Archive for the 'Cool Links' Category

Day Eighteen - fabric circles

Published
by
robayre
on August 26, 2010
in Cool Links and General Update
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Today I traced and cut out circles for another yoyo pouch. Once I started to make the yoyos, I realized the fabric was a very stubborn one. The cooperation of the fabric is the difference between finishing them all in one day or finishing them in a week. Hoping it was starch in the fabric, I decided to wash them in the sink. We will see once they are dry. Washing them, though, I couldn’t help but see beauty in the water and fabric color, so I snapped a shot.

I got an email earlier today that my blog has been featured on the website GuideToArtSchools.com for a feature on found art. I actually saw this a few weeks back when Rosa was featured in the TOP FIVE! (awesome!) and informed me that I was on the list as well. You can see the complete list here.

One quick link for all of you who make life lists, here’s a new twist: Summer Pierre has a list of completed & realized dreams. I really like that. Reading hers I was already transported to creating my own list in my head. I need to get on actually writing or typing it out now.

Cool Link Round-up

Published
by
robayre
on June 21, 2010
in Cool Links
. 4 Comments

I’m back to share some links I’ve collected.

This music video via Booooooom will help you kick of a new work week.

Design is Mine shared this beautiful thumbnail of the artwork of Michelle Armas and I’m transported.

How about these envelopes?  I love mail art. By artist Anja Mulder

Here is a collection of autobiographical comic artists next to drawings of themselves.

Have you heard about the site flattr? Check out this post by Leethal all about it. I’ve already signed up!

I’d really love a coffee table like this one featured on Design Sponge. Actually I think every flat surface in my house could really use a paper cutter crank in it.

♥ Black & Whites Stipes ♥

Published
by
robayre
on June 15, 2010
in Cool Links, General Update and etsy
. 0 Comments

Come visit the black and white themed Etsy Treasury I made recently.

I have a long lasting, never ending crush on black and white stripes. One time in college I did an intaglio print that was entirely thick black and white stripes. The black was entirely scratched in line-by-line, by hand, on the metal plate, until it was solid. I thought of the piece being more of a tribute to my love for stripes as well as a process piece, where the action of creating is more important than the piece itself. I think my teacher was less than inspired by the piece. Oh well, you can’t win them all, especially if you go to NIU art school and don’t try to suck up by recreating your teacher’s exact same style for every piece. Bitter still? Does it show?

To me black and white stripes are classic, vintage, timeless, Picasso, Tim Burton, Edward Gorey, & little boys from the 50s like Dennis the Menace and my dad when he was little. I can never get enough of black and white stripes.

Earlier today Bri showed me this awesome striped Pavillion. AND if that wasn’t awesome enough, we both recently purchased the exact same black and white upholstery fabric from IKEA. She actually has some super awesome plans for hers and I can’t wait to see pictures of it.

Kool-aid dyed yarn

Published
by
robayre
on June 14, 2010
in Cool Links, Coverage, General Update and fiber
. 4 Comments

Speaking of Tumbler (my lil post the other day)…

Yesterday I posted this old picture of some yarn I spun from wool I dyed with kool-aid. Today I found that picture was posted on tumblr by robot heart. Currently that image has been “noted” and “reblogged” 47 times. How cool is that?

I love tumblr, but usually I just “heart” images that I like, and only share my own images, as I kind of feel weird reblogging another person’s work. BUT, in the case where my image is the one being reblogged, I’ll jump in on the fun and add it to my own tumblr.

Cool link round-up

Published
by
robayre
on June 13, 2010
in Cool Links
. 0 Comments

There are many things I really enjoy about Google Reader and one of them is being able to bookmark posts by “liking” and “sharing” them. I’m posting today to share a few things I’ve collected over time in my google reader. I’d love to turn this into a weekly post, but I’m not going to promise, since regular posts on my blog never end up being very regular. Pre-twitter these are things I would have shared here, but now I post them on twitter and forget about posting them here as well, and I miss that.

This cartoon is sweet and a pretty common theme to my life since becoming an adult.

I discovered this project (Ring A Day 2010) earlier this year when I was participating in 2010 Thing A Day. I love rings, but only creative and artistic pieces, meaning I basically loathe your typical jewelry store jewelry, ugh. It’s been a long time since I’ve been serious about metalwork, but a project like this makes me miss that time when I had more focus on just one area of art at a time.

Speaking of awesome rings, here is one that looks like a tree stump (scroll down below ads to see it).

I love this post on art zines at Doodlers Anonymous.

Here is an awesome project, as I’m obsessed with all types of vending machines. It’s a Doodle vending machine, also from Doodlers Anonymous. It reminds me of the postcard machine from Renegade that I wrote about years back.

And wait, while we are talking about my obsession with vending machines I might as well mention how I’ve long wanted to buy my very own coin machine. I think it stems from my obsession as a child to get things from gumball machines. Heck, it was the only reason I’d go with my mom to the store, so that I could beg for a quarter. For years I’ve had a machine bookmarked to buy. I promise myself it’s one of the items I’ll buy when I have my credit card paid off, which will be very soon, wooot! Anyway, earlier this year I discovered the Itty Bitty Art Committee (which just about blew my mind because I am also obsessed with little art). I read how they bought a little coin slot machine to vend tiny lucky origami paper cranes. This reminded me of a vending machine I saw at the Renegade one year where an artist was vending mini silk screen (or were they relief) prints from a gumball machine. And naturally, there is Artomat, which I occasionally contribute to, which vends original artwork through old revamped cigarette machines.

okay, one last link:

Crustless Quiche in a Cup! Yum, I love quiche.

Okay, that’s all for now, but I have tons more to share, so hopefully I’ll be back next week with more.

Beauty Overload

Published
by
robayre
on June 10, 2010
in Artists, Cool Links and General Update
. 2 Comments

This blog isn’t called Inspiration Junkie for nothin’. I can’t get enough of the pretty things people make and capture.

Above is the most recent page from my “Favorites” collection from other users on Flickr.

I also like to collect pretty images on weheartit, here.

and tumblr, here.

Do you keep online collections of inspiring images?

Big things in little packages

Published
by
robayre
on June 10, 2010
in Artists, Cool Links and General Update
. 1 Comment

I recently received an eagerly anticipated package in the mail.

For years I have been coveting items from thelittlereddoor’s etsy shop. I feel like every treasury I made had one of their little houses in it. Then, Thelittleredoor sent out a customer notification that they were near one thousand sales and to celebrate that they’d be offering some extra goodies to whomever purchases the thousandth item. I decided to be that person.

The houses arrived and they are so beautiful. The extra goodies included extra little homes, a bag, AND two beautiful hand-thrown bowls. I love my little houses, they are just as I had hoped. Originally I planned on just setting them out on display, but I read in their shop that they would also work for terrariums. What a great idea!

Check out thelittlereddoor on Etsy.

I’m a nerd

Published
by
robayre
on May 28, 2010
in Cool Links, My Artwork, Projects, etsy and shop update
. 4 Comments

Here is my second animated gif for number 2 on my to-do list. Here’s number one from earlier this year.  This time I made it bigger so you can actually see what’s going on.

Last week I was walking from my car to our house when I saw the brightest yellow finch. It’s been so long since I’ve seen one, I thought it was an escaped pet bird at first. The very next day I was at a BBQ birthday party and saw the boldest Indigo Bunting. It kept flying up to the bird feeder just a few feet away from us. THEN the very next day I was on a bike ride and a bright red Cardinal swooped right in front of me. I view brightly colored birds as a sign, and remembered this mail art piece I made and decided to list it for sale in my Etsy shop.

I recently discovered the coolest (new-to-me) artist through flickr. Alyn Carlson is a very talented artist, graphic designer and actress. She makes the most wonderful art hats, and they can be found in her Etsy shop here. I love how she posts often about colors, often in a Pantone theme, which really speaks to the graphic designer in me too. Well, lo and behold, this week she featured a photograph I took of my tootsie in grass, on this post. And then today, she shared my silver cast and handspun yarn Grass Ring. A woman who also loves grass is a woman after my own heart.

Three Awesome Things

Published
by
robayre
on May 17, 2010
in Cool Links, goals and life
. 0 Comments

1. Maybe you saw this already, maybe not. I love it and I wish for all adults to have the same positivity.


2. This soul version of a Wilco song.

3. I purchased my first glass marble to start off my collection

I bought it from Lithomancy Glassworks on Etsy and it’s absolutely beautiful. Now, I can cross #1 off my yearly list.

‘Roid Week 2010

Published
by
robayre
on May 10, 2010
in Artists, Cool Links and General Update
. 0 Comments


Untitled, 2. sail her, don’t sink her, 3. seedy motel, 4. 127/365 2010, 5. Any requests?, 6. logs, 7. Route 66 California, 8. waiting, 9. Daydream

‘Roid Week 2010 is over, but that doesn’t mean the beauty is gone. Please check out the many, many pages of participating pictures over at Flickr.  I made the above collection using FDs flickr tools with pictures from the group.

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