mary osmundsen
blue organisms with red tips by Mary Osmundsen.
This is an original drawing. In fact, Mary Osmundsen only sells originals in her shop at the moment and for that reason alone hers is a rare place @ Etsy.
I stumbled upon those fascinating drawings about a week ago and I immediately knew I wanted to post about them. They have this strange compelling beauty which seems to emanate as much from their “alien” nature as from their extraordinary beautiful color palette – I am so in love with that muted earthy palette! I find myself constanty returning to them and truly they are much more complex than they may seem at first.
organism with coiled neck, original drawing.
Here is a biological world, a world of “organisms”, “cells”, “pods”, etc. but – and here lies the magic of it – you may well see just what you want in them. I see extraterrestrial organisms, life at work in the Universe…
You can read Mary Osmundsen’s artist statement @ The Drawing Center’s Viewing Program. (You have to enter her name to reach her portfolio, statement and bio).
See her complete portfolio on her Flickr.
She will also be selling her art @ mash handmade, a “brick and mortar” shop in Kansas City.
the colored crocheted jewelry of studiokarma
Yellow Brown Necklace With Large Crocheted Rings (detail) by StudioKarma.
I am always amazed by the beauty of felt or crocheted jewelry. There are a few extraordinary shops @ Etsy – you regularly find their items on the front page – and StudioKarma is one of those. Her necklaces are simply gorgeous.
They are OOAK, but you can ask for custom items anyway. I found this one below in the sold section, and it is one of my favorites :
Multicolored Nacklace With Various Crocheted Rings.
my point ears by the maple ridge
my point ears by The Maple Ridge.
This is an original watercolor and pencil drawing. Just love the description :
is this a Halloween costume or just his favorite pair of pajamas? either way i think he looks great in them. pointy ear-sleeves and stripy arms and legs. is he yelling “trick-or-treat” to his neighborhood cat-lady that lives across the street or whining because he doesn’t want to go to bed without having a cookie as wide as his arms are spread? whatever the case may be i bet i know what you’re thinking. you’re thinking how much you want to squeeze him ’til he poops.
I also love this one a lot :
love me (detail).
jorun rug by petra börner @ ikea
JORUN by Petra Börner for Ikea.
I was browsing through Ikea tonight and noticed this rug in the new products.
vogue sponge by frost indri
This is probably one the most extraordinary things I have seen these last months and I keep coming back to it fascinated by its strange beauty. I also love the description given by Frost Indri (which I don’t think I had read before) :
This sponge is Proud of its long thin legs, and has no doubt in (what passes for) it’s mind that it is >sexy< !
Now about the fantastic texture, she goes on explaining how it is obtained :
By sitting there and poking at the clay with a variety of poking tools. Each and every single hole. Alas, there is no real way to do this any faster. Not with the same results anyhow.
Be sure to check on her deviantART for she has a lot more great sculptural works there for you to enjoy. Besides other evolving sponges – with great funny titles – I love this Vampire Cloak.
Frost Indri is also a member of the Etsy Mud Team.
doubleparlour : cassandra & ernesto velasco
Maiya 2 by doubleparlour.
I had included them in my review of 100 great artists @ Etsy and their art (see for instance their “creatures of habit”) still emerges from that selection as among the most powerful. I had not been in their shop for quite some time, but I discovered today that they also made small polymer clay sculptures and truly amazing ones.
The one above is named “Maiya 2″ for there was a first Maiya – very similar but with a different mood – which sold recently.
I also love this Toshiro immensely :
He’s described as :
A boy who dreams of flying kites and running away from home.
Doubleparlour, born in 2007, is a creative collaboration between Ernesto and Cassandra Velasco. You can find them on myspace.
blythe fashion : mocca summer halter dress
Mocca Classic Summer Halter Dress for Blythe by pollenlike @ Etsy.
I just love the fabric of this dress and even though we – at last – seem to be having some choice around there beyond the “Yet Another Empire Dress” for our dolls, I don’t think we see enough halter dresses. This one is very classy.
felicia nilson’s creatures made of clay
Brown bear bowl : Grumpy Bear by MaidOfClay @ Etsy.
Felicia Nilson had sent me a very nice message through the contact page just after my post 100 great artists @ etsy you might want to visit…. She wanted to bring to my attention as she wrote it three other artists I might enjoy. And although two of these artists were quite interesting, I was actually much more attracted by Felicia’s “MaidOfClay” creatures and even fell deeply for a couple of them !
At the time, the Grumpy Bear above had not yet been sold and it was the first item I really noticed in her shop. I just love this bear ! It reminds me of that rabbit with an “attitude” I have written about here and there I realize I might particularly be fond of creatures with an “attitude” even though there’s also this extremely cute bear that only sold recently that I have been watching regularly ever so often ! Here it is :
How cute is that ? Can you resist that face ? And notice the “little white toenails” ? Aren’t they just great ?
Now here’s what Felicia writes about these hand sculpted ceramic bears :
The thing I love most about the bear bowls (…)
is the little white toenails – don’t ask me why :-)
Well, those bears with their little white toenails are terrific all right but I think some of MaidOfClay’s other sculptures are quite amazing too like this Goth Kitty Girl :
Goth Kitty Girl – Miniature hand sculpted porcelain bust.
Felicia Nilson deals with many different styles and some are not exactly to my taste but you should know that she has a lot of “cat related” stuff and – once again – I like the sculptures best. She is a member of the Etsy Mud Team.
orange bowl by lynn cardwell pottery
Orange and Textured Iron Bowl by Lynn Cardwell Pottery @ Etsy.
I do not fall for all of Lynn Cardwell’s pottery works, but I really really love her bowls. The contrast between the bright and glossy colors on the insides and the rough aspect of the outsides is very interesting, plus the shapes of her bowls are extremely beautiful. That orange one is a favorite of mine, I always come back to it, but then I love orange so much…
Her Ikebana vases are amazing too, they have the same kind of strength and simplicity.
She is a member of the Etsy Mud Team.
abstract paper collages by cherie lester
Original Paper Collage, Abstract Works on Paper by Cherie Lester.
Cherie Lester is also a photographer, but I am not so fond of her photos as I am of those paper collages of hers. The first one is an original, whereas the second one below is an archival print.
You can also see some paintings on her website.
Archival Pigment Print of an Original Collage.