i'm wondering if any of you who mourned when i sold the last pair of these gorgeous long dangling fairy bell earrings are still out there, wishing for them? well the great news is, i stumbled upon a few more pairs hidden away in my studio yesterday and have added them to my bread + butter boutique! she who hesitates on this last chance will be sad, so go get yours here. (perfect for elegant & hip moms for mother's day as well!)

a bright fresh pair of earrings for spring! glowy daffodil yellow french glass hoops with a darling italian glass spotty button in the middle. you can make them yours right here.

last but not least, these whimsical copper drops. like little elegant mushrooms from a fairy-ring in the forest! hand-forged copper bells with vintage woven copper ribbon and sweet black shoe buttons from the 1890's hanging inside.

stay tuned to found object this week for some big news. i'm re-branding my business and will have all sorts of exciting annoucements to share. after months in hibernation taking care of the turnip, i am ready to start growing again! 

 pink crush, the installation above by polly apfelbaum, makes me want to lounge on the floor in that spot of light like a cat. i'm loving how the whole room is captured by the interaction between the piece on the floor and the light flooding in the window. as minimal and simple as the piece is, it still is so sensual and invites us in, like a modern womb. polly uses silk velvet and dye to create stunning work, saturated with color.

the piece below, wavy gravy- technicolor of sound, is marker on silk velvet pieces. again, so simple, but so alluring. i feel so fed by the exuberant, juicy color in these pieces, they are truly a feast for the eyes.

thanks to the wonderful emily barletta, at her blog, emily b. for introducing me to this artist. polly's beautiful portfolio is online right here.

installation artist tara donovan, another star at the ace gallery, creates extraordinary works using the most common, everyday disposable objects. the cups we drink from once and throw away. miles of scotch tape and fishing line. for the stunning piece above, simple styrofoam cups and hot glue.

i've long loved a big pile of just about any object. when i worked in factories for a while in my 20's, i would raid the dumpsters for all sorts of odd things. one of my best finds was at a company that made side-view mirrors for cars. you know the ones that say: objects may be closer than they appear? boxes of mirror shards from that job fueled several installation pieces.

tara's mountain range of shirt buttons in shades of cream and white really get to me.

and the creatures that look like part of a coral reef, made from nylon fishing line? gorgeous.

it's so enchanting how her pieces all feel like patterns and structures in nature, yet are made from these processed, man-made materials, like this one, created from yards and yards of just scotch tape. there is an interesting tension between the look of the work (mimicking nature) and the materials (clearly not good for nature). for me, tara's work is beautiful, haunting and smart.

her portfolio is vast, so prepare yourself to be dazzled right here.

this illustrated poem is a very early inspiration, from one of the first books i remember being read to me, at grandma's house in the country. this piece is part of the lovely circa 1950 book, the tall book of make-believe and was illustrated by the incomparable garth williams. his later work includes the little house in the big woods book series. i am lucky enough to own the tattered copy that once filled my many happy hours at my grandparent's farm. but if you seek one for yourself, they now sell on ebay in the $300 range! the entire book is filled with treasures, magical stories and marvelous illustrations.

the little cup image has long been returning in my work; be it jewelry, paintings or sculpture & installation. i trace the affection for that cup form to this very illustration. below, the little cup you get to wear on your finger. available, of course, in my shop, right here.

many thanks to the wonderful denise at d sharp journal for showing vintage book illustrations this week. if you haven't gone to visit her blog in a while, take a trip over there now, she always inspires!

meet tim hawkinson, an extraordinary artist represented by the ace gallery in los angeles.he has a large and interesting portfolio online, so i've just picked a few pieces to show you. the first is volume control, above. it's fabricated from paper, aluminum foil and glue. clearly, tim is a magician with materials. in one moment, this piece feels like spun metal, then in the next, it looks woven and light -like straw fiber, look again and volume control is a heavy cast object, not unlike the bottom of a frying pan. art that can challenge our perceptions so quickly and completely is very exciting. it's also very wonderful to live with. i adore a piece of art that looks different in each moment and time of day. in that way, it is almost a mirror to our moods.

pearl vision, strapping tape on cardboard on wood panel, is so alluring, i would love to see it in person. the waves and layers are so painterly, the piece feels that it easily accomplishes something difficult: to be both grounded in a humble material and to completely transcend it. from this photo, it feels as if it's made from a massive, ancient skin of a snake.

the first piece that got my attention was bird, made with the artists own fingernail clippings and glue! you may not know that i've got a thing for pieces made from materials our bodies naturally produce (someday i'll show you my urine installations from years ago). this object of tim's is creepy even before we know the material involved. i love how that feeling is pushed to the limit when you learn more. it has the powerful feel of a totem, yet is also ethereal and delicate. all of tim's work seems to speak to contrasts like this, a quality that for this viewer, makes each piece exciting.

please do check out his vast portfolio at the ace gallery, right here.