La la la la lightbulb

unconsumption:

We’ve come across many things made from road signs, including this fence, but nothing as intricate as artist Greely Myatt’s “Quiltsurround,” a 32-panel public art installation in downtown Memphis.

Using about 700 speed-limit, caution, and stop signs (and even a few Memphis City Beautiful signs), Myatt designed traditional quilt patterns in 4-by-12 foot panels. The panels … hide a chain-link fence and City Hall’s heating and cooling system.

“We didn’t have a very good budget for this, and the idea of recycling is part of quilting, so I had the idea of taking the street signs that the city was going to recycle,” Myatt said. “I knew that material would withstand the outdoors.”

Art students from the University of Memphis, where Myatt teaches sculpture, helped fabricate the panels.

(Via Quilts Made From Street Signs @Craftzine.com blog. Photos via Jenean Morrison; quotes from Memphis Flyer.)

erinkyan:

I’ve been thinking about this recently.  It’s some advice, I guess, that was given to me when I was having a crisis over charging people a respectable amount of money for my workshops.  (Something I still struggle with but then this advice CONSISTENTLY helps me wrangle myself back into shape about it.)

The thing is that you don’t want to charge much (or any) money for what you do because you think it’s easy.  Anyone could do this!  You say.  How could I possibly ethically charge someone (this much) money for what I do?

Here’s why:

Because no, not anyone could do it.

Or more importantly, even if anyone COULD do it?  They don’t want to.  They want YOU to do it.  And they want to make that worth your while.

You undervalue yourself and your work, because you think that it’s not special.  But that’s wrong and it is, and people WILL pay you a respectable amount of money for it.

Why is it special?  Because even if other people are offering a similar service or product, no other person offering it has your particular voice.  It doesn’t matter what your skill is, if you are good at something, you have your own way of doing it and your own style, and people will respond to that.

And if you think you’re not good enough to offer whatever your skill is for money?  Ask some friends for some brutally honest advice.  Chances are they will tell you the truth.  Or hell, skip that part and just offer to sell some of whatever you do anyway.  See if it sells.  If it does, then you know it will.

Artists are particularly bad about this.  But my work isn’t good enough to sell!  They cry.  But probably the only reason you think this is because you know someone better than you - but guess what?  There’s always someone better.  And it doesn’t make your work any less valuable.  There’s probably still a lot of people (like me!) who can’t make art at all who would love to throw money at you.

Imposter syndrome is a hard one to beat on this issue (on every issue, it’s a hell of a mental block), but the fact is that if people are willing to pay for your work, then it is probably worth selling it.  

And that has been your unsolicited making-money-from-your-passion advice for the day.

theartofanimation:

Lee Tao

magnolius:

An installation by renowned artist Do Ho Suh - consisting of thousands of miniature plastic figurines holding up glass plates the visitors can stand on. (Installation at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York)

(Source: svdp, via mswyrr)

(Source: sugaryumyum)

unconsumption:

Those of you who’ve been reading Unconsumption for a while might recall our 2010 post about Milan’s Maison Moschino — the boutique hotel the Italian fashion house Moschino opened in 2010 in a retrofitted 1840 railway station — where some guest rooms are furnished with ball gowns as headboards. 

Turns out, the hotel offers additional Unconsumption-y design inspiration in the form of lamps made from dresses. (photo via DiarioDesign)

Related: For a review of the hotel, described “as a place for playful photo shoots,” among other things, check out this January 2011 writeup from The New York Times. 

southernsara:

(via A Bowl of Knitted Grenades @Craftzine.com blog)

(via lov3izknitting)

cavetocanvas:

Sonia Delaunay, L’Ete Projet, date unknown

cavetocanvas:

Swimsuits by Sonia Delaunay

I want all of these swimsuits.

mindfulwellness:

crashinglybeautiful:

Mark Rothko, Green Over Blue, 1956

mark rothko, meditative art.