These incredible paint and torn paper creations by Andrea Myers have me straight up mesmerized. They also have me thinking I really, really wish I’d thought of that! So I guess what I’m really saying is that I’m completely inspired, which is what most art aspires to do at the end of the day. (A+++)
Illustrator Clover Robin clearly finds delight in all things botanical, a gal after my own heart. At first glance her work left me wondering whether it was drawn or collaged, and you know how I love it when I’m fooled by mediums! My walls are practically begging for a piece of her work to be hung upon them sometime soon.
Christy M. King is Nashville-based, while the flora her botanical collages mimic are all from North Carolina – a nod to her own roots. The series explores what it means to be American (to Americans as well as others), her interest living a green life, and making art through recycling paper scraps.
Paper quilling is sometimes thought of as and old lady’s craft, but Griffin Carrick‘s work is anything but. As both an interior designer and maker her goal is to transform the everyday into the extraordinary, believing that beauty does not rely on luxury or trend but on the unexpected use of the familiar. Paper is definitely the familiar and Griffin’s use of it in her collages and wall hangings is entirely modern.
A Book That Takes Its Time is one I’ve been waiting to get my hands on since the start of the year when I first learned of its upcoming existence. Finally today, thanks to the team at Workman Publishing, I’m able to share it with you on its release date!
Flow is a magazine celebrating creativity, imperfection, and life’s little pleasures and this is its first companion book. It also embraces the physical qualities of paper – its weight, texture, the way it takes color – and the formats and ways in which it can be delivered. Articles in the magazine mingle with bound-in or fold-out posters, stickers, pre-printed thank you cards from noted illustrators, and other “goodies.” In short, Flow has created a magazine best enjoyed in print form and A Book That Takes Its Time follows closely in its successful footsteps.
A Book That Takes Its Time: An Unhurried Adventure in Creative Mindfulness (the full title) was penned by the co-founders and creative directors of Flow, Irene Smit and Astrid Van der Hulst. At it’s heart this tome is about doing, about experience, and about intention. It’s a book both about mindfulness and a book that literally inspires mindfulness while reminding readers to slow down, breathe deeply, and be present.
I don’t know about you, but I’m forever struggling to be more in tune with the now – maybe this year more than ever before. This book turned out to be a much needed balm, right from Chapter 1, that I can turn to when the days are especially trying or I just need a moment to regroup and regain focus. Make your way through its pages in order or skip around depending on what you need and when you need it.
Learn to appreciate and savor moments both large and small by punching out pages of decorative memory cards to fill out and save in a mason jar so you can revisit them when you need an emotional lift. Read about the benefits of clearing your mind and letting your hands lead the way, then use the provided images and words to create a personal collage. Snip, arrange, and paste them onto the fold-out blank canvas and see where your subconscious takes you.
Read about the advantages of slowing down, then put those lessons into practice with the removable Joy of One Thing at a Time Notebook. Tear out a postcard and snail mail it to a friend. Make a list to clear your mind and refocus.
There are lessons on how to shift your focus away from what you don’t have and focus on what you do have. On stepping back from your phone to take just one photo with a camera – and then let the gaps in an album tell the story. Even tips for breaking old habits that will get your wheels turning.
Not every page is an activity or lesson, some are simply filled with inspiring words that you may not have known you needed to read. Do you get it? It’s the kind of book that makes you take your time, one that you can’t just hurry through so like so many other things in life. It’s a book that makes you stop to savor, play with, and appreciate all the lovely and interesting detours that hands-on activities provide.
Readers will have the chance to learn hand-lettering, the basics of collaging, even how to meditate while running. There’s something for everyone, which is what I love most about this book that mixes reading, learning, and doing. It’s part creative therapy, part teacher, part self-help, part workshop.
This post sponsored by Workman Publishing. All words and opinions are my own, as always. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Design Crush creating fresh content!
Flat-packed models have been gaining in popularity, and this trio of beetles from Assembli is exceptional! Choose from the Stag, Hercules, and Atlas species before selecting from a number of color options, then get to work putting together the cut paper and cardboard skeleton and wings.
I was following Tugboat Printshop and their traditionally hand-crafted, fine art limited edition woodcut prints long before I realized they were even from Pittsburgh. Each unique piece Valerie Lueth creates is an original, authentic work of art created start-to-finish by hand. Tugboat’s drawings are made on 3/4-inch birch woodblocks, then carved in low relief using knives and chisels before being printed directly from the hand-carved blocks. I really appreciate how detailed each piece is and the incredible amount of work put into every woodcut print.
Our Pittsburgh Maker Profile series has been on extended hiatus for awhile now. This area is so rife with creativity that I feel I’ve been doing it a disservice, simply highlighting one maker a month really isn’t enough. So this September I’ll be highlighting a few dozen instead! You’ll know it’s a Pittsburgh creator by the little seal above that will mark each post.
I first became aware of the flora-meets-fauna art of Ashley Cecil last spring when she created a line of scarves that sold at the Carnegie Museum of Art. She paints from live observation at renowned institutions, and marrying realism with abstract modern backgrounds is her signature style. Those two things alone garner loads of interest for me, but what makes it all work so well together is Ashley’s innate understanding of color and the way she knows when to keep it reigned it or go all out. She’s also working to save birdlife with an innovative window film that helps birds see the surface rather than fly into it injuring, or even worse killing, themselves.
Lucy Holcomb started painting fun objects on cards and envelopes years ago – monstera leaves! Pop Tarts! hot dogs! – and recently turned it all into a legit business. She started off sharing her creations on Instagram and her following grew organically from there. Now you can pick up her work for yourself at Lucy Mail!