Artist: Robin Clare

If you are in London for the Olympics, you must check out Art in the Dancehall: An exhibition of Jamaican music design and illustration from 1980 to the present at the Puma Yard (official home of Jamaican Olympic team sponsors). The talented artist (and my lovely friend) Robin Clare is part of the show.

Robin also recently exhibited her Dancing Words and Jamaican Project series in Sydney. I love the rich hand painted text in her work (check out Liquorish and Milkyway on the Jamaican Project page of her website) especially in Dancing Words where the text is interwoven with the repeated imagery of people dancing. Check out more of her work here!

Modern Enamel

In an earlier post, I wrote that I took an Introduction to Silver Jewellery class at Gaffa. At Gaffa, I was introduced to Alida Cappelletta’s work. Alida is an artist, runs the Gaffa studio, and teaches classes (specialising in silver/metal and enameling). My friend bought a piece of her enamel jewelry and I instantly fell in love with her work – the color and the shapes in particular. I bought an enamel necklace and contacted her to see if she would make a matching pair of stud earrings. Lucky for me, she is so sweet and agreed! Not only did she provide a design to match my necklace, she also created a few of other styles (in other colors as well). I couldn’t resist and bought several pairs – they make great gifts! I am a huge fan and can’t wait to see more of her work. Here is a link to her bio.

Zeuthen Keramik

My friend was travelling through Denmark and found a cute little red clay vase by Zeuthen. There seems to be only limited information online. I could only find this on etsy: “Nordisk Brugskunst (Nordic Applied Art) was founded in Denmark c. 1946 by Normann Zeuthen; in 1948, he introduced the name “Zeuthen Keramik”. Zeuthen employed 10-15 employees who produced a variety of red clay items. Zeuthen pieces are very distinctive with their globular white and/or blue decorations; they are also popular collectibles.” The company no longer exists.

I love their simple white glaze graphic designs (dots, stripes, clover leaves, small flowers or stars). It contrasts nicely against the red clay. The Danish know their style.

Ebay seems to be the best place to buy Zeuthen. I recently bought a few pieces including a petite round vase, a gorgeous polka dot teapot and a polka dot piggy bank.

Work Hard and Be Nice to People

Love this mantra. Love the type. Love Anthony Burrill’s work. Check out his different pieces of work.

Good Fucking Design Advice

Good fucking life advice. Friend at work shared this awesome poster. And show some fucking passion.

Artist: Hyun Sun Jo

I met Hyun in grad school while at the California College of the Arts. Her paintings were on exhibition while she was in the MFA program. They were very large works of art and I instantly fell in love with the scale, colors, composition and texture. She paints, scraps away the paint, and paints again. The ‘erasing’ and layering creates unique combinations and patterns. I can’t wait to some day own a piece of her work… See her work here. Above image credit: “mushed, covered, and crushed” 116x91cm oil on canvas 2011. Hyun Sun Jo.

10 Minute Bling

My friend was throwing a Eurotrash party and at the last minute I made these diamond cardboard earrings. I had seen cardboard bling at several stores in Melbourne and thought they were hilariously awesome. (Here is an example of ‘real’ cardboard diamonds, from Studio 2017 by Anna Davern.)

Skittle Bracelet Holder

I bought a $4 ‘skittle’ at a re-use shop and thought it would work perfect as a bracelet holder. The wooden peg on the left is also from a skittle set (made in France from the 1920s). I just like the shape and colors of this piece. Skittles is apparently a European lawn game.

Swimming in Deco

For my birthday, my friend gave me a 7-week Introduction to Silver Jewellery class at Gaffa. We completed two projects. The pendant above was my second piece.

For this assignment, we were given a small flat piece of silver and were allowed to design anything. Wanting to use simple shapes and experiment with texture, I designed my piece with art deco style in mind. I finished the necklace by stringing the pendant on size 16 silk cord. (Australian Jewellers Supplies is a great shop to find jewelry findings and tools.)

We Are Not Saved

I checked out Chrissie Abbott’s show Casual Cosmology at the China Heights Gallery. A friend was going so I decided to tag along. I had never seen her work before, very psychedelic. This poster was on the more tame side, but I love the composition and font lettering.