People really do make cool dot art :: Color Codification Dot Drawings by Lauren DiCioccio

Lauren DiCioccio has taken a smart approach to dot painting. She finds and selects magazine pages and creates a color code for each letter and then hand-paints a dot on each letter forming these amazing colorful pages. Dot colors as words... So beautiful! She says, “Making the paintings is a lot like solving a cryptogram and the result is a legible blur of dots in the form of the article’s layout, a kind of Braille for the color-inclined.” Like me Lauren! Let's be friends!

Read more at Design Milk.

You know I don't actually search out all this dot news. Maybe it all just finds me... I wonder if any of these other dot artists find each other too.

In other dot news :: Damien Hirst - The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011.

This is so fun! British artist Damien Hirst is showing his Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011 at all eleven Gagosian Galleries around the world right now (including the one here in Beverly Hills). His spots are all screenprined and in such beautiful fun colors. I just might have to see this before it leaves town February 18th!

Photos are from juxtapoz.

Etsy Treasury :: Winter in Southern California

Valentine SALE Off Duty... mishaashton $8.50	vintage sunglasses styl... RecycleBuyVint... $20.00	Chunky Cable Knit Scarf... KnitFrekkles $70.00	Thermos Set of Three PhatHeads $32.00
Pony oxfords flats in E... goldenponies $39.00	Mod Green and White Geo... GallivantingGi... $27.00	Plaid Short Sleeve Shir... strawberrykoi $35.00	1888 Large Antique Map ... bananastrudel $40.00
sale / vintage 1940s ha... PoppycockVinta... $32.00	Damn Fine Day / 14x11 s... theSIBLINGshop $22.00	Aloe Succulent, 3 Inch ... SucculentsGalo... $5.95	NOS Vintage blue beige ... blessthatdress $25.00
The Rucksack / Backpack... infusion $162.00	Women brown lace jacket AndyVeEirn $90.00	Vintage Pyrex Mid Centu... halfpintsalvag... $19.00	aquarium, mid century d... poolponydesign $35.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio. 

Enjoying warm days and chilly nights. Life is hard here sometimes......

See the dots in person :: Unique LA's Local Love Event Feb 11+12

Local Love Event

Come join the dots and I in about 3 weeks for Unique LA's first Local Love Event. I'll be bringing out some new dot items to start this new year off with a bang! Look forward to new color patterns and hand-painted greeting cards and posters! I'll post some sneak peeks next week.....

Dots on vintage photos. A dream come true.

This is the work of New York-based artist Sebastiaan Bremer. He took vintage photos from his childhood and hand-painted beautifully colored dots over top. I absolutely love this. Vintage photos. Dots. I want to go to the place where the photos are taken, be the girl in that first photo, be the one to take the photo, and also be the person painting dots on the photo.

Sigh.

There's a big article on him over at Bomb Magazine. A lot of his work is there plus some some different designs of paint on photos. “By drawing on the photographic image I change everything and add the real component of time. My associations, ideas, and changes of direction ― it all finds its way to the picture.”

The photos here are from Flavorwire and Grain Edit.

Next National Park on my list : Glacier

This picture is perfect.

If you know me at all or have looked through any of my flickr photos, you would know that I have a thing for National Parks. Going to craft fairs throughout the country is a great excuse to see them all and I make sure to make every trip I go on an adventure to a new place. Next summer I will make sure to head up to Montana and hang out in Glacier. This photo is from Chris Peterson's 100 consecutive days in Glacier National Park during 2009. I couldn't image how amazing that must of been... you can check out his whole journey at the Glacier Park Magazine website. He did the project as a celebration of the park's 100 year anniversary and used a whole variety of cameras that are from the 100 year time period. 

I've also been dying to drive through this park specifically so I can recreate the drive from the opening scene of The Shining. Yes.

historic american sheet music

 

I discovered this the other day and some of these covers are just incredible. Duke University has over 3,000 historic American sheet music books up on their site. Makes me wish I played the piano, but instead I just look at all the pretty pictures on the front. 

I love it.

Found this in an old Miss Moss post. 

The dots move back home

I'm back to working out of my apartment for a little while in this new year of 2012. I have everything all setup and clean and organized, now the dots and I have a rosy glow to us at all times!

I painted the walls in my apartment about four and a half years ago and while I'd say I've totally out grown the brilliant colors I used... it's sort of fun. I'll never have pink walls again (I actually don't even wear pink), so I might as well make the best of it while I still have it!

It was a super busy and quite amazing craft fair holiday season. I feel like I haven't fully recovered from it all yet. But it's time to ease my way back into production. I have store orders and a whole lot of fairs around the country coming up this year. Plus a whole new line using glass as the base..... just you wait and see. There's a lot of fun stuff coming out of The Bocket Store this year!

Next stop Alabama at the end of March!

New color patterns and homemade hot chocolate

Creating new warm soft color patterns with an ivory base while drinking homemade hot chocolate makes for a very nice Saturday evening. I'm going to get started on this new set of colors very very soon. It's time to shake things up a bit color-wise and I think all the dot fans will love it! Just picture those sections above inside a bowl with a glossy finish.... now that's what I'm dreaming about tonight with my tummy filled with chocolate.

I whipped up this simple hot chocolate recipe I found with a quick internet search on Allrecipes.com. It's pretty good and definitely rich, but not super sweet. I love it when I have all the ingredients at home to make whatever comes to my mind.

Ingredients
1 cup water
2 (1 ounce) squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups milk (just used the non-fat I had around)
1 teaspoon vanilla
threw in a hand full of semi-sweet chocolate chips
added more milk to tame it a bit after taking a few sips

Directions
- Place water and chocolate in heavy medium saucepan; cook on low heat until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Add sugar; mix well.
- Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Boil 3 min., stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Reduce heat to medium.
- Cook until mixture is heated through, stirring occasionally.

The Bocket bowls soon to be sold at Tilde in Portland!

I am so incredibly happy to announce that the dots are going to be sold in their very first retail store! Yay! They will be at this super cute mid-century styled shop/art gallery in southeast Portland called Tilde. When I was in Portland the other week I stopped in to see the place and meet the owners, who are lovely ladies. They have tons of cute stuff including jewelry, paper gifts, pretty things for you home and even furniture (that I really want). They have wooden bowls all over used as displays and they said they even have a whole extra box of them in the back. I was quite envious of all the unpainted bowls....

Well I'm glad they found me and love my bowls because I think they fit perfectly! They are getting their fresh shipment of dots this week. Check them out here: Tilde Shop or stop into the store if you're in Portland.