Monday Mosaic: From the Heart

1. Stained Glass Sacred Heart Necklace , by Parrish Relics
2. OOAK art valentine upcycled and original , by Reclaimed to You
3. My Cold Black Heart , by nancyrosetta
4. 3/8 Wide for Cat or Tiny Puppy in Hearts a Flutter , by Cody's Creations
5. Voodoo Doll pincushion breakup doll , by Hibou Designs
6. Needle Felted Romance , by Cozy Cottage Creations

Handmade Gifts for Men

By Celeste of ElephunksTrunk

Having taken the handmade pledge, I am always on the look out for great hand made gifts for everyone I know. The women in my life are easy to buy for, but I always struggle to find interesting gifts for men. I know I am not the only one to struggle with this, so I have taken the time to put together a list of ideas:

Unisex Ring by Christina Hurley

This oxidized sterling silver ring is a wonderful piece of masculine jewelry. Christina Hurley makes these rings in any size, so you will be sure to get one that fits the special man in your life.

Muscle Marcel by Hibou Designs

This tough guy plushie from hibou designs is the perfect gift for the man who's soft at heart.

Man Cave vinyl wall decal by OldBarnRescueCompany

Does the man in your life need to stake out his own territory? Get him this man cave sign from OldBarnRescueCompany.

Steampunk Kilt from techdragon

For the non-traditional man in your life, how about this leather paneled steampunk kilt from techdragon?

Unexpected Colors

By Evan of Evan Webster Ink

I deal with color a lot. A small cooking gaffe resulted in an unexpected splash of color. I forgot to add the spices (turmeric, cayenne and paprika) to my latest soup project, potato and pea.

Adding these spices later than recommended created beautiful earth tones. I took a picture before mixing everything together.



I'll be on the look out for other sources of unexpected color. Have you ever found color where you didn't expect it?

Sports Fever

by Kerry of Kerryhawkinsphoto

Superbowl Fever was all over New England. Even at the School of Fashion Design on Newbury Street, Boston. I took this Tuesday afternoon before the Superbowl. I love the gown with the Patriots Helmet and football.The Patriots lost but, it was a good game and there is always next year.

Yearly Gift Exchange

By Arthur of Arthur Halvorsen Ceramics

A few days ago we had our yearly meeting at my studio home, Mudflat Studios. Each year one of the highlights is the gift exchange. I was thrilled to get the card set by An Li Liu. They are totally my style and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them as soon as I got them home with me, I wanted to frame them!

I went to IKEA and got simple white frames because I wanted to show off the prints in my room and not the frames. I have to say, I have noticed that I'm collecting owls now, and the guy with the big heart down on the bottom totally stole my heart when he was on top of the stack when I opened my bundle of cards. Thanks An Li!!!

Super Bowl Snack Stadium Inspiration

By Jennifer T. of MaJenta Designs

Regardless of whether you are a big football fan or not, the Super Bowl is probably still one of the biggest sports festivities to partake in...even after it's over, you leave inspired by some of the exciting plays, the funny commercials, and...the FOOD! I'm inspired by these awesome food snack stadiums...something to plan for next year's Super Bowl! ;)

A Boston Handmade Mug

by Karen Mahoney of City by the Sea Ceramics

I'm working on a project right now that requires a few examples of logos so I asked permission from Jessica Burko, our director, to use Boston Handmade's. I screened the design onto a mug with underglaze using our signature blue color. The pic shows the piece unfired, right after the screening, but you can still see the great detail, I love it. These babies aren't up for sale, but if you're digging our image, sport a t-shirt with our logo on it, printed by our very own Evan Webster of Evan Webster Ink.

Monday Mosaic: Amethyst

Curated by Lynne of Cozy Cottage Creations

1. Sterling Silver Tassle Hoops in Light Amethyst, by Cristina Hurley Design
2. Monster Onesie, by Elizabeth Brennick Designs
3. 5:8 inch Wide Dog Collar in Grape Crush, by Cody's Creations
4. Adelaide Tiara, by Parrish Relics
5. Hair Comb Purple Origami Peace Crane, by Elephunk's Trunk
6. Beezes Raw Silk 400 yards, by Lady Dye Fiber Arts & Design
7. Voodoo Doll pincushion, by Hibou Designs
8. Floral Pocket Mirror or Keychain Bottle Opener, by MaJenta Designs
9. Hummingbird Flower Shirt, by An Li Studios

Tulipiere

By Arthur of Arthur Halvorsen Ceramics

A few weeks ago I went to the MFA with a few friends of mine and I got really inspired by the piece pictured above. What you see there is called a tulipiere, they were very popular in the 17th century in Europe as pieces that people had in their homes to display their (you guessed it) tulips! I have wanted to make one of these since I saw my first historical one at the Victoria & Albert Museum two years ago in London.

This is the beauty I saw, it literally brought me to tears! I'm such a clay dork I know!! It's such a feat of engineering because the tall piece is make in porcelain, and if you have ever tried to make anything in porcelain you know first hand how finicky porcelain can be. The tulipiere stands about 6ft tall, and each one of those levels comes off in a section. Quite the undertaking for someone like me that has not a huge studio to make this in, I'm not planning on making a 6ft one but you get the idea.

I am starting to think of applying to grad school in the near future and I know that if I made a piece like this, that would with out a question in my mind get me into grad school! This piece has been in my dreams since I first saw it, and when I went back to London this past fall and saw the piece again it was like a religious experience. I wanted to share a few contemporary examples of tulipieres:

Martha Grover

Liz Quackenbush

Margaret Bohls

Revisiting The Malden Arts Community and Malden Public Library

by Jen Parrish of Parrish Relics

As a returning resident of Malden after about 18 years, I had been wanting to reconnect with the vibrant local art community.

There was an Exhibition at the Malden Public Library, a place where I spent many hours as a child and discovered many of my favorite books on the shelves. Designed by Trinity Church Architect Henry Hobson Richardson, I always felt like I was entering a magical castle with its towers, dragons and griffin carvings.

He has since become one of my favorite American Architects, we are lucky to have so many of his works in Massachusetts to visit. The William Morris/Edward Burne-Jones windows at Trinity are so inspirational to me and I seek them out as often as possible (as are the Medieval Inspired designs by local artist Sarah W. Whitman.)

The old building that I was familiar with is now a gallery, the books have all moved into the new wing. A grand space for an Art Show, getting to know the work of local artists, and meeting new people. Glad to be back in Malden!

Window Arts Malden 2011