For the Love of Cute

Today I am relaunching my second blog For the Love of Cute which features new handmade cuteness every day! I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing for it.

Hand picked favorites - Purple

Elsa
by morninglori

beret22
by dadaya

Retro Tulips
by Crafterall

Perspectives on Rodin in Sumi Ink I on rice paper
by GalleryJuana

Mauve pink and blue Mosaic dish
by Sigmosaics

Computer CD-Rom Wall Clock
by GeekGear

Would like to see one of your items featured on Life, Craftiness and Everything Else? Leave a comment and tell me which of these items you love the most!

Artist Interview - Chiara from Milk

I want to introduce you all to some amazing art I found last week. I discovered Chiara's breathtaking illustrations and after looking through her beautiful myspace page I found myself wanting to know more about her and her work. She inspired me to ask her to do an interview for my blog. I hope you will enjoy learning more about her too.

Tell us a bit about yourself
Chiara Bautista, Mexican, petite.

Other than creating art, what else do you do?

I'm a graphic designer & illustrator. I work for a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. it's just like love: beautiful and stressful job.

Have you always been an artist?
To be honest, I don't think of myself as an artist, "illustrator" fits me better... but yes, I've always liked to draw and paint, since I was a little girl.

Tell us a bit about your creative process.
I always start with something I need to say, usually a feeling I can't put into words, and that's why I have to use images. I never sketch a final version of an illustration because I always end changing almost everything. My work process is messy and I go back and forth, changing stuff constantly while I'm working. It's like... when you're writing an email to an ex-boyfriend, and you have to go back and read again that last paragraph, and after reading it a couple of times you change something here and there because you don't want him to misunderstand your words. Yes, it's just like that.
My [messy] work process includes: pencil & paper, a basic sketch of the main layer, scanner, computer, a vector program (Freehand Mx/Adobe Illustrator), and Adobe Photoshop.

Music appears to be play a very important roll in your art, do you listen to music while you work? What other influences does music have on your creative process?
I always listen to music while I'm working. I love music. I include songs in my illustrations because we tend to attach experiences to the song that was playing at the moment, you listen to a song and somehow the melody brings back a lot of memories & feelings. That's why I can't listen to certain songs anymore, and some others are playing in a loop on my stereo.

There is always so much to see in each of your pieces and yet they never seem cluttered. Is it a concious effort to get this balance each time?
mmm... I wouldn't know... but I can say that I like balance... I guess that's why I'm always moving stuff around while I'm working.

Are any of your illustrations for sale? If yes, where can we buy them?
At the moment I don't have any prints or originals left for sale, but I'll have some more soon and I'll be selling them through my website www.logyumilk.com

Where can we find you online?
...for sentimental reasons, I only post my images on my myspace page.

If you would like to be considered for Featured Artist, please leave a comment under this post and tell me which of Chiara's illustrations you love the most!

Refurbishing my studio - Part 2

The plastering is done, the flooring has been pulled up and the studio is already painted! Dave the builder does not hang around! He'll be back on Monday or Tuesday to put down the new flooring (you can see it leaning up against the wall in the last photo) and skirting boards. He is also going to be plastering our hallway, which is why you can see the orange primer on the walls through my studio doorway. Tomorrow I am going to paint my radiator and put up some new cabinets for my studio. I love home decorating! More photos coming soon.

My independant website is LIVE!

Hoorah! It has taken about a year to get my independent website all up and running but I am very happy to announce that it is finally ready. I hope you will enjoy looking through thehouseofmouse.co.uk

Refurbishing my studio - Part 1

Yesterday we started work on refurbishing my studio. I am so excited about having a nice clean, fresh and tidy space to work in. I took a "before" shot for you, but my camera ate it (it must have been hungry) so you will have to imagine from the photo above what my studio used to look like: Peeling wallpaper with a horrific bumpy pattern, badly DIY'ed laminate flooring and old tired shelves that I had put up myself.

Yesterday our builder Dave came to start work stripping the wallpaper, clearing the room and priming the walls for plastering. He makes it look so easy!

Today he is plastering and the room will start to take shape.

The orange paint is the primer for the walls, it helps the plaster stick to it properly.

In this part of Holland they build so fast that everything is made from huge walls of solid concrete, with all the wires and pipes visible. Most Dutch people don't seem to mind seeing the wires, but because I am British they drive me crazy. I will be so happy when they are hidden away behind plaster.

I'll be back with more photos soon!

Theme Feature - Spiral

I am hypnotized by all these beautiful spirals...
I hope you enjoy these great artists.

Smoke in Blue - 8x10 Print
by idletype


The Spiral of Dream (from The Lost Key series)
by TheNebulousKingdom


white storm . headband
by pandacub


Postcard - Sunburst
by lindabutterfly


vertigo
by trotalo


Eye of Shiva Shell Ring
by Star of the East

Would like to see one of your items featured on Life, Craftiness and Everything Else? Leave a comment and tell me which of these items you love the most!