Apartment living in Cambridge can be tight to say the least, so we’re super fortunate to have a deck off of our secondstory place.  There’s a great big tree that grows up alongside it, providing shade in the summer and spectacular color in the fall.  There’s also a series of power lines and telephone cables that run right next to it.  They’re pretty complicated, and honestly kind of scary, and they provide the squirrels of our neighborhood with what my husband and I call the “Squirrel Highway.”  The little guys run along the cords at crazy speeds, sometimes hopping into the tree, or jumping between wires if another squirrel is coming in the opposite direction.  It’s very amusing to watch, and with the recent warm spring weather the highway has been very busy.  At the same time, I’ve been noticing power lines showing up in a lot of my art searches.  The force and power behind the elegant, lacy lines makes for intriguing work, so I’ve collected $927 worth over on curate1k.  Enjoy!

{The pieces above are by Tuesday’s artist, Grace Durnford.}

This week’s curate1k group is all about the sideways glance.  As I browsed the dozens of artworks I have bookmarked for possible inclusion on curate1k, it was pretty interesting to see just how often the indirect gaze is used.

The piece above is by Wednesday’s featured artist, Deborah Stevenson.

(Source: saatchionline.com)

Hello! I’m back from an amazing trip to Morocco and my mind is officially blown by the stunning and ever-changing landscape of the Atlas Mountains.  As we traveled across the country, my husband and I experienced some of the most beautiful sunsets and night skies I have ever seen, which serve as inspiration for my first week back blogging… you’ll find a lunar-themed week over on curate1k.  The paintings above are by Tuesday’s talented artist, Cathy McMurray.  Enjoy!

I have a pretty major obsession with antique postcards and have been collecting them since I was a little girl.  I love the artwork and photography on the front, but my fascination is really with the messages on the back.  Some are no nonsense and to the point, others are silly and full of personality, and some are downright mysterious.  All offer a sense of romance and nostalgia. 

As you can see above, collage artist Felicia Piacentino puts her own spin on these magical little cards with delightful results.  I’ll be featuring one of the altered postcards available in her etsy shop in an upcoming curate1k group, which is quite fitting as I’ll be on holiday for the next three weeks!  Things will be a little quiet here on the blog, facebook, and twitter, but you’ll still be getting your daily dose of affordable art over on curate1k. Enjoy and see you in May!

(Source: Flickr / feliciap)

I have long been a fan of Lisa Congdon’s delicate drawings, bright colors, and unexpected patterns, so I’m super excited about her new online shop for original pieces.  (Bonus… currently, everything featured is under 1k! ) It’s pretty impossible to pick a favorite, but something happened to jump off the page for me and you’ll find it over on curate1k.  It’s the inspiration piece for a week of colorful collages.  Enjoy!

{all images above are from Lisa’s new shop}

I really love wallpaper, but I don’t know if I’ll ever have enough guts to commit to a pattern and paste it up in a room, let alone an accent wall. Luckily, I’ve come across some fabulous wallpaper-centric art that totally satisfies my craving for colorful patterns. Best of all, they’re all completely mobile and can move from wall to wall as your mood changes (like mine frequently does). No scary commitments here.  Enjoy!

{Wallpaper itself makes great framed art. The images above are from Marilyn Krehbiel’s Etsy shop where she sells vintage wallpaper for about $14 a yard.}

Sometimes an artist’s work literally takes my breath away.  Several months ago, I almost skimmed right past one of Laura Plageman’s photographs while browsing on Pinterest, but something about it caught my eye at the last second.  Something was just a little off.  A little bit uncomfortable.  My eyes and mind had to adjust to the subtle distortion of the photograph, and when they did I actually gasped.  I’ve been obsessed with Plageman’s Response series ever since.  Her mesmerizing images have inspired an entire week of altered landscapes over on curate1k.  Enjoy!

Craving the simplicity and strength of black and white, I searched high and low to put together a week’s worth of covetable pieces.  The illustrations above are by Thursday’s super talented artist, Tali Yalonetzki.  Browse more of her amazingly diverse work here and here.

Yes, I debated.  I truly did.  But in the end, I could not pass up the opportunity to do a Hunger Games-themed week in anticipation of the movie premiere this Friday.  Check back daily for pieces that remind me of Katniss, Peeta, and the crazy Capitol.  You know you want to.

{Feeling a little bit Katniss and a little bit Capitol?  Britt Bass’s arrows fit the bill.}