The Art of Art

{Like free stuff?  Enter to win some in the current giveaway.}

A few days ago we talked about a New Year's resolution to save money. (If you missed it, you can check out my 6 favorite tips here). Today, I want to share another one of my goals: one that is much more specific - to curate and install a gallery wall. What is a gallery wall? It's definitely not me building a small museum inside my (already small) apartment, which is the first thing I think of when I hear gallery wall. While that would be pretty amazing in a really cramped and crowded sort of way, what I'm referring to is a wall (or corner) that's filled with an array of art and photography that doesn't at all match, yet somehow goes together.  

Don't get me wrong; my place is not completely devoid of personality. I have stuff hanging on walls and things resting atop bookshelves - a few framed photos of Switzerland here, some of my own artwork there, and way too many collage picture frames hung wherever I felt like hammering in a nail that day. But I'd like to be more intentional with the design of the wall and what I choose to include. Ideally, I'd like to have an artsy-but-not-too-serious gallery wall featuring quirky paintings, interesting photos, and personal mementos, à la this:

So far I've got the interesting photos (I am especially fond of one collage frame filled with close ups of friends and family doing weird stuff with their eyes. And I just realized that sounds a lot grosser than it is, except for the friend who turned his eyelids inside out....that one's gross factor is totally legit). But I am lacking in the quirky-art department. Which is why I was so happy to discover minted.com. It's full to the brim of photography, artwork, illustrations, and prints all designed by independent artists. Each piece comes in array of sizes, and even has the option to come framed.  

What I especially love is that many of the designers on the site have aesthetics that are just about as strange as mine. For instance, I just searched for a deer wearing gym socks (yes, I think we've already established that I have unusual taste in imagery), and while I didn't find that specifically, I did find artwork of a deer in a bow tie, a deer wearing a flower crown, and in an unexpected turn of events, a photo-realistic deer with a geometric print superimposed over it that is really speaking to me.

If animals in accouterments and other wall art isn't your thing, minted.com is filled with all other sorts of paper-related goodness: stationery, decorations, cards, calendars, invitations, notebooks, and their newest collection, save the date cards. I highly encourage you to check it out. I really believe there is something on that site for everybody. If I can find woodland creatures dressed like humans, I can almost guarantee you'll find whatever it is you're looking for.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by minted.com. I received no monetary compensation, but did receive a credit to the website. And that rocks because supporting indie artists is pretty cool to do!

Blurb-spiration

Remember a few months back when we spoke about Blurb?  You know, that awesome place you can go to publish your own books?  Well, I'm here to share with you this little video about Kal Barteski; maker extraordinaire whose creativity knows no bounds. She’s a working designer, painter, storyteller, book creator, TEDx speaker, and calligrapher who can now add “video star” to her resumé with the first of Blurb's Canadian book-maker profiles. Here's the first installment in the Canadian Author video series with a look at Kal’s process.  Her energy and creativity is so contagious, you just might be inspired to make a Blurb book of your own. 

 
{Watch the video on youtube}

Now through the end of the month, Blurb is offering all new customers 15% off.  The offer ends on February 28th, so if you want to save 15% on that book filled exclusively with photos of your cat you've been meaning to make, or the scrapbook of wildly complicated macarons you have no intention of ever baking, you better act fast!

Compensation was provided by Blurb for this post.  As always, all opinions are 100% mine. 'Cause that's how I roll.

Walking in Wonderland

I figured since I teased you all with lovely descriptions of the fantastical sculpture garden I visited over the weekend, it's probably best to satiate your curiosity and show you some photos today.  These are hardly comprehensive; there is just so much, much more there to see.  But these are a few of my favorites and will hopefully transport you there enough to experience a little bit of this magical place for yourself. 

If you're ever in the Trenton area, this is a must-see.  There's nothing quite like being surrounded by art, nature, and oh yeah peacocks.  Lots and lots of lascivious peacocks.