely feeling but I'm also smiling a bit now. Enjoy.

Dreamy, Artful Couple

Don't you love when the planets align and a dreamy, artful couple get together and make dreamy artful work while being a couple?

I do.

I had the pleasure of being in grad school with Jessica Robles for a year. I know I have mentioned her before. She makes beautiful work. She has a really nice illustrationy style that I would give my left hand for (I'm right-handed so that's not totally in vain.). Jessica makes lots of beautiful work that you can see here but this collection is part of her "Shoes" series. They are all lithographs on 22" x 30" paper. That means Big!

These shoes belong to a certain Donald Dixon.
Donald's comic style work is very witty and clever. Every time I see a new piece of his I always laugh. Lately he's been making a lot of work by pasting new art onto comic books. I like his use of comics and his personal commentary. See more of his work here and here.

Jessica and Donald are part of my Dreamy, Artful Couple Series. I just now decided to officially start a series. Do you know any dreamy, artful couples? Are you part of a dreamy, artful couple? Let me know!