Beck Wheeler
Posted by Amy on Thursday September 2, 2010
From Kate McCarthy I stumbled on the work of Beck Wheeler — an artist who is living in New Zealand. She combines toy making, textile and woodworking techniques to produce sculptures and her work has been exhibited in Melbourne, Spain, UK, USA and Canada.
She is continually inspired by the tradition of folklores and since her move back to New Zealand from Melbourne, Australia – she is inspired by patterns and textures found in nature. She’s also experimenting with digital media and will bring painting, sculpture and digital media together through installation which will culminate in an exhibition entitled The Swanndries Guys, which will be held at High Seas Gallery in Auckland starting 22nd October 2010.
Kate McCarthy
Posted by Amy on Wednesday September 1, 2010
Ever looked at child-inspired art that’s well, grown up?
Take a look at Kate McCarthy’s work and you’ll see what I mean. Inspired by early childhood memory of pure shape, color and intent, Kathy’s managed to dissect the colorful (and sometimes fleeting) world of play into a 2D interpretation mixed media work with a spot of humor thrown in.
I could detect a hint of innocence in her works, and also a sense of wonder as she wields her brush – I love the playfulness that shines through!
Comments [4]
Artist interview: Laura McKellar
Posted by Melanie Maddison on Wednesday August 25, 2010
This week’s interview is with Laura McKellar, an artist living in Melbourne who has an amazing series of work – digital prints on fabric, which she then hand-embroiders. There’s more to this crafty lady than meets the eye, so read more about her in this interview with Melanie Maddison, our chief interviewer on Pikaland!
Website: lauramckellar.com
Blog: lauramckellar.blogspot.com/
Online Shop: www.lauramckellar.bigcartel.com/
Zine: iloveokay.com/
Zine blog: www.iloveokay.blogspot.com/
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/sirseven
Hi Laura, could you tell us a little about yourself, and what are you currently working on?
I am a freelance graphic designer living in Melbourne, Australia. I’m currently working on artwork for exhibitions, album artwork, illustrated ceramic brooches, some logos and thinking about my next issue of my zine Okay.
How long have you been creating art, embracing your creativity, and working towards developing your current style and output?
As a little girl I was encouraged to be creative. My sisters and I would spend a lot of time drawing and painting and using mum’s Derwents.
My uncle and grandfather were both photographers and I was influenced at an early age by them. I collect film cameras and use my photographs with illustrations. I am drawn to images I find in old 50s & 60s pattern books and have collected many which have had a significant effect on my work.
I studied graphic design for 5 years at college but I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember. Learning to use design programs on the computer has definitely influenced how I design my artwork.
How did you first learn to access your creative and artistic talents, and gain the confidence to make art your career?
I grew up in a very creative environment. My aunt is a professional illustrator so from a very early age I learned with a lot of hard work and dedication that it is possible to make art your career. I also learned at school that I could make a living from being creative and have since pursued it!
CLICK HERE to read the entire interview!
Mayuko Fujino
Posted by Amy on Friday August 20, 2010
Beautiful collage work by Mayuko Fujino, a paper cutout artist currently residing in Tokyo. All of her works are created with an X-Acto knife, paper of Washi (Japanese handmade paper), and magazine papers. Through years of experimentation, she has arrived at her current style that marries collage and paper cutouts. Her portfolio is amazing, and is a must see for papercraft artists and lovers.
Her solo exhibition entitled Arikui Abduction (images above are from the series) have just ended but original pieces can be purchased from Megumi Ogita Gallery. And she also has an Etsy shop!
Artist interview: Katy Horan
Posted by Melanie Maddison on Wednesday August 18, 2010
Katy Horan is a painter, drawer, crafter, and maker-of-things. She loves all things folky, spooky and crafty. Originally from Texas, she now lives in Austin.
Some of Katy’s work features in The Dazzle, a group show at Narwhal Art Projects in Toronto, Canada, which opens Sept 9th and runs until Oct 17, 2010.
{Interviewed by Melanie Maddison}
Website: www.katyart.com/
Blog: katyhoran.tumblr.com/
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/Katyart
Hi Katy, how are you? What are you working on at the moment?
I am great, thanks! I’m experimenting quite a bit these days. I am trying to balance the tiny details with more texture and looseness. I am hoping to make some large scale figures that incorporate ghost and widow imagery…should be pretty spooky.
How would you describe your art?
I would say I make bizarro lady monsters out of tiny lace patterns that make my hands hurt. That’s the casual version.
Here’s the formal version: I intuitively combine fragmented visual references with imagery from my own memory to create something that is both ambiguous and familiar. I do this to filter images from my own subconscious while raising questions of what we visually identify as feminine.
What are your daily inspirations?
I get a lot of inspiration from things I read, listen to and watch. I like to use my work as a filter for all the tiny pieces of inspiration I absorb in my everyday life and that remain from my childhood. Folk and ghost stories are a source that I return to regularly.
I am also really into history, so I like to incorporate visual details from the eras that interest me. Right now, I am really into Victorian mourning customs, so there is a lot of widow imagery floating around my head and studio.
How did you first get started in art, is it something that you’ve always been interested in and excelled at?
How long have you been creating art, embracing your creativity, and working towards developing your current style and output?
I always drew. As a kid, I did all kinds of other activities….dance, theater, piano….but art was the only thing that I never got bored with. It always felt more natural to me than anything else.
I always wanted to do something visual. I went to college initially to study costume design, but became more interested in children’s books than theater. I then transferred to RISD to study Illustration. After I graduated, my work gradually began shifting towards fine arts, so when galleries began showing interest and publishers weren’t, I decided to pursue a more fine art sort of path. Since then (around 2006) I have been pushing my work and process, trying to find deeper concepts and create more dynamic imagery.
How did you personally learn to access your creative and artistic talents, and gain the confidence to make art and creative expression your career?
My work is at it’s best when I work completely intuitively. I have always sought that place where the conscious mind shuts up and the work becomes meditative. I listen to audio books to distract the nagging, judgmental part of my brain, so that I can work without thought. It’s been a lot of trial and error to find the best way to get around my neurosis and ADD, so that I can just work and not worry about it!
As far as confidence goes…I am not sure how I kept that up. I am just so self conscious about everything else that it was a natural choice to pursue the art instead of another career.
CLICK HERE to read the entire interview!
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AJ Fosik
Posted by Amy on Wednesday August 4, 2010
I’m enthralled by the work of AJ Fosik a sculpture artist from South East Michigan. His beautiful 3D sculptures are assembled out of wooden cut-outs that remind me of the dragons and creatures that punctuate Chinese mythology; and also the various masks that they wear! And no wonder – he credits folk art as a big influence in his work. The detail to attention on each of his pieces are amazing.
Read more about him and his work via his interview on Fecal Face.
Comments [6]
The Pao Pao girls
Posted by Amy on Friday July 30, 2010
The Pao Pao Girls is a collaborative outfit of two Japanese artists: Aya Kakeda (featured previously) and Fumiha Tanaka who are currently having an exhibition over at the Alternative Cafe. Born in Japan and currently residing in New York, the combination of their work is best described as a mash up of APAK and Betsy Walton!
Their work on display is a mix of surreal fantasy landscapes that showcase their unique inhabitants. Guest curated by Kevin E. Taylor (another fantastic artist), the show is on from July 9th-Aug 12th, so if you’re in Monterey, California hop on over for a visit!
UPDATE: Read about Fumiha’s adventure in the course of running the show on her blog!
{Thanks Meighan!}
Comments [4]
Artist interview: Nathalie Chikhi
Posted by Amy on Thursday July 29, 2010
Nathalie Chikhi is the queen of experimentation. She’s been making art everywhere she goes and no material is off bounds in her creations. Although I am very much taken by her drawings and colorful explorations (particularly Pixels, which is made up of ice-cream sticks!) she has experimented with paper, sculpture, bamboo and even messed around with toy cars — I kid you not! Read on for a personal one-on-one with Nathalie and you’ll soon be inspired to look around for things to make too!
Name: Nathalie Chikhi
Location: Orlando, USA
Website: nathaliechikhi.com
Shop: shop.ikubix.com
Gallery representation: newbloodart.com London, UK
Blog: nathaliechikhi.blogspot.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/nathaliechikhi
Facebook: nathaliechikhi
Illustration media: I do art & design so all kind of media and techniques like graphite, permanent markers, vector graphics, acrylic painting, clay, textiles and many more…
Tell us a little more about yourself!
First, I would like to thank you Amy, to give me this interview and the opportunity to share my work with the Pikaland’s community. {Amy: you’re welcome Nathalie!}
I was born and grew up in Quimper, Brittany. I went to art school over there, the only thing I knew is that I wanted to create some stuffs. During my childhood, I was drawing on the last page of my notebook and did some murals in my bedroom. At school, I was better in drawing that anything else.
Where do you live? What stands out about living where you are, and what is your daily schedule like?
I am primary based in Orlando, Florida where I have my home space studio. But I also travel extensively across USA. I have created many pieces in temporary domestic space or hotel rooms. I want to keep doing new artwork even if I am out of my studio. I use the space as a rule like a format of paper or a limited numbers of colors. This limitation of space helps me to experiment with various materials. For example, the series blizzard was done with permanent markers on paper. The series Pixels started in a domestic space, using wood sticks painted in acrylic and continue in my art studio. This process is part of my art practice.
What is great with Florida is the weather. I have also my friends there. Orlando is a growing city, with many things to do, a lot of opportunities for artists and close to Miami.
I am very much 9:00am-10:00pm. I practice art daily, alternating the creation of new artworks with marketing tasks/website updates/inventorying/reading art blogs (and so on).
How did you get your start in making art?
During my time in France, beside my graphic design job, I kept connected to the art world going to openings and art conferences or taking art classes. I have been invited by BD4D to create a flash motion. I did some videos with a creative group of designers which have been showcased at the Centre Pompidou and at the Biennial of Valencia in Spain. I did few paintings and sold some.
But let’s say, coming in the USA has been a revelation of what I really want to do. I decided to build a strong portfolio back in 2005 after I visited New York for the first time. I was really blown away by all the good art over there. It was amazing!
Right after NY, I moved to South California where I really started to paint-draw daily. I found out the series Mechanic and showed my work metamorphosis at the Art Center of Huntington Beach. Back in France, I continued to practice and organized my shows; one in a shop of contemporary furniture in Paris and another one in local cafe in Brittany. It was interesting to confront my art with people familiar or unfamiliar with art. At the same time, I did some textile monsters and illustrations but I felt more attracted by abstract textile works like ovolites.
CLICK HERE to read the entire interview!
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Tiny Inventions
Posted by Amy on Wednesday July 28, 2010
Tiny Inventions is the Brooklyn-based directing team of Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, and I’m in love with their latest project: a 10-minute animated dark comedy called Something Left, Something Taken about a vacationing couple’s encounter with a man they believe to be a serial killer. The film also features their own voices!
While the film is great, I really appreciated the highly detailed posts about their process. From character design (they purposely made “uglier” characters!), to how they filmed the decomposition stage (watch the whole show to find out more!), they shared their experience with fans and students generously. Max and Ru combine handcrafted art, photography, and digital techniques into their animations; and adds their own humor into the mix. The result? Beautiful, one-of-a-kind handmade films that I wouldn’t mind watching over and over again.
See more of the duo’s work over at Tiny Inventions!
{Thanks to Gina for pointing out their work!}
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Review: Impressive
Posted by Amy on Saturday July 24, 2010
I remember seeing a small machine, almost antique-like that stood at the corner of a big printing house when I was checking the proofs of a magazine I was spearheading a few years ago. I asked the manager about it, and he mentioned that it was a letterpress machine – very old and broken, so it couldn’t be used anymore. It looked regal, despite its age, and very beautiful — it left me wondering about the prints that came out of the machine before it was left by the corner. Thankfully, artisans everywhere are now taking these old presses and giving them a new lease of life; and knowing that has made me feel lots better — I wouldn’t want these old presses to suffer the same fate as the one I saw.
With the resurgence of craft and the handmade movement, letterpressed stationery ranging from bold, typographic promotional items to pretty and cute wedding invitations are everywhere to be found. They’re the perfect accompaniment to the movement – they’re tactile, beautiful, and because they’re hand-pressed, each one is slightly different from one another.
So when Impressive: Printmaking, Letterpress and Graphic Design came in the mail, I was ecstatic. It’s a beautiful book – big (it measures 12 × 9.8 inches!), generous and so very inspiring.
Title: Impressive: Printmaking, Letterpress and Graphic Design
Hardcover: 256 pages
The book covers more than 100 letterpress printing studios and their work, interspersed with interviews with a few of them about their craft. The book is a great showcase of how contemporary designs fits in beautifully with this style of printing, made popular in the mid-15th century. Fun fact: Did you know that back then the impression made by a letterpress machine is not as distinct as they are now? Today, impressions are made deeper to set themselves apart from other conventional printing processes. A badge of honor, if you will!
CLICK HERE to read the full review!
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