Camille Young

I have a major art crush on jewelery artist Camille Young right now… I can't stop flipping through the images of her work and marveling not only at the astounding craftsmanship but also the rich colors, inventive shapes and bold compositions. Her command of the materials, specifically her work with Lumina clay, is just incredible and makes me really want to play with it myself and see what happens.

The artist writes:

"These pins are made with a rather remarkable clay that has become my new favorite. It's flexible, waterproof, air dries, and is fairly durable. The clay takes on the look and feel of plastic after it dries, allowing for thin, delicate designs."

The realistic flower brooches are obviously amazing, but it's her more stylized, expressive pieces that I find particularly appealing. She has a unique, fresh vision. I haven't ever seen anything quite like it. Here are a couple necklaces that recently popped up on her website (new work I think?) LOVING this direction…


Check out more of her incredible work here. She also has some process pics/descriptions on her flickr site which are cool to check out as well as an etsy store, (can you tell I'm crushin' or what?!) but currently there is nothing listed for sale. I can't wait until there is!

Barbie holiday cheer…

I found this unique holiday wreath on etsy the other day. Of course I couldn't help but laugh and wish I had thought of it! I might just have to buy one for the holidays… all too perfect for me I think. Find it here for $35.

Their description on etsy reads:

"Bodywreath is an excellent addition to your festive repertoire and the perfect way to express some sensible social commentary without losing a sense of humor."

Love it.

Alley Maranto

Chicago jewelry artist Alley Maranto contacted me recently and I was amazed I was not previously aware of her beautiful and intriguing jewelry work! Alley uses resin and often found objects in her hand-crafted pieces. I am especially drawn to her rings. I love how the gold elements seem to just glow. I'm really into gold/black color combinations these days and Alley's designs are lush and inspiring.

You may purchase her work on her recently opened etsy shop. I recommend also browsing her website to view her entire gorgeous collection.

etsy fave

So much work is being produced inside my studio these days: between the enormous wholesale order I just shipped out to Texas, to the huge batch of goodies being prepped for this months Crafty Bastards show in DC. One would think I'd have tons of pictures to share, but alas, the work I had photographed of the wholesale batch came out all fuzzy. However, I will be shooting some of the works in progress in my studio today so stay tuned later this week.

For now, I may as well share yet another artist whose work I'm digging lately. The artist goes by the name of "jacksonswift" on etsy. (I couldn't find a real name anywhere). Her watercolors (or perhaps his?) evoke both calm and turbulence, safety and danger, all at the same time. It captures a sense of life in dreams and nightmares for me. Particularly this painting since I used to have a reoccurring nightmare involving wolves as a child…




"Jacksonswift" also makes lovely necklaces. Almost like spilled milk, the pendants are made of porcelain strung onto silk thread and hand-painted with animal imagery. Even though the bird trend is a bit tired, I have to admit I love this particular pendant:

I think it would be amazing to see the artist translate his/her watercolor painting imagery into these necklaces in some way.

Okay, now, I have to bring this up: I have strong feelings about not having your name located front and center (or hell, at least somewhere!) on your etsy page. I think it can be particularly detrimental to an artist trying to promote themselves. Perhaps they're not proud enough of their work to attach their name so permanently to it? I can understand for crafters who are selling as more of a "store" on etsy, that's where the profile comes in and where their real name should be located, but as an individual artist producing fine art? How are people ever going to be able to associate you with your work? Just something I feel strongly about I guess… agree, disagree?

Giraffe Man

Recently I purchased this hilarious "giraffe man" ceramic sculpture from melabo, an etsy artist whose work I can't get enough of (note the Ken head used for his face mold!)

He really completes my little kitchen wall vignette and makes me smile every time I look at him :-)

Melabo has so many great ceramic items in her shop. I seriously have to resist buying every single one of her quirky, bizarre sculpture creatures before D kicks me out on the street to go live in my own miniature ceramic circus with them all. I was contemplating buying this handsome fella as an addition to the series…

…when someone else beat me to it! I won't let that happen again ;-)