Amy Wilson - Interactive Art

I have been a huge fan of Amy Wilson for a long time. I even got to interview her for my Inspiration of the Month feature back in 2008.

She has managed to delight me yet again with her interactive flash game, It's Like This Every Day. Its a small point and click game that is deceptively harder than it first appears. Her watercolors draw one in and the narratives hidden within the game carry you to times past and inner landscapes that are haunting and mysterious. The game has everything that is wonderful about Wilson's art.

If that wasn't enough, she has a limited edition of art stamps that shes giving away to the first 10 people who complete the game (and take screen shots of the game items). As of this writing, there were still 7 stamp sets left!

Go forth and play!

The Sketchbook Project - a beautiful morning

I finished a spread for my Sketchbook Project book. I chose the theme "The Secret and How to Tell It" and felt rather inspired by it.

I've been having a lot of fun with the book, and find it a nice change of pace!

Postcard Friday

My son goes to school out of state, and I send him these postcards every week. Its really my way of sharing pieces of who I am with him.

Pollock - the movie

It feels wrong to admit that I am not a fan of Jackson Pollock's artwork. He was such a pivotal force in the art world and I cannot deny his impact. While I am grateful for his vision, I'm just not fond of his paintings.

I adore this film though. What an intimate and loving portrayal of Pollock's incredible career as well as his struggle to really live. Its a finely crafted film with incredible performances and rich characters. I highly recommend it, and you can find it on Netflix Instant.

The Sketchbook Project - a mother daughter collaboration

My daughter and I have been bonding over art a lot lately, so we decided to collaborate on a project together.

We ordered books from The Sketchbook Project for their 2012 Limited Edition series. They sent us the blank sketchbooks, we chose our themes, and are ready to fill them with artistic goodness over the course of the next two months.

We will then mail the sketchbooks back and they will become a part of the Brooklyn Art Library permanent collection. Its an exciting way to get our art out into the wild.

The Sketchbook Project explained in 96 seconds from Art House on Vimeo.

Postcard Friday

My son goes to school out of state, and I send him these postcards every week. Its really my way of sharing pieces of who I am with him.

Murmuratio - the beauty of emergent behavior

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Its no secret that I love birds, but when you add their emergent behavior its a visual feast for the soul. This video is a stunning example of the power and beauty that nature provides us. What appears to be a simple canoe trip becomes transcendent as the girls run across a flock of thousands. No matter how many times I watch it, it always takes my breath away.

Postcard Friday

My son goes to school out of state, and I send him these postcards every week. Its really my way of sharing pieces of who I am with him.

The magical resin fish of Riusuke Fukahori

"Goldfish Salvation" Riusuke Fukahori from ICN gallery on Vimeo.

I gasped when I watched this video. What initially appears like some lovely paint work transforms into fleshed out fish the moment the resin is poured. Its truly magical and I am itching to pull out my own resin to try my hand at this technique. (my previous resin experiments here and here)

Blue Jay strutting

I've got a handful of projects in the works. Sometimes its hard to keep myself motivated on the larger pieces because they take so long to complete. Having some smaller paintings to work on keeps the juices flowing.

I just love this blue jay. He seems so proud of himself and I love his blue plumage against the green backdrop. I have a few more birds in the works and when I finish this next set I'll drop them off at the gallery. I'm thinking that at the end of the year I'll create a small calendar of my bird paintings for 2013.

Postcard Friday

I sent this postcard to Tessa Hulls, another artist who is currently working in Antarctica. My husband and I are applying to work there ourselves for the next austral summer, so its been fun to see the ice through her creative eyes.

You can follow her blog here: Grow Me a Boat

Crafting and the new year

Its been a while! I think I burned out on trying to blog 6 days a week, and then my kids hit some major transitions that needed more of my attention... and before I knew it, the gap had widened so far that it was hard to return.

I wasn't idle during those quiet months and the holidays had me crafting just for the joy of it!



As my son is a ballet dancer, we have a collection of over 25 nutcrackers since everyone seems to believe that its the perfect gift. I decided to give it my own spin this year and made a Fighting Pickle nutcracker! UNCSA has no sports teams, so the mascot has always been tongue in cheek.



We love to make our own ornaments for the tree. I still have the paper stars the kids colored with crayon back when they were toddlers. These felt stars were a blast to create and I anticipate doing a whole lot more in coming years. My daughter has especially taken to embroidery and is now crafting plushie mustaches!

The holidays are over and with the new year, I have new goals. I'm glad to be back, and I intend to keep my posting to 3 times a week. Hopefully this will spell success for my longevity. Thanks for hanging in there with me. :)