My Imaginary Appartment

It is one of my favourite things to do when I'm upset-- walk about home stores and pick out items for the apartment that I don't have. I don't understand what it is about kitchen utensils that I won't ever use. So for today's post I have gathered some of the things that made my heart go pitter-patter, like these great wine glasses with the extra long stem--a la Scandal-- and some adornments for my wall.

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I had to include this flat design I found on IKEA when I was looking for ways to set up a studio apartment. With a studio it is so difficult to separate sleeping space from living space, especially if you don't have much space to work with. I loved how they used the shelving unit and a bit of fabric as a separation, the open closet is also a huge attraction, I love having  my clothes displayed nicely, and easy to access.

Image IKEA.com

The Art of Procrastination.

It really is an art.

Going through my reading list over the weekend I found a great article in HeartIFB.com about why it's sometimes good to procrastinate. And I thought well, what great vindication I have right here regarding my sometimes lazy ways, especially when it comes to my homework.

So as I sit in the library now, I have taken a few minutes out of my laborious evening to write this post. Granted the only reason I am sitting in the library at 9 pm is because instead of doing my work when I was supposed to last week, I found more interesting things to do with my time... like live.

I gotta leave you with this video that aptly covers the basics of wasting time. However, it may only be safe to follow this behaviour when you don't have any looming deadlines.

Sourced heartifb.com, youtube.com

Woman.

Yesterday I went to the Royal Ontario Museum to see the Mesopotamia exhibit, but managed to get a few more in, including Genesis-- a photography exhibit by Sabastião Salgado. The entire point of Salgado's collection of photographs was to capture cultures of the world that still hold true to the traditions of their past, and parts of the world that remain untouched by evolution.

Out of the entire exhibit this one image completely captivated me. It made me comprehend in an instant the effect photography can have on the world. The power and grace that lies within this woman's expression, but more importantly her posture and the strength with which she holds herself up, made me want to fly to Namibia just to shake her hand.

She should be the poster woman for the women of the world.

New Art: Sven Fennema

I have come across another amazing photographer, Sven Fennema. This German born artist has taken stunning photos of desolate rooms and buildings all over the world. He manages to capture the charm, beauty and emptiness that becomes an abandoned room.
Somehow the desolation brings out the real character of the room and you are left there only imagining the kind of grandeur those walls have seen. His website features many capsule collections of images of windows, stairways, and even a collection of abandoned churches and other sacred places--images that leave everything to the imagination.

                                         

Images Courtesy of SvenFennema.com

Frida & Diego.

While I was in Atlanta I visited the High Museum of Art to see the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit. Frida and Diego Passion, Politics, and Painting was an extremely powerful exhibit and told a love story that wasn't your typical one.
 
The exhibition was beautifully curated with the idea of weaving together the lives of them both. We follow Diego through his very first paintings, his early attempts at cubism, as well as his portraits and murals. Frida's work which primarily consists of a range of self portraits from throughout her life are highlighted. Some of my favourite pieces from them both are landscapes and still-lifes-- Diego's series of sunsets, and Frida of her home in Mexico.

The result of their tumultuous relationship is very present in some of Frida's paintings, both the physical and emotional pain were the focus of some of the most emphatic pieces.

It always amazes me how these artists can capture so much in a few strokes.

Abstraction: Liza Hathaway Matthews

I love the awe and excitement that comes with discovering new artists that I can obsess over. As you have seen I am a clear lover of contemporary abstract work--I am a huge fan of colour and texture and for that reason I love oil on canvas.
Liza Hathaway Matthews is an American artist, she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design and painting, and lives in Maryland. By merging colour and texture she creates the most beautiful stories.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Emerald City

Pink Lemonade

Gazebo

Tapestry

The Bride

Images Courtesy of Oriets Fine Art

Art I can afford.

Contrary to what this blog states, I do not spend my life on Pinterest, though it may seem so. However, today's post does come straight from the site. I follow a lot of people that have art boards and I saw this one pin about an artist on Etsy that does oil paintings that are reasonably priced.

Now I've been combing sites for art for my bedroom as I'm doing it over, and was going to settle for giclee prints of pieces I loved but wouldn't be able to afford. 
These pieces I found are by an artist named Luiza Vizoli, and are absolutely breath-taking. She does modern abstract textured oil paintings, exactly what I want.

You can have a look at her Etsy store, I'll show you my favourites.

Lilac Trees- 26.30

Flowers for YOU- 78.90

Red Wildflowers- 51.55

 Images Courtesy of Etsy.com

Inspired

As of today I'll be doing a post at the beginning of the week of things I've found that have given me inspiration, or moved something in me. I've also decided to do a post at the end of the week called Gratitude, that will be of the simple things I've enjoyed or been privy to.

Here's to Inspiration.

1. Ambition is aspirational-- having a goal, hope, or desire. Intention implies assuming you can and have every right to achieve your ambition and that you care enough to make it happen.

-- Gloria Feldt,  No Excuses: Nine ways women can change the way we think about power.

2. A little music for the soul--

3. Bailarinas II - Fernanda Cataldo

Pantone Palate

Again I have been prowling the internet in the wee hours of the morning, and I've come across these great interpretations of Pantone colour swatches. This lot is by French food designer Emilie de Griottes.

School is so cool.

This semester at school I have to take a computer drawing class where I'm forced to learn Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. So far we've only covered Illustrator, but somehow last week I had a breakthrough moment and I am now completely in love with it. I just did an entire assignment for another class with the program, and I am extremely impressed with myself and how it turned out. So I can't wait to see how I can use the program for blog posts.
I'm currently using the free CS6 trial on my computer, but it's only for a month, so I am seriously considering buying the standard package, which is $229--at the student rate. This is considerably cheaper than the $1200 regular tag, so any of you students who are interested in buying it should definitely look into that at your school bookstore.
If any of you guys are really good at Illustrator or Photoshop, do let me know if I can do things better, I'm always willing to learn!

Colour story for my Product Development class completed on Illustrator

Paper Trail

I constantly wake up at 3 a.m. nowadays and I rarely get back to sleep so I often manage my boredom reading, writing or ploughing through Pinterest. This weekend I came across a very interesting, colourful, and intricate piece of work from a mixed media artist named Yulia Brodskaya.
This Russian artists work completely enthralled me and after a bit of research I realized I've come across her work before-- in the Sephora Christmas windows of 2011. To think that someone has skill like this makes me extremely awestruck and jealous at the same time.

Images Courtesy of Yulia Brodskaya.com

In the midst of a snowstorm...

In the midst of this terrible weather in the GTA, I just had to add some colour to both my life, and anyone who came across this post. It felt so lovely to finally look at something and feel inspired enough to share it with people. This artist currently lives in Toronto, but is originally from China. The vibrancy, highly saturated colour and simple abstract beauty of her canvas completely moved me.

Let Yangyang Pan move you, too, she has a showing of her work as well as a sale on March 27- March 31. I'm currently trying to coerce my mother to buy me a piece as an early birthday present... I'll let you know how that goes.

Here are a few of my favourites.

Ivy- Oil on Canvas

Lake Ontario- Oil on Canvas

Sorrow be Gone- Oil on Canvas

Floating Clouds #2- Acrylic, Oil, Charcoal on Canvas

Images Courtesy of YangyangPan.com

Collection de Mode en Papier

In the fashion arts building at my College the visual merchandising students have window displays that they're responsible for. Every two weeks they change them according to themes, and the most recent displays were all made out of paper medium.