Marketing agency Kalias-V recently shared a mural they finished of a beautiful owl. Taking up the whole side of a building, the wide-eyed owl sits on a green branch and is surrounded by red leaves. This piece can be seen in Kharkiv, Ukraine. I can’t get enough of owls, especially in street art.
Image above: Kailas-V
Photo by andreypalval
I love coming across greeting cards that make me smile. Even better, I love it when they’re created by a family run store. These were made by Pasadena-based sisters Alice & Doris of Ilootpaperie. Oh So Beautiful Paper just put up a blog post about what they saw at the 2016 National Stationery Show and the cards at Ilootpaperie immediately caught my eye. This was the first time the duo has exhibited at the show.
Here’s how they began their company, “Our cards are very much an representation of our 30+ years of inside jokes and things/people that are our sources of inspiration – and luckily, it turns out that the inside jokes are appreciated by more than just ourselves. We originally started working in paper goods when we created custom wedding invitations for our close friends; greeting cards seemed like a natural extension – a way for us to show our personalities and put to paper a collection of cheeky thoughts and visuals that make us laugh.”
The company also sells enamel pins. Aren’t they all the rage these days? I just had to scoop one up for my sister-in-law. She loves french fries.
Illustrator and graphic designer David Rollyn doesn’t have to drive too far to find inspiration. Living in Oregon, he constantly explores the wilderness and then channels his passion for the outdoors into drawings. Time and time again, he focuses his attention to camping. As he states, “I love doodling little camping scenes. Ones that are really simple and make you think, ‘dang, I really want to go camping now…'” He even goes so far as saying, “There’s no better life than camp life.”
So what does he hope others take away from his mini masterpieces? “I love drawing something so simple, that you can’t stop looking at it. Even though there isn’t much there, you just want to keep looking at everything, every little bit. That’s what I always try to accomplish with my drawings.”
His moto, both in his illustrations and his life? Keep it simple. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
This Saturday, visit my favorite art gallery, Thinkspace in Culver City, to see the surreal works of Cinta Vidal. The figures in her paintings are so consumed, mostly reading books, that they don’t realize that they’re microcosmic worlds have been turned upside down. I like how each piece shows a sense of community yet gives the feeling of isolation.
The opening reception for Vidal’s show, called Gravities, will be held this Saturday, July 23rd from 6 to 9pm. You have till August 13 to check out her works in person. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite but, if I had to, I’d choose Reading Club, seen immediately below. Every single person is reading a book, getting lost in their own worlds. (The poor cats aren’t getting much attention.) How I’d love to collect her works.
Reading Alone
Chaos Wave
Together Alone
I’ve always loved the art of embroidery, so when I started spotting these embroidered necklaces around I was thrilled! Etsy has a number of sellers who just sell embroidered jewelry, which include brooches, bracelets, and necklaces. I fell in love with the space necklace, seen above, and after finding out that there was only one left available, I quickly scooped it up. Today, I’ve put together a list of 21 of my favorite embroidered necklaced out there. While some are clever and others are cool, they’re all tiny, hand-crafted works of art that, when worn, will have you beaming.
Above: Space necklace by BaobapHandmade
Honeybee necklace by bstudio
The Bike necklace by The Kitschy Stitcher
Secret Garden Pendant II by Marigold + Mars
Midwinter Fox by Mother Eagle
Spotted mushroom by PoppyandFern
Mini Veggies necklace by BaobapHandmade
Embroidered Bird’s Nest necklace by Kathy Halper
Donut necklace by SewnbytheBeach
Hot Air Balloon Mini Embroidery Hoop by TheKitschyStitcher
Prickly Pear Cactus by PoppyandFern
Up, Up and Away by SurprisinglyUpbeat
Mountain necklace by DaRinaJewelry
Le Petit Prince by manarayahandmade
A Kidnapping Story, Poor Sheep by manarayahandmade
Little Panda necklace by manarayahandmade
Saturn and Stars by manarayahandmade
Mondrian-ish necklace by Kathy Halper
Rainbow necklace by SewCrossHandmade
Mother and Child necklace by Kathy Halper
Have you given in and started playing Pokemon Go? I must admit that I jumped on the bandwagon. I just spotted this funny illustration showing just how consumed we are by the AR game. I like how it’s the woman who’s completely engrossed! This piece was created by Sergio Ingravelle, a freelance illustrator based in Germany.
Italian street artist Vera Bugatti is behind this breathtaking mural of Alice in Wonderland. Created in a trompe l’oeil style, where it gives the illusion that Alice is a giant stuck inside a house, it’s a magnificent piece of work. Called “Everyone in Wonderland is Mad,” it was painted in Brande, Denmark, with the help of Carlos Alberto Garcìa Hernandez. “I’m totally in love with this mural,” the artist states. “We created this painting in May 2016, in about 9 days. It is 12 meters large.”
See the window? I love how it looks as if people are popping out of the work.
This isn’t the first time the street artist has created an Alice in Wonderland piece. Here’s another she created just two years ago.
I’ve always been a fan of negative space. I love the cleverness of it all. Romanian designer Bodea Daniel has created a set of negative space animal logos that are guaranteed to make you smile. Can you guess all the animals?
via [WeandtheColor]
These micro tattoos by Mr. K are the perfect way to immortalize your pet. In a style that’s reminiscent of Dr. Woo’s, Mr. K creates simple but beautiful portrait tattoos of your beloved dog or cat. Though his Instagram shows that he can do much more than that, it’s the pet tattoos that I’m most drawn to. Could this be the start of a growing trend? I like how they’re all in black. Also, having the name spelled out beneath the face gives it a personal touch.
via [Dog Milk]
New photos were just sent to me by the team behind Rebecca Louise Law’s latest flower installation. I told you about this upside down garden a few days ago, when I showed you pictures by “first-to-the-scene” Instagrammers. Visit the Chandran Gallery to see this impressive work, called The Beauty of Decay, a site-specific installation of 8,000 flowers that gradually change and preserve throughout the duration of the exhibition. You can actually walk through it from now till August 4th.
The Beauty of Decay is the first opportunity for visitors in the US to experience her work in a gallery setting. The 8,000 flowers are entwined with copper and descend from 20 foot ceilings. The hovering flowers gradually change over time. They move through the natural stages of decay – wilting, fading and drying. As the press release states, “By taking viewers on this journey of deterioration, Law extends the perceived limitation of the beauty of flowers, and imbues them with artistic value elevating them from merely decorative items.” Just gorgeous!
Hello, I’m Alice Yoo! I’m founder and CEO of Skylar Yoo, a company dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to be bold. We sell apparel, art prints and accessories to the modern feminist.
In my former life, I was editor-in-chief of the art and culture blog My Modern Met, which I founded back in 2007. I curated and wrote about art, design and photography for more than seven years. (In fact, I published over 7,000 articles which were seen by millions of people worldwide.) I’m also co-author of a book called For Love: 25 Heartwarming Celebrations of Humanity, which is on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
I live in southern California along with my husband and my two toddler boys.
This blog is about what I love, the tough experiences that I’ve learned from, and my journey as a second time entrepreneur. Right now, I’m in the midst of a 365 day challenge, to read one book a day. If you share my passions or want to learn some cool new facts, come along for the ride. I hope to inspire, educate and entertain you!
