Cake as Art

This morning I stumbled across these wedding cakes that were inspired by famous works of art....
If you're looking for an artsy statement wedding cake, check out more of these tasty works of art here. 

Art-A-Whirl

This weekend is the 17th-annual Art-A-Whirl! Sponsored by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, it's the largest open-studio tour in the country. 
If you're in the Twin Cities this weekend, I highly suggest checking it out. It's a great opportunity to tour artist studios, meet the artists, and purchase original artwork. This year I think will be especially fun since I know a few people participating in it! :)

Friday, May 18th -  5:00-10:00 p.m.

Saturday,  May 19th -  Noon-8:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 20th -   Noon-5:00 p.m.

:: Plan your visit by checking out the directory here ::

Etsy Spotlight!

I'm in the Art category spotlight on Etsy today :: my first time! So far it seems to be paying off....traffic to my shop is oh-so-much-more than it ever has been in one day....and it's not even noon yet! :) yay!

Inspirational Artists :: Photoshop Venus

Italian artist Anna Utopia Giordano is giving the goddess of love a complete makeover in her series titled, The Venus Project. Using photoshop, she manipulates famous paintings and increases bust size and whittles the waist to fit today's standards of beauty. While fascinating, it makes me appreciate sensual feminine curves. What do you think?

pics from artist's website

They Draw and Travel

The illustrated maps from They Draw and Travel are submitted by artists from around the world. I love how whimsical and fun these are! Find more maps on their website :: so fun to peruse! :) 

pics via They Draw and Travel

Art-Cum-Furniture Deux

They've done it again...I spotted this chair on Anthropologie's website the other day and haven't stopped thinking about it since. Could be quite cute in the right place. I would especially love creating my own version...

pic via Anthropologie

Gallery Wall

Tim and I are in the process of framing artwork we've collected over the past few years. There's a blank wall in our new place that is perfect for a gallery display. I've been scouring Pinterest for some inspiration and here are a few of my favorites...

pics via Pinterest

Experiment with Art

I saw this on Pinterest the other day and it made me laugh out loud.
Hope you're having a good week!

Art-Cum-Furniture

Here's an interesting idea I saw the other day on Anthropologie's website. They took a painted panel and inset it into linen as a covering for a headboard. A kind of art-cum-furniture. I think it's an interesting idea :: not something I'm feeling I absolutely must have...but kind of cool nevertheless! :) What do you think of this look? 

pic via Anthropologie

The True and the Questions

I saw this book at the bookstore the other day and thought I would share it with you. In the book The True and the Questions by Sabrina Ward Harrison, Sabrina's artwork and scrawling text are interspersed throughout, inspiring all that flip through the pages. If you're in a creative slump... this might help you climb out of it! :)

pic via Amazon

Artful Displays

I love creative ways to display artwork :: ways that go above and beyond your basic single or small grouping of framed artwork on a blank wall. Here are some that have recently caught my eye.

pics in order via young house love, apartment therapy, google, & Clean & Scentsible   

Art. Distilled.

I stumbled across this last night and couldn't resist.
A company called Bevshots has produced a series of photographic shots of various alcoholic beverages....at 1000x magnification! The process consists of letting a drop of liquor dry on a slide in an airtight container, then shining natural light on both sides of the slide while photographing. The results are stunning, don't you think?!

:: Tequila ::

:: Vodka ::

:: Champagne ::

:: Margarita ::

:: White Russian ::

via sanödox

Art for your Fingers

I've never really been a fan of nail art, but this simple design is kinda cool. Do you dig it?

image via honestly...wtf

Books That Inspire Creative Thought

I wanted to share a few design books I've been paging through lately. If you're ever in a creative slump, I've found that looking through books similar to these can really help inspire productive thought. Bonus, they look lovely on a coffee table or book shelf! :)

Creative Walls : How to Display and Enjoy your Treasured Collections 

by Geraldine James

Graphic Europe by Ziggy Hanaor

Open Studios by Lotta Jansdotter

Coffee Art

3,604 cups of coffee and 564 pints of milk, were used to recreate the world's most iconic painting in history :: Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The varying tones were created by adding different amounts of milk to each cup of black coffee. Measuring an impressive 20 feet high and 13 feet wide, it was created for Sydney, Australia's, The Rocks Aroma Festival, a one-day coffee-lovers event. Love this! 

pic via The Design Crowd

Bike Night at the MIA

:: Tonight is Bike Night at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts! ::

 Thursday, July 21, 2011
6 - 9 pm
Museum-wide

Bike Right In to the MIA. Join the group ride that leaves from Gold Medal Park at 5 p.m.

Park It at Freewheel Bike's free bike valet.

Tune Up with quick bike checks from The Hub

Catch a Flick at the Bicycle Film Festival's opening night

Check Out locally bred bikes by the Twin Cities' most exciting frame builders.

Enter Raffles for bikes from Surly and The Hub, Twin Six gear, or Nice Ride swag.

Create Your Own bike accessories with Secrets of the City using recycled bicycle parts.

Rock It to Joey Ryan & The Inks while sipping cocktails in the "Angry Catfish Bike Lounge."

Outside, weather permitting

Free; refreshments for sale

via MIA

Fresh Ink :: Sip & Perk

Coffee seems to always "pop-up" at significant moments throughout my life. To name a few...I met my husband Tim while working at a little coffee shop in the art building where we went to college, after graduating we moved to Italy and lived above a quaint cafe that we frequented daily, at our wedding the bridesmaid's dresses were espresso and the groomsmen's vests and ties were mocha and latte... (none of these were planned, but were later pointed out by Tim's best man during his speech!) Is there a common theme that weaves its way through your life?

** The ink looks like it's black in these top photos, but it's actually a 

dark chocolate...or espresso (wink wink) **

:: Don't forget to check out my Etsy shop for more prints ::

Fresh Ink :: Ocean's Forest

I'm pretty happy with how this print turned out! Mixing the ink to find the perfect "kelp green" was trickier than I thought it was going to be. In the end, I think the color that came out works pretty nicely. You might be seeing more CA inspired prints in the upcoming weeks... :)

:: Don't forget to check out my Etsy shop for more prints ::

Inspirational Artists :: Running the Numbers

I'm back! We had a fabulous time in California and can't wait to share some highlights from our trip. In the meantime, enjoy this Inspirational Artist post.

::-::-::

Chris Jordan is an artist based in Seattle, Washington who is best known for his explorations of mass consumption and waste. Cans Seurat is comprised of 106,000 aluminum cans in the form of George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte :: 106,000 being the number of cans used in the US every thirty seconds. 

via Honestly...wtf
pics by Chris Jordan