Dancing

Isn't this photo of a dancing couple lovely? The print would look beautiful framed (or wrapped up with a red bow as a wedding present).

Swedish optical illusion

Swedish artist Erik Johansson created this incredible optical illusion in a Stockholm city square. The ravine looks so real, it gives me goosebumps!

(Via the brilliant NYMag)

Embroidered portraits

Daniel Kornrumpf's embroidered portraits blow my mind. Can you imagine how long they would take? I love the incredible detail, like wayward mustache hairs and hungover eyes.

P.S. Motherhood Monday post coming up!

(Via Illusion)

Parisian potholes

Artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera walks around Paris and patches up cracks in the street with braids of colorful yarn. Aren't they lovely? See more here.

P.S. Remember these pothole gardens?

(Via Honestly...WTF)

FRANCE: Andres Serrano's Piss Christ Destroyed By Catholic Protesters

After weeks of demonstrations, yesterday Catholic protesters in France destroyed NYC artist Andres Serrano's classic and controversial Piss Christ. The UK Guardian reports:

The work has previously been shown without incident in France, but for the past two weeks Catholic groups have campaigned against it, culminating in hundreds of people marching through Avignon on Saturday in protest. Just after 11am on Sunday, four people in sunglasses entered the gallery where the exhibition was being held. One took a hammer from his sock and threatened security staff. A guard restrained one man but the remaining members of the group managed to smash an acrylic screen and slash the photograph with what police believe was a screwdriver or ice pick. They then destroyed another photograph, of nuns' hands in prayer.

Protests against the photograph had also gained the support of France's far-right National Front party. The gallery's owner says the destroyed artwork will remain on display "so people can see what barbarians can do."

The invisible man

Chinese photographer Liu Bolin is meticulously covered in paint so that he disappears into his surroundings. Apparently, it can take up to 10 hours to prepare for a single shot. Aren't his photographs mind-blowing?! You can barely see him!

P.S. Remember these painted people?

(Photos by Liu Bolin. Via Honestly...WTF. Thanks, Leigh)

Embroidered book covers

How breathtakingly gorgeous are these embroidered book covers by Jillian Tamaki? She made them for Penguin Books, and rumor has it that they'll be available this fall. SO beautiful. (I'm sure Jane Austen would have wholeheartedly approved. I love Emma's little freckles!)

P.S. More + amazing + book covers.

(By Jillian Tamaki, via Black Eiffel)

Do-it-yourself cloud artwork

Since Alex and I are giving our bedroom a makeover, we've been thinking about new artwork. Well, this is genius: Amber took her a snapshot of clouds and then blew it up on glossy poster paper for $30. Then she framed it in an IKEA Ribba frame. The whole project cost less than $60, and it's gorgeous! Double thumbs up! I'm super inspired.

(Photos by Amber Interiors, via Little Green Notebook)

Ocean print

Alex and I are giving our bedroom a little makeover, and we've been looking for artwork to go over our bed. How calming and lovely is this ocean photograph? Laura Bell took it while on a ferry in Scotland, and the circular shape makes it feel like she's peeking out a porthole window. Beautiful, don't you think?

Overheard on the Titanic

This heartbreaking print "Overheard on the Titanic" was made by blacking out words in a newspaper article with a Sharpie marker. Beautiful.

Venn diagram posters

So sweet.

(Via the hilarious Nerd Valentine)

Racetracks of the world

My dad and brother are obsessed with all things automotive. When we were teeny, I remember sitting in my dad's lap while we watched the Grand Prix on TV, and he would tip and turn along with the cars. I know they'd love these wooden race tracks to hang on the wall, which are surprisingly beautiful.

(Via Swissmiss)

Valentine's Day countdown

This February, I'd like to share love-themed posts every day until the fourteenth. Anyone with or without a Valentine can come here for some heartfelt Valentiney wishes. :) First up, how sweet is this print, below?
(Photo by Corey Arnold)

Matchbook Magazine

Have you seen the new Matchbook Magazine? The first issue launched yesterday and features a bunch of awesome people, including Haley Boyd, the Brooklyn designer behind Marais shoes. Isn't she cute? I love her little black shorts and how she leaned silhouette art on her radiator. Double thumbs up!

See the full Matchbook issue here. Congrats, ladies!

Giant flowers

This coming Tuesday, artist Will Ryman will launch an installation called The Roses on Park Avenue -- they're 38 giant pink and red roses, along with beetles, bees, ladybugs, aphids and thorns (which the New York Times says will "stir a sense of foreboding"). Twenty petals will also be scattered on the ground, six of which will double as lawn chairs. The flowers will stay up through May as "the artist's love letter to New York City." Can't wait to see it!

P.S. Remember these waterfalls?

Wedding present

When our friends Jake and Elizabeth started dating, she seemed very guarded, and he worried that she might never fall for him. Looking for encouragement, he asked three of her friends about her, and here were their crazy answers...

Her first friend's answer: "Dude, she's a tough nut to crack."
Her second friend's answer: "She's an uncrackable egg."
Her third friend's answer: "She's an impenetrable fortress."

How hilarious is that? And he had asked them all separately!

Well, against all odds, Jake did woo her, and when they got married last year, my sister gave them a present of these three original commissioned prints by Erin Jang. (See how the nut is cracked, the egg is cracked, and the fortress is open?) How cute is that?

Love print

What a cute print. :)

Home inspiration: Black and white

Loving this print and crib sheet. They both pack such a punch!

(Photos by Mia Linnman and Kjerstis Lykke, via The Boo and the Boy)

Let it dough!

Berlin-based artist Christoph Niemann and his three sons started playing around with cookie dough. How genius are their creations? See more here.

P.S. Their Legos from last year.

(Thanks, Lauren!)

Cutest calendar

At the Martha Stewart Craft Fair last weekend, I was lucky enough to buy this calendar from Erin Jang. Each month has an adorable graphic (and you can even write in your New Year's Resolutions!). They're actually 12 separate prints, so you can frame and hang them as wall art.

Erin is selling a limited number online until Sunday. Here's her shop, if you'd like one! :)