56 - still hard at work

i have decided to extend my work(ing) getaway in the old stone house to focus on studying for my comps, which means that i am also extending the sale in the shop until the weekend. simply enter the coupon code FREEFALLSHIP during checkout to receive free shipping (domestic & international) on your order.

this Polaroid-inspired illustration by artist Amy Blackwell perfectly captures my surroundings as i am "hard at work," accompanied by either a cup of coffee or warm cup of tea and various other delicacies. i try to stay inspired by the little things to counter what often seems like the heaviness of my work, and Amy's work always inspires in a light-hearted way. i especially love her charming animal portraits, which are available along with the "Polaroid - Hard at Work" print in her lovely shop. 

images Copyright © Amy Blackwell

46 - wishing you well // friday favourites

i love this imaginative wishing well made with bricks, acrylic paint, and dura-lar and installed directly onto a gallery floor by artist Michelle Blade. it even includes coins contributed by viewers, presumably tossed in as they each cast their own "wish." in the spirit of wishing wells, real or imaginative, i wish you a warm and wonderful weekend.... i am leaving tomorrow morning for a two-week visit (less a vacation or getaway than a much-needed reunion) with andrew, who completed his year-long, condensed forestry technician program today, received his Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) silver ring, and is now officially a forester! i am so proud of him and i can't wait to celebrate with snuggles as we continue to build our lives together.

i leave you with some favourites, new and old and mostly forestry-inspired:

this song. it melts my heart and reminds me of my love with andrew.
this forester-architect's tree house, built soild using whole trees.
this dreamy woodland cottage. yes, please.
all this green.
this reclaimed wood table, made from an old hatch.
this worker-styled shirt. rugged, down-to-earth & pretty all-in-one.
and these canadian poplar trousers. named after the tree?


xo

44 - keyword: breathe

sometimes we need to remember to just breathe.

left to right:

lungs illustration by darren booth // kara akciger print by amylin loglisci

lungs intaglio print by meg clarke // breathe (artist's hair on cotton) by liyen chong

just breathe sterling silver lungs necklace by markhed designs // porcelain scultpure by kate macdowell

lungs from lisa solomon's body doily series // untitled (heart lungs) by helen pynor (knitted human hair) // 

embroidered botanical study: lung by sarah maloney

38 - watercolour-esque

i have been wanting a watercolour-esque printed dress or skirt for awhile now. with only a vague idea of what i wanted in my head, i happily stumbled upon one in a local Montreal thrift store this weekend! not only are the muted green & dusty rose, thick cotton, and pleats gorgeous, but it's a perfect fit.

here's a collection of watercoloury goodness inspired by my new find: 

beachcombing and seaweed botanical watercolour prints by studio tuesday

watercolour petals dinnerware by artist Shelley Hesse for Anthropologie



watercolour save the date collaboration between love jenna and swiss cottage designs



Anthropologie Artist's Rendering Dress

watercolour note cards by rifle paper co.



hand painted silk inkblot coral tee by rachel rose

Louche Mollie watercolour dress from Joy

watercolour wedding invitations from the movements collection by artist Kristy Rice of Momental Designs

Rose lady fine art print of an original watercolour & gouach collage by Luci Everett (available in her print shop: paper soup).

33 - featured artist: kate macdowell

American artist Kate MacDowell combines human, animal, and plant forms with art historical and mythological references to explore our increasingly fraught relationship with the natural world. at once strangely beautiful and deeply disturbing, her meticulously hand-sculpted works in porcelain evoke the uneasy tension between our romantic ideal of being united with nature, and the impossibility of ever fully doing so, in part because of our devastating impact on the environment. decaying animal carcasses reveal inner structures comprised of anthropomorphic anatomical forms; an outstretched arm reminiscent of Michelangelo's iconic image of the hand of God giving live to Adam seemingly longs for a union with nature; luminous human organs radiate with an uncanny juxtaposition of human and plant or animal life; animals equipped with safety gear attempt to protect themselves from man-made environmental threats, while for others it is already too late. 

intricately preserved in porcelain, these part human/part natural specimens attest to our intimately bound relationships with one another. at the same time, the inherent fragility of the porcelain gestures to the impermanence and vulnerability not only of endangered animals and ecosystems, but also of our own existence. with an acute sensitivity and awareness, the artist brings this disquieting relationship to life.

i love everything about Kate's work: her vision, craftsmanship, aesthetic, thoughtfulness, astuteness, and of course, her choice and use of material. i couldn't think of a better artist to start off a new featured artist series.

all images copyright Kate MacDowell.

20 - let it rain...

it's been raining in Montréal, and most parts of eastern Canada, for days. and it's forecasted to continue raining through the weekend (although with sunny breaks). while my body aches for the sun, the rain is calming, replenishing, and surprisingly inspiring.... after finishing my day's work, i spent part of the afternoon making jewellery, drinking tea, and listening to a wonderful folk/bluegrass playlist -- and, of course, the gentle, rhythmic sound of the rain drumming on my skylight windows.

so today, i celebrate the rain.

(rainfall image credit belongs to Malika Pannek of klunkerfunkeln, taken in Montréal in fall, 2010)

 Rainfall, hand-stitched print of original illustration by Leah Duncan.

April Showers by Amy Blackwell (available to purchase in her Etsy shop).

Rainy Day in a Nearby Forest by Anna Emilia
(print of original painting available to purchase here).

rain clouds by Golly Bard (visit her gorgeous Etsy shop).

feather earrings inspired by the popular rhyme, "March winds and April shower bring forth May flowers," from the wonderful Montréal designer, Noémiah. images produced in collaboration with illustrator Paule T.B. 

It’s Raining

It’s raining women’s voices as if they had died even in memory
And it’s raining you as well marvellous encounters of my life O little
drops
Those rearing clouds begin to neigh a whole universe of auricular cities
Listen if it rains while regret and disdain weep to an ancient music
Listen to the bonds fall off which hold you above and below

poem by Guillaume Apollinaire, figured to create the sensation of rain falling, or running downward across a surface.

for an animated, digital version, click here.

13 - artful inspiration: drawing nature

from left to right: 

1. Swift Fox print from Julianna Swaney of Oh My Cavalier 

2. Nature Boy giclee print by Lizzy Stewart

3. Lichened Forest original watercolour painting from Golly Bard

4. head and hands illustration by Katie Scott

11 - time wasting experiment

as i prepare to re-launch the arterie [blog] after nearly a year hiatus, i am left thinking not just about the passage of time, but about how we both spend and waste time. granted, since i last posted i completed, defended, and submitted a master's thesis on representations of the cancerous body in medical discourse and contemporary art; packed up my apartment in two weeks and drove across the country in a bush-ready 1995 Jeep YJ pulling a U-Haul trailer with my partner and our cat -- an extended adventure during which we broke down in the Canadian prairies three times; arrived in Montreal in an empty apartment the day before i started my PhD with none of my belongings while also having to part from my boyfriend and best friend, who was starting a forestry program in our home province of Ontario, for a year of long-distance after five years of living together and intimately sharing each other's daily lives; and successfully completed a year of graduate coursework in art history in addition to serving as co-president of my department's Graduate Student Association (GSA) as well as a member of our conference committee (The Indiscernible), and preparing submissions to conferences and journals. in the midst of all this craziness, i have somehow found time to pursue my love and the art of making things by hand with the goal of launching my Etsy shop(s) in May 2011. and yet, despite all of these achievements (i am still apprehensive to call them that), i still feel like i have wasted time. like i could have done more, been more productive and focussed and less distracted. or, in perhaps doing too much, i could have taken better care of myself or achieved that truly unattainable thing: balance.

and so this brings me to the real topic of this post: Alyson Provax's brilliant time wasting experiment, an ongoing project in which the artist documents the exact time wasted on various activities and non-activities in a series of letterpress prints. driven by a "compulsion to always be doing things and producing objects," -- one that i full heartedly share -- she also conceives of the prints as permission slips allowing us to thoughtfully spend periods of time in wasteful ways. in other words, it is ok to spend time thinking about nothing or working through overwhelming and even embarrassing emotions. sometimes we need to be able to do "nothing" and not feel bad or guilty about it. there is, after all, unparalleled magic in daydreaming and imagining. it's how ideas take root.

visit Alyson's Etsy shop for your own time wasting permission slip, or read more about her project and what the artist has to say here and here.

all images copyright Alyson Provax.

09 - a story of two bears

Andrew Holder, Two Bears

six colour screen print

edition of 20

gorgeous screen print by Andrew Holder. there is something so romantic and sweetly simple about this work. i love its intimate texture and mirrored composition of the bears. the meeting of two creatures from different sides of the world at the same stream... visual storytelling at its best. i am also, of course, a bear in love.
xo, sarabear.

(via where the lovely things are)

03 - (recent and old) acquisitions

a few pieces from my growing collection of original art and prints:

 moss for your wall no.5

by Ottoman

10" vintage wooden embroidery hoop

with gray cotton fabric and needle-felted moss

 mom, this is the friend i told you about

by HiddenEloise from HidenSeek

giclee print of original illustration in pencil, ink. and digital colour

16 x 11"

lichen study no.1

by annarubyking 

original drawing on putty-coloured, light-weight card
5.9 x 8.3"

nesting material

by annarubyking 

hand-coloured gocco print
edition of 77
6.8 x 5.5"

 gotta have heart print
by Ork Posters
black ink silkscreen on tan 100% recycled paper
11 x 17"

down under brown print
(the great lakes)
by Ork Posters
gold ink silk on matte brown 100% recycled paper
24 x 20"

pussy willow

by ArgyleWhale

gocco print, 5 x 7"

edition of 15

 mini print set

by Olivia Jeffries from restlessthings

set of 4 gocco prints

4.13 x 5.83" each

fishing early

by haywardART

original ACEO painting with ink and graphite

2.5 x 3.5"

come on in

by ashleyg

print of digitally-coloured original illustration in ink

on archival matte poly/cotton canvas

7.75 x 9.75" (image size)
(honourable mention as my very first Etsy purchase)