www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-iIvidjwZE

Tammy Faye

The other day, I was chillin and thrillin with my pal, Princess Kennedy and she told me about a friend of hers who has gotten famous making art out of all of the above (except pudding.)

Jason Mecier is known for celebrity bean portraits. He also makes yarn art, macaroni art, candy art and art out of items found in junk drawers.

Here are a few of his portraits – and also a business tip I learned from him. As a pop artist, he loves to replicate the image of the likes of Dolly Parton and Farah Fawcett. Somehow, the artists often end up buying his portraits of them. I think I’ll do a fillet crochet portrait of Ellen Degeneris or Bobby McFerin and see what happens! Check out Jason’s website at http://www.jasonmecier.com for more info.

Charlie's Angels

"Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" - Paul Gauguin

One of my favorite paintings is Paul Gauguin‘s “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?”. The painting is meant to be read from right to left and shows the different periods from a woman’s lifetime. The three women on the right show the beginning of that life, the group in the middle symbolizes the journey through adulthood, and the final figure is an old woman reflecting on and coming to grips with all she has been through.

This image often flashes in my minds eye, especially the central figure. The way she grabs that fruit, maybe from the Tree of Knowledge for all I know, with no regrets… getting ready to take a bite. I think she is beautiful. This painting, and all the women in it, are beautiful.

Some flowers I did a few years ago that I thought I’d post today. Enjoy!

toddpowelson.com

ArtDuh owes a debt of gratitude to Dada artist Man Ray, mainly because he provided the inspiration for one of our logos, the infamous floating lips. I don’t know that I was really thinking of Man Ray when I decided on that logo, but while I was working on it, I knew exactly where it came from.

I seem to write a lot about the artwork I’ve been thinking of most in the week leading up to my Sunday post, and today’s post is no exception. For whatever reason, I’ve caught myself repeatedly imagining giant lips floating like a spaceship over the valley. Will those lips laugh at us? Will that mouth take a bite? Or maybe it’ll just continue to hover and smile… I dunno, but I know I like the image.

Man Ray was an American artist, born in Philadelphia, who later moved to Paris and became a leading figure in the Dada and Surrealist art movements of the early 20th century. He is probably best known for his work in photography and film, but his paintings are pretty nice too!

Mwah!

manraytrust.com

The Fourteenth Ward of the Rubber Room School of Dance and Flexibility will perform at an event called Divine Love on Saturday night. The show begins at 5 p.m. at Lumenas Studios, located at 625 south 600 West in Salt Lake City. It’s a family friendly event that closes around 9 p.m. for kiddo’s bedtimes.

We are excited to dance for a great cause, the $10 tickets will be donated to the Utah PRIDE Center to keep great programs going to serve the GLBTQA community.

This is the Fourteenth Ward’s first belly dance showcase event, which will be all belly dance all the time. The event’s line up looks amazing and includes:

Oryantal Dansi
Sofia Featherwood
Arcana
Kita Zira
Gypsy Flame
Rodrigo (song)
Marta Reeder
Claudia
Myada
Megan
14th ward of the rubber room
Ian of Dustbloom (music)

INTERMISSION (15 mins with Dj good-e)

Tabla Arabia
Maren Lacy (poetry)
Elizabeth charlesworth (poetry)
Myst
Claudia
Arcana
Habibi Habibi
Rodrigo (dance)
14th ward of teh rubber room
Amanda Borba
Claudia
Dayna Mckee
Antigua tierra (music)
Oryantal Dansi

And bring your money because there will also be a silent auction.

It came as a bit of a surprise to me that there was a comic, a graphic novel I guess, released in December 2011 that was based on an old and unused screenplay written by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl. Henson had the idea for the script early on in his career, as far back as the 1950s, and in the 60s and 70s he and Juhl developed the story and shopped it around, but couldn’t ever produce the film because the story is so strange.

It all begins with the hero, Mac, stumbling into a strange town. He cannot quite figure out why everybody is celebrating his arrival with a parade, dance, and music. But the celebration doesn’t last very long though, and soon the sheriff approaches Mac and tells Mac to get outta town, while everybody turns against him.  Mac flees across the desert, and it isn’t a Gunslinger who followed, but he is hunted by a mysterious man “Patch”. What happens from there is a surreal dream sequence that I won’t even try to describe because, like most dreams, it is very far removed of everyday experience.

Artist Ramon Perez took the old script and did an amazing job translating it into a graphic format. His artwork is perfect for the story, as are his layout and design work. Even though it is a strange story with almost no words, Perez made it easy to follow and understand. I think that is what I like the most about this book, the story is told perfectly in a graphic format with almost no words. I love that.

www.archaia.com | Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand

www.facebook.com | Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand

henson.com

Please head out to the BYU library to see my friend, Colt Bowden’s last show as a BYU undergraduate student. He is pretty much the best. You won’t regret it. Here’s the poster, the show opens on Groundhog’s Day and closes on Valentine’s Day.

Megan Moore from Moore Hair Design gave us a primer on how to keep our hair from getting the winter blahs. So get out of your rut with these looks.

First up, we have a retro 1970’s wave. Megan used a 1 inch curling iron and center part to get this fun look for model, Venice. She let each curl cool before teasing it gently with a comb and then setting it with hair spray.

Pony tails are great, practical, professional  and. . . well, boring. That’s why Megan’s style team took the pony tail up a notch for this fun look on Karlie. Karlie’s cute bangs add a nice touch, and a braid, three elastics concealed by teasing the hair and a cascade down the side make this a pony that doesn’t look like you just rolled out of bed.

According to Megan, braids were big in 2011, but they aren’t going anywhere for 2012. She did this style in Emily’s chin length bob by doing two French braids on each side and then securing with safety pins. Letting the ends fly free keeps this look loose and casual, great for a day at the office or a date after work.

To get these looks or learn more, visit www.moorehairdesign.com

Abstract Organic Form

Lately I find myself going back, and back again, to check in on the work of Peter Schmidt. There is just something about his drawings, prints and paintings that keeps calling to me. I like pretty much all of his work… the interiors, landscapes, and his more abstract pieces.

Schmidt’s background is interesting too. He was born in the early ’30s in Berlin, and his family fled from Nazi Germany to England in ’38, finally settling in London during the Blitz. Schmidt intended to become a mathematician, and didn’t start painting until his late 20s. In addition to painting, he went on to study printmaking, photography, film and animation. Schmidt has also published a number of books. I first became aware of Schmidt because of his collaborations with, and album artwork for, musician Brian Eno. Schmidt died suddenly in 1980 of a heart attack.

www.peterschmidtweb.com

www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies