Wishing everyone a relaxing Labor day. Give the alarm clock a break! Be back on Tuesday. Kiss. Kiss.

NY snow globe by Andrew Coates.

” Berlinde De Bruyckere is an artist based in Ghent, Belgium.

She specializes in sculpture in various media including wax, wood, wool, horse skin and hair, though she also works in watercolour and gouche. Her work typically deals with issues of loneliness, pain and death, and since the early 1990s many of her major works have featured structures involving blankets. Their use is symbolic both of warmth and shelter, and of the vulnerable circumstances such as wars that make people seek such shelter.

In 2000, her work with five dead horses, In Flanders Fields, a commentary on World War I, was exhibited at the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres. She gained international acclaim at the 2003 Venice Biennale, when her sculptures were shown in the Italian Pavilion. Since then, her solo exhibitions have included ones at Hauser & Wirth, Zurich (2004); La Maison Rouge, Foundation Antoine de Galbert, Paris (2005); and De Pont Foundation for Contemporary Art, Tilburg (2005). In 2006 her work was included in the 4th Berlin Biennial for Contemporary Art and exhibited in a two-artist show at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. ” (via Wikipedia)

I haven’t had the opportunity to see any of Misery’s work in person, but if you lived in the continent of New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands.. then consider yourself lucky. Go see her work up close. Misery is kind of a big deal.

Note: Photos courtesy of our Peap and Misery(interviewee).

Honey: Tell us your name, age, location and what does life mean to you?

Misery: Tanja, Tans or Misery but also get called Darl, Buttons and Auntie Crumpet. I am 26years old. Currently living in Auckland, New Zealand. Life means, my family, my friends, doing what i love, having adventures, traveling, making my dreams happen. Balance, always learning and growing, being happy and healthy.

Peap: How long have you been painting?

Misery: 11years

Peap: Do you have any feelings at all about the images you paint?

Misery: Yes, They all have different feelings. Usually about real things but put into an imaginary world. I like being able to escape to make believe worlds. I am often asked if the characters are self portraits. Not intentionally but some of them have similarities and I think I definitely project my feelings and stories through them to some degree.

Honey: How would you describe your personal style?

Misery: Cute, dark, dreamy, enchanting, a little blood lusty, sweet, finds beauty in things that are sad or not always so beautiful.

Peap: How that style originate? Were you excited that you had found true direction with your style?

Misery: I’ve always enjoyed painting characters that have that balance of cute and dark. And right from a very young age I was into manga and asian art. Big eyes etc. I think the eyes are the one element that has always carried through with my characters even as my style has changed. You can tell who i’ve been influenced by at certain times in my painting career. Only last year I think i really felt confident that I owned my style 100%.

Honey: Could you tell us about your process?

Misery: For painting, most of my works are on paper, I use indian ink to outline everything, then something brush in with acrylic and water colour then air brush water based inks over that. For more graphic stuff tee designs etc, draw everything in indian ink. Scan and clean up and colour in Illustrator.

Peap: How did you go about taking your work to a wider audience?

Misery: I think I’ve been lucky that even when I was just street painting my characters seemed to appeal to a wide range of people. Working with illicit clothing and doing tee’s made me realize how popular the images were which gave confidence to make Misery boutique it’s own line and store. So that has helped a lot in a commercial sense. Traveling to trade fairs and stuff. Always great for hooking up deals and making contacts. But yeah just communicating, making friends always, collaboration all helps. INTERNET… big help

Honey: Could you tell us a favorite project you worked on?

Misery: I am really proud of the series of 10 heads I just did with my Friend John OZ for my latest exhibition at Webbs Gallery (Holly Melancholy and the Night That Saved the Day) I really loved turning my girls 3 dimensional, I think it was also cool just to learn something new, how to make moulds and cast resign. They turned out really well. It’s also got my A in G to get my toy range out now. It has been in the pipe line for a while now. Soon soon!!

Peap: Who motivates you in art? Where do you draw inspiration from?

Misery: I think right now Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara. I have always been massive fans of both of them I really admire how big they think. They pull it off every time. It’s very inspiring. What’s possible motivates me, I want to make people excited and inspired and blow them away when they walk in to a Misery show. Budget is my limit it’s very frustrating.

Honey: How did you get the name Misery?

Misery: My friend Askew gave it to me when we were in high school, he thought it would be a good tag and suit my work.

Peap: What is your absolute favorite city or country of all time?

Misery: That’s soooooo tricky. I haven’t really traveled enough to say but maybe Taipei, but i think Barcelona or Tokyo could take the cake once i’ve been.

Honey: How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to make art?

Misery: I would be very miserable and probably grow very fat.

Honey: What are the last 3 songs you downloaded?

Misery: Alice by Pogo, No Regrets by Aesop Rock and Gloomy Sunday by Billy Holiday.

Honey: Any current or future projects you’d like to share with us? And if so, can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ll be showing?

Misery: Always lots of plans and ideas floating around. Misery.com has just gone live so working to new product and prints for the site. A little show at Ruban Rat in Sydney in October. A couple of other very exciting collaboration projects happening that I will have to tell you about later. It’s a bit secret squirrel at the moment.

Peap: I can’t wait to own my very own Misery Vinyl Toy, when will they be available?

Misery: Next year unless some kind of miracle happens.

Peap: Where can we purchase Misery merchandise?

Misery: www.misery.com

Honey: What are some of your long term career goals?

Misery: Showing my working all over the world, licensing Misery characters for product, accessories, home wears, cosmetics etc. Collaborating with people that inspire me. Toys, Animation, large inflatable things. Setting up creative learning centres for kids. Being able to live anywhere in the world and do what I do. Making misery.com the most exciting and successful artists site.

Peap: Any pearls of wisdom you’re willing to give to the next generation of artists?

Misery: I don’t know, keep doing what your doing if you work hard and stay true to your self it will happen. Communicate your ideas with as many like minded people as poss. Be careful not to get burnt always own the rights to your work. Don’t give anything away.

Peap: Had you ever heard of Sweet Station before this interview?

Misery: Not until now! so thank you

Honey: Shout outs? Thank yous?

Misery: Thank you x a million to my amazing friends and family that have helped with this show. My mama and Nick, Tosh and Rhys, Rachelle, Liam, Neil and Sophie, Jess, John, Olli, Amber, Nadia. Thank you i love you lots.

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Links here:

www.misery.com
http://www.myspace.com/miseryland
http://www.facebook.com/people/Tanja_Jade/605203683

Dust Buster

Can Opener

Popcorn Maker

This Flickr set is awesome! Disassembled Household Appliances. Link sent by my good friend Andy. Thanks!!

Beaters

Waffle Maker

Camille Rose Garcia is getting superstar attention levels in the art world these days. No lie.  Link here.

” Camille Rose Garcia was born in 1970 in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the generic suburbs of Orange County, visiting Disneyland and going to punk shows with the other dissenchanted youth of that era. Her paintings of creepy cartoon children living in wasteland fairy tales are critical commentaries on the failures of capitalist utopias. Creative influences include Phillip K. Dick, William Burroughs, Henry Darger,Walt Disney, as well as politically aware bands like The Clash and Dead Kennedys. Her work has appeared in Flaunt Magazine, Rolling Stone, Juxtapoz, and Paper Magazine, among others. She currently lives in Los Angeles. (via GalleryDriver, Ltd.)

Another photographer worth looking at is Talia Shipman. These photos caught my eye right away.

I stumbled across Iris Erlingsdottir’s portfolio on Behance Network the other day. I dig.

Laura Karetzky is a figurative painter from Brooklyn, New York. Okay, you can say wow now.

” I am interested in a quietly confident voice or in how a whisper can be louder than a scream. By working in a dead palette I can set up subtle grays to be very impact-full because of the experience one has in discovering them. This allows me to push the contrast of dark and light but still maintain a deceivingly tranquil environment. I often use back light or silhouetting. In this way I can treat the subject as simply another architectural element in the space.” - Laura Karetzky

Check out Misprinted Type.. artist Eduardo Recife’s playground.

These stunning imagery are taken from the “Twilight Zone” series of photos taken of Tokyo at night by Japanese photographer Sato Shintaro. Woooowwwwwww. Looks goodness.