Michael Cianfrani has started a project called Tiny Run: sort of similar to projects like Tiny Showcase,Tiny Run releases a new, limited-run designed tee shirt biweekly. The latest shirt features the artwork of Aya Kakeba, which-- and we love when this happens-- Tiny Run originally found on the Fabulist. There's also shirts with fun stuff like embroidered bacon (complete with glow-in-the-dark bacon fat)! Michael dropped a line to say if you join the mailing list, you can get access to the last couple of the bacon tees before they disappear forever and ever.
I remember seeing a bunch of Yoskay Yamamoto pieces in a sneaker shop on Sawtelle about a year ago, and I just stood there, transfixed. His very first solo show is happening at Project: Gallery in Los Angeles May 3rd, and the gallery has put up a yummy preview link.
(I love this piece, particularly.) If you're in Los Angeles, pop over there and tell Yoskay he's made of awesome.
A series of photographs of people beloved: the kind you'd find tucked in a shoebox under a bed, or pressed between the pages of a diary. The Ones We Love sets out to explore the emotions that tug at us and demand we capture beauty. Each artist has submitted six photographs and a handwritten note describing the object of their affections; occasionally, the notes are sweeter than the pictures themselves. Hasisi is a mystery. I need to know why I love her, why she loves me, what makes her a genius, whether any of it can rub off on me. - Jackson Eaton
I tied a disposable camera to a bench with a sign that read:
Good afternoon,
I attached this camera to the bench so you could take pictures. Seriously. So have fun. I'll be back later this evening to pick it up.
Love, Jay / The Plug
When I retrieved the camera that night, I was happy to find that the entire roll of film had been shot. Below are the photos that were taken.
Everyone needs a little pick-me-up now and again, a reminder to always look on the bright side of life. (Doo-doo, doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo.) Here's a list of art prints that do just that, and look pretty snappy on your wall to boot. Pick up It's Okay To Have Everything I Want from Soma, Don't Give Up from Print Liberation, and for all those lovers of maps and wayworn days (you know who you are) Make Your Own Path from Keep Calm.
Keep Calm And Carry On comes in a variety of prints, but my favorite might be the tee shirt version. And while it's not apparently available anywhere that I can find, I had to throw in this Platform For Art Tube Poster by Mark Titchner, because it cheers me up every time I'm in the Underground.
will.i.am is back with a second video in support of Obama, and I have to sort of say, I'm amazed. When was the last time a presidential candidate inspired so much art, and passion?
Levi Weaver is also part of the Team Genius Nashville ensemble-- and this is one of the most clever animated music videos I've seen in a good bit. Why is it that a tiny cartoon man with no arms can elicit such empathy?
Levi's toured with Imogen Heap and is looking for doppelgangers over at Last.fm-- check out his cover of Radiohead's Idioteque at Last.fm, too.
I discovered Aya Kakeba's deceptively simple, lovely drawings of girls while browsing Parskid's site a couple of weeks ago. "They are weak. They are strong. They are beautiful." That pretty much sums girls up, doesn't it?
Kakeba's drawings are universal, but her site is in a mixture of Japanese and English. So be brave and click on some things that may lead you who knows where. I found I was pleasantly rewarded when I did.
This picture hardly does justice to the crazy woolen jewelry made by Hisano Takei. Thick necklaces like fat white sausages, woolly baubles shaped like giant ostrich eggs, chains made entirely of links of wool, and delicate, multi-colored, fuzzy flowers all compete for attention in her impressive gallery. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, really, where fabric is used in place of metal so seemingly effortlessly. The transition seems so obvious, you wonder why you never thought of it before.
Kathie Olivas has an upcoming gallery show, "Bittersweet," opening at G1988: SF on February 29. Tentacled children and sinister red-eyed bunnies with a penchant for sweets are the overriding theme of the paintings. There seems to be a battle going on between the spooky children and the sock-puppet rabbits, presumably over sweets, and who can blame them?
But what really excites me about Kathie Olivas is her style in three-dimensional form, illustrated in her sculptures using oil on epoxy resin. Tiny figures that you can touch with your hands, pick up, and contemplate from all sides. Characters from her paintings come alive, in miniature.
View the preview for the show here, with all the paintings, sculptures, and custom vinyl on display.
There are always loads of pretty ladies at A Place Called Lovely. And yes, apparently some of them like to spend their time licking turtles. Is that so wrong? Works by Camilla d'Errico, Krista Huot, Amy Sol, Caia Koopman, and Lilly Piri are adorning the walls at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight: SF, so hurry to see them all before the current show is over on February 28. Or, you could always just click here. But it's not the same.
(Definitely check out the websites of all the artists above though--lots of amazing work and other interesting tidbits).
I firmly believe that art collecting should be open to everyone, not just those who make over $100K a year. A Paper Tiger seems to be in utter harmony with me on this issue, offering limited edition prints and more for as low as $60. Granted, that's still not affordable for some of us. But by golly, it's a step in the right direction.
A Paper Tiger is still new on the scene, having just opened in January of 2008, so they don't have a vast catalog for you to peruse just yet. Give them time, though. I have a feeling great things are going to happen. I mean just LOOK at this glorious Jeana Sohn print! Sigh....
The print shown above is available here, and is by Tessar Lo, who just so happens to be showing along with artist Chris Devera at project:gallery until March 1st. And if you have a bigger budget, or you just love to look at beautiful art (truly, it is GORGEOUS), you can view the entire exhibit in their store here.
I'm publishing this mainly because it *utterly terrifies me*. And a fear shared is a fear multiplying exponentially as more and more people see it, right?
It's those eyes! The eyes, chico, they never lie...
panloaf on 
