PES

"The twisted films of PES" are incredibly creative and the sound effects are spot on. Watch a few of them and you'll know what I mean. From what I can gather, PES is an animation and film studio in NYC whove done work for the likes of Nike, Coinstar, and Diesel. My favorite shorts are Game Over and Sneaux.

Enchanted Paper

Jen Stark is creating magical paper sculptures. She has had solo shows at Art Basel in Miami and the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she holds a BFA in Fibers.

The work section of her website shows how the effect of layering can at one moment be both complex and simple, but always striking.

VW Bus Ball

This guy, Lars-Erik Fisk, makes these amazing "balls" – the most popular being the VW Bus Ball. I tried to find more examples of his work, like the Barn Ball and UPS Ball, but alas, fell short.

I did, however, find this site about Fisk and his background and process.

Conference Bike

Tired of those oxygen-deprived meetings and conference calls where your doodles of a three-armed manhole-eating Turtlebeast can't even keep you focused? Well it's time to get off your duff and on to the conference bike, get some fresh air, get the legs pumping, and dream up some fresh ideas. (Colored tuxedo shirts not included)

Airhead Art

Oh, the things people can do with a little hot air. I came across this balloon version of Grant Wood's 'American Gothic' while searching for balloon art.

But the mother lode of balloon art can be found here. Be sure to check out Dory the blue fish from 'Finding Nemo'. She seems to make the best sense as airhead art.

Deuce Seven

When it comes to graffiti there is a fine line between vandalism and art. Unfortunately in the Bay area we see far more of the former than the latter. If an accomplished team like New York's Deuce Seven decided to tag my block with their intriguing figuires, vivid hues and wonderful sense of line I'd be less inclined to speed dial the local graffiti abatement hotline.

Shadow Play

Adam Frank, an internationally recognized artist and inventor has created a dramatic new light form.

Lumen is a series of acid-etched, stainless steel, oil lamp shadow projectors that throws a soft shadow on the wall when lit. As the flame flickers the shadow moves about organically.

Adam’s website has images of the theatrical lights in use. The shadows that these lamps throw are quite impressive for the small scale of the flame.

L.A.S.E.R. Tag

Seems like there's been a ground swell of sorts with this whole light-emitting tagging thing lately. LED throwies, that whole Boston video game promo debaucle and stuff like that.

The Graffiti Research Lab is an organization who is "dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists and protestors with open source tools for urban communication." Well, whatever their objective is, their L.A.S.E.R. Tag system is pretty cool. Here's the how-to if you feel so inclined to build yourself one.

Urban Curators

Nice idea. Placing elements of urban decay into a frame of reference as fine art. The Urban Curators project does exactly that.

From their mission statement: "The goal of the Urban Curators project is to engage the public in the celebration of the decaying urban environment, recognizing its inherent aesthetic qualities as well as the important role that it plays within our cultural habitat. The project achieves its goal by elevating common, overlooked objects and spaces within the city of Providence, Rhode Island to the level of high art."

Gordon Matta-Clark

In the early 70s artist Gordon Matta-Clark made "transformative, transgressive art out of New York's then desolate corners." A recent Whitney retrospective reignited interest in his deconstructive architecture, which blends the lawlessness of graffiti with the audacity and precision of site specific installation. In addition to his building cuts, Matta-Clark gave the Soho artists' scene its first and most enduring cantina. It is rare these days to find an artist who so thoroughly lives his work.

Children's Drawings Into Photography

Yeondoo Jung uses childrens crayon drawings as inspiration for content and styling for his photographs. What results are magical and mysterious images that spark curiosity.

From his site: "His own world is made up of children's fantasies scribbled on drawing paper -- not a world of reality, but of faded dreams. His photos are careful, imaginative re-creations that bring to life the fragmented stories of people that come his way and tickle his ear and eye."

Pimpin' ain't Easy

A Pimp watch is something unique. There is nothing else that comes close to the original design and style that has been developed over the years. They have a great selection of limited edition watches that combine 70's style with modern day concepts. They are produced as limited edition watches and are only available online outside Japan.

Espacios Publicitarios

Found this set of Spanish pharmaceutical ads on Flickr the other day.

Espacios Publicitarios is a set of 156 ads from Spanish publications "Clinical Rural" and "Gloss" that ran from the 50s to 70s. At least that's what my Sherlock translator told me when I translated the Spanish text.

These are an amazing set of graphic inspiration. The high metaphor illustration is absolutely wonderful with their strong use of color and form. The modern typography grid structures locks into these illustrations perfectly.

ART-O-MAT

Did you ever think you'd see art replace cigarettes? The Art-o-mat does exactly that.

With these refurbished vending machines, you pull the lever and receive a piece of art. It could be a small painting or a keychain with fortune tokens or a tiny sculpture. Be sure to check out the items, listed by the artist's name.

Oh Those Darn Swedes

Peter Bjorn and John are yet another brilliantly catchy band hailing from Sweden. Their new album, Writer's Block, even though released last May in Scandinavia, was just released this month in the U.S.A.

Having just won the Swedish Grammy for best video of 2006, the single Young Folks is a droll, toe-tapping fiesta of fun. I dare you to get that whistling out of your head.

Rehabilitated Dishware

A Tennessee native educated in product design at Parsons, Sarah Cihat buys second hand dishware at thrift shops, then repaints, reglazes and redistributes the pieces through her website and hip urban boutiques like Clio NYC. Her favorite motifs are flora, fauna, skull and crossbones.

Ryan McGinley

The New York Art scene has been dominated lately by a triumvirate of three enfant terribles - Ryan McGinley, Dash Snow and Dan Colen. Of these, McGinley seems most to possess the discipline, elegance and certitude of vision that might make for a long lasting career.

Daily Monster

Stefan Bucher draws a monster a day on his blog appropriately called Daily Monster.

It's quite fun to watch the monsters take form and then finally animate upon completion.

From his site: A native German, Bucher moved to California and earned his degree from Art Center in 1996. Following graduation he signed up for a tour of duty as an art director at Wieden & Kennedy, but he wasn’t cut out for a career in advertising or for life in Oregon. He moved back to Los Angeles in 1998 and has been working to spread the gospel of 344 ever since.

Ever Think About Water Bubbles In Space?

Well, Don Pettit sure does.

Back in early 2003, on board the International Space Station, Don Pettit, one of three crew members of Expedition 6, liked to devote his Saturday morning free time to what he called 'Saturday Morning Science'.

His award winning videos he beamed back to ground control of his experiments were fascinating studies of liquids and their fluid properties in zero gravity. This is the best video.

Saul Williams

Saul Williams reinvents the poet/performer making serious use of repetitive, trance-dance music behind his spoken word performance. His videos are intriguingly original and very noir.

You may have seen Williams in Lackawanna Blues, as well as in a slew of other films.

Queen of the Theremin

Born in Lithuania in 1911, Clara Rockmore was a violin prodigy who entered the Imperial conservatory of Saint Petersburg. Russia at the age of five. This classical training and her perfect pitch led her to become the greatest virtuoso of the theremin, an electronic instrument played with motion not touch. Her Lost Theremin Album revives the classical performances that made her a legend in her day.

Barking up the Right tree

So while everyone is running to get their new Barking Irons shirts, don’t forget to sample their new jewerly line, Shines.

The brothers Casarella have been making t-shirts seeped in New York City history since 2003, and are now expanding their line to include pendents and rings made from old New York souveneir spoons.

Follow this Video Link to watch a fun video from Cool Hunting that shows their very hands on production process.

Yeah

There's a new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album available. Take a listen, clap your hands. As much as you clapped them on the last album, anyway.

Chad Ress

Born and raised in Kentucky, recently relocated to Los Angeles, emerging photographer Chad Ress creates images with modernist compositions and nostalgic tonality, informed by his interests in architecture, literature, painting and music.

You're Cat's Gonna Love It!

Face it, your cats (and dogs) sit at home, bored, lying around, staring at the wall, waiting for their inner Anna Wintour to surface. Well watch out project runway, because now your favorite feline can transform themselves into the frog, leopard or rabbit they've always dreamed of. They'll be the envy of the neighborhood! For a less costumed look, there's also blouses and ties. Your kitty will never go casual again.

Pet Office

Art to Wear

Art to Wear: remember Bjork wearing a swan to the 2001 Oscars? or Cher with the satellite dish for a hat? Art to Wear runs from the fabulous to the confounding.

The Evian bottle dress and hat pictured are the creation of Kristen Fahrig, a Toronto based designer, sculptor and educator. Her website shows her commitment to her community as well as to her art.

Issey Miyake's fashions sometimes fall into the Art to Wear category. How many ways can the body wear a circle, anyway? His website is a work of art unto itself.

Mark Dean Veca

Straight out of Brooklyn is the ever creative Mark Dean Veca.

Born in Shreveport Louisiana, schooled at the Otis Art Institute in LA, and now living and working in Brooklyn, Mark has been a busy man of late. His installations do not just hang on a wall, they are the wall. His use of color and pattern are sophisticated while maintaining an approachable aesthetic. Infused in pop culture his drawings are a playground to explore.

I kept my heart in SF

Just in time for Valentines Day, I was lucky enough to discover Marc Owens. His tandem umbrella is perfect for a SF couple in February.

Marc is creating the products that you will not find at your local Wal Mart, but that you will find yourself dreaming about. Working from London, Marc is working to better mankind through simplicity.

Ed Jackson Dances

Ed Jackson is a San Francisco street artist - a tap dancer who uses most any surface as a percussive instrument. You'll find him at the cable car turnaround at Market & Powell. Ed's spot is as much a San Francisco 'must see' as Ghirardelli Square or Coit Tower.

Hotel Fox

Located in Copenhagen, Denmark, Hotel Fox originally started out as a project to promote the launch of the VW Fox car, and to help support young artists create spaces that are individual, surprising, and on top of the emerging design world of urbanity.

21 young artists were given the opportunity to create 61 rooms without restriction. The end result is an extremely inspiring array of art spanning from spray paint to collages.

Next time you're in Copenhagen, check into Hotel Fox - and find the best excuses to switch to as many rooms as possible!

Work

If you haven't already, bookmark VVORK. This art blog showcases cool projects with a healthy sense of humor. I love Johan Gustavsson's work and Thomas Raschke's Wireframes Sculptures are like walking around a sketch on a page.

San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival

WIth its fiery licks and hootenany harmonies old time bluegrass sanctifies my soul. This multi-venue festival features some of the best west coast practitioners of the bluegrass genre. If you can't make the concerts, check out the artists' websites for a dose of downhome tunes. These are my '07 favorites:

Merle Jagger

Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys

Flat Mountain Girls

Sunshine Crackers

I love vintage package design. It shines with a naive optimism untarnished by second thoughts about materialism, affluence and consumerist culture.This collection on Antique Mystique offers a glimpse of a time when branding was a novel idea.

Worst Album Covers

For those of us who remember 'albums' this website is a fun blast through the past. Be sure to check out ABBA & Menudo, and of course Ken.

Do You Know What You're Eating?

Ok. Well. The Chronicle reported on the two-year follow up initiating San Francisco restaurant cleanliness scores. They also included the link to the SF Dept of Health's database where you can look up restaurants and find out how they rate - and their infractions – ewww! So now we've all been frantically searching our favorite lunch haunts to see where they score. Unfortunately, some of our ultimate faves that we frequent several times a week didn't score too well.

Just be warned, searching the database can become very addictive. Ask youself "do I really want to know" before looking up your favorite spots. Sometimes, what you don't know can't hurt you. Right?