I don’t understand a word of the text, but I just browsed the entire collection of handmade creature bags by Atelier Iwakiri.
Such excellent attention to detail on scales, shells and skins!
These could be wonderful conversation pieces for the shy and/or introverted to carry around (yes, my mind went there because I am terrible at initiating conversation with strangers. But once I begin talking, I’m fine).
The color scheme of my posts seems to be reflecting the spell of dreary autumn weather we’re having here. GOTO Atsuko creates beautiful portraits in grayscale with pops of pastel color, often teeming with nature.
They all have a quiet, soft soulful intensity about them. Beautiful…
Brian Mashburn paints intriguing juxtapositions of the natural and industrial world that are, at once, bleak and luminous, opaque yet finely detailed.
The scenes contain incongruous architecture, flora and fauna. Stunning manmade creations of no definable time and place rise into the sky, adjacent to curious or somber wildlife and bits of industrial waste.
I received the Ceccoli Tarot as a random gift from a very special person who truly knows the strange, surreal depths of my soul.
This deck is STUNNING. It’s a masterpiece.
I had a blast going through each card of the deck and seeing how Ceccoli’s interpretation of the cards ties into the Rider Waite deck, and every thread of discovery was exciting.
The fact that she does take creative liberty opens the mind up to all sorts of visions and connections. It’s like therapeutic dreamwork!
I highly recommend this deck And of course, check out Nicoletta Ceccoli’s website.
Currently unable to travel to NYC for art shows due to health, I’m thrilled beyond measure about the recent opening of Haven Gallery, very close my home!
Haven showcases incredible rosters of pop surrealism/contemporary artists. I couldn’t have conjured a venue more aligned with my aesthetic preferences and I’m truly excited to support the place.
The current group show is entitled Into the Woods.
“Into the Woods” is a group show focused on the bi-fold nature of the forest. The mystery, intrigue and surmised dangers of the woods make it an untrodden domain for some. While others find a home and haven in the beauty of the fecund faunascape. This exhibition explores the physical and metaphorical nature of this integral eco-system embracing personal tales, folklore and more.
Some of the pieces in the show evoke an almost visceral sadness or empathy, while others marinate the eyes in an ethereal glowing wonderland.
The owners are lovely people with stellar taste (I’m already drooling over the upcoming show…which I’ll feature as well). If you can get there, pay Haven a visit.
…or visit online.
I’ll try to cool it on the extended Halloween posts and get back to standard SWS spooky material, but first…check out Haunted Swamp Designs’ painted gourds.
This shop carries Holiday folk art, with a twist; characters with rather intense expressions.
As a child with, for better or worse, an exaggerated sense of empathy, I remember asking my mother if pumpkins felt pain when we carved them. She reassured me they did not (though fascinating plant studies have emerged to indicate otherwise, at least with plants still growing in soil).
Here we have 3 whimsical jack o’lanterns that are appropriately irked by having their insides scooped out.
The octopus is, in my opinion, perhaps the most magnificent creature on earth. Smart, mercurial…capable of crushing a jack o’ lantern in its own tentacles. Observe this lovely cephalopod celebrating Halloween.
Did anyone near Louisville, KY make it to The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular this year?
Over 5,000 carved Jack O’Lanterns line a quarter mile walking trail. It looks like a fabulous show with some expert carving in the mix.
Now THIS is killer snail makeup done right (okay, I’ve never seen it done wrong…or at all for that matter…but these guys nail it).
Swedish duo Elli Macs SFX is responsible for this creation. Here’s a tutorial video, if you’re interested in seeing the process.
SheWalksSoftly 