New Film on Children's Book Authors and Illustrators

New Film on Children's Book Authors and Illustrators

homegrown

While cruising through the latest Crate & Barrel catalog these tea towels caught my eye (jealous eye, that is) because Claudia Pearson has been working on a series of hand made silk-screened motifs based on locally grown foods and lip smacking recipes. This is a great example of a series of art pieces devoted to a subject the artist is passionate about. And from the looks of it the main stream is following close behind! I'll see if I can get Claudia to post something on Parasol Press about what she is working on today. Crate & Barrel of course rode the Merrimeko wave and is known for their bright modern prints and patters. Let's hope they call on us soon to do a line!

writing on the wall

I see words as graphic elements replacing images in interesting places. I am trying to coach my artists to think of a topical theme with everyday applications and use their stunning typography to create a pattern or single image with words. I saw these two products in a catalog recently, the dishes simply describing different cheeses, and the rug - well a poster/announcement/ticket stub as a rug? Love it.
So you artists out there, give yourself the assignment of looking in your fridge and your memorabilia drawer for inspiration.

Can Run On/So Can Others

One of my favorite sections of The New York Times is the Sunday Style section, and most of all the Pulse page. Call me a light weight, but I love trends. Does this ever happen to you? I felt like my life was passing before my eyes when I read last Sunday’s contribution. Once again I found myself saying (screaming) “that’s my idea!” Indigestion before breakfast.

Let’s start with the Quotable and Wearable. This fabulous jean jacket by Olympia Le-Tan (this one says The Heart is a Lonely Hunter)reminds me of a series of sashes I made in my artsy farsty days. I was a performance artist at the time and into the weather forecast, i.e. partly cloudy, partly sunny; and horse racing odds. Both were poetry to my ears and eyes and I wanted to wear it! Hence the Masonic looking sashes I wore and gave away to my friends, (that’s Weather King/Diplomat Batter in orange, Can Run On/So Can Others in red). Another great musing is by Paul Rogers who designed type treatments for blues sayings – but where to put them? Whisky glasses? Pillows? Jean Jackets?

Then there is the book Words by Jack, Art by Ed – for only $10,000. All I can say is, I really hope this trend sticks and builds. Representing artists, (mind you Ed Ruscha is a little out of my league), I wonder what will happen to the value of printed art on the page with electronic and portable viewing devises so omnipresent. Maybe I only see what I want to see but putting an extraordinary value on the printed page is a sight for sore eyes. However the other trend of exclusive art infiltrating the mass market world seems to have made a huge splash with The Gogosian Store. How much is that Warhol in the window?

And forget about the Works Hard, Cleans Up Nicely gig. I have the most beautiful canvas “tool bags” in the world (sourced the ConEd repairmen manufacture) so if you think you can handle one, let me know. It’s a momma’s bag. And if you want a custom horse racing odds sash – if it works for Olympia Le-Tan, why not others?

the secret's in the circle

I was at The Museum of the City of New York for the Joel Meyerowitz exhibition Legacy: Preservation of Wildernesses in New York City Parks and the Eero Saarinen exhibition, Shaping the Future. Joel's photographs were stunning and I have made a New Year's resolution to discover at least one new park this year since I am so close to them all. I'm a big fan of Saarinen and seeing his chairs all perky and candy colored made me smile. Then I came across this little exhibition Only in New York, pictures from Look Magazine. I thought this one photo of bill board sign painters put some perspective on my ever changing business as an agent to artists in advertising, among other fields. With emails and file sharing this is would never happen today and I felt I was a witness to a truly dead art. How can an art form die so easily? Perhaps it could get some attention if the process was brought back to life.

www.mcny.org

tread on me

I'm always on the lookout for interesting uses of art and illustration. I represent quite a few artists whose work would look fantastic as a rug. It may sound cliche at first, wouldn't this make a great lamp shade? But when you really put it to the test, in other words can you live with this in your own house, then it really becomes a serious challenge. I can't find the wonderful rugs this little article talks about on the rug company's website, http://www.therugcompany.com/ but I will post more information when I discover it. When talking with my good friend and designer of watches http://www.yotawatchworks.com/ (among other things) Anne Herlihy blew my mind with this doosie from Fornasetti. I can picture this one in my house!

fairy dust

I've had some comments that my posts are a little on the depressing side, so here's some fairy dust.

Seriously, I love this idea. I saw it in Garnet Hill catalog and it's a great example of print on demand which in my mind means temporary and a classic which in my mind means enduring.

The artist and author create a beautiful tableau for each letter of the alphabet which can be assembled individually for each child. It's a great idea and lovely in this fairy tale format.

Joyce Patti is an artist represented by my good friends at Morgan & Gaynin.

I'll have to get more of the back story from Vicki and Gail like who the publisher is and whose idea it was. Apparently the artist and author have been working on it for a while and the originals are for sale as well.

This just in...the publisher is I SEE ME, thanks Vicki!

Great job!