A Quiz on Taste

Thanks to BoingBoing for the tip on this modern furniture quiz: Donald Judd or Cheap Furniture? (by Graydon Parrish and Mikhail Simkin), which challenges one's ability to tell priceless designs created by minimalist sculptor Donald Judd as furnishing apartments that also contain famous abstract paintings from cheap flat-pack furniture from big-box establishments. I didn't get a perfect score, but I was close (I blame IKEA's "woods" for my errors). How about you?

Save the Date

Cliff Fest, Oak Cliff, November 14th, 2009

From "Oak Cliff People", 6/26/09:

‘Cliff Fest’ Planning Begins
New festival will take cues from Taste of Addison
By Silver Hogue
Staff Writer
http://www.peoplenewspapers.com/ME2...E75FD51480D8A7D

The wheels are turning on one of the biggest festivals to hit Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District....Cliff Fest.

The event, which is slated for Nov. 14, will be a showcase of all things Oak Cliff and is being modeled after Taste of Addison, a food and entertainment festival held each year in the suburb north of Dallas.

“I want it to show the best of Oak Cliff,” Sheri Mathis, event coordinator for the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce. “All the things people don’t know about — the artists and galleries that are out there that people don’t know about, the restaurants, the neighborhood feel of it.”

Recycled Lamps

I'm always a fan of new lighting thoughts, and this recycled wine bottle lamp puts a new eco-spin on illumination.

Jerry Kott handcuts and polishes recycled bottles to create light sculptures. Colorblock table light fixtures have a weighted, distressed aluminum base with a switch on the cord. 3-color blocks are $150, 4-color blocks $280 at re:modern. My only eco-wish: LED bulbs!

Cedars Open Studio Tour, 11/22

Save the date for this artsy weekend event: the Sixth Annual Cedars Open Studios tour. The weekend event in the Cedars neighborhood south of Downtown features open house opportunities to see artists and their works.

The day is planned to conclude with a sunset performance art piece titled “Decorating the Tree” by glass blower Jim Bowman.

A review of the 2005 tour is posted at the DallasArtsRevue site.

Event Details:

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 11/22/2008

Where: The Cedars

Cost: Free

http://cedarsopenstudios.blogspot.com/

Wolfson's "Origami" Chair

"The Origami series looks at an abstraction of penetrating, folding, layering and juxtaposition of surfaces - static versus dynamic forces; a static moment of suspended action, frozen from a manual of folds."

Phillip Michael Wolfson, a Cornell-trained architect, is known for both his design and sculpture works, with his unique use of shape and lines. More commentary and more pictures are available at Dezeen.

Disassembled Household Appliance

This set on Flickr (user brittnybadger) is from a senior thesis project at the Hartford Art School.

"this past year...i took apart used cooking/cleaning appliances, and arranged their interior parts very systematically on a white sheet of bristol board. my intention was to explore the hidden "brains" of these appliances; allowing us to view these everyday objects from a new perspective."

Art Conspiracy, 6/21

The art conspiracy group does it again. At 8pm, Saturday 6/21 at Sons of Hermann Hall they will feature another iteration of SEED with several bands and artists participating. For $5 you can listen to the sounds of Matthew and The Arrogant Sea, Beauxregard, Spector 45 and Pet Hospital.

There will be an artwork auction including some one-0f-a-kind moleskine journals. Since the end of May, 15 artists including Kim Cadmus Owens, Marcus Striplin, David Hopkins, Diane Sikes and Tina Medina have been filling up page after page of Moleskine journals with drawings, paintings, photography, lyrics, observations and more. During the SEED event, the journals will be auctioned along with original work from additional Dallas artists.

Natural Easter

Craftastica had a great description of using natural materials (cabbage, onion peels, and flowers) to dye eggs. This is similar to what I did with my grandmother as a child, although I like the idea of using the flowers and clover as resist.

Almond Corner uses brown eggs to get a tone-on-tone look, but using white eggs and a variety of onion peels can get some very interesting marbled designs.

Happy Easter!

Architectural Skylights

While it's not a new idea (see this Islamic architectural example from a bath), these examples of ceiling panels are much more stunning than plain-'ol clear skylights...giving you and your visitors an unexpected artistic "pop". More info here and more examples here and here.

Dallas in Postcards

With an eye to the future and one foot in the past...it's amazing to appreciate how our city's landscape is changing. The above images of Elm Street and the Houston Street viaduct are courtesy of Dallas Sights, which has numerous views preserved online. Thanks to Unfair Park for mentioning a new book, Greetings from Dallas ($13.57 at Amazon), which includes over 140 vintage cards featuring the Dallas of years past. They've also pointed us to eBay, where you can begin to amass your own vintage collection. Or start saving today's cards, and your grandkids won't believe the pre-LEED, gas-dependent downtown that we used to traverse.

A few tasty design visions

Hand-made local holidays

If you like finding original, well-wrought crafts, you might have already enjoyed one of the Make Urban Bazaars at the Dallas Farmers' Market (the next one is coming up Dec 1st). Now there's another group ijn the niche: Etsy Dallas. And while you might be accustomed to ordering crafts online through Etsy, you'll have a chance to check things out in person at their TRUNK SHOW!

ETSY DALLAS TRUNK SHOW: The event takes place in the old Sears building (now Southside on Lamar) with the chance to shop for hip crafts and handmade goodies. Make it a handmade holiday!
When: Saturday, December 8th
Time: 11am-3pm
Where: Southside on Lamar's main lobby - Here's a map.
Who: Tefi Designs, Atom-In, One Up Designs, PamelaMichelle, B-Licious, Lady of Luxury, Une Promesse, ebraunnagel, Mary's Madness

URBAN BAZAAR/SPREE SHOWCASE/DECK THE HALLS: The event takes place at The Apartment, the Dallas Market Hall, and the Sons of Hermann Hall and will feature the wares of your favorite independent designers while serving complimentary drinks, spa treatments, and showering giveaways.

When: Thursday November 29-Sunday December 2
Time: 11am-3pm
Where: around Dallas, $9 for all three events
More Info: The Indie Experience

Oak Cliff Artisans

The Oak Cliff Artisans' fall arts fair is next weekend, November 17th & 18th at Kidd Springs park. Exhibiting artists selling works will include:

Larry Pile - Stained Glass
Carl Spoto - Pottery
Abby Wood - Mixed Media
Carla-Marie Weir - Jewelry
Tefi Designs - Jewelry
George Cole - Clay & Metal
Maja McFaul - Jewelry
Ben James - Sculpture
Reid Barnhart - Wearable Art
Patricia Dillingham - Photography
Rachel Hoehn - Pottery
Stewpot Homeless Shelter

Candlelight on Henderson

To cap off the election day ruckus, there's a chance to mingle and enjoy the civility of the cultural arts with a stroll through several art establishments off Henderson Ave, featuring beverages, snacks and some special deals. The 16th annual "Candlelight Walk on Henderson" is Tuesday, November 6, 2007, from 5 to 9 p.m. It's an enchanting evening in which to delight in food, drink and holiday fare

Participating stops include:

Again & Again Consignment Furniture ~ 5207 Bonita Ave. at Henderson ~ 214-826-6666
Another Place & Time ~ 2815 N. Henderson Ave. ~ 214-824-1875
ART is ART ~ 2811 N. Henderson Ave. ~ 214-823-8222
Emeralds to Coconuts ~ 2730 N. Henderson Ave. ~ 214-823-3620
Gypsy Wagon ~ 5211 Bonita Ave. at Henderson ~ 214-293-2361
La Mariposa ~ 2813 N. Henderson Ave. ~ 214-826-0069
Milton Kent Antiques ~ 2819 N. Henderson Ave. ~ 214-826-7553
Pandemonium Ltd. ~2726 N. Henderson Ave. ~ 214-370-5677

Lighting to Love

This LED Bench (2002) by Ingo Maurer is installed in the first room of the Cooper Hewitt's exhibition, "Provoking Magic", featuring the esteemed lighting designer and artist. According to one site's (punctuationally-challenged) description, "this limited production table is a grand masterpiece by maurer. each bench is personally signed by ingo maurer. an extravagant table made of glass, 288 white internal leds that emit light on both sides. power conversion is provided by an external transformer. life span of the leds is an average of 100,000 hours (according to the manufacturer's specification)." All I can say is that the cool internal glow emanating from the glass is something fabulous, and it was a difficult piece to walk away from. The price for the privilege of unlimited seating time: approximately $24k. The rest of the exhibit (the whole second floor of the old Carnegie mansion on the Upper East Side) features installations like LED-equipped wedding costumes, maquettes for well-known designs, and some familiar works, like Lucellino lamps and MaMo Nouchies.

Oak Cliff Artists

There's a whole lot of art going in independent art: the fledgling La Reunion artists' collective, the reopening of the Texas Theater, and the renkindled Arts Conspiracy. Cliff Dweller magazine features artists working in Oak Cliff in this week's edition. There's always someone or something new to discover with the Dallas Arts Revue calendar. I can't say how many times I've been pleasantly surprised with a new find.

A good place to start exploring is the Artisan's Collective, which has recently moved around the block from Davis to Bishop Arts. The first Thursday of each month, galleries and stores stay open until 10pm, so it's a nice time to sip and stroll.

Urban Arts Festival

This weekend (tonight and tomorrow) South Side on Lamar hosts the second annual Urban Arts Festival, featuring artists, musicians, and fun for all. It's a great opportunity to explore this developing sector of town and grassroots creative artists in Dallas.

Tonight is Art Love Magic, a Live Art Experience from 8:00 pm – Midnight in the Janette Kennedy Gallery/Artist Quarter. For $7 admission, you can enjoy simultaneous events as paintings, jewelry and ceramics come to life. Live music and poetry will be featured all night long.

Tomorrow from 10am to 8pm you can partake in a melange of arts and musical performances along with Make It Yourself stations sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art. The evening is capped off with performances at Opening Bell and Poor David's.

Kettle Art, Saturday

Kettle Art is featuring the art of Richard Ross (a local self-taught artist with very vibrant two-dimensional works) tomorrow in a special one-night extravaganza.

Kettle Art
Saturday August 25th, 7-10pm
2714 Elm Street
Deep Ellum

Sharp-art

What is it about knives that lend themselves to such beautiful displays? We've blogged about the Saladini knife set before, admired some modern knife blocks (1, 2, 3,4)...



and laughed at the voo-doo knife man and his migraine-tortured kin.

I'm not the only one to be artistically captivated by sharp bladed tools. Anyone see Dead Again?

Interactive Occasional Furniture

Part art installation, part children's science museum exhibit (remember the Van de Graaff static electricity inducing spheres?), the interactive Ripple LED table senses movements over its surface and the light patterns change accordingly. The table cames in a selection of sizes and lighting colors. The sleek curves of the table make it a nice piece even when it's not illuminated.