Brandon Locher's Creative Process

Nearly a year ago, we shared the incredible illustration work of Brandon Locher. It’s easy to recognize a Locher piece, as his distinct style is intricate, colorless and evolutionary of his Mazes to the Motherlode series. Locher draws for ten hours straight, going into a meditative disciplined state. In his own words:

Our journey must be to awaken here and now. To be fully alive, we must be fully present. Hopefully embedded within these illustrations lies a personal topographic blueprint for the vision and self creation of even smaller moons, larger galaxies, and realized worlds. I became very meditative while making these pieces. My self-focused mantra was making this creative process completely effortless.

Here is one of his newest works – a 20″ x 20″ illustration which was made exclusively for The Ghostly Store. It’s a tremendous tangle of mono-patch chords, an appropriate collaboration for an electronic music based label. Click here to buy and learn more.

July 6, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Friday Quick Links

1. Tomas Saraceno’s airborne “vehicles” created from recycled bags via Anthology
2. Artist-designed, digitally printed, on-demand wallpaper from Feathr via design-milk
3. Yosuzi Sylvester’s gorgeous hand woven hats via Honestly WTF
4. Stefaan De Croock uses wooden doors to create wall murals via Creative Boom
5. Swooning for Deco wallpaper via Present & Correct
6. Interview with ceramicist Amanda Smith via The Jealous Curator
7. DIY hand-painted abstract curtain panel via A Beautiful Mess
8. Genevieve Felix Reynolds’ intricate layered paintings via The Design Files
9. Fun DIY Instagram wall art via Poppytalk
10. How gorgeous are the colors in The Good Machinery’s jewelry via Design Crush
11. Digging Tiff Manuell’s handmade accessories via The Design Files
12. Lovely collaged paintings by Camille Hoffman via booooooom

Contributed by Emily Gup

July 3, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Shoes, Stars & Stripes for the 4th!

In the vein of our upcoming holiday weekend, it’s hard not to share these fabulous sneakers from Saint Laurent. Amusingly, they’re French, not American, though they carry the essence of American patriotism that’s also reminiscent of Wonder Woman…right? Super fun, yet a serious splurge.

Enjoy the long holiday weekend in whatever sneakers you may or may not be wearing and happy 4th to you all!

July 3, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Addiction & Obsession in Paris

I’ve been meaning to post this show since I returned from Paris…it’s one of the best retail-meets-art installations I’ve seen in a while. Merci Merci is a wonderfully curated lifestyle, fashion, home and art experience in Le Marais. Whenever I visit, I make sure to pop in to see the latest presentation. As you can image, I was beside myself when I stumbled upon the Addiction and Obsession show that’s currently on display. Celebrating pattern, photography, objects and markings, both Paola Navone and Daniel Rozensztroch have joined forces to share their life’s work. Each artist’s process is documented in both an addictive and obsessional manner, then commercialized and sold in the store in the form of wallpaper and printed materials.

Obsession by Daniel Rozensztroch, Artistic director for merci. Obsession because he has always been fascinated with everyday objects and the inventiveness that emanates from them.
Russian ornaments from the 19th and 20th centuries, brushes, toothbrushes, spoons or hangers, obsession is accepted and displayed on 3 meter long sheets of paper, representing these symbols of popular art in an oversized manner.

Addiction by Paola Navone, longtime lover of the color that fades between blue and indigo. Full framed depiction of autobiographical patterns. The fish ( her astrological sign ), the frank look, and omnipresent Asian culture with the shadow of a geisha and traditional textile pattern.

To purchase the enlarged and oversized wallpaper versions of their work – which was super cool, click here. It took every bit of willpower to not to buy the toothbrush print. It’s a conversation starter for any bathroom.

July 2, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Tuesday's Gallery Picks

In this week’s gallery picks, we’re celebrating America.

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1. Over the period of one year, San Francisco based artist John Chiara made numerous trips to Coahoma County, Mississippi, located in the town of Clarksdale. The photographs made during this time showcase the rich quality of the Mississippi earth with subtle notes of local history at Rose Gallery
2. Someday is Now: The Art of Corita Kent is the first full-scale exhibition to survey the entire career of pioneering artist and designer Corita Kent. Her vibrant, Pop-inspired prints from mine a variety of secular and religious sources and using the populist printmaking medium to pose philosophical questions about racism, war, poverty, and religion. Her work was widely recognized for its revolutionary impact and remains an iconic symbol of that period in American history at Pasadena Museum of California Art
3. New York View celebrates a selection of work by artists, illustrators and graphic designers who have been commissioned by the MTA to design posters and who have been selected to create permanent public work for the MTA system. We examine the way the artists move from pen and paper to more durable materials like glass, mosaic and stainless steel as work is translated to become a permanent fixture in the neighborhoods of New York at Society of Illustrators
4. Kelly Franklin & Carol Jarvis’s show, “Poor Richard”, is an ode to the writings of Benjamin Franklin in his published work “Poor Richard’s Almanac” from the early to mid 1700’s. Many of these sayings about life and practical living have survived in everyday use, and just as many have been forgotten at Paradigm Arts
5. Comprising more than six hundred works, America Is Hard to See elaborates the themes, ideas, beliefs, and passions that have galvanized American artists in their struggle to work within and against established conventions, often directly engaging their political and social contexts at Whitney Museum of American Art
6. Known for his iconic street art pieces of playful children set in urban contexts, Bumblebee draws from a nostalgic love of childhood memory and its simplicity at Thinkspace Gallery

June 30, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik

Textiles at the Brooklyn Art Museum

If you’re looking for a bit of textile inspiration, check out the Brooklyn Art Museum. They have some wonderful pieces to inspect – like this Ted Hallman wall hanging from 1965. Hillman is an American artist who was a true vanguard in mixed media and textile development in the late 1950’s. He would combine natural fibers with acrylic, then experiment weaving them together.

This elevator door was designed by the American artist, Louis Henry Sullivan and is from the Chicago Stock Exchange in 1893. It’s thought that Sullivan’s work was simplified by his most famous disciple, Frank Lloyd Wright – as his other wrought iron works were more intricate. It’s pretty remarkable who relevant and almost current this pattern is today.

If you head up to the fifth floor, you’ll find a robust library of African textiles. While these patterns may seem similar, they represent varied political, social, religious and personal beliefs. Each repeat conveys wealth, power, ideas and artistic styles from across the continent. This section was complimented by a large series of videos, sculptures and cultural paintings.

June 29, 2015 | By: Shayna Kulik