DIY: The Art of Doodling

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During our time on the west coast last week, my husband and I met up with old friends for dinner in Silverlake. These particularly amazing Australians jumped ship from New York for LA. One of the many stories we rolled over laughing about was our collective childhoods and how each of us were better or worse than we one day hope our children will be. One of the best memories had us reviewing a letter that was written to Elizabeth’s mother, from her teacher, telling her parents how disrespectful she was for drawing all over her school desk…

Which made me think about kids today having to sit still and focus for hours on end without any ongoing creative outlet, it’s surprising that classrooms haven’t really evolved to accommodate for obvious behavior. Hell, I still doodle in meetings (sometimes).

Anyway, this brings me to today’s feature- a great capture of artists Ananya Tanttu and Eetuelmeri Sihvonen creating meticulous pen illustrations at the art gallery and homegoods store, Lokal in Helsinki. I was lucky enough to visit this wonderfully curated space earlier this year and have a lot of admiration for the owner. She’s continuous refreshing the store and filling it with original treasures for observation and commerce. If you’re ever in that neck of the woods, check it out.

April 25, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

24hrs in San Francisco

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I’m back from the west coast and sharing a little treat I happened upon during my 24 hours in San Francisco. My friend Michelle, from Art.com passed along a hefty list with enough exhibitions to keep me going for a week. I opted for the closest/biggest gallery to my hotel and ended up at SF MoMA.

I finally got to see The Clock by Christian Marclay, which was as captivating and impressive as everyone says it is, perused Garry Winogrand’s photo retrospective, and ogled at enough student legs to make me want to place an order at BlackMilk. I eventually made my way up to the rooftop garden to sample this little Mondrian delight. I also got to visit Makeshift Society – a coworking collaborative in Hayes Valley, where I met my friend Janette. The space is bright, beautiful and carefully curated- you can tell it’s made with love and the energy of the creative community. If I’d stayed longer, I would have brought my laptop and set up shop.

P.S. That’s Lisa Congdon’s wallpaper behind us!

April 24, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Tuesday's Gallery Picks

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Taker a closer look at time and movement through these six exhibitions…

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1. Susan Siegel inserts a cast of animal-human hybrids into her intimate, delicate paintings inspired by 18th Century masters at Sloan Fine Art
2. Fresh Paint encompasses a wealth of dynamic and vibrant stylistic approaches to Contemporary painting, each one presenting a distinct, very personal and entirely organic approach to the practice at Lazarides Rathbone
3. Jackie Meier’s “Razzmatazz” explodes with color at Nancy Margolis Gallery
4. Cassandra Smith is fascinated by the dichotomy between organic and geometric shapes, the contrast between natural and synthetic at Sky High Gallery
5. With her new series of energetic works on paper, Simone Shubuck considers our relationship with the past and acknowledges that oftentimes what we think of as “new” are really old ideas re-imagined, recycled or “knocked off.” at Taylor Cordoba
6. The striking female forms in Simon Birch‘s Hooligan bear the imprint of an invisible force, as though someone hurled them through space and punched them into the frame at Ben Brown Fine Arts

April 23, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Tools in Marni's Jewelry Kit

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If you’re looking for some eye candy, give the Marni blog a gander. The pics are awkwardly large, but updated regularly and representative of what we’ve come to love about the brand.

April 22, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Friday Quick Links!

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1. Dip dyed fruit via Present & Correct
2. DIY embroidered sunglasses via Honestly WTF
3. A little boy is freed from his wheelchair with photography via Creative Boom
4. Lovely pics of El Anatsui’s gorgeous works via Patternbank
5. Who inspires your style? via Style Bubble
6. Patterned rolling pins (!) for edible dishware via Yatzer
7. This CMYK halftone printing effect is created entirely by hand via Colossal
8. Dreamy wooden keyboards for MacBooks via design-milk
9. Thoroughly darling hand-drawn icons via design*sponge
10. Beautiful imagery in Iron and Wine’s music video for “Joy” via The Fox is Black
11. Interview with Eva and Kirk Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press via Poppytalk
12. Colorful veggie filled lookbook for Ontour via Trendland

Contributed by Emily Gup

April 19, 2013 | By: Shayna Kulik

Dr Woo's Tattoo Textures

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We haven’t touched on tattoo culture since March of 2009…other than overzealous pinning here and there. When we see art that hints at something new, we get really excited, so today’s post is devoted to Dr Woo of LA’s Shamrock Social Club. His designs replicate the original creations often found in the best zines. Imagine though, bringing those thin lines of texture to life through skin- it’s all very impressive and slightly different than the styles dominating popular tattoo culture. Here are a few examples from his instagram feed, enjoy.