Quilts on Etsy: Artful Patchwork

Handpicked on Etsy
Quilting, the traditional technique of artfully stitching together pieces of fabric to create household bedding, dates back centuries. Originally a domestic form of artsy craftwork, today it is regarded by collectors and museum curators as a higher form of aesthetic art that goes beyond utiliarian function. Does labeling some quilts as art exclude everday quilts from consideration? I maintain that everyday objects are certainly "artful" if not always "high art." Searching for quilted items on Etsy yields many pages of creations, and these are but twelve that caught my eye today for various reasons such as sublime selection of fabrics, incredible workmanship, modern take on a traditional craft, or delightfully fresh shabby chic style. Click on the pictures to go directly to these Etsy listings. Prices range from $30.00 to $400.00.
From top left to bottom right, today's Etsy artisans include: anaprindville, kimbuktu, inspirationalbaby, raggedyowl, mergenguedesigns, southerncharmquilts, FreePieceDesigns, ThreadedExpressions, IkdDesigns, katymoo, 2PureJoy, QuiltStudio
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Flamenco and 346,640 Pairs of Earrings on Etsy

Handpicked on Etsy

Flamenco, the quintissential music and dance of Spain, is to Spanish culture as Jazz is to American culture. With Spain in mind, I assembled today's creations that are either inspired directly by Flamenco or say "Spanish arts" in their design. Part of the fun of Etsy is that right from your desktop, you can take a quick trip beyond your borders with any theme that comes to mind. Click on the pictures to go directly to these listings. These creations ranged in price from $12.00 tp $325.00.

Today's artisans include: CindyDavisArt, houseofharriet, ikfarnsworth, dreamspiralart, opart, RightMinded, susyjewelry, babouchergouge, kathleencrowley, schoolofcharms, ElReyArtwork, konigin

Special Comment: Saturday morning when I searched for "Flamenco" inspired art on Etsy, I found just a few pieces that spoke to me, but I had to crawl through pages and pages and more pages of earrings. Though I did see several pairs that appealed to me which are included in today's assemblage, I'm just saying.... (I mean, if I were doing a business model, I might wonder if the earrings category on Etsy is just a tad saturated....?/)

Nostalgia: Crafty Folk Art on Etsy

Cultural icons remind us of the the times in which they rose to notoriety. Yesterday, the passage of two American icons reminded most of us of the 70's and 80's when Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett were at the height of their fame.

In a hybrid version of Pop Art and traditional folk arts and crafts genres, these handmade Etsy creations employ 70's and 80's period imagery and classic cultural symbols to create ornamental and utilitarian objects evoking a sense of nostalgia, sentiment or kitschy humor. Traditionally, folk art is an innocent, vernacular non-academic style, using local culture and daily life as subject matter. Likewise, artists of the mid-20th Century Pop Art movement (e.g. Andy Warhol) addressed symbols of everyday life and contemporary culture, but with intent to provoke us with strong messages of irony or absurdity in the banal. Like folk art, these creations offer no critical point of view or message beyond pure whimsy or charm. Like Pop Art, these pieces reference modern day subject matter, with a sense of fun rather than conveying any strong socio-cultural message. Prices range from $4.95 to $42.00.

Today's Etsy artisans include finalscore, designsbybyck, kvossdesigns, ickdesigns, finalscore, ArtsyChica, littlegreenroosters, LilyEssential

Note: I included only crafts that were listed prior to yesterday's news, because the sudden flood of flotsam and memorabilia that appeared on Etsy reminded me of the other big "E" venue where that kind of opportunism is more appropriate.

Guest Opinion: Mimesis - Art Honoring Nature

Handpicked on Etsy by April (lunasheart)

Art, at its best, brilliantly parallels the aspects of Nature it aims to portray. The unifying theme among this group of artists is the depiction of the ephemeral loveliness of flowers. Each creation isolates and amplifies “flower-ness;” the quality that makes a flower a flower. Inspired by or based on actual flora, these representations pay a tribute to Nature without any pretense of equating with or surpassing Nature’s genius.

Artful photography does more than mirror its subjects; it creates intensified and idealized ‘portraits’ of them., so that a blue flower is not merely blue, it is the essence of blue: concentrated, velvety, seductive, even heavenly.

These examples of bodily adornment (earrings, hair pins) are like odes composed by each artist for his/her subject, rendering and reflecting the subject flower’s beauty.

Prices Range from $2.20 to $31.00. Click on the pictures to go directly to these Etsy listings.

April's Selections: Adornments: BeadsByEvelyn, Cultivar, and dorkdesign (Bug Bloomers); and Photography: dbPhoto, Lori411 and Starrybluesky

About Today's Guest Curator: April is the creative force behind lunasheart. April's selections and comments reflect her interest in how Nature inspires artistic expression. Visit April in her Etsy store, Cherry Icing!

Graffiti: Street Art on Etsy

Handpicked on Etsy
Graffiti: Vandalism or art? Images, words, tags, political messages, scratched, scrawled, sprayed on public property. Graffiti dates back to the dawn of human civilization. Respected, mainstream galleries now promote this artistic style from the street to their patrons and collectors, and we see the influence both in mass market fashion and consumer products.To me, graffiti conveys energy and edginess of the urban street, embracing everything from joy of life to dark, brooding, aggressive or provocative imagery. For today's assemblage, I selected non-threatening graffiti influenced pieces. You may have the stomach for the stronger stuff, and it is all there on Etsy. Click on the pictures to go directly to these Etsy listings. Prices range from $6.00 to $650.00.
From top left to bottom right, today's artists include: cadmiumatelier, pennieandpencils, gotart, resurface, vozclothingart, zJayne, winstonwesterrman, uniques, lucyblustudio, AfricanMotif, osofly, zinesbyjoy