Karen Bit Vejle

Yesterday I discovered another paper artist.  Psaligraphy, as some call it, is something that I really enjoy looking at, but not something I'm tempted to try......at least not right now.

 Karen Bit Vejle is from Norway, and she makes incredibly intricate works of art out of paper.  On her elegant and beautiful website, she states 'Psaligraphy – the art of papercutting – requires time', and looking at her work,  you can believe it!  Everything has to be perfect and precise, and her larger works look like vast pieces of lace. At first, I thought she must use a scalpel knife, but on her website it says she only uses scissors.

Her first show was called 'Scissors for a brush' and has been shown at prominent museums in the Nordic countries.   From her website, it says -

'Karen Bit Vejle creates images of air and paper. The works are formed from a large, continuous piece of paper and then cut using only a pair of scissors. Karen Bit Vejle is always cutting while listening to music and every single scissor cut is carefully planned, as the slightest mistake can have disastrous consequences for the finished result. This is a slow art of painstaking patience that demands the utmost concentration. Which part shall be cut out and which shall not?

 

                                                          
                                                                 Photo: Helle S. Andersen
                                                               From: Kalmar Castle Sweden

  

This piece reminds me of a great story, something that would have adorned the walls of the ancient Greeks or Romans (if they had worked with paper instead of fresco).

                                      

                                         Exhibition at THE ROYAL CAFE, Copenhagen.

                                                              Photo: Adam Grønne

  

                                                                                           

                         
 

                                 
                                                                Photo -  Marjaana Malkamäki


                                           To see more, please visit her website and online shop -

                                                              http://papercutart.no/
                                                          http://store.papercutart.no/

The inventor and his companion

 

I was rummaging around in my little store room today, and I pulled out a half-finished painting I had forgotten about and lifted it onto my easel.  It's about 60-70% done..........maybe I should finish it. 

I like paintings with meanings or narratives (that is not to say that I don't enjoy art without these things).  I like characters and something to build a story around.  

In my head I conjured up an image of man with a little mechanic bird resting on his hand..............

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 There was once an inventor who lived alone, up in a home amidst the rooftops of Paris.   He was used to being by himself, but eventually he felt the pangs of loneliness, and it drove him to create a little mechanical friend.......a little bird which wouldn't fly away like the rest, a companion that would stay with him..........

The little bird was kept in a golden cage, and woke up the inventor every morning with its song so he could start work.......  

but after a while, he saw that his little friend looked on to its natural counterparts with envy.  Without room to fly, its wings became harder to move and the little bird became sad, and so it stopped singing in the mornings.......

....then one day, the inventor decided to do what was best for his little companion's happiness, even though he would miss him.   He went to the window, and opened the cage............

.......the little bird hopped on to the inventor's hand and looked up at to him .  The inventor bid fairwell to his companion, and let it fly away.......

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Carl Warner - Amazing Foodscapes

I present to you Carl Warner - a creator of foodscapes, an art where he makes landscapes out of food and photographs them.  His work is fun, imaginative, and interesting to look at, so take a peek at this photo set that was published in a newspaper a while back.  I tried to get his permission to show his photos on her, but I haven't had a reply yet :(  As I'm reluctant to include photographers' work in my blog without their permission, you just have to click the link to enter his world of whimsical foodscapes. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkpicturegalleries/9664001/A-World-of-Food-amazing-foodscapes-by-Carl-Warner.html?frame=2392485

Day of the Dead

Here are my first links........on the Day of the Dead.

First, some photos from around the word of this day that I found interesting -

http://gu.com/p/3bhme

 Article from the BBC -

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20080591

An artist worth mentioning is Sylvia Ji, who seems to be very inspired by Día de los Muertos, and La Calavera Catrinas who is a very popular figure associated with this day. 


 


 

You can view more of her vibrant, colourful paintings here -

http://www.sylviaji.com/paintings_2009


I'd love to have this chair, however it's a little bit too expensive for me, so I think I'd prefer the teacup!
http://www.clickforart.com/BuyArt/SylviaJi/MariaThrone