Tree of Life {click here to see the ‘before’ picture}
Susan Lomuto on Flickr

New Year. New House. New Town. New Studio. New Attitude!

I view each day of the year as a gift – even the days that bring struggle, uncertainty and hardship – sometimes they offer the most opportunity for change, yes? 2009 was certainly a year of change for me. I was overwhelmed and distracted a lot (could you tell?) and forgot to fill up the well for myself, while I continued to fill it for others.

One of my Intentions for 2010 is to nourish my creative self. That slipped away during the year-long process of searching for a house, renovating the house and finally moving in to the house. We are here now and the process of making our house a home is well underway.

Susan Tuttle, Visual Poetry

In the weeks before we moved the thing that kept me calm, sane and satisfied was Visual Poetry, Susan Tuttle’s online photo manipulation class. It was exactly what I needed to bring my creative self back into focus, providing just enough of a spark to light that fire again. On Monday I will begin a class with DJ Pettit – a lovely way to begin the year and my first days in the studio. Nourish, Nurture, Replenish, Repeat. My mantra for 2010.

DJ Pettit, Memories and Manipulations

As for Daily Art Muse, in 2010 look for a strong focus on learning and teaching, new ways for me to bring inspiring art and artists to your computer screen and more of my work on the blog (I haven’t posted my work in a long time – did you miss it?).

Happy New Year dear readers…wishing you much love, more laughter and many sparks to light your creative fire.

New here? Read how Daily Art Muse got its start.

Fir..(on a LONG break) on Flickr

It’s the weekend, so let’s have a party! Presents, love and chocolate are welcome.  In honor of the blog turning THREE, I also have THREE gifts to give away – here’s the scoop on how you can join the party:

Love DaMuse? Show the love!

Has DaMuse helped you find inspiration, a new piece of art for your collection or simply a lovely way to start your day? Here are two great ways for you to celebrate DaMuse, help me grow the readership or contribute to the cost of maintaining this labor of love:

Blog Birthday Giveaway!

In honor of DaMuse’s birthday, I have 3 gifts – one each for 3 different winners – which means 3 chances for you to win.  The 3 gifts are:

Wow…nice!

The contest will close on Monday October 12, 2009, 9 am EST.  Good luck!

Here’s how to enter (please read carefully):

Jackson’s Other Steed, acrylic, oil paint scrapings over armature, 6′ x 4′ x 7′

Dark Horse with Puddle, acrylic, oil paint scrapings over armature, 7.5′ x 4.5′ x 12′

Dark Horse with Puddle, detail

Painture No. 3, oil, acrylic paint skins on armature, 5.5″ x  8.5″ x 3′

I like to think of them as being like abstract paintings that have jumped off of the canvas to become 3D figurative works……

Has anyone seen this book? I haven’t seen it yet, however the description looked interesting – says that it includes step-by-step projects using a variety of materials, including plastic.  The piece on the cover looks like it might be some kind of plastic riveted together…I want to know more.

Jamie MacDonald, On The Edge of Something, film canisters on white metal

The link to MacDonald’s book is in the sidebar, where you will find many more inspiring books to jump start your creativity, add to your information database or simply satisfy your sweet-tooth for eye-candy!

Renowned floral artist Naoki Sasaki has a new book coming out that gives us a look at one of Japan’s master floral designers. Japanese Contemporary Floral Art is the first image under the “Blooming” section of the sidebar. While you are there, take a look at three other beautiful resources for botanical inspiration: Orchidelirium, The Metamorphosis of Flowers and Intimacy: The Sensual Essence of Flowers.

Naoki Sasaki Floral Art

And did you see the book about Flower Pounding? Have you heard of it? This is something new to me.

You pound flowers onto treated fabric, transferring the pigments and shape of the flower onto the fabric, and then embellish the image with markers and stitching.  Image transfers of a different kind. It’s on my list of things to try this month.  Number 54.  The list keeps growing.

More Fun In The Sidebar

Another poll (I’m still gathering information about daMuse readers in an effort to make the blog better), two books that will be coming out soon (but you can pre-order them now), and several new advertisers (watch this space for more information soon about advertising on Daily Art Muse!).

]]> http://dailyartmuse.com/2009/04/06/sidebar-tour/feed/ 1 http://dailyartmuse.com/2009/04/03/search-party/ http://dailyartmuse.com/2009/04/03/search-party/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:44:05 +0000 Susan Lomuto http://dailyartmuse.com/?p=10010 With more than 2,100 published posts, I often search my own archives to see if I’ve already shared a particular artist or art work.  It usually means another half hour lost in the belly of this blog studying poetic, powerful, whimsical, complex, technique-driven, haunting, serious, silly, eye-popping, mind-bending, interesting, lyrical, touching, moving, process-oriented, conceptual, mixed-media, living, breathing contemporary fine art and craft.  Again. I’m not complaining.

Click here to see what I found when I searched for “circle”.

Watch this space for Search Party posts -  I’ll be sharing my daMuse Search Party Finds with you.  Want to join my Search Party? Find something spectacular in the archives that you’d like to share?  Post it in the comments or send me an email.

Bryan captures fairy characters as they go about their every day life – but oh, what a life it is!  Created from bits and pieces of wire, leather, found objects and carefully collected materials, each narrative sculpture depicts a detail of life in fairyland, her charming fantasy world.  Be prepared to have an out-of-body experience as she transports us back to a time when cultivating our imagination was our only work.  Childhood.  Watching this mixed-media world spin renews the spirit and sparks the imagination.  A diversion every adult needs…maybe every day.

Brain’s pre-flight stretch fairy

Brain’s portable fairy-dust collector

The artist working on a sculpture (image via Arts Council England )

Click on the image to go to the video.

A little more than 2 minutes into the 5 minute video Castellanos talks about bummerbunny (pictured above) – don’t miss it.  There is a lesson for all of us in the story of bummerbunny. Most artists go through periods of self-doubt.  We all need a bummerbunny, don’t you think?

The video was created by Valerie Vozza for Seattle Channel’s Art Zone in the Studio, highlighting the best local talent in the Seattle area (the screen is a bit larger on their site – you can see it here).

bummerbunny has a blog, complete with a picture of Anthony Bourdain wearing a bummerbunny tee-shirt.  My daughter might just faint (she’s a huge Bourdain fan and an awesome cook – watch for her blog, coming soon!).

The artist and Turtle Dreams

Castellanos also has a blog – where she takes pictures of herself with her paintings (fresh slant on blogging!) and a website for her paintings.

Copper Clay with Heat Patina

Copper Clay Fired

Copper Clay Dry

The clay will be available some time this spring. Hadar Jacobson, whose work we’ve seen here, sells a powdered version of the copper clay. She has a video on her website showing how to take it from powder to clay in four minutes!

Hadar Jacobson, Sticks Bracelet, silver, bronz and copper clay

[Psst...last chance to tell me how you really feel about product reviews on daMuse. The poll in the sidebar. It ends on Wednesday. Your answers will help shape the future of Daily Art Muse - thanks for your participation!]

More book links in the sidebar and a new poll too. Keep those answers coming – the first poll had 193 responses – nice! There will be a new poll each week for the next several weeks and then less frequently after that. This is a good opportunity for you to get involved in the process while I am working behind the scenes to build a better Daily Art Muse experience for you. Many thanks to all!

Apple thinks Frankel is pretty special too.  Read her profile here.

If you haven’t done it yet, please take a moment to answer the daMuse poll (in the sidebar) – and thanks to everyone who already took the time to answer. Have a great weekend!

Jung Eun Park, hand typography

via Modish

To get the full effect you must see these in action on Baugh’s website: The Dark Space, or you can view them on Axis Web.

The repeating animations are constructed using 3D animation software and consist of a series of digital forms that explore the relationship between movement and structure. The digital structures use movement to create arrangements that deconstruct and re-assemble over time. The movements mirror the evolution and growth of material elements captured through time lapse photography. The aesthetic intricacy of each sculpture could also be said to possess a duplicity changing between symmetrical beauty and an uneasiness that is ascribed to the continually changing combination of forms that appears synthetic and uncontrollable.

I love that Mon Ami Vie looks at the bottoms of plastic bottles and sees flowers in full bloom.

[read about them below!]

These clips are made from the very bottom of the plastic bottle. The center is a vintage button securely sewn on to a piece of salvaged fabric, then super glued to the plastic bottom. Under, there is a new clip that is also super glued to a small piece of salvaged fabric and then glued to the plastic! This clip has been decoupaged with random pieces of a magazine. The result is amazing, like a mini collage you can wear!

Seeds: Time Capsules of Life. I even love the name. The book appeals to both my horticulture-loving-oh, yeah-that’s-what-my-degree-is-in-side AND to my artist-who-finds-inspiration-in-the-shapes-of-nature-side.  How come I haven’t seen this book before?  Where have I been? Images below are from the book.  Link in the sidebar.

From the Carol Haggas review:

Through the marvel of scanning electron photomicroscopy, and in collaboration with two renowned experts, visual artist Kesseler unveils the delicate artistry and vibrant wizardry of these horticultural workhorses in an incandescent blend of exacting science and extraordinary art. Seeds’ distinctive shapes and sizes enable them to withstand journeys of thousands of miles and hundreds of years before they complete their task of plant germination. Stuppy energetically relates the story of some 300 million years of evolutionary adaptations that have enabled plants to populate the earth’s surface from the Antarctic to the Amazon, while simultaneously drawing attention to the alarming extinction rate of the world’s remaining plant species.