Have You Heard? Earplug Earrings!

I love kitschy things and found-object earrings. Whether decorating your ears with zippers, Legos, Rubix Cubes, or bacon, there's no end to what can adorn your earlobes.

Recently, I've gone to several concerts where the sound systems were rather deafening. How convenient would it be to have your earplugs handy at a time like that?

Videos:

No Diggity - Blackstreet

I Can Hear Music - The Beach Boys

I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

Heard Them Stirring - Fleet Foxes

The Reading List of Phenomenal Art Books

I love artbooks. And now, I'd like to present my favorites in...

A Reading List of Phenomenal Art Books:

An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration from the Private Sketchbooks of Artists, Illustrators and Designers - Danny Gregory

Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns - Michael Perry

Hand Job: A Catalog of Type - Michael Perry

National Geographic Image Collection - National Geographic, Michelle Anne Delaney, and Maura Mulvihill

Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs - National Geographic and Leah Bendavid-Val

Design for Obama - Posters for Change: A Grassroots Anthology - Steven Heller, Aaron Perry-Zucker, and Spike Lee

The Art Book - Phaidon Press

The Photo Book - Phaidon Press

The Arrival - Shaun Tan

1000 Record Covers - Michael Ochs

And anything published by Taschen or Phaidon.

Video:

Wrapped Up In Books - Belle and Sebastian

SOFA so Good!

Chicago recently held the SOFA (Sculpture Objects and Functional Art) conference. Held at Navy Pier, it featured works from ceramic and glass artists from around the globe. It was really fascinating to see what everyone was making out of essentially the same few basic materials. Glass, clay, and wood are extremely versatile. And the Corning Museum of Glass was doing demonstrations with their own portable hot shop!

Artists' work pictured here: Lauren Kalman, Kurt Weiser, Anne Lemanski, and Anna Williams.

A Playlist for SOFA: Songs/Videos:

Sofa Song - The Kooks

A Spoonful Weighs a Ton - The Flaming Lips
Lip Gloss - Lil Mama

Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) - Paul McCartney and Wings
You Ain't No Picasso - Bishop Allen

Jaws Theme - John Williams
Fins - Jimmy Buffett

Talking Bird - Death Cab for Cutie
Lullaby of Birdland - Ella Fitzgerald

Illustration Month

I'm starting up Illustration Month. After hearing a friend talk about NaNoWriMo, I was intrigued by the concept, but would much rather illustrate a novel than write one.

From the Blog:

Inspired by NaNoWriMo and the 24-Hour Comic Marathon, Illustration Month runs from January 1st to January 31st, 2010.

The Premise: To illustrate, using the media of your choice, a novel, continuing news story, or any piece of literature in the span of one month.

The Process: You can draw, paint, photograph, print, sculpt, sew, or digitally create your images. Sculpt with clay, draw with ink, flamework with glass, or photograph with a DSLR or a point-and-shoot.

The Presentation: Document your work for yourself and post it on the blog if you’d like to share your images.

I'm really excited about this. Check out the Facebook page, too.

Video:

Every Picture Tells a Story - Rod Stewart

I Have an Etsy Now.

I have set up my Etsy shop at last.

I'm going to celebrate with Ninjasonik.

Video:

Art School Girls - Ninjasonik

BRUUUUUUUCE!

Recently I went to the Art Institute of Chicago and got a chance to see some of the famous work of Neon/Video/Sculpture artist Bruce Nauman. I was floored by the amount of neon letter work he has done over the years. After having studied different techniques of neon bending, I have an enormous appreciation for anyone who can create numerous uniformed letters out of glass.

I had heard of his neon work before, but not his video or sculpture. I was actually frustrated trying to watch his clown video piece, although he accurately conveyed the mood he had intended with that piece.

His neon, however, is presented in an easy-to-read manner, with an overwhelming attention to detail and craft. He was featured on the wonderful PBS program Art:21, which explores the work, lives, and processes of modern-day artists.

Bruce Nauman's work is intense, both visually and emotionally, and his technique is inspiring to neon students all over, and this neon bender is no exception.

Songs:

Life In Technicolor - Coldplay

That's Life - Frank Sinatra

Human - The Killers

Death - White Lies

Modern Nature - Sondre Lerche