orange

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.

Pair of cups - light blue and white by Kristin Pavelka Pottery @ Etsy.

I’m not so fond of her other creations, but I really love those two cups a lot. Here’s the description in her own words :

Darling pair of earthenware teabowls with blue and white arc pattern and reddish orange dots. Inside is glazed pale lime green. Trimmed footring with personal stamp.

Ultrasilencer Special Edition by Pia Wallén for Electrolux.

I discovered this on yatzer a very inspiring blog by interior designer Costas Voyatzis and I must say that if ever there was to be “a dream vacuum cleaner” (imagine such a category…) that would be it. It’s just perfect ! I love white and orange so much, and I even think in a small appartment like mine I could let this one apparent happily since I do not have a spot to hide my own ugly one (which I bought a long time ago when vacuum cleaners had not yet started to become interesting)…

It reminds me of Jasper Morrison’s Breakfast Set for Rowenta - let’s just hope it does not have the flaws the Rowenta products had.

(It also reminds me a bit of a version of the Tissot Danica Patrick T-Touch watch that I liked a lot, because of the few touches of red upon the white leather).

But anyway, once again, there’s nothing like simplicity in design. This thing could well be the ultimate vaccum cleaner for some time.

Source :: yatzer.

UFO The Aliens Are Coming by Dream A Little @ Etsy.

Once in a while you stumble into something that simply sweeps you off your feet and it might just as well be because I love SF so much but those little aliens are the cutest ever ! But the real thing though is the flying saucer or UFO, for they would not be as interesting without it. This whole set totally rocks !

It is OOAK and an original creation by Dana Dunn and had I a little bit of money I would have bought it right now.

Orange Rim Vase by reChinafication @ Etsy

New Balance M1300 - Made in England

I’m not much of a sneaker girl but I saw those New Balance the other day on glltn.com and I must say I wish I had a little bit of money. My favorite ones are the blue and orange ones, but I also like the yellow ones a lot.

Source glltn.com via Sneaker Files

The Toy Monkey by Gary Taxali - Exclusive Green Version available @ Kung Fu Toys

While Gary Taxali’s new vinyl figures “Oh No” + “Oh Oh” are on the verge of being released by Bigshot Toyworks, you can still find some of his Toy Monkeys. The yellow version (500 numbered pieces signed or unsigned) is the regular one and not many people are aware that a green version was also released in a limited edition of 200. It was at one point sold by some museum - I think it was the MOMA but I am not sure now - and I just found that Kung Fu Toys has it for $150 dollars.

You can still order the Original Toy Monkey Deluxe Edition @ Chump Toys or @ Orbit Gallery space.

Also see the Original Hand Painted “Toy Monkey” on Gary Taxali’s website.

Oh No + Oh Oh by Gary Taxali - sculpt by Scott Wetterschneider

Note that you can buy the Oh No Bronze Statue along with some artwork by Gary Taxali @ Magic Pony.

OH NO Bronze Statue - Gary Taxali

Gary Taxali

Ceramic coffee mug by Brendan Monroe on Park Life, go to Homewares.
New in 2007. Very limited Edition of 150 pcs.

Brendan Monroe is an amazingly great artist. I discovered his work at the same time I discovered art toys since his Sour figures were then being released amidst quite a bit of turmoil as I seem to recall. The toys had been shown back in 2005 at SDCC and were first scheduled for October/November of the same year, but as is often the case with vinyl figures the production experienced some delays so that even though they were at some point announced for late January 2006 they were not actually released until April 2006. The release itself was a bit chaotic since it was mostly done through pre-orders and it seemed Glen Liberman from Android 8 was doing pretty much everything by himself. You could find the Green and Brown versions in a couple of shops though, but the Red Sour was a Munky King exclusive and the Orange one which was an Android 8 exclusive was sold solely at SDCC.

These “toys” are truly fantastic figures. They are a bit scary at first sight but they are so unlike anything else and so “strange” and sculptural that for many people - including myself - they ranked among the best and most beautiful toys produced in 2006. I love them. I love their strangeness and mystery. (And, Oh joy, I even managed to buy the Green one a couple of months later from Giant Robot - the Brown one was unfortunately “sold out”).

Indeed they have all long been “Sold Out” and the only way to get one - you guessed right - is eBay. Of course the prices today for those figures are quite insane - not to say totally insane if you are aiming for a complete set (the last complete set of four on eBay sold for a little more than $800 about 2 weeks ago) - so if you really love Brendan Monroe’s work for that price you could as well get an original painting or one of his Microbes. Or for less money than you would pay for one Green or Brown Sour you can also buy one of his Potato Heads at HarnerHouse. And truly it is a mystery to me that these sculptures be still available… (Edit : A friend of mine tried to order these and they are in fact sold out. I am sorry since it was not clear at all on the site. 21 September 2007)

Potato head (large) + Potato Head (small) by Brendan Monroe (2005, resin & wood, signed)

Also from HarnerHouse : In Case of Paper Face, a small interactive book.

Other books and zines :
Sour Leaves available at NOWhere Limited and Rotofugi.
Organelles available directly from Brendan Monroe.

Brendan Monroe
Brendan Monroe’s Studio PROJECT S2DIO #049 by www.glltn.com.
Upcoming exhibition “Insides” at Richard Heller Gallery from October 13 to November 11, 2007.

The Sours by Brendan Monroe :
Sculpted by Dave Pressler
Produced by UNKL for Android 8.

According to Squidoo numbers were as followed :

1. Brendan Monroe Sour Brown 400 Produced
2. Brendan Monroe Sour Green 400 Produced
3. Brendan Monroe Sour Red (Munkey King Exclusive) 100 Produced *At Last Report 50 Actually Sold To The Public*
4. Brendan Monroe Sour Orange (Android 8 Exclusive) 100 Produced *SDCC Exclusive Now* *At Last Report Only 50 Will Actually Be Sold To The Public*

Happiness is a field of Poppies (edition 1) by Yumi Yumi

When I created my first Treasury on Etsy I had included this beautiful print by Aline *Yumi* Yamada. I love the sweet combination of colors as well as the pure simplicity of the drawing. If you look at the girl alone, how much more simpler could it be ? (And as you may know simplicity is one of the hardest things to achieve in art.) And even the background which is much more elaborate and decorative, because it is only composed of white lines upon a gradation of one single color, emphasizes this sense of graceful simplicity. The overall impression is really one of peaceful serenity.

Now if you browse through the yumi yumi shop you’ll notice that all prints come in a variation of colors. The print above is labelled “edition 1″ but there are 2 others. Here you can see edition 2 and edition 3 of the same print. Aline Yamada says in her shop that “she loves color so much it’s hard to decide on just one” and when I asked her about her creative process she wrote back to me :

I start all my illustrations with a pencil drawing then work on coloring them on the computer. so I guess the ‘originals’ are in graphite pencil and the final is digital. The tiny animal prints are small gouache paintings I’ve made into prints and my bird and flower prints have elements of watercolor that are incorporated into the final piece.

I must say that although I like her “Bird Prints” my favorites are really her “Girl Prints”. I especially love that one :

Make a Wish (edition 1)

and her last ones - named after her little sister Lily - but I can’t seem to decide which version I like most between edition 2 and 3 :

Lily White (edition 2) + Lily White (edition 3)

You should also check out her Monster Prints, her “monsters” being of course the sweetest creatures ever.

And at the time I am writing this article she has a couple of originals for sale in her shop including this one which I totally love :

Aurora

the yumi yumi shop
Aline Yamada’s blog : Yumi Yumi

Large Whirl #1 + Pebble Cup in Orange + Pebble Pendant in Aqua + Small Whirl #4

When it comes to objects, there’s really Shape & Material. Well I grant you there is also this great dynamic duo called “Form & Function” but let’s just stick to the “Shape & Material” thing. Indeed, you can have the most wonderful color, if the shapes and materials are not right, then it’s just useless, it will never be right.

Kim Westad, since she expresses her art with clay, should know about materials. She used to be a graphic designer but she says her life changed when she decided to take a pottery class. And anyone over the age of 5 having one day put their hands into clay will understand exactly what she means. Because with these arts that require some technique either it’s like some Big Revelation, or more often than not, you just suck at it and you know it will take quite some time before you make anything more than heart-shaped ashtrays - if you ever do. (And although I have had some urges to try myself at the stuff, as you may have guessed to my great dismay I somehow am stuck in the latter category.)

So Kim Westad has this thing with clay, and she also has this great sense of “shape”. To be honest I am not fond of all her creations (some of them are a bit too classical for my taste) but the ones I like I really love. I find her Whirls Collection, and most of all her “Large whirl #1″ - the white ones being my favorites anyway - amazing. Those pieces have a powerful architectural quality (she herself acknowledges to the architectural influences, and they definitely arouse images of the Guggenheim in New York or of some of Niemeyer’s works) and an impressive simplicity about them that make them look more like sculptures than mere decorating objects.

Her Pebbles Cups in Orange or in Chocolate, her Pebble Bowls, Sweet Peas and Votive Holders are also very nice.

She is currently living and working in New York but she ships internationally.

She has been an Etsy Featured Seller in June 2007.
You might also want to read her interview on Crafty Synergy (a great blog I discovered writing this article).

www.kimwestad.com