Friday, May 20, 2011

Around The World - Houston,TX


Being a non-American, the first thing that came into my mind when I thought about Houston, Texas, was the imagery of farms, cowboys and country singers. (well, basically, whenever 'Texas' is mentioned, really) Imagine my surprise to see that Houston is actually a pretty darn modern city!

You see and learn something new everyday I guess! (I also found the wiki article of the Houston Mass Murders when I'm researching on Houston, oh my curiosity with serial killers)

Cowboys and serial killers aside, Houston do come with a large variety of artists and crafters too. :) Let's see what I found...

As you probably had known from a previous Around the World post on Greece, I am a sucker for artists that utilizes lines beautifully, and White Octopus is no stranger to that. I love that her theme is rather centralized on octopus and tentacles, although there are other types of animals too. LOVE that painting of the stag, so ghostly and beautiful! I also love the subtle textures and lines that she has going on in the background, it does makes a difference in her paintings. :)

Another artist with gorgeous lines and patterns, lisachow is no less amazing. :) She has a whole different theme and style though, as she draws whimsical and sometimes mind boggling images of houses, butterflies and hearts. I particularly love her works that involve houses and cityscapes. :) Aside from artwork prints, she sells these really interesting DIY cut-out paper buildings too! Yeap you heard that right, instead of paper dolls, they are paper buildings. ;)

My mind was completely boggled when I found Scrapatorium! The good type of boggled! I always have a keen interest on oddities and things that stirs one's thoughts. Pretty images are well... pretty to look at. But these collage artworks by the talented Angelica Paez just goes one step further by making you think. How clever is that collage with the cut out doily an a man in the center, smoking? But then you think... something as pretty and innocent as a doily is actually cigarette smoke (something negative) in this piece. Oh the irony~

Jay Marroquin's works are also extremely mind boggling! His photo series "Hate!!" sends a strong message of the darker side of mankind, very thought provoking. When I found his shop, I knew on the spot that I must feature his work! I've never seen photography like this before on Etsy. All of his photos depict a scene that was happening, instead of just a single subject. These scenes were very well thought out and every single detail is just simply amazing!

This shop would be perfect for people that loves to DIY and are looking for more interesting options instead of the free ones that people could find online and everyone seem to be doing. A Little Hut, run by the amazing Patricia Zapata, is a shop that sells pdf printables for various paper products, ranging from gift tags to candle cover! Her designs are very well thought out and the presentation is just perfect. I almost felt sad that they were only printables, as I am the type that are lazy to do DIY things most of the time haha.

I love the shop intro to this Etsy shop, "You are unique, shouldn't your furniture be unique too!" Really does makes me feel special and unique. :) Jalex Studios makes modern and contemporary housewares and home decors. I just love the simple designs of his products, they look like they would fit perfectly right into a modern five star hotel. (I hope one contact you soon ;D ) Love the Levi modern vase!

I sure do love me some cute sewn goodies! Betsy Wynn is one of them, and it is not hard to fall in love with her wares. :) Two facts that I love about her shop - The first one is that they are colorful, and I love her use of color combinations and textures, makes her purses and handbags look really cute! The second fact is that she keeps her shop consistent with her bird and deer embroideries. It does adds that little charm to her work and that much more likeable! :) Love her little deer~

Last but not least, the only jewelry seller in this post! Orange is the sun (what an interesting name) makes really interesting textile jewelry. Her designs are very simple, but made exciting with dashes of bright colors. I think this is what made her work so unique. :) I just love her color selections for some of her pieces, just so fun and cheerful!

2 comments:

Jay said...

Thanks a lot Alex :) You need to find me on facebook and add me. Especially since I'll be in your part of the world later this year.

Jay Marroquin
www.facebook.com/jaymarroquin
www.jaymarroquin.com

whiteoctopus said...

Thank you for featuring my artwork! I love your around the world series... so nice to see other artists from my area also! :)

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