art direction

Back to "this season" for the day. I'll be posting some cool image juxtapositions our photographer, Carolina Palmgren, made for us, after she shot the campaign. Loving the polka dots!! #dollhousejeans

And the image on the right is very Andy Warhol, yes? http://bit.ly/1feLKOK

Photographer: Carolina Palmgren

how cute is this?

Get ready for a big burst of cute. How can you look at this and not want a soft serve ice cream cone? I do. Even though it's cold and snowy out right now. Check out these super-cute prints by Melissa Alcruz on Etsy. Each print is 8" X 10" and ships matted in an 11" X 14" white mat. So all you need to do is pop it in an 11" X 14" frame. And they're only $15! There's a heart cookie with my name on it. With sprinkles!

thought of the day

Tracey Emin, I Know, I Know, I Know, neon, 2007

$1 portraits? totally cool

[page print from www.jennywebber.com]

Check this out! $1 portraits! The process is so simple, how could you not do it?

You can find all these instructions on Jenny's Website, but just in case you're too lazy to click, here's how you can get real art for $1:

5 easy steps!
**Find me on Facebook www.facebook.com/onedollarportraits

1. write on the wall, anything you want.
2. PayPal dogonthesidewalk@rocketmail.com $1 (or more if you can/are cool/or want to help this project continue). You can order for two people at a time. I'm not going to draw 2 of any one person however. Some people like to order for a family member, or a surprise for a friend, etc. (If it's a surprise, I won't tag you or them, but I ca...n just email you the file). Please let me know in the PayPal message if your Paypal account name is different from your Facebook name, this will help me put the pieces together and find who you are easier. Also in the Paypal message, let me know who the drawing/s is/are for. If there is no message, I'll assume you ordered only 1 and it's of yourself. You cannot order in advance and pay for future drawings. In other words, please wait till your 1 or 2 portraits are finished and posted before ordering again. Thanks!
3. I'll friend you.
4. I add you to the list in order that I receive your payment. And I draw them in that order as well.
5. I'll post them and tag you.

daniel lefcourt

Breach of Agreement, 2006, Daniel Lefcourt [image via certainlynot.com]

Daniel Lefcourt’s sculptural wall pieces are particularly poignant today. Take a look at his work here.

cuddly bts

Megan Whitmarsh, School Supplies, 2011, embroidery thread, fabric, batting
(dimensions variable)

If you covet those back-to-school supplies from the good old days -- you know, before iPads, zip drives, teleportation devices, whatever -- you're going to love these soft sculptures by Los Angeles artist, Megan Whitmarsh. We've loved her art before on this blog. Take a look.

These handmade little love notes to classic back-to-school supplies (The Pink Pearl eraser! The #2 pencil!) just make us smile. Who wouldn't want to memorialize all those PSATs and SATs that we took? Check out her new body of work, School Supplies, on Grey Area.

attention art lovers: it's art fair season!

Don't you love this map? It's so New Yorker, circa 1976.
Map by Wendy MacNaughton

Calling all art lovers! NYC is the place to be this weekend. People from all over the world will descend on NYC's major art fairs. Just how many are there in all? Let's just say, a lot. There's the Armory Show at the Piers. That's a giant contemporary show that's hard to digest all at once. But digest you must, because there isn't much time. Scope at 320 West Street and Pulse at the Metropolitan Pavillion (18th St) are slightly more manageable-sized contemporary shows that are always a treat. But what about Pool and Volta? And the ADAA show at the Park Avenue armory? The ADAA has a little something for fans of the Modern period. Can you say Franz Kline? How super awesome. Drink lots of coffee, wear comfortable shoes. Wait, scratch that. Wear fabulous heels, sip champagne, and take it all in. All shows start tomorrow and run through Sunday, March 6.

mail art or fashionable postmarks?

Dress by UK artist, Jennifer Collier.
[image via Roadside Scholar]

Now this is great thing to do with cancelled stamps. I wonder if anyone would dare wear this dress to The Royal Wedding? After all, it does have images of H.M. The Queen.

sleep here

How bizarre and cool is this? Hand embroidered, appliqued, and painted re-appropriated linen. Handmade one of a kind by Brooklyn artist Joetta Maue. At first, I thought this was for your actual bed, which might be startling and unsettling every time you rolled over. But it is instead meant to hang on your wall. Approximate size: 30" x 30"

pothole gardens popping up in your 'hood?

[image by artist Peter Dunghey. He's based in England]

While not the most uplifting thought in the world, a pothole garden is one that even land-challenged city folk can manage. [via UO blog]

key to the city

Creative Time presents...

I have three words for you. You must go. Now where I am insisting you go? To Times Square, to a small kiosk on Broadway @ 43rd Street. You should bring a friend or two or three. You will be participating in a ceremony. You will get a special gift. You won't have to pay a cent. You will become part of Paul Ramirez Jonas' Key to the City!!

Paul Ramirez Jonas' Key to the City is a public art project that opened in Times Square last night at 6pm. The project "reinvents the civic honor of bestowing keys on luminaries." Yes, ordinary people like you and me can get a specially-designed commemorative "master key able to unlock more than 20 sites across New York City's five boroughs." Pretty neat. And these special sites will be open until September 6, so you have plenty of time to explore new possibilities.

Participation in the ceremony and in Ramirez Jonas' art project is FREE (and magical). Keys will be distributed through a kiosk in Times Square, Broadway & 43rd Street, everyday from June 3 -27. Kiosk hours are Mon-Fri 2-8, Sat-Sun 12-8. Go!



New York Post coverage of last nights Key to the City opening!

how cool is this?

click image for a closer look
[images via anth0nyc.xanga.com]

I just found this on someone's Xanga profile and had to share!! How cool is this?

I did a little digging and found the same post on Boing Boing. The artist's name is Peter Root, and the cityscape is composed of stacks of staples of varying heights. It was pleasing to learn that the artist has made some other mixed-media cityscapes, like Honey and Almond (2009) and Wasteland (2009). That's a lot of potatoes.

facebook fan feature!

One of our Facebook Fans is a talented artist

We were clicking along to find out a little bit more about our latest Facebook Fans (or "people who like Dollhouse," as Facebook now likes to say. What_ever) and we found this cool artist! We shall call her by her Etsy profile name, bu8bles. She is from Houston, TX and makes Op Art. Totally rad. Check out her Etsy site here. She will customize some art for you. Contact her! Yay creativity!

If we can get an interview with the artist, we'll publish it in this post!

***
UPDATE
I am so excited that I got to interview Stacia, aka bu8bles, via email yesterday. Check it out below! Very very cool Thanks so much Stacia!! I added some links to the artists you mentioned, so everyone can check out your influences.


Six Questions for Our Facebook Fan, Stacia

dollhouse: First of all, talk about your materials. Freezer paper sounds very interesting! And what is the pigment you use?

Stacia: I started using freezer paper since it's cheap and fast and I can make it just about any size. I use acrylic paint for the most part, but for drawings I use my trusty black Uniball pen or a Sharpie. It doesn't bleed through! I have lots of different designs and I'm working on getting a sample of each up on etsy. I have a couple of paintings that I did on canvas that I'll be listing later. They're about 30"x40".


dollhouse: Who is your favorite Op Artist? I am seeing a lot of Jasper Johns influences. Very cool.

Stacia: I first started these kinds of swirly drawings when I was about 11 (22 years ago!), but I didn't know it had an actual name until I took Art History in college (which I ended up minoring in). I would say after discovering *that* I was inspired mostly by Victor Vasarely, but also Bridget Riley. I love doing stuff in black and white, but also with colors that don't necessarily go together. It ends up looking pretty cool. They're just so hard to describe. You'd really have to see it. I describe it as mod abstract op art.


dollhouse: Did you study art, or are you self-taught?

Stacia: I took the required art class in high school, but I can't recall learning anything about what I do. Like I said, I didn't know there was other stuff out there like mine til college. When I was little, there used to be a show on called The Secret City on PBS. I had the giant workbook and learned about shading and contour. I thought about majoring in art later, but really I knew how to do everything I wanted already so I didn't see the point. So essentially I'm self-taught.


dollhouse: What do you do when you’re not making art?

Stacia: I've recently got into researching my genealogy. That takes up a lot of my free time, but it's fun. I haven't discovered any relation to any artists yet...


dollhouse: What made you become a Fan of Dollhouse? (Thank you, by the way:-))

Stacia: Actually when I first joined Facebook, I started looking for things to be a fan of and the show Dollhouse was on. I did a search and noticed you guys and "fanned" you, too! I have the jeans and shoes so I just had to. Since I work as a fashion consultant it just made sense!


dollhouse: What is your favorite Dollhouse design/item/silhouette?

Stacia: My favorite jeans are Style #EL-2192W RN#53728. I only know that since I had to find more on eBay since I couldn't find them anymore anywhere else. =P I really love jeans that fit well in the butt and thigh with a bootcut or a flare.


Super cool. I wish it was a real phone interview. Then I could ask you follow-up questions. Like what you do as a fashion consultant. Sounds like you have a good enriching life. Keep up your art! Check out Stacia's latest pieces on her Etsy site!

the bard goes digital

Yesterday, we Tweeted about a curious new (bizarre) form of Shakespeare.

Twitter!!
Twitter??

Huh?

We learned from a FB friend that "Romeo and Juliet [...] is happening live and in real time - in modern Britain and on Twitter." It's a project and a Website called Such Tweet Sorrow where Romeo and Juliet is "performed" by six characters -- members of the Royal Shakespeare Company -- over a five-week period. That's kinda super-cool when you think about it. I mean Romeo and Juliet is love story about a couple of 16 year-olds right? And who better to Tweet than 16 year-olds? I love love love this idea, and am eager to follow the whole cast on Twitter and watch this play play out. And I can't wait to Re-Tweet Juliet's line from yesterday,

RT @julietcap16 Reflecting on today... Montague is a murderer!! I WAS BORN A #Capulet AND WILL DIE a Capulet!!!

Wasn't it Shakespeare himself who wrote for his character, Hamlet, "The play's the thing. Wherein I'll catch the conscience of a lot of new followers." I do believe so.

sweetness on a cloudy day

Untitled (Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain), mixed media, Aaron King

Yes, it's pretty gloomy in NYC today, and forecast for the weekend is rotten too. Well, I guess we can feast our eyes on this in the meantime right? A cake sculpture in Queens. At the Socrates Sculpture Garden. Check it out here. When the weather clears. [via UO blog. Yes of course, it's another Molly post]

how cool is this laptop?

burgerized. from jason lefton on Vimeo.

Check out this crazy process. Art by Brooklyn-based John Burgerman. Check out Burgerman's work -- it is really great. Especially the paintings on corrugated cardboard. So cool.

felt-y

[images from Mummysam via Jars of Cute]

Who doesn't love felt? Especially when it is so cute and British! Original felt portaits by Mummysam “drawn” with free motion stitching. Via Jars of Cute.

By the way, Mummysam has a blog too. Dollhouse hearts Mummysam! (Just discovered via Twitter.)

friendly street art

I see this happy pink cloud with the yellow lightening bolt all around Williamsburg. Does anyone know who the artist is? I like it.

obey the boson grafitti laws or go to jail

[image from obeygiant.com]

Did you hear about what happened to Shepard Fairey at the opening of his first solo museum exhibition, "Supply & Demand" at the ICA Boston? I know, this happened quite awhile ago by now. But it is still an important issue to think about. Read all about it here. There are so many who are outraged about this. Including the Director of the ICA, Jill Medvedow. Below, some articles to check out.

A Message from Jill Medvedow, Director, Boston ICA
The Boston Globe
Loaded Gun Boston
ArtINFO
Wooster Collective

to name a few...

I am not sure if I am getting into copyright infringement by re-posting the above photo. Anything to do with Shepard Fairey these days is just a hotbed of controversy.

megan whitmarsh

Future Rock, 2004 by Megan Whitmarsh [image from meganwhitmarsh.com]

This is all done with needle and thread. Pretty neat. I love the guitarist's rainbow chevron vest. I believe the keyboardist is a yeti, a popular subject for the artist. To learn a bit about Megan's inspirations and creative processes, check out "A Stitch in Time," an article in which she is featured in the June/July 2008 issue of Bust.

Check more of Megan Whitmarsh's thread drawings on her site. Megan lives and works in Los Angeles.