art

The Noun Project.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 9 Comments

I came across this very cool website yesterday while searching for images of baby sloths: The Noun Project, a free site dedicated to sharing symbols and enriching our language through symbols and images.
From their mission statement:

The Noun Project collects, organizes and adds to the highly recognizable symbols that form the world’s visual language, so we may share them in a fun and meaningful way…We think a language that can be understood by all cultures and people is a pretty amazing thing. We also think our symbols and the objects or ideas they represent are works of art worth celebrating.

The symbols range from sort of silly (and potentially useless, like the sign for drawbridge) to really damn cool (boycott! urban farm!). And you can download whatever symbol you might need for free—or submit a symbol, if you’re artistically inclined.

See for yourself.

Words & Pictures.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 1 Comment

“However long we postpone it, we eventually lie down alone in that notoriously uncomfortable bed, the one we make ourselves. Whether or not we sleep in it depends, of course, on whether or not we respect ourselves.”

Always Joan.

And one of my favorite images by one of my favorite painters: “Wind from the Sea” by Andrew Wyeth.

Wicker Park.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ Leave a comment

You know how I said I wanted to live in a human nest? Well, I did. Pay more attention.

Anyway, artist Patrick Doughrety makes what are probably the most elaborate and wonderful wicker structures I’ve ever seen. They range in size and shape; some look like twisty wooden tornadoes and others reach straight upward a windswept castle. There’s something really whimsical about his pieces—they look just like illustrations from a children’s book, come to life and made on a massive scale. I want to crawl inside and take a nap. Or maybe have a picnic.

More here.

Counting Flowers On The Wall…

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 5 Comments

Oh my god, how much do I love this? A lot! The answer is a lot! It’s a chandelier made out of test tubes, which can be filled with everything from candy-colored liquids to single stem blooms. The innovative lamp comes from Polish Designer Pani Jurek, who was inspired by the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Maria Skłodowska-Curie. Science, decor, and design? I would like to live in that house.

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{and while we’re at it…}

You Get Me Closer…

~ Katy Kelleher ~ Leave a comment

I used to be pretty religious. When I was young, my parents made us go to church every Sunday, and though I complained, there was always a part of me that liked the rituals and the traditions. I even liked confession (which isn’t something you are supposed to like, as every good Catholic knows). I liked the latticework wood booths, the rich red cloth, and the whispery quiet of telling secrets.

Nowadays, I can’t really claim allegiance to any religion—but maybe I would if I had mass in this church. Designed by Belgian architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh, it’s an art project that plays with the very idea of solid enclosures. Called “Reading Between The Lines,” it’s a really beautiful riff on the traditional space of worship. Made of 100 thin sheets and 2,000 columns of steel, the “church” is more sketch than sculpture. And (obviously) I love it.

More details (and some much more in-depth analysis) here.

Two Nice Things.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ Leave a comment

1. Amazing paper flowers by Thuss + Farrell. While paper flowers are always my favorite (anything made of paper, really), their entire website is really inspiring. I adore the still-lifes, especially the images of food (and the makeup, which almost looks good enough to eat!).

2. Photographs of famous photographers with their famous photographs. Really fascinating images from Tim Mantoani’s book Behind Photographs: Archiving Photographic Legends. While I honestly don’t know much about photojournalism, it’s still really cool to faces behind iconic images—like The Tank Man of Tienanmen Square or the portrait of the Afghan Girl from National Geographic. But my favorite one? Mary Ellen Mark.

Garden State.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ Leave a comment

Despite being scary and medical and reminding me of hospitals, this picture is still kind of beautiful. It has a weird under-the-sea vibe, I think. Or maybe it’s the hues (green and gold is maybe the prettiest pairing of colors). Can we make up a genre? Luminescent scifi? Life support chic?

Anyway, much more importantly, this is a picture of a garden.

Wait, what?

Continue reading →

Sugar, How’d You Get So Fly?

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 3 Comments

Artist Brendan Jamison makes amazing architectural structures out of sugar cubes. “I was always in my room building Lego models,” he said in an interview with the BBC. (Of course he was! Legos are the best! I want to play with them right now!)

But before he landed on sugar cubes, he tried building with smarties, which didn’t work quite so well. He says he liked how much he can cut and mold the cubes, whereas smarties are apparently too rigid for such detail. “I was attracted by the beautiful sparkles on the sugar cubes. It is a beautiful finish, you can see the fairytale sparkle in the natural light.”

And if that wasn’t enough to make you like him, here’s a helicopter he made out of wood and wool. Fuzzy!

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Night Lights.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 1 Comment

There’s a forest outside Hokubo Town, Japan where fireflies gather and swarm. The light show begins at 8 p.m. and is seriously magical. It’s so magical I don’t even feel cheesy calling it magical. Lovely.

Naturally, I had to make this the background to my computer… Continue reading →