designer's library

Greg Lamarche

With the Stationery Show coming up, it's been pretty busy over here and blog neglect has totally set in. But I did want to post about Greg Lamarche, a collage artist, whose work I saw on White Walls, an urban art gallery, in San Francisco. I can't believe I haven't been to this gallery yet. And I'm bummed I missed the Ian M. Johnson show back in February. I'd love to get one of his pieces for my home.

On a happy note, I was able to get tickets to the Flight of the Conchords show in SF. Thank goodness they added another date.

Marimekko Kulkue

I've been eyeing this Marimekko wall hanging at CB2 for sometime and I haven't quite pressed the order button yet. Of course, I love the primary colors.

Then I saw Joy's post on Maija Louekari, so I had to check to see if this piece was made by her. And indeed, it was. Damn that girl is talented!

Artists with a Sense of Humor

From Cody Hudson

From You Work for Them

From Tamara Shopsin

Antonino Sciortino

I'm nutty about sculptural wire, so I've had Antonino Sciortino bookmarked for a while now ever since I discovered him through HFHA. His work is so architectural, it's just like having a mini-Calatrava in your hand. If you love sculptural wire, his website is full of inspirational stuff.

I was hoping to post more this week, but I've had my hands full with the kids. Mom (aka. the babysitter) went on a 2-week vacation starting this week so I've been playing a ton of Candyland and Crazy 8's with my daughter and launching missile attacks on Lego fortresses with my son instead of doing some real work! (Let me say, I've been kicking ass in Candyland.) Luckily, I get a tiny bit of a vacation myself starting today as my husband takes over kid-watching duties. I'm leaving for Portland with some friends this morning and meeting up with a few more friends over there. Fun, fun, fun. If only it wasn't 35 degrees-ish over there. In any case, I can't wait to visit Canoe and the Ace Hotel. Have a great weekend!

Hassak Rubber Stamp

Call me a nerd: I'm a fan of mathematical signs, symbols, and drawings. (Though I sucked at calculus in high school AND college.) So naturally I was in awe of artist Tomoko Kataoka's stamps called "After Rain Arithmetics" (above). She has an art business called Hassak Rubber Stamp where she hand carves fine lines and incredible details in rubber stamps. I just can't stop looking at her work! [Discovered via PingMag.]

Julia Pfaller

Just saw Julia Pfaller's work in the latest issue of Dwell magazine! I love the textures of her collage-style, mixed media illustrations. Here are some images from her online portfolio.

Smarts and Crafts: Cilla Ramnek and Mortified

I love walking away (virtually speaking) from a blog with bits of visual inspiration, and even better, some future plans. On a recent visit to Smart and Crafts (Curiosity Shoppe's blog), I learned of two things. One, Cilla Ramnek's absurdly beautiful glass mosaic floor. The way the tilework looks like woven textile patterns is too gorgeous for words.

And two, I learned of Mortified: a show where folks share their most pathetic writings from their teen years. (There are two shows in SF in September.) I can only imagine how friggin hilarious it must be! Man, I know I wrote a crapload of letters when I was a teen. I'm sure that every letter I wrote circa 1988 started off this way: Hey gurl! Whassup? How's life treatin' ya? For realz dude? Dats cool. As for meeh? Nothing much, just kickin' it in class. And ended likely like this: I bes' jet for now! Love ya like a sis, Meg

Yes, meeh used to talkee like dat--probably with my head/neck zig-zagging from side to side. Seriously, I used to mentally cut-and-paste the beginning and end of every letter regardless of the content. Honestly, sometimes I don't know how I became a writer.

And in case you're wondering what else I wrote to my Contempo Casuals-clad compadres, I'm sure the rest of the letter was about some guy (who was cute then but not cute now) and the beeatch he was going out with OR how I needed more hairspray to enhance my deep-fried permed hair OR what song from Love Lines I was going to record on my cassette player. Gosh, life was so simple...and crunchy back then. Sigh...

In other news, I recently did an interview with Victoria E. on her blog. (Thank you Victoria.) Check it out if you have time on your hands--it's 90% serious and 10% goofy.

Ian Johnson

Even though I design goods for sale and I also host sample sales, oddly, I don't shop much at all. I can go for months without buying anything for myself. I do plenty of window shopping--I'll visit sites, put a bunch of stuff in the shopping cart but never follow through with the checkout button. I've done that with this particular piece, Ian's Johnson's Limited Edition Charlie Parker "Ornithology" print found at Park Life. As a post-Modern Economy treat for myself, I finally purchased it last night for $140. Ian Johnson is a San Francisco artist. His portraits, mostly of jazz musicians, are so mesmerizing. I enjoy how he mixes detailed drawings with graphic patterns. The contrast and color are amazing, too. Below is more of his work.

Edizioni Almenodue

Sorry for the lack of posts, I was sick last week. (Boo!) I'm still not quite all back yet either. Anyway, Angela Liguori, a book artist from Italy, sent me these beautiful images of books published under her press: Edizioni Almenodue (a partnership between her and Silvana Amato, a graphic designer). Together with Fabian Negrin's illustrations, their books feel like they're channeling the spirit of Bruno Munari. In one book, graphic illustrations are paired with poetry by Elio Pecora translated into English. In another, text by Edward Lear (1817). The books look perfect from the color palette and graphic illustrations to the binding and the overall composition. It's a well-executed collaborative project where you see the contribution of each member into a wonderfully orchestrated piece.

If anyone lives in the Boston or Brookline area, Angela has an upcoming trunk show at POD in April and she also teaches workshops at Paper Source. (I wish I could go!) See her events page for more info.

Michael Bartalos

I love the graphic quality of these illustrations by local artist, Michael Bartalos. The above image is called Warionettes. And below, a letterpressed publication made in 2005 called 29 Degrees North (through San Francisco Center for the Book). Just look at the handlettering on the cover: beautiful. I'd like to see this piece close up.