So, there I was, cruising somebody's Pinterest board of mosaics when I saw it. A house covered in mosaic tile. Right here in Los Angeles...road trip~!
The house has been a 23 year ongoing art project (oh, how well I know how those are...) by Cheri Pann and her husband, Gonzalo Duran. The house is a typical Venice bungalow with two art studios tacked onto the back. Shown below is Cheri's tile and painting studio, you can see Gonzalo's metalwork and paint studio in the back. They are, as you might guess, the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.
Those of us who like to create art we can live in, we get each other.
Mosaic Tile House - Venice (front of house)
Mosaic Tile House - Venice (front porch)
Mosaic Tile House - Venice (one of Gonzalo's doors)
Long time fan of Studio DRIFT! I love how every piece they create invokes the crossroads of nature and technology. Technology can be very bland and cold, even in the hands of Apple. Making technology as breathtakingly beautiful as nature both skill and the soul of an artist.
This gazebo by Creative Carpentry is full of awesome, that all I'm sayin'. I, personally, would either put a hot tub in this baby or turn it into a drawing/creative daydreaming space.
Sometimes art is not only a love story between a creator and a medium, but between two creators and a medium. Frankly, I'm more than a little envious that Naomi Zettl & Andreas Kunert have a relationship based on love of each other and their art. We should all be so lucky to have someone share our passions so completely and be able to translate that into something beautiful that can be shared by everyone. I've been making my first forays into working with Pebble Mosaics and they are so much harder than they look. My tendency is to not want to waste material, but that's just not possible within the confines of a pattern. You have to choose the right pieces, the ones that result in the best design realization, and not all your pebbles meet the grade. What's not shown in the photographs - the piles of rock that didn't make the cut. The challenge for those of us who hate to waste is to find ways to use them somewhere else.
I've long been a fan of James Hubbell's statement "A house is a piece of sculpture that you live in" and I'm adding a second quote to that from Ra Paulette "I want to create a space that's transformative".
This is exactly what draws me to organic architecture - transformative spaces. Maybe it's just me, but I don't find boxes transformative. They're just boxes that hold your stuff. The curves and softness of organic shapes is what I find transformative.
I find beauty transformative.
I find artistry and craftsmanship transformative.
I hope you find Ra Paulette's work as transformative as I did.
The caves are carved by hand into the sandstone cliffs of Northern New Mexico by Ra himself.
It's fascinating how fast word spreads amongst the arty folk when something "cool" is discovered. Robin Wight is enjoying his newly acquired fame and I'm going to pile on because pretty must be shared....everywhere!
By the way, if these inspire you, there are kits available and the artist has detailed drawings and photos of the works in progress. It always looks so simple...hey, I've got wire in the garage!...but the reality is always that creating takes time and mastery.
I LIKE ROCKS; I LIKE WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY, AND I LIKE HOW THEY SAY IT.
- Stone artist Thea Alvin
I'm on a "rock" mission lately while I design a pebble mosaic for my front yard, so my ideation travels brought me to the work of stone mason Thea Alvin. She makes the most amazing arches out of stone, which are shown in her video below.
I love it when I can find video of an artist talking about their creative process - about why the love the medium in which they work. The essence of art is love; love of the creative, love of the making, love of ambiance, and most of all the love of the medium in which they work.
Home Studio in Vermont - Artist Thea Alvin
Pool Fountain at Tarr Steps House, UK - Artist Thea Alvin
Arch at Duke, Nicholas School for the Environment, NC - Artist Thea Alvin
Because we shall let no fine metal sculpture go unblogged, we present this beautiful piece of work by Turkish artist Selcuk Yilmaz. The sculpture was built over 10 months using 4,000 pieces of scrap metal. The artist has named his creation Aslan.
Jeez, 3 weeks since my last post. I suck. I promise to try and post more frequently in 2014!
Today we shall explore the deeply cool creative environment building of artist JeeYoung Lee. I thought these were digital designs at first but they aren't. The artist actually creates these environments in his studio and then photographs them.
Somebody should create an exhibition space for him where people can walk in and experience these. Each room a different environment complete with lighting and sound effects. I'd go see that.
A 50' roll of chain link fence is available at Home Depot. Just sayin'.
Glass pieces, not so hard to create. And if you have any experience with stained glass, the possibilities are endless.
As I was watching the video for this gorgeous sculpture installation by Soo Sunny Park, I was experiencing that familiar "oooooh, I could do something like this in the back yard...." And now I have ideas.
