Adventures of Yoo

January 19 2017

Preview: Stunning New Illustrations of Women Touched by Nature by Kelsey Beckett

The Corey Helford Gallery, based in Los Angeles, just released their online preview of artist Kelsey Beckett’s new show. Starting this Saturday, January 21, you can see these stunning illustrations of women swept up by nature. Called Murmutations, it’s a must-see exhibition that showcases Beckett’s beautifully powerful work.

Beckett is a Michigan born illustrator who graduated with a degree in Creative Studies. She currently works freelance as an illustrator and fine artist and has shown work in numerous galleries across the country. Her colorful work is created using mainly acrylic and oil. Her pieces have been featured by Juxtapoz and Supersonic Art.

I love how some of her heroines have pink or blue hair and how she liberally uses flowers, feathers and animals. Just gorgeous.

(On a personal note, I may be dyeing my hair metallic rose soon, too!)

Kelsey Beckett at Corey Helford

Life

January 18 2017

Family Tradition: Lake Arrowhead for Carol’s Birthday

For the past six years, my brother-in-law, Burt, has arranged a trip to Lake Arrowhead to celebrate my sister, Carol’s, birthday. Sam and I missed the last two years because he or the boys were sick. It became a running joke that we were bound not to attend. This year, luckily, we all had a clean bill of health.

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to start shooting again. On Creative Live, I’ve been watching the videos for Family Photography: Photojournalism in the Home. Teacher and photographer Kirsten Lewis combines photojournalism with family photography, taking clever, sentimental or interesting shots that are not posed, they’re authentic. This weekend, I tried my hand at this type of photography but I got a lot of my family members posing for me.

In any case, it was good to take pictures again. I need to keep working on light, moment and composition.

Above: Logan laughs wildly while Parker plays with the snow in the background.

My nephews making snow angels near our cabin.

My brother-in-law, Burt, making a funny face.

I like how in this picture, it looks like Riverton wants to eat his snowball.

My nephew, Grayson, working hard on making his mini-snowman.

My nephew, Evan, climbing up the hill covered with snow. (He fell a few times.)

Evan found a cool sheet of ice with two holes in it.

Parker tore down Grayson’s snowman before Grayson had a chance to show his mom. He was in tears. Here’s my sister trying to console him.

Whenever a camera is pointed at him, Riverton makes this adorable scrunchie face. What a cutie pie!

Happy Birthday, Carol!

Art & Design

January 18 2017

Must See Sci-Fi Film: Arrival

This past weekend, I tried to get my friends to watch La La Land with me. They insisted on watching Arrival, a movie I hadn’t heard of, instead. This year, Arrival was up for two Golden Globes, one for best original score and the other for best actress in a drama. Amy Adams delivered a phenomenal performance to a movie that knocked my socks off. Sure, in the beginning, the film felt a bit disjoined and it was a little slow going but once you hit the middle and end, you’re hooked.

Here’s a description of the movie:
Critics are calling Arrival “the best film of the year.” When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team — led by expert translator Louise Banks (Amy Adams) — races against time to decipher their intent. As tensions mount between fearful governments, Banks discovers the aliens’ true purpose and, to avert global war, takes a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity. Jeremy Renner and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker co-star in this mesmerizing masterpiece with “a mind-blowing ending” that “you will want to see again and again.”

After it was over, I kept playing certain scenes back in my mind. It was one of the those movies that you truly want to watch over and over again so you can have those wonderfully delicious “aha!” moments.

All in all, I just loved the movie and had to share my excitement. I can’t emphasize enough how good the ending was. It’s by no means a new movie, it was released in theaters November 11, but it was new to me. Arrival will be available on DVD February 14. Make sure to watch it!

Arrival on Rotten Tomatoes

Art & Design

January 13 2017

Fun Links of the Week

What are you up to this weekend? We’re headed to Lake Arrowhead to celebrate my sister, Carol’s, birthday. I’ll be taking MLK off (Monday) as well as Tuesday (which is Logan’s birthday). Be back on Wednesday. Have a spectacular weekend!

Just scooped up this rainbow set of tattoos. Rainbows just make me happy. (So does anything to do with stars, owls, fox, unicorns, hearts and balloons.)

I like how this Alexander Calder tray is both functional and beautiful.

Last week, I got this as a gift. There are three differently colored rings. It’s so subtle, though, you almost can’t tell. (It’s my new favorite piece of jewelry.)

Why the most productive people do these six things every day. (I need to get more sleep.)

On Creative Live, I’m watching Family Photography: Photojournalism in the Home by Kristin Lewis. She’s an entertaining and inspiring speaker.

I wish they made these baby hoodies for grown-ups. (I’d take the heart one, the rainbow one, and the apple one.) So adorable!

Ready for a simple, modern bike? IKEA’s got you covered.

Probably could have guessed this but success depends more on your ____ than your ____.

Let’s all take a moment and appreciate these unicorn macarons. Cute!

Yes, I’m going to miss Obama and I’m going to miss Pete Souza’s funny and touching photos of the president.

Footwear brand Toms is going to launch a clothing line. I’m kinda excited.

First Lady Michelle Obama never ceases to amaze me. She’s strong, beautiful and funny! (Now, will she please consider running for president or will she at least consider being a talk show host? We need to fill the Oprah void!)

If I was going to redesign my house, I’d add these lights or this chandelier.

Love that this craft is making a raging comeback.

Photos by Andy Seliverstoff

Style

January 12 2017

The New Dwell Target Line is Affordable and Beautifully Modern

For those of us who love everything in the store Design Within Reach, but can’t afford to buy from there, here’s some exciting news. Dwell recently collaborated with Target to create a home product line that’s modern but that won’t break the bank. Designed by Target and Dwell’s co-directors of product design, the 123-piece collection has prices ranging from $50 to $400 for furniture and $20 to $100 for decor and accessories. Not bad, right?

As Mark Tritton, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Target, stated, “Many of our guests have told us they want to add a modern aesthetic into their environment, but they want it to be easy and, just as important, affordable. That’s a challenge we were happy to accept. With our friends at Dwell Magazine, we’ve created a line that captures modernism beautifully. The collection is a great complement to our current assortment – it’s stylish, high quality and the prices are great. I know our guests are going to love it.”

I love the stylized pictures Target released that show the items together. I’m a big fan of modern chairs so the lounge chair in white is just calling my name. I love how each piece is sleek and devoid of any busy patterns. The patio set is particularly pretty with gray and white seating and copper lanterns. That large planter looks so simple but it’s so elegant, too. Below are a few of my favorite items.

Lounge Chair White/Natural, $249.99

Decorative Tray Medium Blue, $29.99

Bamboo Salad Bowl White, $34.99

Hand Tufted Wool Rug 7’x10′ Red, $299.99

Outdoor Dining Chair 2 pk White, $149.99

Modern Plate Wall Clock 17″ White, $39.99

Bookshelf Wide Blue/Natural, $249.99

Lantern Large Copper, $34.99

Dwell x Target website

Art & Design

January 11 2017

My 9 Favorite Blogs and the Inspiring People Behind Them

I’ve been blogging for the last eight years. (Wow, that’s almost a decade!) Blogging is something that’s second nature to me now. Before, I’d be worried about every letter I typed. Now, I just let things flow. During my time at My Modern Met, my admiration for other blogs grew, not just in the fields of Art and Design but in Lifestyle. Today, I thought I’d share with you nine of my favorite blogs and why I love them.

I chose these nine blogs because they’re run by an inspiring person. I’ve personally connected with some of these people, meeting them IRL or exchanging emails with them. Believe me when I say that they are a force to be reckoned with. Many of them have been in the blogging business near a decade and have either grown their blog by adding in team members or have started whole new companies. It would be an understatement to say that I’m inspired by them.

Colossal – I have to start off by mentioning Colossal. When this art and design blog first started, I knew it would be a game changer. Christopher Jobson, who runs the site, keeps the content level high, meaning he just sticks to amazing, mind-boggling art, design and photography. It’s the number one art and design blog, in my humble opinion. Here’s an old Q&A I did with him way back when. If you don’t have Colossal bookmarked, you should. Also, don’t forget to check out their shop.

A Cup of Jo – Joanna Goddard is the cool girl who you wish was your best friend. She’s kind and approachable yet she has great taste. She only partners with sponsors she believes in or whose products she’s religiously used. It’s been fun watching her blog grow – she now has writers who make her blog even more interesting.

SwissMiss – You can always count on Tina Roth Eisenberg to fill her blog with clever, design-related products or ideas. I’ve watched her grow Tattly and it’s been inspirational. I receive the SwissMiss blog posts in email form. It’s one that I reliably click on every day.

OhJoy! – Joy Chen is the blogger who got me into blogging. She’s also someone who I witnessed going from a one person team to a full fledged company. Come to this blog to see cool DIY tricks, styling tips, or ideas for LA day trips.

Design Milk – I love that Jaime Derringer makes design approachable. Her website is chock full of design related products or spaces. The Design Milk Instagram, with 1.4 million followers, only puts out the most interesting stuff.

DesignLoveFest – Bri Emery has a beautiful eye for design. She can make anything girly and pretty. I took the blogging class she taught a few years ago and met her at a lunch for an agency we both worked with. Her Instagram is visual candy. I’ll never forget that DIY floral Christmas tree!

Emily Henderson – Stylist Emily Henderson can somehow take a bland room and make it look amazing. She mixes and matches patterns and colors in an effortless way. I wish I could have her redesign my home.

Cupcakes and Cashmere – Emily Schuman’s style is on point. She infuses herself into her posts in a way that’s not contrived. It almost feel like you know her. Recently, I was amazed by her backyard transformation.

Brain Pickings – Maria Popova is the brains behind this must-read blog. She’s a voracious reader, you can tell by all the book reviews. Her blog posts will both inspire and educate you.

Photo credit: Steven Medeinbauer

Parenthood

January 11 2017

Emily McDowell’s New Parenting Support Cards are Refreshingly Honest

You can always count on illustrator Emily McDowell to come up with the perfect card. I loved her adorably Awkward series where she wrote these lengthy descriptions of feelings you only think about in your head. This time, she’s tackling a subject that’s near and dear to my heart, parenting.

As a mother of two toddlers under five, sometimes I just want to pull my hair out, I’m so frustrated. Just yesterday, Parker got mad at me for helping him with some homework and chucked a pen at Logan’s eye. I was furious! Luckily, the soft side hit Logan’s eyelid. We reprimanded Parker but I think it left a permanent mark in my heart. How could situations like this happen?

Though Emily just started this series with three cards, we can expect to see more in the spring.

As she wrote, “I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while, because parenting is HARD. And having a baby is like signing up for a 24/7 job at the judgment factory– both from yourself and the world at large. It is 100% possible to both love your kid AND struggle with the day to day realities of parenthood, but so many parents (especially moms) don’t talk about this because they feel like there must be something wrong with them or they don’t want to be judged. But we need to talk about it– because talking helps. And laughing helps. And feeling normal helps.”

I just watched Bad Moms. (It was better than I thought.) These cards remind me of that movie.

Parenting Support Cards on Emily McDowell’s website

Art & Design

January 11 2017

Underwater Sculpture Museum Includes Spooky Wall, Portal and Vortex

The final phase of artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s monumental project Museo Atlantico, in Lanzarote, Spain is now complete. It was officially inaugurated on the 10th of January 2017 by the President of the island, Pedro San Gines.

Consisting of over 300 works spread over 12 installations, it is the first time Taylor has created large-scale architectural works. The new installations include a spooky 100 ton 30m long wall, an underwater botanical sculpture garden referencing local flora and fauna, and a colossal formation of over 200 life size-human figures in a swirling vortex.

I personally love three of these large scale installations. The first is called Crossing the Rubicon and it consists of 35 figures walking towards an underwater wall. As the artist states, “The wall, which is part industrial, part organic, stretches 30 meters long and 4 meters high and contains a single rectangular doorway at its center. The wall is intended to be a monument to absurdity, a dysfunctional barrier in the middle of a vast fluid, three-dimensional space, which can be bypassed in any direction. It emphasizes that the notions of ownership and territories are irrelevant to the natural world. In times of increasing patriotism and protectionism the wall aims to remind us that we cannot segregate our oceans, air, climate or wildlife as we do our land and possessions. We forget we are all an integral part of a living system at our peril.

“To cross the Rubicon is to pass a point of no return. The work aims to mark 2017 as a pivotal moment, a line in the sand and reminder that our world’s oceans and climate are changing and we need to take urgent action before its too late.”

jason_decaires_taylor_sculpture-07053_jason-decaires-taylor_sculpture

The second installation I really like is the one called Portal. A hybrid animal/human sculpture looks into a large square mirror, which reflects the moving surface of the ocean. The diver becomes a part of the artwork. It’s intended to portray water within water, an interface or looking glass into another world.

The third last one I enjoyed is The Human Gyre, which consists of over 200 life-size figurative works creating a vast circular formation or gyre. “The artistic installation reminds us that we have evolved from marine life, and are all subject to the movements and will of the ocean,” the artist states. “The piece embodies our naked vulnerability to its inherent power, and our fragility in the face of its cycles and immense force. It provides the oxygen we breathe, it regulates our climate and it provides a vital source of nutrition to millions of people.”

Jason deCaires Taylor website

Style

January 9 2017

Beautiful and Inspirational Planner for 2017

My sister, Grace, surprised me with a gift yesterday. I wasn’t expecting anything, in fact, when she handed me this big pink box I wondered, “What could be so heavy?” It happened to be this thing called The Happiness Planner, a 2017 planner that’s not only beautiful but inspirational!

Though it comes in a few different colors, the pink/white/gold one is the prettiest. Inside the box, you’ll find these free flowing pamphlets that invite you to reflect on your life. Here’s just a few of them:

My Goals
2016 Reflections
My New Year’s Resolutions
My Bucket List
2017 Vision Board
In 2017 I Will…

Of course, the planner itself is the best part. At the very beginning, there’s a Happiness Roadmap, several exercises to help you reflect on yourself. They’re designed to get you to think about what makes you happy and fulfilled. The goal is to plan ahead, for the next 12 months, and mindfully integrate good habits into your daily life.

Now, for the meat of it. The planner is divided up by month. You first get a general month calendar, then a month “plan” where you can set personal and work goals, and finally there’s a sheet of paper for each day of the year. At the very top, there’s an inspirational quote and then you can fill in your schedule and to-do list. At the bottom of the page, you can write what you’re grateful for and what you hope for tomorrow.

I’m a Google Calendar-type of girl but I’m going to use both of the calendars simultaneously this year. Google Calendar is great because it reminds me of all my appointments, (and I can see Sam’s) , but I’m looking forward to carrying this new “buddy” around with me to work on bigger “stuff” like goals and self-reflection.

Here’s a few things the planner is meant to do:
“You will wake up everyday thinking about things that excite and inspire you.”
“You will end each day feeling grateful by thinking about the good things that happened.”
“You will focus on making each day a good day instead of worrying far too much about the future or thinking too much about the irreversible past. Eventually you will become more mindful and live in the present.”

I was using this gradient planner until Grace introduced me to this one. You’ll get the most out of it if you set aside some time to really think about the answers to their questions. Like most things, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.

The Happiness Planner website

Art & Design

January 6 2017

Fun Links of the Week

We have some close friends in town so we’ll be hanging out with them this weekend. Also, it’s my sister Carol’s birthday in two days and we’ll celebrating it at Benihana. Should be some good times.

Now, let’s get to the fun links of the week.

I want to get my children into coloring books, especially these ones by famous artists (like the brilliant Yayaoi Kusama).

For anyone who has dealt with anxiety or depression, it’s nice and reassuring to know that you’re not alone.

Bought this fox welcome mat and this rainbow doormat this week but I’d really love this fox rug.

I love looking ahead. Here are 10 tech trends that will rule CES. (I’m all about Alexa!)

Looking to take a vacation? NY Times gives you 52 places to go in 2017.

Celebrities are just people, too. Like this photo series. It was refreshing, if not a bit eye-opening.

Since this was the week to make New Year resolutions, I enjoyed reading these from a photographer.

Could dyeing your hair pink change your life?

If I could be disciplined about taking a photo a day, this would help.

Photo: Alexandra Sophia

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