Sheila Hicks at ICA in Philadelphia

I was lucky enough to be able to see Sheila Hicks' work a couple of months ago at the Addison, where her "50 Years" retrospective opened before traveling to Philadelphia. At the time, I was exploring some mini weavings and her work somehow felt  too close to home to be able to enjoy the exhibition.  I think I was afraid it would stop me in my tracks... which it did! I stopped weaving.. Now the show is opening in Philly, a couple of articles came out, one in the New York Times on Monday and one in Art in America online so I got to look at her work again and got re-inspired...  

I love how she seems to be constantly exploring new ways to work. One of the articles talks about how she always have this small homemade loom handy at her studio which sounds a bit like mine. Both articles touch the (obsolete?) subject of separation between art and craft which she seems to have avoided by blending the two in a very personal way.

My favorite part in the Art in America article is this:

" I asked the artist about the in-between character of her work—the straddling of binaries such as male/female, art/craft, monumental/intimate, Western/non-Western—which makes it so difficult to categorize. She was firm in her response: "Do you want me to de-mystify my own work? I don't know how."
Take that.. I never understand the need to categorize anyways. As for all work that inspires me, it leaves me with the recurring belief that I/we just need to keep working..

About having two left feet..

This reminds me of  when I tried to  learn Flamenco a few years ago, or to rollerblade.. same feeling.

Paul Edmunds Linocut in MOMA "Impressions from South Africa" Exhibition

That print alone is going to make a trip down to MOMA worthwhile:

The same, but different. Linocut
Found via Pinterest 

"A single line travels from the top of this piece to its bottom, tracing a path which starts out relatively uniform, subsequently becomes chaotic and then slowly returns to its more linear state."

I also found this amazing piece on his website, made of discarded styrofoam cups in which he handcut arrows:

Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now. March 23-August 14, 2011 at MOMA. More info here.

Japan

My heart goes out to the people in Japan right now, and I hope that the next few days unveil better news.
Another devastating reminder not to sweat the small stuff,  but appreciate & respect what we have, really..

Please consider a donation to one of these organizations if you haven't donated already.

Sonia Delaunay (Russia 1885, France 1979) at the Cooper Hewitt

One more good reason to visit NYC this spring; the Cooper Hewitt is opening "Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Saunia Delaunay". According to their website, "this exhibition will focus on fashion designs from her own Atelier Simultané in Paris during the 1920s, as well as textiles designed for the Metz & Co. department store in Amsterdam in the 1930s. On view will be examples of designs, textiles, garments and photographs from the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, the Musée de l'Impression sur Etoffes in Mulhouse, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France and private collections around Europe and the United States." 

There's no other image on their website yet but here's a few I could find online that are fashion or textile related:

I like her bold style and the way she uses gouache.

And I think I'd be dazzling in one of those...

At the Cooper Hewitt from March 18 through June 5, 2011.

Ipad Drawings

Ok, this is NOT the day when I should be talking about the iPad since they JUST released a new version  today while mine is just a month old... BUT I received the last NewYorker yesterday and it had - again, an iPad painting by David Hockney:

As I sat down to read the magazine, I decided to first do my own version, with my snow boots (yes, we do still wear those around here, in a brisk 19 degrees weather):

Voila! Could clearly work more on the textures but not bad for a first, no? It took 5 minutes with the Sketchbook Pro App.  I am thinking of using it to losen up a bit because it's somehow much easier than on paper; you feel less committed to the marks, can add layers up and down, etc. To be continued..

El Anatsui (b. 1944 in Ghana)

For some reason I had the urge to look at his always amazing work today, so there it is:



Sacred Moon, 2007 Aluminum and copper wire 103 x 141 inches



Untitled, 2007 Aluminum and copper wire 144 x 192 inches

Afor, 2010 aluminum liquor bottle caps and copper wire 111 x 117 inches hanging straight

Three Continents, 2009 Found aluminum and copper wire 8 x 16 Feet
el anatsui
All photos courtesy of Jack Sheinman Gallery

The pictures really don't do the works justice but check out this small video by Susan Vogel on Vimeo to get a better idea of texture and the size of the works... Amazing!

Paper Dress at Anthropologie

Love that dress made out of paper towels dipped in ink/pigment/dye.. It should have made the Oscars.  In the Anthropologie store on Boylston street in Boston. 

Snow remedy

That's it. Every time we get snow from now on, I'll post something that evokes warmth and sun.



pics from misc trips to Oaxaca, Mexico (see them on flickr)



 Take that, Winter.. You are not the boss of me.

Bring Headdress Back

Sometimes I think I live in the wrong century - what happened to wigs, mantillas or hats (and by hats I don't mean just your winter bonnet no matter how cute it is)..  For example what's wrong with this mantilla:



Arabel Lebrusan, Mantilla, via HandEye

 I'll give you that the fact that it's made of silver might make it a bit difficult to wear but I think the look would be so worth the effort..



Mantilla detail

 For softer feel (and the dual purpose of keeping your head warm), what about those hats by Jean Paul Gaultier:

I can hear the pragmatists commenting on the difficulty of getting in the car or riding the subway so I'm looking into turbans.. I love that one but haven't figured out how to make it stand on your head yet, without giving you a headache so I'll keep working on it.

Henry Moore (English, 1898 - 1986) Textile Designs

This week, I'm trying to go back to doodling using pens and pencils instead of thread, and it hasn't been the easiest thing... This textile design by Henry Moore is a good reminder of how fun and playful it should be..



Caterpillar and Insect Wings, 1947 - Serigraphy in 3 colors on rayon, 330 x 650mm



These other two might be less playful yet they are very lose which I envy:



Four Heads, Half Figures and Animal, c. 1946 - Serigraphy in 7 colors on rayon 320 x 720mm





Figures and Symbols, Page from a Design Notebook, 1943 - 203 x 165mm

 See more of Henry Moore's textile designs in this book.

One 9B Pencil = One Drawing

I wish my pencil doodles would come out like that...




Alejandro Almanza Pereda - Out to Lunch - 2008 - one 9B pencil



Kate Tucker Necklace

I'm not too sure what it's made of but I want it..



Kate Tucker via newly discovered fabulous All the Mountains


Her link seems to be down but hopefully tomorrow will be another day..   It's just so inspiring I had to post it - it makes me feel like making jewelry again. Love it..

10 Today!

He's my hero...

Still the most handsome Westie on the planet, and the funniest, bossiest, most playful, you name it...

You have to admit he's pretty darn cute, isn't he??

Isamu Noguchi Worksheets for Sculptures at Moma

1946 Worksheets for Sculptures at Moma last month..

Pencil on cut and pasted graph paper on black paper

The description makes it sound so easy, doesn't it?



detail

And since we're talking about him, here's my favorite lamp design of his:



which can be purchased at the Noguchi Museum shop here.