I wanted to share the work of Carrie Lingscheit, an artist I met on my recent trip to Athens, Ohio. I briefly spoke to her when I found this print for sale:

It reads, "he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn Num 24:8." She explained that she made it for a unicorn themed exchange portfolio. Some versions of the Bible mention unicorns in passing, but it's likely that they actually meant rhinoceros. [The first Bible I checked had changed unicorn to ox but the King James version does say unicorn!] Carrie also referenced Albrecht Durer's Rhinocerous print which is pretty awesome. So obviously I had to buy it. Now I just have to figure out where to hang it.

I thought it was a bit funny that the Studio Art class I subbed for today was also doing a drawing project based on Durer's Rhino. I wish I would have known, I could have shown them Carrie's print. 
See more of Carrie's work HERE. It's definitely worth checking out!

Although I am a self-taught knitter and most of my creating takes that form these days, I did study art in college. I was a painting major and loved it. I majored in ceramics too, but painting was always my first love. Painting consumed my thoughts and, even more so, consumed my time. I needed it that way. I hate to say I've leaned toward knitting monsters out of convenience because I love making them too, but picking out some yarn and sitting down to knit is a whole lot easier than setting up to paint... and I can take my knitting anywhere! I can't deny it though, sometimes I miss painting and working through bigger  ideas so badly that it hurts. 

This weekend I headed down to Ohio to see my friend John's thesis exhibit. He is graduating soon with his MFA from Ohio University and Friday was the opening for his show. John and I were both painting majors and good friends in undergrad. After graduation we headed in different directions. I went on to get another degree in Art Education right away while he took a year off to work and then applied to grad schools for fine art. John is really an amazing person to have known both personally and as an artist. His recent work is very thoughtful and draws connections between material [in this case mostly housing construction materials] and our own bodies. 

He has a website at johnburtsanders.org where there are more details on his work. Although he hasn't posted his statement about his show on the site,  I'll post it here so you can have a clearer idea of his intent. [We'll call it an erinmakesstuff exclusive.]:

In Indivisibler, textures and materials fuse together to generate a tangled field of associations between viewers’ bodies and the installation of works. Alternating between formal cohesion and material disintegration, this work traces connections between body, architecture and landscape in order to merge them into an increasingly undifferentiated mass. For instance, by noting analogous textures and functions between one’s own skin and fiberglass insulation, an uncertainty between contained body and exposed environment imposes a confusion of inside and outside. This uncertainty is amplified by the eclectic arrangement of familiar materials in which common substances collide to induce uncommon experiences.

It has been a great weekend of art, meeting new people and catching up with old friends. Six hour car rides are also a great chance to get some knitting done! This week I'll be posting pictures of the new batch of yetis and [if everything goes right!] they will also be on etsy by next weekend. Beyond all that this weekend has also given me the urge to start painting again. Stay tuned...

Images by John Burt Sanders.
[PS... after Indivisibler comes down, the building materials will be reused to insulate a house.] 

I just wanted to take a quick minute to introduce you to [and remind you of in the case of Merrypad] some fabulous ladies. Yesterday was pretty fun because erinmakesstuff had shout-outs from both Merrypad and Spookypie on their blogs... and I talked to Meredith of Mereware and we're organizing a bit of a trade. Yay!

Emily of Merrypad was fantastic and did a write up about erinmakesstuff's monsters on her site. You can read that HERE! Emily writes about her DIY home improvement projects and decorating she has done on her home. I've been to her house so I can attest to the fact she does good stuff. 
Thank you, Emily!
Check out her site at merrypad.com.

Spookypie Dolls all the way in the UK also wrote about erinmakesstuff yesterday! I participated in the plushie swap on facebook and was paired with Chloe! You can read her creative post all about receiving her monster HERE! 
Thank you, Chloe!
Check out her site at spookypie.blogspot.com or "like" her on facebook.

And in case you're wondering what I got in the plushie swap, I got a fuzzy green cuddlemonster in the trade. 

Finally, a shoutout to Mereware! I talked to Meredith the other day and she agreed to a trade! Yay! I am making her a really awesome hat in exchange for some of her robot pottery. One day I should post the random pottery collection I have... I have ceramic toilet paper, donuts, heads with rat tails... but sadly most of it is in boxes in the basement. I'm super excited to have my own robot to drink from!

Ok... well, time to get back to work... I have yetis to knit... hats to finish... a fuzzy pink unicorn costume to sew. Yeah, about that last thing. It's a post all it's own.

A huge THANK YOU!!! to everyone who came out to the "Gotta Have Art" Festival in Clarence yesterday. I had a lot of fun meeting lots of great artists and customers... and have enough to keep me busy the next couple weeks knitting some terrific hats :) 

There were a lot of great artists at the show, but I was super impressed by Elizabeth Strong's Lizard Breath Beads. I loved them! Each piece of jewelry is so colorful and cool. She also has an etsy shop so you can buy some of her fabulous pieces!

Here's an idea of what her hand made lampwork beads look like:

And here are some pictures of the table full of monsters I had yesterday... Including Andrea's kitty ball monsters! Enjoy!

Really? Really? These completely blew me away today. I think I've seen his work before in a Newsweek illustration [or some other magazine of that ilk] but wow. Wagner creates these intrically detailed collages using dollar bills. [That's got to add up!] These are so clever and both compositionally and conceptually interesting! Take a look at Mark Wagner's website called Smoke In My Dreams. 

From Wagner's website:
"STATEMENT ON COLLAGE WITH CURRENCY
The one dollar bill is the most ubiquitous piece of paper in America. Collage asks the question: what might be done to make it something else? It is a ripe material: intaglio printed on sturdy linen stock, covered in decorative filigree, and steeped in symbolism and concept. Blade and glue transform it-reproducing the effects of tapestries, paints, engravings, mosaics, and computers-striving for something bizarre, beautiful, or unbelievable... the foreign in the familiar."

Thanks Scholatic Arts Magazine... both for showing me a new artist and providing an issue on Chuck Close while I'm doing a project based on Chuck Close. 

Today I'd like to link you all up with some nifty things I've recently become a fan of.
The first is a site called merrypad.com. Emily, the blogger, is a recent first time homebuyer and enthusiastic "do-it-yourself'er." She writes about all her projects, from larger construction issues  like building a deck to smaller decorating projects. I love that she posts before and after pictures. You can browse through her site by room or by date. She has practical design ideas and everyday her site becomes an even better resource! 

The second nifty thing is the art of fellow b'lo monster maker, Nicole Johnson. She creates "whimsical creepy fun strange cute weird one-of-a-kind decorative art dolls and creatures." I met Nicole at the ELAB Holiday Art Show and love her work! Check out her website at mealymonsterland.com. 

On another note, thanks to everyone who came out to support erinmakesstuff this weekend. I truly appreciate it. You guys are the best!

So enjoy those links! I'll post more as I think of them!