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If Tattoos Were Made of Gold. The Jewelry Of Michael Spirito.




Tired of cutesy hearts for Valentine's day?
How about flaming hearts in 14k or a Heart wrapped in a 14k crown and thorns from Michael Spirito's fabulous collection, Exhibitionist NYC.
Cause that's about as 'sweet' as his jewelry gets.




Meet Michael Spirito of Exhibitionist, NYC. When Michael Spirito took the Accessories award for his fascinating jewelry at the 'Gen Art Design Vision Awards' in June 2002, the fashion community realized there was a revolutionary talent in NYC. The designer's reputation continued to grow with a 'finalist' placing at the 2003 'Rising Star' awards.

His Latest Collection, "Shockra" (a fun play on the spiritual word Chakra) is reminiscent of John Hardy on Acid:



His Memento Mori collection will make any psuedo punk or macabre maven giggle with glee.




His other collections like Royal Pearl, Strong Sterling, Crown Jewels, etc use what I like to refer to as "tattimagery", all the icons people love in tattoos; hearts, swords, thorns, skulls, wings, but all done in a tasteful way with wonderful craftsmanship and materials.

But, to be fair, in addition to his stable of trendy imagery from brains skewered by swords and hearts on fire, he has a line of one of a kind signature jewelry that is absolutely stunning in both the design and craftsmanship.

here's a taste of that:



Michael's line is now sold internationally - from NYC to Los Angeles, Tokyo and most recently Moscow. Exhibitionist continues to grow while retaining a decidedly independent philosophy. "We don't conform to trends, we'd rather stick to our own interests & develop a market" says Spirito.

Really Michael? Well, I think your stuff is completely trendy, but I love it!

When A Blank Page Inspires. Moleskine Notebook Art.


click above image to enlarge

Most of you are probably familiar with Moleskine notebooks.

A favorite amongst creatives, Moleskine makes not only wonderful notebooks, organizers and journals but has a great site and often hosts wonderful exhibits. The following images are just a sampling of some of the pieces from a London Exhibit called Detour. These include renderings by Mary Ellen Mark and Ross Lovegrove.

DETOUR
THE MOLESKINE
CITY NOTEBOOK
EXPERIENCE

70 Moleskines by international artists, designers, architects, illustrators, and writers

4 exhibitions inside 4 London venues: Conran, Waterstones, Stanfords, Artwords

The notebooks' authors kindly participated to the Detour exhibition supporting lettera 27.

lettera 27 is a nonprofit foundation encouraging the right to literacy, education, and access to knowledge and information.

For the Love of Dogs & Art: The Wurstminster Dog Show



Feb 3: Online gallery launches Wurstminster Dog Show.


The Wurst Gallery launches their biggest show to date, with over 100 artists from all over the world each representing a different dog breed in their own unique way - from a five-foot plush doll to postcard-sized paintings. A portion of the proceeds of the art sales from this event will benefit Dove Lewis Animal Hospital in Portland, OR. Artists featured in the show hail from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Norway, Sweden and throughout the United States.



A one-night exhibit of the Wurstminster Dog Show will take place on Saturday, February 3rd at the newly opened Ace Hotel in Portland. Following the opening event, the work will be displayed and for sale online at thewurstgallery.com.

There's some really wonderful art here. And each piece is one of a kind, all will be on sale after the show this weekend. Here's a few pics taken from some people who attended the show.


this is a wonderful piece by Scott Rench whose work I love. (update: I ended up buying this piece)


























The Wurstminster Dog Show
Over 100 international artists representing over 100 dog breeds.

Benefit for Dove Lewis Animal Hospital
https://dovelewis.org

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007
6pm-10pm
The Cleaners @ Ace Hotel
http://acehotel.com
403 SW 10th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205

Featuring work by the following artists:
A.J. Purdy, Aaron Draplin, Aaron Meshon, Aaron Renier, Aaron Stewart, Adam Bayer, Adam Haynes, Allan Sanders, Amanda Visell, Amy Earles, Amy Ruppel, APAK, Arbito, Aya Yamasaki and Jason Brown (Overture), Beci Orpin, Benjamin Marra, Betsy Walton, Bill Barminski, Bjorn Lie, Blair Kelly, Brad Simon, Brandon Reese, Bubi Au Yeung, Bwana Spoons, Camilla Engman, Casey Burns, Charley Harper, Charles Whiteside, Chris Hutchinson, Cody Hudson, Cupco, Damion Triplett, Dan Anderson, Dan Funderburgh, Daniel A. St. George II, Derek Aylward, Derek Ballard, Driscoll Reid, Eamo Donnelly, Eleanor Grosch, Elisabeth Doherty, Emil Kozak, Emily Ryan, Erik Railton, Evan B. Harris, Eyeformation, Fawn Gehweiler, Feanne, Florencio Zavala, Frances Castle, Geoffrey Lorenzen, Gideon Baws, Gina Triplett and Matt Curtius, Grady Mcferrin, Greg "Pnut" Galinsky, Guy Burwell, Hannah Stouffer, Heiko Mueller, Holly Stevenson, Husk Mit Navn, Jason Vivona, Jen Leong, Jennifer Muskopf, Jeremyville, Jess Hutch, Jesse Ledoux, Jessica Barnes, Jessica Lynch, Jill Bliss, Johnny Yanok, Jon Klassen, Juliana Pedemonte (Colorblok), Julianna Bright, Junichi Tsuneoka, Kangaroo Alliance, Kate Bingaman, Kate Sutton, Kelly Haigh, Keri Smith, Kevin Scalzo, Kirsten Ulve, Klaus Haapaniemi, Koichiro Takagi, Le Merde, Leo Hillier, Linzie Hunter, Little Friends of Print Making, Luke Ramsey, Lyn Nance-Sasser, Martin Ontiveros, Matt Cassity, Matt Clark, Matt Furie, Mauro Gatti, Max Miceli, Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch, Meg Hunt, Mia Hansen, Michael Leon, Michael Paulus, Michael Wertz, Mike Burnett, Mikey Walsh, Miki Amano, Mister Pinks, Mizna Wada, Molly Anderson, Mona Superhero, Nate Beaty, Nick Deakin, Nick Weidenfeld, Noah Butkus, Nora Krug, Paul Clark, Rachel Blumberg, Ray Fenwick, Rick Froberg, Rob Flowers, Roman Klonek, Romantic Walrus, Ryan Alexander Tanner, Ryan Berkley, Ryan Sanchez, Ryan Waller, Saelee Oh, Sarajo Frieden, Scott Barry, Scott Rench, Shawn Wolfe, Snaggs, S.britt, Stephanie Davidson, Supermundane, Susie Ghahremani, Swigg, TADO, Teresa and David, Todd Hoffman, Todd St. John (Hunter Gatherer), Travis Lampe, Trish Grantham, Vincent Mathy, Wes Younie, Will Rhoten

About The Wurst Gallery:
Portland-based online art gallery, The Wurst, has been producing conceptual group art shows since 2003. The Wurst Gallery's shows have garnered coverage in Readymade Magazine, Relax Magazine (Japan), Form (Germany) and Craft Magazine.

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