Gabriel Dawe

Gabriel Dawe: "

It’s a bit gloomy In L.A. today so I figure these installations by Gabriel Dawe would be a great way to brighten my mood. These installations are titled Plexus and use gütterman thread and nails for the most part, maybe a piece of wood and some installation hardware and that’s it. The overall effect is beautiful, like when the sun shines through those misters you see outside of restaurants. Also really ethereal like you could go running through it but it might smell or taste like candy. I wonder if he would come to my apartment and just make a quick one of these for me, y’know, like in my dining room?

Bobby

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Amazing Paper-Artwork by Karen Bit Vejles

Amazing Paper-Artwork by Karen Bit Vejles: "

Karen Bit Vejles form of expression, psaligraphy, literally means the art of drawing or painting with scissors. Her magical cuttings in the travelling exhibition Scissors for a Brush, are rooted in a tradition that has known a long journey through history. But she has created a personal style and technique that are entirely her own.

For more than 35 years she has been absorbed, fascinated, and deeply committed to this art form that developed from small, simple snowflakes to unusually large and highly complex image cuttings. She is one of very few in Europe who can cut at such an advanced technical and artistic level. There is a great degree of humour in Karen Bit Vejle’s world of imagery; humour and the ability to identify joy in small things. Just as often, though, she confronts deep seriousness and themes intended to invoke involvement and reflection. Her works are captivating surprise packages. By meeting Karen Bit Vejle’s images of air and paper we can find ourselves both surprised and inspired!

For more infornation about Karen visit her Web site at http://papercutart.no/

Exhibitions

Psaligraphy

Psaligraphy - the art of papercutting - requires time. Both when it comes to creation and experience of the work of art. Contrary to almost everything else in the world today, psaligraphy is a slow art. It takes time to master, plan and perform it.

“My heart and soul are at peace when I have the scissors in hand and the paper dances between the blades. If my scissors can manage to make you stop and wonder for just one instant, I will be happy” – Psaligraph Karen Bit Vejle (born 1958)

Project - H.C. Andersen

Misc

About the author

My name is Fabio Sasso, I'm a graphic/web designer from Porto Alegre, Brazil and I'm the founder of Abduzeedo. I hope we can share lots of information, tips, and ideas through Abduzeedo. Also you can follow me on Twitter or my personal site at http://fabiosasso.com.

Sponsored Links:

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Neha Gandhi and Matsya

Neha Gandhi and Matsya: "

Meeting Neha Gandhi of Matsya was one of the most inspiring things I did last week. Somehow I just knew all the amazing products Matsya makes is just the tip of the iceberg. And sure enough, the one hour I spent chatting with Neha in her office gave me insights into the vast amounts of experience and passion that Matsya comes from. From a fine art degree in Ceramics to a Golden Bridge Pottery course in Pondicherry to being a faculty at NID to the Gujarat earthquake in 2001 which was a turning point in her life, followed by a rigourous 4 year stint with the BSC (an NGO) where she directly helped the villagers to form a supplimentary livelihood, Neha Gandhi has lived a full life steadily gaining every experience and expertise that she would need as the founder of Matsya.
Through the conversation one thing that came out clearly to me was that Neha's heart was with the villagers in Gujarat who created all this art. Speaking about the earthquake she remembers the contrast she witnessed: on one side the destruction of the earthquake and on the other side the incredible artistry of rural Gujarat.

While Matsya moves from strength to strength the one thing that will always be important to Neha is the artisan behind the handicraft, his & her story and her conviction that due importance should be given to them.
When I asked her what according to her Matsya is, this is what she said 'Matsya is the bridge that connects the grassroots and the urban customers. But for me it is boring to just source and sell. What is the story, who are the people, who is the artisan behind the produced is very important. And no one was giving importance to them. What we do at Matsya is train the artisan, see what they have in mind, and give them a sustainable livelihood'










One of the most interesting things that Matsya does is, it organises craft Tours to Kutch. Neha's experience and expertise in the field is what you will get if you sign up for one of these. I'm myself hoping to gowith her someday soon.

After an hour full of recounting her and Matsya's brilliant journey with me Neha told me something I'm not likely to forget easily 'Everything is not about money. Its about values. Its about people connecting. I have realised that you dont need money to realise your dreams. All you need is your determination and confidence. Nothing is permanent, everything changes. But you have to be at it, you have to do it.'

You can check out her products here. Read her blog here.

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Interview: Mysterious Post-it Note Artist (15 pieces)

Interview: Mysterious Post-it Note Artist (15 pieces): "

When we first laid eyes on John Kenn's amazing post-it note art, we instantly fell in love. Not only are each of his pieces extremely creative, Kenn's art shows that it doesn't necessarily matter what medium you use; it ultimately comes down to the interesting stories you can tell.



Try and look for any information on John Kenn and you'll find it to be quite the challenge. Perhaps it's because he wants the art to speak for itself. Or maybe it's because post-it note art isn't his full-time job, rather, it's his part-time hobby. As a writer and director of children's television shows, Kenn uses his imagination on a daily basis. To keep his ideas flowing and to now serve an enthusiastic crowd, he continually shares his new pieces via his blog.



We were lucky enough to score an interview with Kenn after we hunted him down (we had to leave a comment in one of his posts because he doesn't even have an email address up anywhere). Read that interview below, after enjoying the creepiest yet coolest post-it note art you'll ever see.

Can you give me a brief background about you and your work? Particularly which television shows you write and direct?

I have a Bachelors degree in Character Animation from the Animation Workshop in Denmark. I graduated in 2007 and have been working at Copenhagen Bombay for about 3 years. Right now, I am working on two different TV-shows: I am directing Carsten & Gitte's Funky-Tonky Treehouse 2nd season (we are filming this and next week) which is a puppet show. The other one I am both writing and directing is a sitcom for kids with three monkeys who run their own restaurant. It is called Restaurangotang. (It only has a Danish title at the moment). Other than monkeys, it has a ninja, an elf and a grumpy man with newspaper.



Why did you start this project?

So I wouldn't die. (I know it is a silly answer, but I just HAVE to draw and I HAVE to tell stories and I have to do it fast, and by doing it this way on post-it notes I can get it all out fast, so that I won't stress myself (or bore myself) to death.)



Are you a professionally trained artist?

I am a professionally trained character animator. Drawing is just something I have been doing all my life from the very start. I am not a professionally trained writer or storyteller, but I guess that is also something I have been doing for as long as I remember.



What has the response been like to your post-it note art?

It has been very good. I didn't expect there to be any response, but a lot of people seem to be enjoying them.



How do you come up with your stories?

I have no idea... sorry. And I try not to think about it that much, but I use whatever pops into my head and then just throw away what doesn't work.



What are they based on (and/or what are you inspired by)?

Some on childhood nightmares but mostly I am very inspired by literature and folklore. Stephen King is without a doubt the biggest inspiration, both his work-methods and his stories. The other big one is, of course, H.P. Lovecraft.



We noticed a Tim Burtonesque feeling to your art. Are you inspired by him?

A tiny bit, especially his early works: Frankenweenie, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. I think I am inspired by the same things as he was inspired by as a young artist, and from what I know we both suffered the same kind of childhood in the suburbs.



What do you hope others will get out of your art?

It warms my heart when I am able to scare people or just give them the sense of having experienced a small adventure from something so simple as a drawing on a post-it note.



Thanks for the interview, John. Love your ghoulishly great pieces.



John Kenn



Related:

Tim Burtonesque Stories on Post-it Notes"