loving this...

poster from coulson macleod. there are SO many typography prints
floating around the blogs these days, but this one just really caught
my eye. i love the font, the frame, the printing, and most of all, the
sentiment. how lovely! k&m

just a little something

to brighten up the day (as if you need it here in VA! beautiful, sunshine-y and warm)

i'm sure i'm seriously late in posting these great little porcelain bits from my favorite etsy girl, ashleyg.

i have one of her "bearded men" prints in the nursery. it's supposed to be representative of my bearded husband, but most people think it looks like Bin Laden ;o)

anyway, she has some miniature porcelain pieces with illustrations imprinted onto the surface. hang a bunch on a wall for instant wow! or be bold and wear it around your neck! I might just hammer a small nail in the wall in an offbeat place in my house and put it there. whatever you choose to do with it, i think they are just precious. enjoy! and happy shopping!

oh, and stay tuned for our March sale announcent! coming to you right here on Saturday. it's a biggie and shouldn't be missed!

a different kind of family portrait

thanks to cool mom picks, i came across kiki & polly, a fabulous, alternative option for kid and family portraits. ever since LJ arrived, i've been thinking about starting an art collection for her. finding one work a year that represent ceratin milestones in her life or ours as a family. i've commissioned her first work that i'll share soon when it's ready. but these delicate line portraits might be the winner for next year. i love how the faces are left blank and that only certain objects are filled in with color. just lovely.

you can also find some great readymade items on their etsy page

nancy blum today in richmond

nancy blum will talk this afternoon at the FAB Gallery at 1000 west broad street from 4-6pm. i've long been a fan of her work. nancy makes drawings, sculpture and installations that explore pattern and the architecture of nature. if you can't make it to the talk, check her work out online at www.nancyblum.com. she divides her time between new york and richmond, so the opportunity to catch her again is certain. enjoy! k&m

etsy love...

the weekend is almost here and i just had to post one more thing before we bid farewell until next week. i just came across this great etsy artist, gypsy and twink, and i couldn't wait to pass it on. each piece is cut out of wood, painted and carefully collaged. great for a nursery or kids room or even a grown up space ;o)

enjoy! and happy shopping! k&m

susan benarick

everyone can always use a little art in their life. i found susan benarick somewhere on the web. on a blog i'm sure. and as soon as i remember the source i'll credit it...

in the meantime i wanted to share some of her installations and sculptures. with earth day approaching i thought her work was appropriate. susan explores mankind's adaptability and how environments affect our being. the elements used in her work are reminiscent of objects found in nature as they are bent, forced, loved nurtured and discarded.

i think her sculptures and installations are soothing and serene while at the same time somewhat distraught. you can check out more of her work on her website.

20x200

[don hamerman]

i haven't posted about 20x200 in a while, so i thought i'd share what's up for april. a couple of interesting photographs by don hamerman (it would be great to collect his whole series), stephanie cinelli's beautiful, yet troubling still life photos and a new work by 20x200 fave alli schmeltz. per usual, her small prints went immediately, but there are still some in the $200 range and of course, for those of you with fat tax refunds, a couple of $2000 originals. enjoy! and happy shopping! k&m


[don hamerman]


[stephanie cinelli]


[ali schmelz]

etsy love...

it's been a while since we've highlighted some etsy goodness, and with the arrival of etsy founder rob kalin a day away, i thought the timing was right. make sure to check back friday for a "this just in..." spring is literally in the air as a super cool new member of the openhouse family is at this moment heading our way and we're so excited about it's arrival.

today i wanted to highlight etsy artist suspect shoppe. san francisco based aritst mati rose mcdonough is the creative mind behind these fantastical prints and paintings. great for a children's room or really any room. the colors are so vivid and the stylized creatures are reminiscent of Charley Harper illustrations. at around $30 each, why not buy a whole wall full? enjoy! and happy shopping! k&m

eating wonderland

if you're in richmond, or plan to be in the next few months, don't miss this show at the university of richmond museum:

"The Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, presents Eating Wonderland: Recent Work by Sue Johnson, on view February 8 through June 15, 2008.

In her latest artwork, contemporary Maryland artist Sue Johnson (American, born 1957) addresses themes of food, consumption, marketing, and mass production in her ceramic castings of dinnerware and popular foodstuffs. Along with her paintings on paper and digital collages, this exhibition features work that explores the creation and use of imagery in popular culture, the influence of context on these images, and how simple manipulations can result in humor, aversion, and complex commentaries on contemporary society."

"Incredible Edibles, which consists of ceramic castings of objects imbued with nostalgia and commercialism related to eating, such as TV-dinner trays and figurines of characters from advertising like the Pillsbury Doughboy and Sprout, the young companion to the Jolly Green Giant, is the first series.

Accompanying series Episodes in a Fantastic Landscape, comprised of mixed media two- dimensional images, likewise focuses on issues of food and consumption and includes fantasy elements, and a sense of impending violence or doom lurks within each piece. Finally, her over 16-foot wide painting New Stories from Wonderland (Life of the Dodo), created specifically for this exhibition, merges all of these themes while including specific references to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and commentary on the environment."

we find her work so clever and very much at the heart of openhouse commentary. enjoy! k&m

todd mckie at page bond gallery

if you're in richmond, head on over to the page bond gallery sometime this month and check out their current exhibition. i'm especially loving the work by todd mckie. as the press release states, his work is "humorous and unpretentious", two of my favorite attributes. his work is primitive and childlike, while at the same time sophisticated and thoughtful. the show is up until march 5th. page bond gallery is located at 1625 west main street and is open until 6pm during the week. stop by, check out the work, and then hit six burner for their weekday prix fixe for only $22 a person! enjoy! k&m

etsy love...

so our flight was cancelled :o( high winds in NYC are too much for our little plane from richmond. no worries, though. we're re-scheduled to take off tonight, so although we'll now miss a whole day of scoping out the fair, at least we're not missing it altogether.

here's a little etsy love to get you through the weekend. i wish i could remember where i found this particular artist, cause i'd give credit where it's due. i've ordered a couple of prints for myself and as a gift for a friend and they are just lovely. check out polaroids and pinholes on etsy. oh, and the customer service is great! enjoy the weekend and we'll see you monday. k&m

postcards for lindsay

if you're in richmond, head on over to corporate & museum frame tomorrow night during first fridays from 7-10. you can grab some inexpensive art and do a good thing at the same time. postcards for lindsay is anexhibition and sale to benefit Lindsay Aronson Ess, a recent VCU grad who suffered severe complications following surgery for Crohn's disease that resulted in quadruple amputations. her medical expenses have far exceeded insurance coverage and this sale will go toward making her recovery and therapy a little easier for everyone.

the idea is this: 4 x 6, 8.5 x 11 and 11 x 14 works of art have been donated by both famous and no-so-famous artists. each work is unframed and signed on the back. for $25, $35 and $50 (dependeding on size) you can purchase something that you love that may be a valuable piece for a small price that goes to help a local family in need. how cool is that?

the show goes on all month, so if you're like us and you won't be in town tomorrow night, head over to corporate & museum frame anytime between 10-5 during the week and grab some goodness.

k&m

etsy love...

i'm a day late and about $35 short with this post. ashleyg, one of my fave etsy artists, listed a whole new group of her adorable bearded men (and if you know me, you know i'm a sucker for a guy with a beard, or at least one guy in particular ;o) and irreverent babies. she only printed small editions, so the pickins are slim 2 days later. check out her work here and see what you can scoop up before it's all gone.

etsy love...

here are some adorable prints from studio mela designer, shelli, on etsy. i think the utensil series [$20 a piece!] is too cute and you can't beat the sentiment on her "break the routine" print, below.

also, openhouse designer alyssa ettinger is the etsy featured seller. click here to read the interview and learn more about her process and inspiration.

sqft gallery

so, a very cool space in Nashville is closing it's doors at the end of the month. sqft gallery, curated by our favorite graphic designer and the creater of the openhouse "look", kathleen losche, has a wonderful last show that you just can't miss, regardless of where you live. thanks to Al Gore and his internet, you can check out the show and purchase any works of interest online.

the show, titled couplets, features two wonderful artists, Lisa Solomon and Aurora Robson.

lisa's pieces for this show focus on representing something frightening and ugly as something beautiful. she has taken the chemical structures of environmental toxins and rendered them using doilies. she delves into the idea that accessible and pretty packaging in our domestic environments can often conceal something harmful. aurora uses junk mail to form beautiful collages that change the viewers perception of an often pesky part of life. like lisa's work, it's about turning the ugly into the beautiful.

i know that i want one of each. sadly openhouse has me strapped ;o) so i'll just have to admire them from afar. enjoy!

20x200

i've been meaning to post about this site for ages. i'm a total addict and perhaps subconsciously i didn't want to share it with the world ;o) but in the interest of small business, i'll let go of my greed and let you in on my favorite new pastime: 20x200

jen beckman, a new york gallerist who i've had the pleasure of working with through artnet in the past, has launched a new venture making great art accessible to all. i first read about it back in october through design*sponge and have managed to accrue a number of great pieces since.

the concept is this: large editions + low prices x the internet = art for everyone.

they introduce two new works a week, one photo and one work on paper. each image is available in three sizes: small editions of 200 for $20, medium editions of 20 for $200 and large-sized editions of 2 that generally run $2000. it's really something for everyone at every price-point.

below are some of the works i've acquired (or been given, thanks Murph). a new edition is released every Tuesday and Wednesday at 2pm. have fun and happy shopping! k&m