Tiny Showcase

Left: Adam Hancher Right: Susie Ghahremani

I've been following Tiny Showcase for years, but this is the first time I've thought to blog about them! If you haven't heard of it, Tiny Showcase is a small print shop in Rhode Island that sells high quality,  limited edition prints from talented artists on a smaller scale, so you don't have to be rich to collect some great art. In addition to this, a portion of each sale goes to the charity of the artist's choosing, so everybody wins!

Neil Dawson's Large Scale Sculptures

Horizons appears as a giant, Lichtenstein-esque falling sheet on a green hillside in New Zealand.
Photo: David Hartley, from Neil Dawson's website

Thanks to my friend Jane, I recently came across this photo of Neil Dawson's sculpture Horizons, but as it turns out I've been admiring his work in situ for quite a while.

Everybody Loves Mike Hamm

Known as much for his big smile as the red moustache that perched atop it, Mikey Hamm was a true star. He has been dearly missed by family and friends from coast to coast, or perhaps I should say around the world, because surely I'm not the only one who said goodbye from across the ocean.



I've been working on and off on these drawings of Mike this year, coming back to them between long breaks, and I think they are nearly finished. I drew them for Mike, for his family, and for his friends that miss him. His birthday is a few days away, so what better time to share them?

When I first decided to draw Mike, I knew I couldn't draw merely one portrait; Mike was a man of many faces: candid, outrageous, silly, and sincere. I looked at dozens hundreds of photos that flooded his facebook page and picked a few that inspired me. I decided to keep them relatively simple, with bright splashes of colors that remind me of Mike. I tried to make them drawings that Mike would have liked.

I think I will run a screen print edition when I'm back in Texas. I haven't printed anything since my wedding invitations, and I find screen printing to be a very therapeutic act. I don't want any profit from them, but perhaps if people are interested, I could ask for a donation to a charity of his family's choosing in exchange for a print. What do you think?

If you would like a print, please let me know in the comments or by email. I would like everyone who wants one to be able to have one, but I also don't want to print way too many.

Synthetic Geodes by Elyse Graham

I have a soft spot for geodes. I like the idea that a plain looking rock could contain such beauty, a tiny world within it that becomes a two sided diorama when cracked. Elyse Graham loves them just as much as I do. She loves them so much, in fact, that she makes her own.

Vivid Sydney

We were lucky to be in Sydney for the annual Vivid Festival. Vivid transforms the Sydney waterfront with a beautiful, musical and, well, vivid display of light installations.

Sale on Laurie Hastings Illustrations!

I met Laurie Hastings when she came to my college for a semester. The next year, I went to her college for a semester. I'm still not sure it was a fair exchange; I'm pretty sure my school got the better of the trade. I've always loved her work, and when I saw this sale I wanted to share it with my readers.

QWERTY Walls by Sarah Frost

From afar, Sarah Frost's installations might look like just another tile mosaic. Up close, they are made of thousands of individual recycled keyboard keys. Obsessive, quirky and memorable. Just the way I like 'em.

A Curious Collaboration With Caddisflies

Photo: Roy Larimer

Nature is a constant inspiration for many artists, and some of the most beautiful art is created when humans collaborate with the natural world.

Photos: Jean-Luc Fournier & Frédéric Delpech

Hubert Duprat began his work with caddisfly larvae in the early 1980s. He collects the larvae from their natural environment and relocates them to his studio. There he gently removes their own natural protective sheaths and puts the larvae in tanks filled with his own materials, from which they build their new homes. By depriving them of other materials, he ensures they use what he provides.

When he began the project, he only offered the caddisfly larvae gold flakes. Since then, they have enjoyed various semi-precious and precious stones, including turquoise, coral and lapis lazuli, as well as sapphires, pearls, rubies, and diamonds.

Photos: Jean-Luc Fournier & Frédéric Delpech

In the film below from the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, the artist discusses a few of his beautiful sculptures. If you'd like to skip to the caddisfly project, it begins at the 2:40 mark.


"I create situations. I'm a bit like an architect who has builders carry out his work."

Clockwise from top right: Jean-Luc Fournier, H. Del. Olmo, H. Del. Olmo, H. Del. Olmo

I first heard about this from Bug Under Glass, about whom I've written before. For more about Duprat's work with caddisflies, see Cabinet Magazine.

Jeremy Miranda

Jeremy Miranda's paintings range from the tropics to the tundra, and while I usually hate winter, my favorites among his work are those set in bleak, cold and dark places.

Animal Illustration by Charley Harper

You might recognize Charley Harper's style, as I do, from old Golden Books. I most prefer his simplified illustrations when jumbled in a collage, how about you?

The Shiny World of Leah Giberson

Desert Camper 2

Leah Giberson's work has always fascinated me. Her distinct style is as memorable as her subject matter of vintage houses, caravans and objects. In her work, mundane suburban objects are painted in harsh light, with their surroundings pared down until they appear otherworldly.

Vintage Heroes by Alex Gross

Left: Magneto Right: Godzilla

Alex Gross collects vintage "cabinet card" portraits. He likes to transform some of them into super heroes and other recognizable figures, leaving the original face peering out of its new persona.

Sandwich Artist

These simple sandwiches spotted at Low Commitment Projects brought a smile to my face. Some don't look particularly tasty, but all are a little edible masterpiece.

The Mondrian is my favorite.

Inspired: Street Art by Remed

Today I'm feeling inspired by the French artist REMED. If you haven't seen his work before, check it out at his website or on his flickr photostream.

Inspired: Wood collages by Richard Pearse

Cowshed (L) Naki (R)

I've always loved salvaged wood collages, and these pieces by New Zealand artist Richard Pearse are blowing my mind. According to the biography on his website, Richard currently lives in a shed in Patea, South Taranaki.

Charles Goldie's Maori Portraits

Charles Frederick Goldie is one of the most famous and controversial artists from New Zealand, although I had never heard of him before coming here. When I first saw his Maori portraits, I was drawn to them, and I think many others have the same reaction.

Inspired: Vintage Photorealism

If you know me, you know how I feel about vintage, classic cars and antiques. Something about the colors and shapes of old things draw me in, along with the patina and charm they have acquired over their long life. On top of that I'm a sucker for photorealism, so when I saw Christopher Stott's oil paintings, I knew I had to share them here.

Inspired: Thread Paintings by Cayce Zavaglia

I'm blown away by the photorealistic embroidery of Cayce Zavaglia. I'm a big fan of Chuck Close, and her bold portraits have a similar presence, though mixed with the softness of thread in a way that makes them unforgettable.

Ceramic typography by Stephanie DeArmond

Today I'm feeling inspired by the creations of Stephanie DeArmond, who uses traditional hand-building techniques to make typographic forms from clay.