adventures in cincinnati: part 2

I'm very excited to share photos from my trip to cincinnati, ohio, to visit artist charley harper's studio and well as an exhibit of his work and the federal building that is home to an exquisite mural of his work.

part of the amazing mural at the federal building in cincinnati

close up of the mural

my mom at the mural

love this painting charley made during his years studying

at the cincinnati art academy

whimsical

I adore the symmetry and color charley uses in all of his works

charley's painting pants

charley's painting sweater

biology book charley illustrated in the 1950s 

(and a major source of inspiration for designer todd oldham)

a mock up of charley's animal kingdom piece

the entry to charley's home

love this

mobile in the harper home entryway

charley's desk

charley was a huge fan of ladybugs, a symbol of luck

charley's palette

a fabulous place to visit

adventures in cincinnati: part 1

this past weekend my parents and I traveled to cincinnati to attend Harper Ever After, an exhibition of unseen and rarely seen works of artists charley and edie harper. as I mentioned in yesterday's post, charley was a dear family friend until his passing in 2007. this was my first time in cincinnati and my first time seeing charley's house and studio. it was a wonderful trip and I was very inspired by a weekend surrounded by art. over the next two days I will be sharing images from the trip. today's image will focus on the museums of cincinnati.

an amazing cobalt blue piece by chihuly

found this sign at the cincinnati art museum quite entertaining

loved the patterns in this painting

colorful art at the cincinnati contemporary museum

I would like this in a necklace, please

inspiration tuesday: charley harper

my parents and I spent this past weekend in cincinatti, ohio, visiting charley harper's studio and attending an opening for an exhibit of his work. charley was a dear friend of our family and we have been fortunate enough to start a collection of his original works (one of his ladybug paintings is proudly displayed in my entryway!). this weekend was fabulous--more on my blog tomorrow and wednesday--and inspiring.

I thought I would share some of his favorite works:

cardinal close up (with seed)

red-eyed vireo

snowy egret

blue jay bathing

wings of the world

flamingo, 1958

tree of life

things I adored this week

clockwise from top left corner: Alex Steinweiss, Damien Hirst, Alexander Girard, Charley Harper

favorite thing of the week: charley harper and todd oldham for fishs eddy

when I heard todd oldham was working with fishs eddy on a line using images from my all-time favorite artist charley harper , I was so thrilled. the first part of the collaborationlaunched this summer and has been a huge hit.

last night I attended the 25th anniversary party for fishs eddy and I was able to catch up with brett harper (charley's son), who has become a dear family friend, and todd oldham and they let me know that the second part of the collaboration, a line based on charley's bird prints is in the works! my favorite flamingo print will be used, hooray!

here are two of my favorite pieces from the current collaboration:

triangle fish sauce dish

angel fish sauce dish

color inspiration: charley harper

I have infused my passion for art into my designs. prints of the colorful and whimsical art of Charley Harper, known for his vibrant colors and minimal realism style, hand in my jewelry studio and I often look at his work for inspiration when I am creating my multi-color jade necklaces.

charley harper, tree of life