I started out piecing together this week’s 1k group with a baby nursery theme in mind, but the whimsical, pastel art I was gathering quickly took a sharp turn towards fantasy and I didn’t look back. Over on curate1k you’ll find 6 pieces that transport you to different worlds, including a print by the extremely talented Jeremy Miranda, whose work I’m featuring above. There is a warm, magical quality to light emanating from a building that he captures perfectly. You can browse more of his originals and prints in his etsy shop and the Sebastian Foster Gallery.  Enjoy!

While planning next week’s curate1k group, I came across the weird and wonderful mixed media work of Catherine Mellinger on Etsy and loved it too much to tuck it away for later. Everything in Catherine’s Etsy shop is original and pieces range in price from $60 - $90. There might be a purchase in my near future…

I am thrilled to introduce curate1k’s very first guest curator, Kaitlyn Webb Patience of isavirtue. I think Kaitlyn’s approach to blogging about art is one of the most thoughtful out there, and it turns out she’s pretty awesome at finding affordable art, too!

Hello! My name is Kaitlyn Webb Patience and I post obsessively about art on my blog isavirtue. I have a serious penchant for contemporary abstract art and was delighted when norah asked me to curate the last week of June on curate1k. When I’m not drooling over artwork online, I feed my desire for snail mail by creating mail art and selling stationery in my shop! Norah and I share a lot of the same beliefs when it comes to the art world - namely that art should be both affordable and accessible! I hope you enjoy this weeks theme - a simple selection that I like to call “Pink/Beige/Triangles.”
 

{from the top: isavirtue / Pakayla Rae Biehn featured in lowercase gallery / envelope seal from isavirtue stationary / Maria Aparicio featured in art vs. art  / Christo and Jeanne-Claude installation from slide school}

P.S. - one more reason I love Kaitlyn so much?  I think she might like pink as much as I do.

I find Ryan Pickart’s paintings completely mesmerizing, so it’s no surprise he was one of the first artists I bookmarked when I decided to start curate1k. The glow and patterns in his work are reminiscent of Klimt, as is the quality of being caught between a dream and waking life. With many of his originals hovering around the $1000 mark, they are a splurge in the realm of possibility. But if prints are more your speed, I’m happily featuring one on curate1k this week. Enjoy!

It’s been a gloomy week in Boston and feels more like October than June, so I’ve put together a week of sunshine-y, brightly-hued pieces over on curate1k. The paper and thread collages above are by Wednesday’s featured duo, Robert Roth and Cheryl Roth, of The Beach Garage. They have a totally happy, 1950s vibe. Love them!

I’ve been wanting to do a week of fiber art and embroidery for a long time, but found it difficult to meet the $1000 parameters set forth on my site (i.e. this stuff is beautiful and super affordable!  Go buy it!).  But the stars have finally aligned and I’m delighted with every single piece I’ll be featuring on curate1k this week.

I also had to take this opportunity over here on the blog to highlight one of my favorite new Etsy finds: NARIOKAWORKS.  This Japanese duo, Rika and Nao, are based in Japan and Italy and offer a beautiful assortment of hand embroidery and original drawings with a watery, dream-like feel.  I’m smitten with everything in their shop and totally appreciate the beautiful branding and attention to detail (look at the back of those embroidery pieces!).  On Thursday, I’ll be featuring one of my favorites on curate1k, and you’ll find details of some of their other work above.  I’ll save their amazing drawings for another time.  Love!

Enjoy!

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)