Oliver Jeffers and His Dipped Painting Project

Posted in Inspiration by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Maybe you’ve heard of Oliver Jeffers or own one of his beautifully-illustrated children’s books. (We have this and this.) I’m a big fan–and apparently so is my girl crush! I recently saw that he’s started a rather interesting painting project:

Essentially, the guy’s been spending loads of time painting really incredible portraits and as a series of performance pieces, he’ll be dipping them into vats of enamel paint, covering most of the work he’s spent hours upon hours to create. The people in the paintings were interviewed by Jeffers about their experiences with loss and how their memories affect their identity. He’s transcribed their stories onto paper, with each sheet sitting beneath the painting to catch all the drippings, thus hiding the written interviews as well.

From the NY Times:

“Jeffers created portraits from his memories of those interviews, which were hidden from the public until the moment of their dipping, after which witnesses were interviewed about what they saw (some immediately after; others will be interviewed in the coming months). ‘The only evidence of this painting will be people who witness it, like history,’ he said. Eventually, all the works and their materials — including the drop cloths, inscribed with Jeffers’ memories of the interviews, over which the paintings dried — will be displayed in an installation.”

So fascinating.

It’s like a game of memory that challenges you to participate in art and really pay attention to details. It’s got me thinking, as a storyteller, what do I need to share with others that I want them to know? And what do I need to ask others in my life so that their story can live on, be seen and felt and heard and passed along?

Really compelling, right? Are you following any incredible artists on Instagram?

All photos via Oliver Jeffers.

P.S. Check out his website for cool free illustrations for coloring, crafting, and puzzles. Also, more awesome art.

15Dec2014

What I’m Reading: Tiny, Beautiful Things

Posted in Inspiration by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Have you ever read Dear Sugar articles? I love them. A lot of women do. Which is probably why women love gifting this book to other women. I picked up a copy for myself and also gifted one to my boss for her birthday. I’m not sure it’s a totally boss appropriate gift, unless your boss really gets you and is okay with really sensitive issues and cursing. So it’s not quite a great option for the white elephant exchange at your holiday party unless you’re fine with everyone knowing you’ve got waaaay too many feeeeelings. (hey, don’t we all? exactly.)

I was super excited to hear last week that Dear Sugar is back in a new way. Cheryl Strayed (you may know her as the author of the bestseller Wild, which is now a movie made uber popular by starlet Reese Witherspoon) announced that she collaborated with the original Sugar (think advice column meets hippie aunt who always made you feel really proud of yourself like the human incarnate of Mother Earth and Goddess Divine slash a voice of reason with a little sass mixed in for good measure), Steve Almond, on a podcast called Dear Sugar Radio. They’ll answer letters, discuss problems and inspire and comfort you in ways you didn’t know you needed. Here’s a snippet and you can check out the details on how to write in and listen to the pilot episode on WBUR 90.9 FM.

Here are some of my favorite Dear Sugar passages:

“The useless days will add up to something. The shitty waitressing jobs. The hours writing in your journal. The long meandering walks. The hours reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people’s diaries and wondering about sex and God and whether you should shave under your arms or not. These things are your becoming.”

“Don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn’t true anymore.”

“I can’t tell you what to do. No one can. But as the mother of two children, I can tell you what most moms will: that mothering is absurdly hard and profoundly sweet. Like the best thing you ever did. Like if you think you want to have a baby, you probably should. I say this in spite of the fact that children are giant endless suck machines. They don’t give a whit if you need to sleep or eat or pee or get your work done or go out to a party naked and oiled up in a homemade Alice B. Toklas mask. They take everything. They will bring you the furthest edge of your personality and abso-fucking-lutely to your knees. They will also give you everything back. Not just all they take, but many of the things you lost before they came along as well.”

“When you meet a man in the doorway of a Mexican restaurant who later kisses you while explaining that this kiss doesn’t “mean anything” because, much as he likes you, he is not interested in having a relationship with you or anyone right now, just laugh and kiss him back. Your daughter will have his sense of humor. Your son will have his eyes.”

“You have to pay your own electric bill. You have to be kind. You have to give it all you got. You have to find people who love you truly and love them back with the same truth. But that’s all.”

Gah, there’s so many good ones. Have you read Tiny, Beautiful Things or the Dear Sugar columns? Any favorites?

10Nov2014

DIY or Buy: Cozy Kindling Mini Tree

Posted in Inspiration by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

I know it’s still November and Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet, but if you’re gonna start DIYing the Christmas decor, then you have to get started now so it’ll be ready to put up the weekend after Thanksgiving, right? Right.

I love love love the look of this little tree for an entryway or desk, or even kitchen table! but at $88, it’s a little pricey for a stack of twigs and colored thread. How about an easy DIY?! I think it’d be fairly simple to wrap the twigs with cotton (sort of like batting cushion for the thread), wrap with colored thread, yarn, twine – whatever you choose!), and then stack and glue the sticks on top of each other. You may need to use supports to get them highly stacked. Or just really strong glue. I wonder if it’d be easy to drill a small hole through the sticks and use a dowel? Worth a try, right?

I have some left over eucalyptus branches from Declan’s Lumberjack Lunch that are pretty big (too big to stack like this) but they’d be really cute and festive wrapped in fun colors laying in our unused fireplace! I just may give it a go.

5Nov2014

2015 Calendars

Posted in Inspiration by Jennifer | Stick Girl JAM

Calendars seem like a big commitment purchase for me. You’re stuck with it all year, you know? Last year I did good in picking this gorgeous one, which doubles to create 8×10 size prints once you’re done with the calendar part, which I think is so genius. If I’m being honest, I didn’t even hang it up as a calendar, I really just loved the art! I can’t wait to hang some of them.

If you’re looking for a great hostess gift, holiday present (so thoughtful for coworkers!) or you’re just ready to think about a new year, here are some of my favorite 2015 designs:

Free People Moon Calendar

Honey Bee via Rifle Paper Co.

Les Fleurs by Rifle Paper Co. via Artsy Modern

Make a custom photo calendar with Artifact Uprising. When the month is done, cut off the calendar and keep the prints to post or frame!

Inspire creativity with this Craft-A-Day Calendar from Paper Source.

The Imagined Desks of Historic Women – I love this!

If you need a little fun in your life, try the Where’s Waldo Wall Calendar via Barnes & Noble.
(probably a no-brainer for kids but I think it’d be a huge hit at the office too! just don’t be surprised if coworkers linger in your office while they look!)

This one would make an awesome gift for knitters! Get it from Schoolhouse Electric.

Count down to happy hour with the Stir & Shake calendar‘s beautiful cocktail ingredients.
Gift idea: use the illustrations to accompany recipes for each libation and include with a box of bar-themed gifts like a shaker, stirrer, glasses, and a bottle of liquor and liqueurs.
Throw in fresh fruit or herbs for good measure!

For the adventurous dreamer, Imaginary Travels. These would be so great framed in a kid’s room!

Calendars that do double-duty when the month is done are so clever. I think most are set up so that you could pretty easily cut off the calendar portion and frame or post the photo/illustration like I did last year. Here are some other favorites I’ve found with a little something extra to offer:

From the same artist as my beloved gem calendar, this gorgeous cities by rooftop calendar. I need it just so I can frame the Barcelona one! (BFOTBM: remember that time we LIVED in Spain?!)