Hand-Embroidered Bag Collection by Niarmena

Niarmena is a sweet brand that offers a wide variety of women's bags. Nihan is the owner and the designer behind the brand who takes pride in creating unique pieces to which she whispers "make them happy".

The artist hand-makes bags in variety of styles including shoulder bags, tote bags, coin purses, pencil cases, and make-up bags. The bags are constructed with solid and light colored linen that makes a perfect background for outline stitched designs. Each bag is hand-embroidered with adorable designs like owls, cats, cactus, koala, swallow, human figures and other objects.

 

You can find more designs from her bag collection in her online store Niarmena. 

Upcycled Tea Bags Make Canvas For Bird Paintings by Erin Linton

Erin M Linton grew up in Lincoln, a small Oregon community. She creates beautiful paintings of birds with gouache on used teabags. From the age of 11 she was intrigued by wildlife around her, she rescued all sorts of birds and animals, and released them back into the woods. 

Her back yard is a seventy-five acres of towering pines and firs, which gives her a chance to interact with the creatures that inhabit it. Over the years she has familiarized with "those acres and their animal inhabitants: I knew where a particular wildflower would appear, where the Tree Swallow would likely nest, and where to find petrified wood after the first heavy spring rains." Now, she works as a volunteer with Badger Run Wildlife Rehabilitation in Keno, Oregon. 

In her art she combines her love for wildlife, her passion for art and her taste for tea. There is a labor intensive process behind getting her tea bags ready to be used as canvas for painting. 

She lets the tea bags dry and then removes tea from each one carefully making sure the bags are not torn. The bags are then soaked overnight and flattened to be dried again. The dried bags are then applied on the canvas board. 

The naturally muted color and texture of the bags enhances the furs and feathers of the creatures in her paintings. 

Her art can be found as art prints, greeting cards, and ornaments in her online store.

Intricately Detailed Bird and Tree Drawings by Dina Brodsky

I discovered Dina Brodsky's amazing work years ago and have been following her work on Instagram ever since. I featured her work on my blog a while ago here. Her new drawings from series "Bird by Bird" and "Trees of Life" caught my attention when I was scrolling through her account and they certainly need to be shared with you.

"Bird by Bird" project started when the artist used to take her new born on walks in a stroller. She began to draw the birds she witnessed into miniature drawings. The project grew over the years included more exotic species depicted in ballpoint pen, watercolor and gouache.

 

"Trees of Life" is a composition of drawings that the artist drew as a tribute to the trees that are the majestic icon of life. The artist collects photos, stories and artifacts of these "monuments of evolution" from her fellow artists and friends to document them through her drawings. Her drawings are individually drawn in ballpoint pen in sketchbooks and on handmade paper.

"Following their complex topography, nooks, and crannies, I record all their permutations in relentless observational detail. By paying close attention to naturalistic elements I hope to capture a sense of poetic arabesque."

Visit her on Instagram to watch her in action and to learn more about her drawings.

Sarah Raphael Balme - Oil Paintings

Sarah Raphael Balme is a British artist who graduated from Chelsea College of Arts and gained degree in illustration. She grew up surrounded by artists, her mother was a painter and her dad wrote academic books. Her childhood was spent in a bohemian North London house that influenced her career as an artist. 

Her work is a visual treat of rich, vibrant colors and beautiful patterns. Inspired by folk-art motifs, artist paints landscapes, portraits of fictional characters, and plants and animals. Her oil paintings with a narrative theme are mainly done in oil sometimes gouche.

Her gorgeous paintings can be found on ceramics, fabric, cushions, and wallpaper. She has participated in both solo and group exhibitions all over US and UK. Her work has been published by IPC magazines, BBC publications, and Heinneman. 

You can view more of her work on Instagram and follow her on Facebook.

Circular Paintings by Kahn & Selesnick

Anglo-american duo known as Kahnselesnick is a team of Nicholas Kahn, born in New York City, and Richard Selesnick, born in London, UK. Kahn & Selesnick both received BFA’s from Washington University, and have been working in collaboration since the 1980’s on variety of projects - installations, photography, augury drawings, sculpture and pastel paintings. Each circular painting from the series is inspired by the history, literature, surrealism, and utopian designs.

"The Snowy Owl has grabbed a nine-sided Rat King. Owls represent wisdom, the goddess Athena, and she’s here to rescue the sad tangle of rats from themselves. Rat King’s go back in history to medieval times and are said to portend change and disaster, from which the wisdom of the owl is here to rescue us. Or perhaps, have a very delicious captive snack. – Nicholas Kahn."

 

They have exhibited their work worldwide in over 100 solo and group exhibitions and their work is in numerous collections including at the Brooklyn Museum of Art; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; The Houston Museum of Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Smithsonian Institution.