Tadahiro Uesugi is definitely one of my all time favorite illustrators. He is a master of perspective drawing and he combines ink drawing with Photoshop to create beautiful light effects (and sometimes reflections). His website showcases over a hundred of his works over the past 10 years. I started out as a fashion/modern lifestyle illustrator, and I wish I had half the talent of Mr. Uesugi! Fortunately he updates his website frequently so us fans are always updated on his recent projects.
I'm in this group show at Open Space in Beacon, New York. It's a show on limited run prints and zines, and my Gocco prints are part of it. I missed the opening reception last Saturday, but there will be a second reception on January 12 from 6pm-9pm. Chad and I will try to make it because the lady who runs this gallery with her partner sounds really cool and they've curated some good shows that highlight street arts and unconventional arts and designs. Their art studio- Thundercut makes pretty spectacular artworks too!
I'm back to being my art nerd self again. My prints for the Etsy shop are running out and I need to come up with more new prints asap! I'll still continue doing the animal series since they are very popular, but I'm also dying to do other things too, in fact I will have 2 new prints out by the end of this week that I'm very excited about. I just bought this beautiful letterpress print (top pic) from Tiny Showcase, it is by an illustrator/graphic designer called Robert Samuel Hanson. Make sure you check out his website, his works are super cool, I love the animal typeface and the cloudy girl!
Scary lady is from the main fair, the rest of the pics are from Design Miami.
Original desk from Star Trek.
Vases covered in Missoni fabrics.
Paper chair that can be folded flat.
There are many websites and blogs that cover Art Basel and all the fairs, so I'm just going to post 5 pics that are highlights of my trip. (Oh there's also that scary looking waiter at Michael's but he would have chopped me to pieces with an axe if I took a picture of him!!!) The picture on on top is where I start my day in Miami.
these are made from hundreds of layers of paper.
bench that disappears in the rain
cheeky signs outside of Deitch Projects.
The Hugsy and Max Billion- my new buddy!
Chad's copy of Visionaire no.53 Sound issue came in the mail today and I can not wait to see it, but I'll have to wait until we both get back from Miami! The issue contains 5 imprinted vinyl records, with tons of songs, fragments of music and spoken words. The reason why we got a copy of it is because Chad has made one super funky track for the issue, I can't wait to hear it on vinyl and play it with the "record player" that comes with the package! And here is the best thing, the MINIs in the picture are actually the portable record players!!! I just can not wait to open it and take pictures to show you how cool this is! You can read more about it here.
I am terrible, I was gone for a long weekend and now I'm going to Miami, what's up with that?!!! Art Basel is happening this week in Miami and I've been wanting to go there, plus I could really use some warm sunny weather! I'm leaving tomorrow and will be back next Monday, and will resume posting on Tuesday, with pics from Art Basel and all the parties, see you then!
If you're in New York and in the mood for shopping, then you must go to the Gen Art Shop NYC event. My favorite Sunshine and Shadow will be there, along with 50 other up-and-coming designers selling their clothes and accessories for up to 70% off!!! Make sure you get there early for the first dibs! If you buy the VIP ticket you will really get in way ahead of the regular ticket holders, plus you'll get a gift bag and free Champagne. Doors open from 4pm-6pm for VIPs, and 6pm-10pm for the main event. Click on the flyer for more details. I'll definitely be there!
When we were in Nashville Chad and I met with his high school friend and my favorite Etsy superstar, Mary Helt. She and her hubbie Chris are the creative brains behind Maryink. Mary does most of the designs and paper work and Chris is the master of silk screening. They are featured this week in The Storque- a web zine from Etsy, the article is about their Etsy success story and their tips on how to keep your orders organized, which is something I desperately need to do! I got some votive holders for my mom-in-law and now I want to get half a dozen of them for my home, they are so sweet and 100% handmade!!!
My inspiration for the next print is this black mama goat. I saw her and her baby goat when we were visiting Chad's cousin who lives in a small town near Nashville, his next door neighbor keeps these goats as his pets. I really love the crazy wide set eyes that the mama goat has, and both of them were so gracefully posing for me, but seriously they were very sweet, I felt like I was at a petting zoo! So my next animal Gocco will be a goat, just in time for the Capricorns!
Well, I'm going tomorrow, but today I have a lot of catching up to do. I had a horrific day yesterday, I was poisoned by Robitussin cough syrup! I took one dose of it and all day long I was delirious and could not do anything but lay down, and was sick to my stomach!!! I will never ever take that stuff again! I'm still not 100% recovered but need to get things done before I leave for Nashville tomorrow. It's a short trip so I'll be back on Monday, see you then!
An Etsy customer sent me these pictures showing my Squirnuts print hanging on the wall, it means so much to me to see my prints living happily in their new homes. I love that the print is in an ornate old-fashioned frame, I also love that it is next to that Keep Calm poster, and what a great idea to frame several pieces of your favorite wallpaper! Thank you Spike 1520, whoever you are! Fans of my sold-out Squirnuts print, good news, I am releasing version 2 very soon!!!!
Kimberly is actually a friend of mine in real life and I am so happy to find out that she's been making these beautiful needlepoint pieces, she sells them on her Etsy shop. Of course I love the squirrel one, but the coral one really stands out as the most beautiful, I also love the hardware she uses for hanging the artwork. I think I might go for the custom initials, and get 3 letters- R A D, what do you think? I can't wait to see more of Kimberly's needlepoint art!!! 
maybe a few more, I would definitely want to buy all of these things from Wright20 in Chicago. I would bid on this most beautiful table clock made by Pedro Friedeberg, its estimated price is $7000 to $9000. 
This Hans Wegner rocking chair is so adorable and probably not very comfortable, but would look so good in my "dream" living room! Here are some more beautiful objects from the website.
I'm one sick Wonting today so there'll be no post, in fact, I'm going to take the rest of the week off! Well, not exactly, I will be working on my new prints and making trips to the post office to ship out all my orders. Have a great Thanksgiving and see you next Monday! Photo from Cute Overload.
Design Sponge- I've been a fan of D*S for 3 years now, it is like my morning cup of coffee, can't live without it. I learned about the Philip Johnson Glass House through her blog and I immediately bought tix for it (my tour is in July 2008, on my birthday!) Today Grace posted a little thing for my animal Gocco print and I feel so proud that I am on D*S!!! 
Bloesem- Irene is a very sweet lady from Amsterdam and lives in Kuala Lumpur. I love and want everything she posts, I think we would make really good shopping partners! Today I found that we're both fans of Hella Jungerius. I would starve for that Hella plate she posted today! 
Poppytalk- Jan is a big supporter of Indie artists and crafters and I am so thrilled that I've been chosen to be one of the sellers at Poppytalk Handmade December Market Place starting 12.10.2007. 
From Amsterdam With Love- Miss Lel is an Aussie living in Amsterdam. She was so kind to blog about my works and emailed me about it. I was so pleasantly surprised how nice her blog is, and I am flattered to be mentioned among all these amazing artists and designers i.e. Rob Ryan and Steven Harrington.
Modish- I wrote about Jena's blog last week, so happy that my prints are all over the blog! And look, she's an Etsy super star!
But people call it G.O.D. in Hong Kong, in Cantonese these three letters phonetically sound like "To Live Better". It is a place that I must go every time I'm in HK. For tourists it's a good place to get hip Chinese-themed gifts. For someone like me, who is only familiar with the 70's-80's Hong Kong, this is a good store to get all kinds of products that borrow elements from that era but made with a humorous twist. It's a kitschy store, and I'm not a fan of their clothing and furniture, but they really make some good housewares and textiles. 
Here are some of my faves, I especially LOVE the plastic camera case that is made to look like a piece of jade carving, and the "HK British passport" journal reminds me of the one I had that really confused my identity when I was little.
