April 30, 2009

me and holiday: bali, here I come!

I'm going to visit one of my beloved sister in Ubud, Bali from
tomorrow until Monday. She is a part of an organizing team
for Bali Spirit Festival 2009 and I will joined her for the
last three days of that event. I will certainly take lots of pretty
pictures, eat, dance and yoga! Yay! See you all next week, baby!

April 28, 2009

me and books: poetry

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also
Sara Steinberg.

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be brigther night lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty-forty eight inches lower.

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.

If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts
would be vegetable.
All 007 movies would be G.
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.
* Gorgeous illustrations by Lynne Cherry
for Judith Viorst's book with the same title.

April 27, 2009

me and collage : My first ACEO exhibition!

I've been invited to join this ACEO exhibition at the Flemish
House Art Gallery in Pennsylvania from April-June 2009.
I met Stephanie,the gallery owner and also an etsian,
through etsy chat. My first ACEO exhibition and it's in the
other side of the planet! Oh my!

There are 9 original pieces of each artist will be exhibited, and
I spend last weekend finished them all. What a relief, I tell you.
And I really am swoon by the gallery concept that Stephanie has,

Have a marvelous monday, you lovely people! Hugs!

April 26, 2009

me and secret: a giggly and dirty one

Read at www.etsychatters.blogspot.com and you may 
also win ten of my collage postcards!

Sunny Sunday

Jakarta sky is a liar in term of its sunshine. Because after I took
all these pictures on my regular thrift market and a couple of
hours afterwards it rained so hard for three hours striaght!
Now you all know how frustrating I was with something called
Jakarta's weather not only on weekdays but even worse on
weekends! Oh yes, I got myself some gorgeous stuff from here
but I will share their pictures later. And how about your Sunday?

April 24, 2009

Oh Etsy, How I Love Thee!

Dear Etsy,
Honestly I couldn't even recall when was the first time I bump
into you. It's all really blurry now but one thing for sure how
I am so so glad to find you. You are inspiring me every single
day just by one click away. I met so many inspiring

and awesome crafters and artists outhere through you.
You makes me feel brave enough to keep trying out having
a new shop although I have to closed it down at the end.
But hey, you are such a positive supporter of ideas no matter
how big and small it is. Yes, you are.

And today, I am part of your chat team. I could spend like hours
and hours on the net while working my office jobs and making
collages in between. See? You are a definitely a good addiction
on me. Thank you Etsy, for being a damn fine drugs.

Much love,

Vantiani.

PS: Featured at http://www.foundhandmade.com/news/itemize

April 23, 2009

me and collage : A Big Bottle Of Magic Carrots!

I don't like carrot. I don't like its smell and its taste.
Especially the fresh one. I just don't. BUT, I do know
that it's good for your eyes. And with a big bottle of
magic carrots like this, you will have an amazing vision
today and tomorrow like these kids. Carrots, anyone?

April 22, 2009

me and that punk boy: happy birthday, love!

thank you for making this comfortable
and strong journey together with me
until today. i love you. you rock.

April 20, 2009

me and collage: Oh she just love big words!

Someone said that to me awhile back. How I love big words
in my conversations and loving others that's do the same.
This piece finished last night and it will be listed on the
shop today together with other new pieces.
Have a wonderful week you all!

April 19, 2009

me and collage: They Speak In Pink

I should thanks Caroline Paquita for wrapping her
awesome package with that pink wrapper. How I
have been obsessed to use them on my collages
lately. Second pieces so far in three days. It's all
because of a paper.

Sunny Sunday

I realized that staying in my bedroom without hearing radio
playing loud is a horrible horrible situation. Oh what a music
can do to your soul in the morning, noon and night!
Welcome back, my radio! I sure is misses you!
Oh and thank you Love to repair it for me:)

I spend this Sunday at the office and these pictures were
taken when I'm having my brunch on the way there.
Look how red surround me! Happy Sunday you all!

April 18, 2009

What A Collage!

Dear Letha,

First I would like to tell you how inspiring your collages pieces are to me and I would love to hear your stories on them and also your own collage making process. Let's start with the questions, shall we?


1. I used to know collage when I start making zines, therefore my understanding of collage is like a paper art. But then as time goes by I notice that apart from paper there are many other material we can use. How about you and collage in general, how did it start?

Well, when I was a kid, I was home schooled --- and for me, that meant I spent a lot of time at home doing all kinds of things other than studying books in the pursuit of ‘learning’… cooking, sewing, painting, building… I always liked cutting up paper, I made my own paper dolls and then began to do a lot of decoupage. Eventually I went to art school and drew, painted and wrote --- in the end I got a degree in interior design and began my ‘professional’ career. Interior design is definitely on the more creative end of architecture, but even as a designer much of my time is spent doing technical work and the phases of concept and creativity are few and far between. A couple of years ago, in an effort to balance out my creative life I stated making personal reverse ‘picture frames’ for family and friends… taking a small personal picture and building a art piece around it on wooden boxes and basing the piece on the essence of the person --- I used a lot of the same materials I use now, paper/fabric/shells, etc. --- eventually these personal pieces turned more towards what I do now, landscapes and graphical pieces that are more straight forwardly artistic and hopefully more assessable than the personal art pieces I started out doing…


2. So when you start to combine paper and wood and metal in your collage? Are there many trial and errors first before you nail them?

I am a big fan the contrast that can be created by using ordinary elements out of context so I really enjoy mounting rusty saw blades or old hardware in my pieces… I think the combinations of disparate things like the fragility of paper and the strength of metal can be quite beautiful, especially if you are interested or used to thinking about things in terms of color and texture first and the actual materiality of the items is not as important when assembling a composition.

I started using metal and other found objects in my work only in the past couple of years... Using metals and found objects has actually been quite a natural process and has worked out really well without much of a trial and/or error period --- this might be because the materials work so well with of my tendency to build up layers in the ‘landscape’ portions of my pieces and also to, often, create some kind of a sun or moon-like focal point on my horizons.. The metals I use are usually pretty flat or lightweight and lend themselves well to creating a 3D presence in the pieces without causing technical difficulties in the construction of the work. I have a couple of pieces where I’ve drilled holes to accommodate objects or to ‘tie’ them down in a more permanent way. The piece called Any moment now… is a good example of this.


3. One most awesome part about your collages to me is the usage of those wood block as the medium and also metal. How do you deal with those materials so that they stick really good to the wood surface?

The wood boxes I use have top surfaces that are primed for oil painting (called gesso, or hardboards), the nice smooth surface is really easy to adhere to and has the added bonus of being an archival surface so the paper will not get damaged over time. I use a combination of permanent glue and sheet adhesives for the papers and have tested the strength over time… The metal was a bit more difficult --- I used several adhering methods before finding a product that is quick dry and very, very good at sticking metal to paper without warping the paper below or compromising the bond to the metal.


4. Apart from paper and metal, are there any other materials that you've tried on those wood pieces and how do they go?

I use fabric, old keys, metal washers, door hardware, watch parts,… Some of these are more tricky than others but I’ve learned to look for things that have a flat(er) edge to them (easier to adhere to the boxes surface). Of course I always make exceptions! I have this beautiful, big, heavy red metal sea horse with peeling paint… I may never get to use it in a piece the way I currently construct my art because it’s so heavy! But it has inspired me to eventually try construction my pieces in the reverse of what I do now, inside of boxes (recessed) instead of on top of the flat raised surface.


5. Is there any special tips that you would like to share if someone would like to make one too?

Hmmmm… I think if you are interested in making pieces like my ‘Paper Geography’ series of landscapes then patience is incredibly necessary! It often takes hours and hours to cut up the strips and pieces and then hours more to arrange and weave, and then hours more to glue/adhere everything down and finalize the piece! But gosh it’s so worth it when the piece is completed and is full of detail and depth that you are happy with. Collage and mixed media in general I think are really good for following you inner muse, ‘cutting and pasting’ can be a quick and dirty exercise of expression or it can be labor intensive and very articulated culmination of a thought out internal concept. I think that’s a major reason why I love mixed media, it has so much of a range of possibility in it inherently. I would also say --- have fun treasure hunting! I spend a lot of time looking for the elements I use in my pieces --- I go to flea markets, junk yards, salvage warehouses, paper shops, antique stores… being inspired by the cast offs of our everyday lives is another vast arena of possibility!


6. Anything else that you would like to share with us like your shop, online gallery, flickr, etc?
There are many places to visit me if you are so inclined; I have an Etsy shop: www.lethacolleen.etsy.com, a art and design blog that I really love keeping: www.lethacolleen.blogspot.com, I adore Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/lethacolleen/ and if you’d like to be a ‘fan’ of my art and get updates about it I have a Facebook business page: www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/pursuit-of-happiness/51866981867?ref=nf


Thank you so much, Letha! For sharing all these and being so inspiring,

Vantiani

April 17, 2009

me and collage: another new piece!

finished this last night while waiting for the boy
coming home from his band's practice. what an
interesting mix of color. it will be in my shop today
with the other new ones. oh happy friday, dearie!

April 16, 2009

me and fabric: pear in the basket by robert kaufman

i rarely like fabric motifs its all its color variety.
but robert kaufman and his pear in the basket
series made me head over heels from the
first time i lay my eyes on one of them.
and now i am waiting for my black version one
that i purchased last week and in the look for the
brown one. hey, maybe I should buy them all and
framed them in a group for my tiny studio wall.
yes, I like that. very much.

me and collage : a weird new piece

i finished this at four in the morning. hand illustration and collage.
definitely make me staring at it all day today. what an interesting
piece. not like anything i used to make. don't you think?
but hey, weird is good. a wonderfully weird piece indeed.

April 15, 2009

me and colors : inspiring vintage mix

from the book jack and jill, april 1955 edition.
thanks to kimberly and her amazing paperie
package this morning. oh how pretty!

me and collage: one new piece

your art shows what's inside of you, they said.

April 14, 2009

me and photography: my favorite

this kind of photography is definitely win me over from
the first time i stumble into one of them years ago. either
they are polaroid, lomo, or a vintage kodak. they are just
so so gorgeously old. agree, dearie?

and all these vintage inspired photography print belongs
that i met on an etsy chat and later on I even win her
giveaway! You see that Helter Skelter photo?
i win that. oh lucky lucky me.

April 13, 2009

A Memorable Monday

And when I am tired,
I am so very tired.
And when it's done,
it's like I've killed someone.
-The Bird And The Bee

April 12, 2009

Sunny Sunday

at the office from 11 in the morning.chatting with long distance
old friend and trying really hard to find some ideas. what a
heavy sunday, i tell you. hope yours is much better than mine.

April 11, 2009

me and etsian: caroline paquita

i'm crazy about her works since i found one of her print
at etsy artistic endeavor. and i'm so so happy that we
are friends now. for more of her awesome arts and life

April 10, 2009

me and collection: what do you call all these beauty?

i am sure you all know or at least familiar with
these kind of kitchen stuff. they are mostly made
in china or indonesia like some of my collections
here. made of tin with a pretty distinctive style
of picture and colors. now, anybody can tell me
what do these called please?
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