ReadyMade + Modern Craft

Kari and I are so excited to be featured in the December / January issue of ReadyMade magazine. Photographed by Brian Ulrich, whose work we've admired for a while now, with text by Kirsten Jerch, the article talks about Modern Craft and includes many pictures of our house. Thanks everyone!

Edward Burtynsky

I travel to China often and it's evident that the country is going through unprecedented growth and urbanization. Think of the Western industrial revolution, which took over 100 years to fully become the force on society that we see in hindsight. China is jetting through a similar transformation but in only 20 years.

Edward Burtynsky's pictures of China capture the strange landscapes that occur when traditional rural life gives way to massive modernization. What is captured in his photos is the dilemma of China's entry into the realm of Superpower: that as we reach for a better life, the world suffers, and many of the people whose labor pushes us upward suffer as well.

If you haven't sen Manufactured Landscapes, Burtynsky's documentary of his work in China, you should rent it (Netflix!). Here's a statement from the artist:

These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire - a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.

Rapid Transit / Retread

Made from discarded truck inner tubes, each item bears mysterious and beautiful graphic markings and textures from its traveled past. Completely handmade. Journal and tote pictured. Available at violet.com.

Gavin Potenza

Tiny Showcase features Gavin Potenza this week, with an open-edition "Field Guide to the Stamps of the World." It measures almost 30" tall, and was printed in Providence, Rhode Island by an environmentally-friendly printer. "These stamps were inspired by various elements surrounding the culture of the countries, including the Swiss-born color theorist Johannes Itten, old French Tarot cards, the Brazilian boardwalk Copacabana, German designer Otl Aicher, Mayan patterns, the Swiss Alps, sweater patterns, and op artist Victor Vasarely." Read more about the print here. $12.

Kari

Today is all about Kari. Happy Birthday my love.

Another Reason to Go to Houston

Chrissy, a great friend of mine and one of the most resourceful people I know, is Executive Director at the Lawndale Art Center in Houston. Being quite connected, she sent me this info about a big Mid-Century Modern sale that two of Houston's biggest dealers are holding this weekend. Both dealers participate in Lawndale's Modern Market every year. Pictures here are from previous Modern Market sales at Lawndale (Photo credit - Katy Anderson). The sale features items by EAMES, G. NELSON, WORMLEY, ROBS JOHNS, GIBBONS, SAARINEN, KNOLL, H. MILLER, LANE, DREXEL, AMERICAN OF MARTINSVILLE.

In the HEIGHTS, 1220 W. 19th street (KM452U). Take Shepherd to 19th street in the Heights, make left on 19th and you will see warehouse on the left Saturday November. 22, 9 - 4 / Sunday Nov. 23 11 - 4. Call 713-478-3293 for more details.

Julian Duron

Julian Duron makes bright and strange landscapes that look like a train-wreck of the natural world. Mountains look like jeweled stacks of crystals, logs resemble stovepipes or pieces of a Braque work. It's an imaginary world, but it's colors and forms give it great energy. I like his work for these reasons. Here is a statement from his site: "Landscapes and other works shown on this site have evolved based on the places I have lived, and the people that I have met utilizing simplistic and minimal use of color in my earlier work to more complex palettes and rigorous processes which can be seen in my most recent collection."

(via the Post Family)

Marimekko Holiday

If you're not quite feeling the holidays yet --and who's really ready for that?-- just look at the feast of graphic design and bold patterns that is the marimekko holiday catalog. Great and inspiring as usual.

2009 Never Looked So Good

You know I'm a fan of Kris's Color Stripes, and now she's produced a wall calendar for 2009 that includes some of her signature swatches, chosen for the given month. You can find it here.



This simple desktop 2009 calendar is hand printed in Decatur, Georgia by Avie Designs. Printed on heavy-weight paper and displayed in a jewel case. Calendars are a terrific way to give practicality and art in one. Nice graphics and a great package.

Design (Within) Reach

Here's a great Christmas idea-- something for the crafty ones. I like these simple bookends made of pine-- they would likely cost under $20 to make and they look great. You can copy them from the DWR website, but don't look at the price!

Pieces

Lee Kleinhelter is the force behind Pieces, an Atlanta interior design shop. The great finds for the boutique are found in markets from all over the country. Vintage Swedish deco chairs, driftwood wall sculptures, cork lamps,etc. she also carries some contemporary favorites like Hable Construction and Jonathan Adler. “I search for items that are unique and can be updated to fit in many environments”, says Lee. “I want to create a space that inspires people and is available not only to the trade, but exposes the public as well." Great eye and an interesting mix of vintage and new.

Keith Carter

My inlaws have a beautiful Keith Carter photograph of a tree that I've admired for years. An internationally acclaimed photographer, Carter is from Beaumont, Texas (as is my wife) who initially found his subjects in the familiar, yet exotic, places of East Texas. Carter has since expanded his range geographically but also in themes-- and this new book (A Certain Alchemy) deals in the world of dreams and imagination with shadowy images and strange landscapes. You can buy this new collection here or see more of Carter's work on his site.

Morlen Sinoway

I get lost looking at this artist's website. Sinoway is a furniture maker and designer in Chicago who studied sculpture, drawing and ceramics before beginning his career making furniture. His "reduced simplicity and basic materials" give his work a beauty and familiarity while the shapes are sophisticated and sculptural. Beautiful work. If you're in Chicago, you can visit his shop-- or go here for a while.

Suzani Textiles

Pottery Barn is an unlikely source for vintage textiles, but they're currently offering these elaborately hand-embroidered textiles from the Middle East and Asia. Ranging in age from 50 to 80 years, each panel is handcrafted and unique, including the occasional hole, missing threads and out-of-sync patterns created by piecing together several scraps of fabric. Beautiful.

William Eggleston

“William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1961-2008,” a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, is an outstanding retrospective of this American photographer. Criticized for photographs that at first seem mundane and banal, we see the work more clearly now. We know that it was not cheap. The dye transfer printing Mr. Eggleston used, adapted from advertising, was the most expensive color process then available. It produced hues of almost hallucinatory intensity. Eggleston lived in the Mississippi Delta and took pictures of friends and neighbors-- nobodies, nowhere. But the compositions that at first seemed bland now seem classic and influential. Take a closer look.

Susy Jack 2009 Calendars

I'm a big fan of Susy Jack's designs-- so graphic but simple, uncomplicated but strong. This week she releases her new 2009 calendar, and you can get yours here.

ModHaus

If you're looking for vintage housewares, textiles, or furniture, ModHaus is a great online shop with reasonable prices and a decent mid-century inventory. Run by Shannon Aaron and Sue Jacobson in Boston, the owners have a great eye for interesting finds.