One of my favorite craigslist search terms is “Italy” or “Italian,” because I know a sleek sculptural piece that wields an uber designy flavor will sharpen up any room. The right Stilnovo fixture will take any 18th century palazzo straight into the 21st century, just as the perfect pair of Gio Ponti chairs will offset the stuffiness of a roll arm sofa or super traditional fabrics.

And in the interest of international relations, let me add that I’m not anti France, Germany, Denmark, Eastern Europe, or any of those other furniture making countries. It’s just that craigslisters can’t seem to find many labels except those that broadcast the pedigree of anything 90s Scandinavian orange teak veneer, but somehow the Made in Italy label has the aura of cash flow about it, so that usually merits a mention in ads.

Beware of Copenhagen Imports unless you know who Ettore Sottsass is and enjoy an ironic nod to his sensational but perhaps not so versatile aesthetic… I’m pretty much talking about cheap 80s black lacquer and red leather mushroom sofas. Can these things be awesome? Yes, but you better have a plan for all that swag or things will get ugly fast.

You know what’s not ugly? These rooms. You’re welcome.

[Pinterest]

Quick!  Let’s list off some of the things I love:  animal furniture, groovy sculptures, anything gold, pretty pieces of furniture, well organized spaces, animals, animals, animals.  I think that’s all.

So, what happens when you take all of those things (minus the gold) and roll them into one?  Karly is in heaven

Choose Your Own Adventure cabinet by Misha Kahn

Designed to hold all the goodies strewn about his floor, the CYOA cabinet is what dreams are made of, people.

See how messy life is without it

and now everything is so neatly put away.  Tada.

Lately life has handed me quite a few lemons:  literally – my husband’s new van stopped working and figuratively – my interwebs are haunted.  I guess I’m supposed to find a way to make lemonade, but with all that sugary tartness I’m not so motivated.

Art duo Ghost of a Dream stumbled upon a bunch of lemons in the form of a pile of losing lottery tickets.  The pair took it among themselves to consider the nature of the lottery, the things we desire, and the anticipation of the win followed by the inevitable loss.  Then, they made lemonade:

Dream Home 2009, $70,000 in discarded lotto tickets, wood & steel

Dream Home Detail

Dream Home Detail

Dream Car 2008, $39,000 in discarded lottery tickets, cardboard, cast plastic, wood, steel, and mirror

This is it 2010 discarded lottery tickets, romance novel covers, wood and found objects

This Is It, detail

Title unknown

For more lotto madness: Ghost of a Dream

Veasyble by Gaia

When I got married a couple of years ago I had a bird-themed wedding.  It was pretty cute.  Today I stumbled across sculptures made from feathers by artist Kate MccGwire and have decided these would be the perfect center pieces for a new release of my wedding.  You’re supposed to update everything these days, aren’t you?

Ok, so my mother, who is severely creeped out by birds, probably would not come to this version of my wedding.  And she would leave a comment in the comments section about how she wouldn’t pay for it either but I’m beating her to the punch.  But, whatever, if she wants to miss an alcohol infused soiree that takes place around this awesome sculpture, well, that’s her business.

Enough about my mom and my fake second wedding, let’s talk about this hot artwork.  I love how the feathers rise and fall to create a sea or a new life form.  In general, I’m a fan of anything en masse, when said grouping forms the illusion of a new object, well, I’m all in.

I can’t seem to find any information of the numbers and letters that appear on these feathers.  Go ahead and tell me about it if you know.  I will tell you that I pretty much love this palette and am willing to use it in any room of my home.

Every time I look at these I see something different:  snakes, braids, brains, wild things huddled together.

Look!  A wedding-appropriate one.  Hey, I didn’t have any white at my first wedding, maybe version 2.0 should be void of color.

For more of Kate’s work, check out here site HERE

Happy Monday everyone!  I trust that you have all recovered from your tryptophan hangovers and are ready to send faxes, return calls and kill time on my blog for the next few days.  You’re excited, right?  Hmmmm, maybe not.  Me neither.  The turkey and vodka overload I’ve suffered for the last few days is still weighing heavy on my heart and impairing most of my motor skills.  Meanwhile, Erin survived her round trip drive with Ike but did manage to pick up a nasty cold so she’s out for the count today.  To illustrate how we’re both feeling, and to pay homage to our little recovering bloggers bust obsession, I bring you many pictures and few words about artist Nick van Woert.

Using plaster busts, plastic, and a technique I can’t quite figure out, Nick recreates historical figures several times over in his Eclipse series.

Come on back this week, I promise we’ll be fully recovered soon.  So soon, we may just have another give away.

I read somewhere that every room should feature a sculptural element that adds dimension to the space. Does that mean that Michelangelo’s unsheathed schlong should peep out at your guests from the darkened corner of the living room, like a creepy neoclassical sex stalker? Not so much. I also feel that this is inappropriately inflicted on visitors:

OWI

There is a worse view, but I’m really too kind to force the full frontal on you. I think the lesson here is to save the kinky stuff for the bedrooms, people. And also that it would be cooler to keep anatomical sculptures above the nipple line. Clothing is nice, too.

Abigail Ahern

Trust — you need a bust. True, the eyes may track your movements across the room, but that’s better than… other things following you.

Francois Halard

Karly is going to like this post because she has enough heads to fill a stadium full. Of heads. But not as many as a certain someone else we all know and love:

Kellz is totally into heady tableaux, as seen on her overstaffed dining room table. Click this link to check out more examples of her head games.

Skona Hem

Never fear. Despite her best efforts, La Wearstler hasn’t (quite) cornered the market. Busts abound.

Paul Costello via Roseland Greene

I want to live in this room forever and ever, amen. The chairs.. the logs… the windows… the lady head. Yessss.

Eddie Ross

Miles Redd

Simon Upton

Nick Olsen

Abigail Ahern

Paul Costello

Now these heads are all well behaved, polite and easy to talk to. But tune in on Wednesday for a collection of busts that belong only in the homes of brave and adventurous people. That means you, right?

I thought so.

Today is the last day of the Spring Projects exhibition in London.  Designers Jaime Hayon and Nienke Klunder collaborated on American Chanteau, part of which included this:

Rocking Hotdog

Here’s another view:

Last time we saw a Hayon and Klunder colab, This is what we ended up with.  Did it get better this time?

Take the weekend, think about it.

Well, guys, you did it.  I must say, I am mighty proud of you, I’m starting to wonder why I even bother coughing up this nonsense every other day when clearly you all find more and better things than one girl could ever hope for.  In short:  you all are awesome and you totally made my birthday.  You dudes sent so many awesome horse links that I had to break this post right down the middle:  you get half today and the rest on Thursday.  So, what do you say, let’s get part 1 of the horsey show-and-tell-birthday-party-started, yes? yes.

Oh, one more thing, because I love you all like my very own children and what sort of mother picks favorites, I am posting these in no particular order.  Kisses!

This black beauty was a flickr find by our buddy across the pond, Nath.  Usually recognized in these parts for her clever comments, Nath stands tall today for her outstanding achievement in horsey finding.  Here are more of her flickr finds:

Nath found these blurry beauties trapped in the corner over at Danske’s Flickr

She found these precious angels on Cryptia’s Horse Set, as in, an entire set devoted to horses

Nath drove it home with this abstract gem from Esther Aart’s flickr

…. which, kinda sorta reminded me of this ‘spensive birthday treat:

Mama must have been really nice to Sherry, either that, or she wants me to put her damn bracelet in the mail, because this abstract little birthday horse requires an appointment for a private viewing just to see the dang thing.  I can’t believe they let the camera flash near it.  Sherry must have written them a nice note on my behalf. 

Sherry also sent me these psychedelic horsies to compliment the acid trip I was sure to partake in to celebrate the big 3-1.  I have to say, I really wouldn’t kick horse #2 out of my house, maybe just out of that frame.  Believe it or not, these weren’t the most bizarre horses to join the party

DC crush, and former blog post featured designer, Rachel Denny invited me on a fantastical trip to the circus.  I was confused and therefore beyond delighted to find this little gem of a photo when clicking on her invitation.

Back in the land of abstract ponies, we have Woman on a Horse, a proud creature found by the queen of finding things, drollgirl.  And with this, let’s go ahead and start a horse sculpture party:

Camilla featured this drool-worthy crystal horse on her blog recently.  I had finally calmed my head with nearly illegal amounts of smelling salts when both Erin (our erin) and Camilla resent the link, sending me back into a downward spiral of longing and desire.

If crystal ponies are just a hair out of your budget, might I suggest you go with something a little more understated.  This driftwood horsey found by new blog friend, Guto, proves that waves and wood have a purpose after all.

Incase you can’t dedicate your entire lawn to a horse sculpture (a confusing thought, but, whatever) you downsize to just the head as found by new blog buddy, Katie

Blog BFF Raina wins a badge of honor for wading her way deep within fields of Mooi lamps to bring me back this never-before-seen horse sculpture.  I have lots of horse junk around my house, but I can attest to the fact that finding a singular piece with 3 horses is nearly impossible.  It’s like the white whale of horse tchotchkes. 

To round out the sculpture section of the post, Cassie has hooked me up with a link to a horsey that I might actually be able to afford in my lifetime.  These DIY horses come with step by step instructions here

And finally, to finish off part 1 of horsey time, a picture I’ve been crying my eyes out about since I was sent the link on Friday

I really and truly thought that Andrea was not only a blog friend, but a friend in real life as well.  That was until she ripped my beating heart straight out of my chest by sending me a link to this sold out artwork.  Ok, sold out in the size I can afford, which is almost worse.  Dying, I tell you, dying!

Guess what guys!  I’ve posted a gazillion pictures and we’re only halfway there.  Why?  Because you dudes are awesome and sent me a ton of links.  Come back by on Thursday and we’ll view part 2, which, I must admit is beyond rad as it includes manymanymany badass horse-art-in-phenomenal-rooms-pics.  See your sweet asses then.

As Erin and I have both mentioned before, one of the raddest things about running Design Crisis is meeting new peeps.  Despite almost a year in web publication, we still get all weak in the knees when someone sends us an email love letter, especially when that someone is an artist who’s work we already know and love.  Recently, Andrea Canalito a mixed-medium artist from Houston, TX contacted us and we were giddy with joy.

Twinkle Twinkle Baby, Mixed Media Installation, 2008

You already know how much I love animal furniture, so when I first came across the Deer Cupcakes (with GOLD!!! cups) I nearly fainted.  I was so excited when Andrea contacted us so I could find out more about her work and what inspires her.  

K: In your original email to Design Crisis, you said you were “hungry for aesthetics,” what designers and artists are currently filling your appetite?

You may remember, way back at the beginning of the year, we promised a new installment here at Design Crisis: Featured Artist Fridays. Well, tomorrow is Erin’s day and I don’t want to make you wait another week to meet artist Rachel Denny so, Thursday it is. We first stumbled across Rachel’s work months ago and were delighted when she wrote us with kudos on our blog (we love nothing more than compliments around here) bells and firecrackers went off and the angels began to sing when we saw her new work and we knew we had to share it with you. Rachel has a stockpile of stunning works in her wake as well as big designs for the future. Let’s start at the beginning:

Green Doe, 2008, polyurethane foam, wood, wool

Upon first seeing Rachel’s work my mind went into a whirlwind considering the amount of math, time and planning a single piece must take. Once I recovered from my admiration fatigue, I was struck by the brilliance of the pieces: they seamlessly converge the dichotomous imagery of masculinity and femininity with a thought-provoking balance of serenity and humor. I asked Rachel how she began tying these images together:

I grew up in rural Northern Idaho and Montana and my father would take me hunting as a child. I don’t think I ever actually hit anything ( I was very young) but it did make a strong impression on me – the seriousness of the task and the quiet waiting in the forest for hours. There was a lot of wonder and also necessity in it; at that age it seems a bit surreal. The knit pieces just came together and made sense to me with these memories.

Her explanation conjures up memories of my own family history: my grandfather was a hunter and his wife, my grandmother made clothing for the family. Her knit deer would have served as an ideal icon for my own family. Add to the list of accomplishments found in a single Denny piece: the ability to connect with it’s audience on a profoundly personal and familial level.

(left) Nordic Knit, 2008, wool, polyurethane foam, wood, thread; (right) Arrow Buck, 2008, polyurethane foam, wood, wool, thread, zipper

Rachel tells me

The first knit piece was intended to be a chromed deer head mount, referring to the carcasses seen on the side of the road, but it proved too expensive to make for me at the time. I played around with the imagery for awhile, looking for a suitable replacement and this juxtaposition came about.

I am from the school of thought that believes that creativity flourishes under restrictive circumstances. While I would never turn a stray chrome deer head away from my living room, I think the knit pieces are so meaningful and stunning (and, of course, proof positive that I am right about that whole creativity flourishing thing, and I love being right)

Blue Doe, 2008, wool, polyurethane foam, wood, thread

Quick! Let’s make a list of all the amazing things happening in this room: #1 Blue Doe (obv.) #2 HORSE FIGURINE! & tied for second, Design Crisis Gift Guide approved, Carlos Night Light!

Are you wondering why I didn’t mention all that glove action going on in the mirror? Are you thinking I’m a horrible person for putting a silly dog light above what just might be one of the greatest pieces of art ever made? Well then, you’re very astute, now aren’t you:

Proper Lady

Like Rachel’s knit deer, the Proper Lady rug works on so many, often opposing, levels: Repurposing the gloves to warm the feet while simultaneously mimicking a shag rug is genius. I also love that these gloves in particular are generally reserved for the purpose of protecting debutantes and other do-gooders from getting their hands soiled, but in this instance, they are offering themselves up as little sacrificial lambs to be tracked upon by whatever comes their way. Even the draped nature of the gloves makes them appear as though they are bowing down before you. And, well, you know I like that. Let’s get a closer look:

By this point I want to crawl inside Rachel’s head and poke around awhile to find out how she comes up with these brilliant pieces:

The “Proper Lady” idea began its life as a quilt, but it seemed unfinished – a bit flat and I didn’t like the texture on a bed. The piece took on even more meaning when demoted to the floor and I loved the contrast of these prim, ladies gloves as a rug. I like when a work can take on multiple meanings and I also like leaving that up to the viewer because they bring in their own experiences to work.

I appreciate that, like the original chrome deer that evolved into a knit work, Rachel allows the works to speak to her, dictating their own outcome as she goes. I believe it is because of this that her pieces can exist on so many levels. She mentions that she was initially hesitant to let humor show through in her work. Noting “I wanted to be taken seriously, but I feel humor and beauty are often very successful ways to get someone to approach a new idea.” I couldn’t agree more. I also think it is the existence of humor in her work that adds the final finishing touch to each piece.

Buckshot, 2007, Lead, nails, foam, wood, steel, life size

When sifting through Rachel’s portfolio I find the above piece, which appears to be laying the groundwork for her later works: early conceptions of the chrome deer head, and a shag rug that will later take its form in a landscape of lady’s gloves.

One of my favorite images on her site is a snapshot of her studio:

Most of the pieces from her current body show themselves in various stages of completion. Rachel mentioned that she is best when kept busy, but the appearance of at least 6 projects here makes my head spin.

And, in case your wondering, that lovely turquoise piece in the bottom left corner now looks like this:

Clover, 2008, angora, polyurethane foam, thread, steel

Unfortunately, someone has already snapped this little guy up, otherwise, I would love to have an angora rabbit in my home. I am sure I could also be quite happy with this:

Antler Buck, 2008, Wool, thread, antler, polyurethane foam, wood

I am so enchanted with how snugly the wool fits each piece. Rachel uses found sweaters rather than knitting the pieces by hand – can you imagine how long that would take??!! –  often felting the pieces before stretching them around the musculature of a deer (that she made herself, mind you).

Unfortunately, you can not currently come to my home to see Rachel’s works in person, but you can look for her work at Rare Device in San Francisco this May. She will also be featured on the cover of the Western Humanities Review this fall.  Most works are available for purchase on her site: racheldenny.com

When Karly and I went to the Round Top antiques fair last month, the most common sentences uttered between us were either, “If only it was a tenth of the price!” or “I just wish it was bigger.” At that moment I realized I had developed a severe case of megalomania, although (silly me!) I should have seen it coming a year ago. Sometimes I feel like I’m just stumbling around aimlessly in the world of design, being as I am just a lowly artist type, and it so often happens that I’m a bit slow to catch onto the latest trends. But methinks this one caught me unawares because I mistook it for art. But it’s not art. I don’t think.

Take, for instance, the work of Dutch design duo Studio Job:

Their dazzling white gold, mosaic-covered, Silver Ware series for Bisazza featured traditional tabletop pieces in monstrous proportions; the teapot alone is six feet tall (photos courtesy of Dezeen and The LA Times).

Yet, only a few years ago, according to the International Herald Tribune:

Studio Job was condemned by Dutch design critics for its disdain for function and for its self-indulgent symbolism. “It was horrible,” recalled [co-designer] Smeets. “We were accused of making bad art by the art world, and bad design by the design world.” Today they are being lauded, for exactly the same reasons, as the poster boy and girl of the new expressionism in design.

So caught between art and design — or let’s say concept and function — Studio Job occupies a nether region of functionless and lack of concept, wrapped up in a shiny package with a (very) high price tag.

But what’s the difference between Studio Job’s giant spoon:

And Claes Oldenburg’s giant spoon (photo from Minneapolis Sculpture Garden):

No, I don’t think the only difference is the cherry on top, but seriously no one disputes Oldenburg’s status as a “real” artist. Is it only because he thought of making things that are usually small really big first? (This sculpture was made in the mid 80′s, but he started making gigantical sculptures in the 60′s.) And he’s certainly not the only artist to make giant sculptures. Take the always colorful artist Jeff Koons, for example (via If It’s Hip, It’s Here):

I’m extremely distracted by the gorgeous background, but how is this giant balloon dog different from, say, designer Jaime Hayon‘s giant creepy doll thing (other than the difference in zeros on the respective price tags. Hint: artist Jeff Koons’ is exponentially more expensive):

Both sculptures are big and shiny, but could we say that Jeff Koons’ includes some kind of cultural critique of society, whereas Jaime Hayon’s does not? Maybe. I’d be interested to hear some of you super smart readers argue either side of that point.

What is it about epic proportions on everyday objects that make them so interesting, anyway?

Is there anyone who is not transfixed by this ridiculously ginormous rubber duckie? I didn’t think so. And no, it’s not photoshopped.

The design world definitely seems to have picked up on the “Bigger is Better” aspect of our culture, because big is REALLY BIG right now.

Marcel Wanders certainly looks pleased with his gargantuan “table” lamps. Of course, there’s no table in the world they could fit on… except maybe one of the silver “tea platters” by Studio Job, featured near the top of the post.

Perhaps he was just trying to one-up Philipe Starck’s design for the Parris Landing Condominiums?

Whatever the case, a relatively scaled down megalomania is wending its way through the homes of middle class consumers everywhere, as evidenced by this popular pad on Apartment Therapy:

How much do you love that giant screwdriver on the left??? It looks dangerous, which I am quite sure is the appeal for me. And check out the Mini-Me version of Starck’s giant light bulb. The surge of supersized objects doesn’t end there, though:

Even the typically refined anglepoise lamp — designed in the 40′s with smaller scaled homes in mind — has been pumped up by massive steroid injections. Unlike a scintillating six foot tall teapot, this lamp could fit right in to today’s McMansions. (photo on left via Desire to Inspire, photo on right via Apartment Therapy)

Another example of Design/Art’s (Des’Art?) trickle down economics:

Giant fork sculpture in Missouri via some guy’s Myspace evolves into giant fork wallpaper from Anthroplogie (pictures via Apartment Therapy):

Becomes giant fork in Mads Lauritzen‘s surrealist photograph. Because improper proportions are surreal.

For some reason giant cutlery is really popular right now, and that brings back painful memories of those huge wooden forks and spoons that everyone’s Mom had on the kitchen wall. Whatever you do people, please don’t go there.

I have to admit that I like some of the more practical supersized designs. There’s a big difference between Studio Jobs’s giant golden coffeepot dumping a stylized brown river of what I can only hope is coffee:

And these nifty giant golden hand chairs seen in the sweetly elfin Jonathan Adler and adorably scathing Simon Doonan’s house, which was featured in Met Home:

By the way, I’m sure Adler got his chairs from super chic antiques dealer Todd Merrill, but I’ve seen them in hideous colors for as little as $30 on Craigslist and Ebay. Gold spray paint anyone? Or white, even?

Whew, I’m tired from thinking so much today, and I really hope I haven’t worn you out too much to discuss exciting things like: art versus design, or the decline of western civilization, or whether all design will simply grind to a halt in the face of a deepening recession. Is megalomania bound to shrink in direct proportion to our shrinking economy?

In case the real question you want to answer is, “Why do I have to read this crap? I’m not in school anymore,” I have a present for you:

It’s a super cute, supersized bunny! And if you like it, you won’t click on this link to find out what happened to it.