If your like me, there are some art pieces that you could just kick yourself for not buying when the price was right. Jeff Koons Puppy Vase is just that very item. When I see one in someone's house filled with flowers flexing its insane cuteness, I think, "what the hell was wrong with me, why didn't I snatch that up immediately!" Well, if you got some bucks, this is your second chance for puppy power. Gagosian Gallery has created a second art edition of 3000 of these little tail-waggers, but his time you are gonna have to pay for the bloodline, $7500 will get this furry fellow delivered right to your doorstep, crating and shipping included. Looks like I am gonna have to do dog rescue, oh well mutts need love too.

Jeff Koons Puppy Vase



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My love for an incredible fashion accessory is profound. A knock out pair of shoes, just the right piece of jewelry, a delicious handbag, they all have the power to transform a girls outfit, not to mention frame of mind. For this upcoming fall season I'm putting my resources into this little conversation starter. "The Present" as I like to call it, ahhh the power of the conceptual fashion designer. Martin Margiela, I adore you!!!

Creative Growth in Oakland CA is just about one of my most favorite places on earth. It is an art center for adults with developmental, physical, and mental disabilities that provides a stimulating environment for artistic instruction, gallery promotion and personal expression, but really that is just the half of it. I have been lucky enough to work with and collect the artwork from Creative Growth for a couple of years now and honestly the experience has been life changing. The work that is created here will blow your mind. Last week, I had reason to visit and was taken away by the gallery's exhibition "Multiplicity" a show that explores themes of repetition and obsession in the work of Creative Growth Artists. One of the highlights to be sure is James Ferrell who marries his love of paper mache with his passion and knowledge of cars. The combination evokes such feelings of nostalgia, you are happy to get behind the cardboard wheel of 1968 Bonneville and be taken away.

Multiplicity
Featuring the work of Gerone Spruill, Terri Bowden, Jay Daley, William Scott, Dinah Shapiro and more...artwork in wood, ceramic, textiles, painting and drawing, along with limited edition artist inspired merchandise.

Creative Growth Art Center
355 24th Street, Oakland
www.creativegrowth.org

Glass design has always teetered on the allusive yet somewhat seductive side of life for me, but after discovering these glass octopuses created by artist Jennifer Umphress, I am ready to embrace the beauty and complexities of the ocean floor in an entirely new way.

Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig's line, Libertine debuted Fall 2008 at Maxfield's on Wednesday. This notoriously macabre line stayed true to its devilish soul by delving deeper into its fascination with the dark-side. Their infamous use of reconsidered vintage and Swarovski crystals remain visual staples, but to that, the team has added a selection of beautifully produced garments including Italian cashmere sweaters and wet silkscreen T's. Their fascination with clustered embellishments has manifested itself in the Badge Blazer, a vintage coat highlighted with fabric buttons gathered on the lapel. Along with their trailblazing use of the skull, they have integrated some other upbeat imagery including a smeared bloody hand, dripping blood and a rather adorable monkey, I suppose added in for good measure. If you are a collector of Libertine's more exclusive pieces, Maxfield's holds the secret key. Cindy confessed that they make pieces for Maxfield's that no other accounts in the world get. Maxfield's gave them their first gig and judging from this Fall's collection they continue to return the favor in style. If you find yourself rolling down Melrose, check out their window installation accented with blood tinged IV bags, it is worth a LA drive by.

Back in the day when I lived on Greene St. in NY, one of my visual and all to often financial indulgences was going to the Moss store up the block. Murray Moss truly was and is an innovator in design as well as a risk taker. Moss's ability to so seamlessly expose the beauty in both high and low design, paved the way for the Target's and Ikea's of the world to capitalize on the power of brilliant design. So before I get to off message... It came as no surprise to be blown away by these delicate floral beauties by Franz Joseph Ess. These individually hand sculpted and painted porcelain flowers designed in 1765 were originally created by Ess as part of a grand table decoration for the Munich residence of the Bavarian monarch. Nice, even Ikea can't mess with time consuming craftsmanship like that.

Nymphenburg, Treasure Box, 7 flowers


Nymphenburg,Treasure Box,  21 flowers

To know the folks at Aardvark Letterpress is to be a part of some kind of creative extended family. They have been running their wildly inspiring letterpress for 40 years now, cranking out uniquely culled and beautifully hand pressed wedding invites, business cards and baby announcements, but the creative brothers behind this family run business, Cary and Brooks Ocon (sons of Louis Ocon who purchased the company in the 1978) felt it was time to stir it up. So, the boys teamed up with famed artist/photographer Lisa Jane Persky to celebrate their 40th in style. Drawing on their rich American and Mexican lineage they decided to create an original limited edition of fine art works based on the Mexican game of the Loteria.


Tokyo Pequeño by Mel Lim




























Hollywood Bowl (Quioscos De Regalo) by Greg Colson

































To understand the magnitude of such a project you must take a moment to grasp the skill set needed to run presses of this historical nature. I have personally seen master printers Bill Berkuta, Jorge Estrada and Adan Aragon use paper clips, pieces of gum and snips of cardboard to caress these beautiful behemoths into creative submission. Each color for the press requires a separate plate and considering some artists have upwards of 8-10 colors per piece, at 100 pieces per edition, you do the math. Oh, and by the way, did I mention each color must be hand mixed, after which the entire press must be cleaned and re-prepped for the next plate. In today's talk on the cell phone, while eating lunch and picking up your child at overpriced pre-school, the idea of such time consuming craftsmanship is a downright artistic luxury and I for one was excited to be part of the mix. Here are some pictures of how it went down. Check out all the Loteria cards on the Aardvark's website. The signed and numbered pieces will be sold beginning June 5, 2008.























Dave Lefner's print "El Inverso" rolls off the Vandercook,  photo Lisa Jane Persky



 





















Greg Colson's plates, photo Lisa Jane Persky




























Brook's power lunch?????






















Please pick a color...






















Final color for Espejismo (Mirage)
 


  

So, my talented and lovely friend Louise Bonnet has got a show opening tomorrow in Echo Park at SUBLIMINAL PROJECTS. Run by Shepard and Amanda Fairey, the Gallery focuses on new forms of graphic art, illustration, photography and time-based media and has hosted exhibitions by Ryan McGinness, HunterGatherer and David Ellis to name a few,

Louise hit it big with her incredible line of cosmetics Poole, recently she has switched back to her roots in graphic design, showing her work at Collete in Paris and Silho in LA.

Here is a sneak preview of one of the pieces in the show.

Check her out!!!

My love for homewares and pottery has led to my near obsession with Heath Ceramics, I have made many a pilgrimage to their factory outpost in Sausalito, California for their in-store factory discount of 30% (and sometimes more) on all their seconds and overruns, if you are doing over your bathroom or kitchen the deals on tile can be insane!!! Every piece in their line is made on site and many of the techniques they use, are the same ones Edith Heath developed over 50 years ago. The simple utilitarian beauty of their products has landed them in collections such as the MOMA in NYC. This coupled with their responsible and accountable small business values makes them an inspirational company on many levels. Mum is the word, but I even got a sneak peak of some of their upcoming new glazes for next season and let's just say, I put my order in already...

Clocking all this driving in LA is so utterly inactive, can't let my brain turn to mush too. That is why I love 89.3 KPCC, listening to news instead of reading the paper almost feels like cheating, it is such a pleasant way to absorb information. Got hooked on an interview with the sassy, outspoken Pamela Paul talking about her new book Parenting Inc.. If I waited to read it myself before blogging about it, well not such a promising prospect. Better to send the message forth and let you sort it out.

Anyway, the basic premise is right up my alley, Paul asks the question, do we really need to be buying all this shit for our kids? Not only that, she makes the argument that in doing so we are doing them an incredible disservice. So far I am fully on board. Okay now she asks, did you really need to buy the $800 stroller??? Well, honestly, I kinda did. She tried to shame me over the airways, but with some thought I concluded her disapproval was not half as bad as the shame I would have endured pushing around that hideous lack luster, un-stylish plastic Greco stroller from Babies R Us. Listen, I agree, all the plastic crap toys with bells and whistles coupled with all the mindless baby videos created to keep our babies occupied so we can have an extra half hour on our computers, well...shame on us. But, as to all the aesthetic, design and green advances made in the baby industry in the last couple of years, I say hallelujah!!