Endicott Redux

Kathryn Spence

A week or so ago, artist Kathryn Spence's owls were making the rounds on all my favorite craft blogs.  I promptly fell in love: 

Spence makes the owls from trash and scrap fabric.  Pieces of Beanie Babies live on in this stunning Great Horned Owl:

Kathryn's owls were on display at the Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco in 2006; you can read more about them (and see more pictures!) at the exhibition page. Here you'll find more of her work from past exhibitions, including pigeons made of newspapers and these intriguing dolls:

Learn about Kathryn Spence in this essay from a past exhibit at the Kemper Museum, and see a list of her exhibitions here.  (The first two pictures in this post come from a post at Ullabenulla, where I first read of Spence's work.)

Now then... where's my copy of Wizard Of The Pigeons?

To sleep, perchance to dream....

 

Oh lordy, I so want this magical bed, created by scupltor/metal-worker Shawn Lovell in Oakland, California. Lovell specializes in one-of-a-kind and commissioned works using traditional and modern forging techniques. Visit the Shawn Lovell Metalworks website to see more. (With thanks to poet Debra Cash, via Delia Sherman & Ellen Kushner, for the link.)

And for the complete "fantasy woodland" bedroom, here's an enchanting rug created by one of my favorite designers, Tord Boontje, (a Dutch artist who lives and works in France), for the Spanish rug company Nanimarquina. You'll find lights, fabrics and other items for this fantasy room in the "Projects" section of Boontje's website, Studio Tord Boontje.

   

The magic of old books...

   

As book lovers here at the Endicott Studio, how could we not be smitten by the paintings of John C. Hulse?

Hulse studied art at Boston University, and trained as a metal smith and jeweler at The College of Art and Design in Detroit. He has traveled extensively, studying old master paintings, and now lives in Florida creating delicately crafted still life images. His work has been exhibited and collected across the U.S. and Europe.

To see more of his beautiful art, visit the painter's website and blog.

Felix Lerouix: Fables De La Fontaine

Luckily for us, the good folks over at ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive continue to post gorgeous illustrations from rare books. This time they have posted the splendid illustrations from a French edition of Fables De La Fontaine, by artist Félix Lorioux. Lorioux, born in France in 1872, was originally a fashion designer until his love of children's literature compelled him to turn to illustrating classic books of fables and fairy tales for children.

Walt Disney was initially very impressed with Lorioux's work and signed him on to develop books for the French market based on Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse and the Silly Symphonies. It's suggested that Lorioux created the image of a duck in a sailor suit that became the prototype for Donald Duck. In 1934, Disney revoked his contract with Lorioux, preferring to do the work in house as well as create a more "standardized" look for the Disney characters. More's the pity considering this sumptuous work.

You can view these beautiful illustrations in Part I and Part II, at the A-HAA as well as another Lorioux title, Le Buffon des Enfants which has some of the most whimiscal and detailed insect drawings. And please, if you like what you see, drop a comment in Part II of the Lorioux post here -- saying yes! yes! you would love to see Lorioux's 1920's illustrations of Perrault's Fairy Tales. I am hoping that with enough interest, they will add it to the rest of this fabulous online archive of art.

Tori Amos/RAINN Benefit Calendar

Each year twelve artists are invited to donate art to a calendar for fans of singer Tori Amos, with all proceeds donated to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). This year's calendar contains art by me, Tom Canty, Gary Lippincott, Virginia Lee, and others. (Virginia's stunning piece is pictured above.) The calendar is currently on sale for $12.50 and can be purchased on the RAINN website. I haven't actually seen it yet -- they don't seem to have gotten around to sending copies to the artists -- but it's all for a very good cause.   

Dance of the Mermaids

Following Mary Barnard's ondine poem yesterday, our Monday Video to kick off the week is "Mermaid," a dream-like montage featuring the underwater dance photography of Oceanides and music from Aine Minogue's The Twilight Realm.

And speaking of mermaids, there's some lovely "Little Mermaid" art by Tigana here, including "Her Garden," pictured on the right.

In the JoMA archives, you'll find 2 good articles, "A Million Little Mermaids" by Virginia Borges and "The Mermaid" by Heinz Insu Fenkl, as well as two fine poems, "The Mermaid Sets the Story Straight" by Debra Cash and "Undine" by Jane Yolen.
   

Forest Rogers: The Unicorn

Here's a quick notice that the auction for Forest Roger's newest creation, The Unicorn, will end tomorrow. Stop by the ebay auction for more information on this exquisite piece. And do stop by Forest's blog to see the last piece she auctioned -- a gorgeous pregnant woodland faerie. Her work is so delicate and beautiful, and she gets so much texture and life into the clay. I almost expect the creatures to start speaking.

Paula Rego Retrospective

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is having a spectacular retrospective of the Portuguese painter Paula Rego that will run from February 1 to May 25th. If you have any reason to head to Washington D. C. don't miss this show. Rego's work is so powerful -- all of her remarkable earthy female figures evoke mythic strength, whether it is a matronly, full figured dog-woman (such as "Grooming" below), a poignant, youthful Mary in "Pieta" (bottom image), or even as above in "Looking Out," which depicts a woman caught in a moment of mysterious reflection, one bare foot planted on the ground, the other ready to step up and out.

Here is a description of the show from the museum: " Paula Rego is one of the leading figurative artists working today, producing richly imaginative art rooted in memories, fantasy, literature, art history, and direct observation. A native of Portugal who lives in London, Rego uses her art to explore the precariousness of human emotions and the complexity of life’s experiences. Although her work is acclaimed around the globe and is represented in leading contemporary art collections, NMWA is the first U.S. museum to present a retrospective of her work. Featuring more than 100 works—including paintings, pastels, prints, and drawings—the exhibition provides an in-depth study of Rego’s 50-year-plus career."

You can see more of her work at the Saatchi Gallery as well as this terrific site from the University of Cambridge's Spanish and Portuguese department.

In the "Better Late Than Never" department....

The end of 2007 was a blur to me, caught up as I was in a major house & office move. Which is why I'm only now slowly starting to catch up with all I missed during the last couple of months -- including this fabulous Christmas image from photographer Stu Jenks, titled Caffeinated Elves. (Click on the image to see a larger version.) If you haven't visited Stu's blog recently, check out his other new pictures and the stories that go with them. This one comes with a Christmas haiku:

Caffeinated Elves
Make Magical Desert Gifts
Of Twigs, Ribs and Light.

How to Survive Writing...

For those of you working hard to finish old writing projects, or just beginning new ones, I thought you might all enjoy some encouragement from comic book author Grady Klein in his wonderful short comic "How to Survive Writing a Graphic Novel." The humor and wisdom of the piece are transferable skills to almost any creative endeavor. You can see the whole piece here, on First Second Books. (Via PW: The Beat.)