Archive for the ‘Embellish/Art+Design’ Category

Santa Monica based artist Diane Meyer combines personal travel photographs and embroidery. The artist sews directly on the photographs partially obscuring the pictures. The final works are abstractions of the original images — layered, seemingly nostalgic and mindfully intriguing. {See more of Diane Meyer’s work online here and here.}

{Intricate wire letterforms by Dan Hooper via Behance.}

Australian artist Amy Joy Watson hand-stitches her joyful, geometric sculptures out of balsa wood.

Untitled, 2011, balsa wood, watercolor, polyester thread, balloons

Untitled, 2011, balsa wood, watercolor, polyester thread, plaster, 310  x 200 x 210 cm // Untitled, 2011, balso wood, watercolor, polyester thread, glitter, pine, 45  x 55 x 55 cm // Untitled, 2011, balsa wood, watercolor, Indian ink, polyester thread, glow-in-the-dark pigment, pine 50 x 52 x 52 cm

Untitled, 2011, acetate, glow-in-the-dark thread, helium balloon 220 x 40 x 40 cm // Untitled, 2011, balsa wood, watercolor, polyester thread, giant gobstopper 30 x 50 x 40 cm

Untitled, 2011, balsa wood, watercolor, polyester thread, 140 x 150 x 130 cm // Untitled, 2011, balsa wood, watercolor, polyester thread, helium balloon 350 x 80 x 80 cm

{See more at Amy Joy Watson’s website.}

Under the direction of British fashion stylist Charlotte Stockdale, Jo Malone’s Red Roses perfume has been reimagined as a Pop Art collector’s piece. Stockdale’s first collaboration with the brand includes a small number of hand decorated, chicly dripping bottles.

As far as apparel mail order catalogs, J.Crew has released some of the most memorable covers. On the top of my list is August ‘09 {upper left}, shot in Monterey, California. Widely romantic, the cover sells more than cashmere sweaters, it sells narrative and a poetic, contemporary look at Americana {Do you suppose she’s reading Faulkner?}. My second favorite must be from March ‘08 {upper right}, shot in Palm Springs at the ever photogenic Kaufmann Glass House by architect Richard Neutra.

While the J.Crew Style Guide from October ‘12 {lower left} features the significantly larger logo, it is utterly devoid of J.Crew products. The Sept ‘11 cover makes my favorites list because, as a former dance student who gave up ballet in my teens, I realize that {not unlike myself} most women  are frustrated ballerinas. The cover image is not so much about the cozy  sweaters worn by women and girls photographed, rather it depicts a common female desire — to be graceful as a ballerina.

Artist Josh Blackwell takes old plastic bags and carefully weaves them with thread to create his Plastic Baskets. Fantastic. {See more of Josh Blackwell’s work online.}

The 2013 Prisms Calendar, a limited edition letterpress and gold foil print by Julia Kostreva, will help you keep track of all your rockin’ days. {Via Miss Moss}

I really like Francisca Pageo’s collages. {See more of her work online.}

Ron Mueck is a realist artist who started his career as a model maker and puppeteer for film {including work for Labyrinth}. Muerck’s sculptural pieces maintain a dramatic narrative, partially accomplished through scale, partially through hyper, raw realism. Incredible in photographs, I can only imagine experiencing the sculptures in person. {Via 1//2.}

Sydney based artist Anna-Wili Highfield creates sculptural animals using archival cotton paper, which she paints and sews together. {See more online at the artist’s website and Anthropologie.com.}