A Trip to Pittsburgh

Last Saturday SNL, my nephews and I took a day trip to Pittsburgh. What a great city! What a great day. And, of course, there were lots of photo ops.

Meet Hugh. He's the GPS who made sure we never got lost. What a miracle! I named him Hugh because he has a sexy Australian accent, like Hugh Jackman.


I enjoy Cleveland's erections in heavy saturation and extreme angle, so I thought I'd do the same with Pittsburgh's erections.


On the way to the incline.

On the hill by the ice cream shop.

Neighborhood on the hill.

Lately, every where I go I see Nick's name. We miss you, Nick.

Nora's sky. She was with us on the incline. We miss you, Nora.

John and Yoko were so ahead of their time. We need more people like them.

At the Hard Rock Cafe. Aren't these the coolest Barbies you've ever seen?

Taken while riding in the car. A Claes Oldenberg?

The side of a building.

Cool recycled art. These palm trees are made of steel and rubber.

There are lots of cool bridges.


I was having a lot of fun taking pictures from the car. We were on our way to Ikea. Stay tuned.

Custom Munnies

I adore urban vinyl toys, so I'd like to try my hand at a custom. I bought this Munny a while ago. He's sitting on my desk waiting patiently to be painted. But I'm afraid of ruining him! I adore the creativity of artists who customize toys, and I followed Kidrobot's custom munny contest closely last year (see previous post here).

For some inspiration, I did a flickr search. Here are a few of my favorites. I am amazed at the creativity and diversity displayed. I could see an entire museum exhibit devoted to custom munnies.

How cute are these? They were a wedding present - talk about your thoughtful and perfect gift. Wouldn't they be sweet on a wedding cake. Image by Max Kiesler.

Indescribble

doc18

glitterbat

This one lights up! How cool is that? Image by pottstar

Malota

I think this is my favorite!
Above two images by Bell. I'm a huge fan of Bell's work. See previous post here.

QQ

dhm-photography

smallandround aka Jeremiah Ketner

Bear in Mind

Above two images by Lunabee

Cris Rose

Ron Lu

artbybryancollins

cj311redd.

Blog Love - or the Artist as Art

The editors of Creative Influences are pleased to announce the latest blogs to be added to our blog roll. We love art and are enamored with artists who live their lives as art. This week's edition of Blog Love finds us completely smitten by two artists, whose lives are a work of art.

We are totally crushing on Elsie a.k.a. Elise Cake. She is just too adorable! Her blog, entitled a Beautiful Mess is full of

Image from A Beautiful Mess.

Elsie is on a mission to make the world "sooo cute," and I am sure she can do it. If you are feeling down, read her blog - I guarantee it will cheer you up! Elsie is a prolific artist. I adore her graphic artwork.

How cute are these monsters she painted on an old school desk? From Elsie's flickr set.

I want this painting, but it already sold! Great work, Elsie. I will be adding one of Elsie's sweet widgets to my sidebar, because I am sucker for free widgets. Check out her shop called Red Velvet Art.

Meet Elsa Mora a.ka. Elsita, one hot mama. Mamasita is quite the fashionista!

and I adore her fashion blog, entitled The Hidden Seed.




Damn, the girl does create. Elsa's flickr set is an amazing demonstration of how prolific she is.

This installation piece is entitled Air Dress 2005. Fab!

She does cut paper. Recognize it? That's right - it's Frida Kahlo's necklace.



She paints. See her Etsy shop here. Is there nothing the girl can't do? As if that's not enough, she's got a new book too!

Elsie and Elsa, thanks for making the world a more beautiful place!

xx00

Gettin' My Mojo Back

I spent some time experimenting with paint this weekend. I'm thinking of changing to watercolors. Paper is much cheaper than canvas, and takes up a lot less room. For the longest time, I painted exclusively on 16" x 20". I was intimidated by my first 24" x 24" canvas. It seemed so huge, I was terrified! In no time, however, I was hooked. Then I started painting 24" x 30". I've got the bug, I want to go even bigger.

This weekend I didn't have a canvas - and my neighborhood being the chaos it is on July 4 - I didn't feel like going out to get one. I wanted to paint something large, so I decided to tape together four sheets of watercolor paper. I've been painting on the floor, which is hard on the back, as well as on perspective. I really need an easel! I decided to tape the paper to the wall.

I posted this in-progress shot on flickr. Midcentury Jo asked if I was painting directly onto the wall. I wasn't - but what a cool idea! All of a sudden I want to paint large paintings directly onto the wall! How fun. But since it's a rental, I won't.

I'm definitely loving pink and orange, and I was highly influenced by the movement and swirls of Wouter Dam's pottery, that I wrote about below. I danced with the brush and was in heaven, I listened to the melancholy sounds of Moby's new CD. I entered the zone.

Here is the finished product.

Untitled, 2009, 28" x 36", acrylic on paper.

Like my other recent painting (see previous post here), I am not completely satisfied. My hands are not as steady as I would like. However, my recovery is progessing nicely, and they are getting better every day. I don't like the medium of paper as well as I like canvas. Canvas seems to facilitate the movement I am trying to achieve in a gentler way. I am pleased that a style is emerging and I am definitely getting my mojo back! Stay tuned for more experimentation with paint and color.

P.S. I hate clean up. I need a studio.

Mojo

If you've been reading my blog, it's not news to you that I am totally obsessed with ceramics. Pottery's fluid forms are extremely sensual and erotic. A beautiful vase is a tactile experience, it begs to be touched. Just like a sensual woman. In fact, some of my favorite pieces pay homage to the female form.

"Pink Vase", 2005 an original painting by Peggy, 15" x 30", acrylic on canvas. For more of my paintings, click here.

I receive an ezine called Ceramics Arts Daily, and it is such a joy. The other day when perusing this ezine, I discovered the work of Wouter Dam. His work is orgasmic. My mind boggles when I think of the skill needed to execute these ethereal pieces.

See what I mean? I would love to see these pieces in a large, white industrial loft, with no other art to compete with it. After all, if you had these pieces, you wouldn't need anything else. Pure mojo.