Championing the makers, artists, and wanderers in all of us.
When we moved, we found ourselves near a place with great banh mi, which are Vietnamese sandwiches on French bread with these marinated vegetables and thinly sliced meats. It’s a beautiful blending of cultures.
My brother Ian says the many banh mi places in Seattle all seem to charge exactly $3.98 for a sandwich. As with many things, they’re even cheaper here in Phoenix. It’s a lotta deliciousness for your buck.
Have you tried banh mi? Do you have a favorite spot near you?
A couple weeks ago, I invited everyone to share art from where you live. Since then, we’ve seen #localartloves from the east coast to the west coast!
Matt McKinley of McKinley Art Solutions shared work from Justin Hoover’s ‘Martial Spirit’ exhibition, currently at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco.
Traci York shared some of her nature photography from the chilly Northeast.
The northern office of Local First Arizona shared shirts hand printed by Christy Fisher, who makes clothing from reclaimed fabric, as well as jewelry from recycled glass and vintage silver.
Courtney Doom (a.k.a. IggyStarpup) in Phoenix shared some of her pop-culture inspired embroidery hoop art.
Phillip stopped to take a photo of this Tempe mural.
I shared the work of several artists on Instagram including a mural by Oliverio Balcells and collaborative paintings by teenagers at Durango Detention Center.
What art do you love in your part of the world?
Between now and Valentine’s Day (February 14th), I’ll be sharing some of my local faves, and I hope you’ll do the same! Keep an eye out for art in galleries, coffee shops, libraries, and even outside.
Post photos of the local art you love and/or your own work with #LocalArtLoves.
Art is so important. Let’s celebrate what people are creating in our communities!
I’m looking forward to seeing art from your town, and I’ll share a sampling of your Local Art Loves here too.
PS If you blog about it, feel free to add a link when you comment here.
It’s citrus season here in Phoenix! Farmers’ markets and roadside stands are overflowing with oranges, grapefruit, and lemons (so is my Instagram feed).
When we were in Tucson just before Christmas, there were baskets of beautifully bright oranges, tangerines, and kumquats at the Thursday Farmers’ Market at Mercado San Agustin.
California Citrus Historic State Park in Riverside, which we’ve enjoyed visiting when we’re in Southern California, currently has extended hours for the season and special events like a harvest tasting on February 26.
The Pasadena Farmers’ Market lists lemons, navel oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos as being in season right now. (When I was there this summer, it was piles of peaches and pecks of peppers.)
On the theme of citrus…
What’s in season where you are?
Mobiles and wind chimes can brighten up your garden, patio, or a bare corner of your living room. And you probably have the stuff to make one right now!
Here are some unexpected objects you can use to make your own.
Emily Neuburger’s Simple Color Mobile could work inside or outside. I like the simplicity of the rainbow-colored circles, but you could also add a wooden initial or other shape.
(Side note: You know the wood-stuff-for-painting aisle in the craft store? I always have to browse through it, and, even though I don’t usually do wood craft projects, I always kind of want to buy everything in there.)
Justina Blakeney made this Boho Mobile from an old lamp shade frame and small decorative items her in-laws brought back from India. If you have a lot of little knick knacks from trips taking up shelf space, this would be another way to display them. Like an oversized charm bracelet.
Love this minimal Paint Swatch Mobile from Natalme! You can mix up the colors like she did or use a gradient of shades for an ombre or rainbow effect, which would look especially rad spinning around.
Another Natalme inspiration: turn embroidery hoops into a place to hold photos (or holiday cards or kids’ artwork)!
Decorative ceramic bells made from Sculpey by A Beautiful Mess. Apparently, these are purely decorative, since they don’t actually ring. I’m wondering whether you could change that with some metal inside the clay. Or what if you hung more than one copper pipe from each bell, making every bell into kind of a mini-wind-chime?
Crafts Unleashed has a turorial for displaying your beach-combing finds as sea glass wind chimes!
You can also make a wind chime from old keys, like this one from Inner Child Fun.
FYI I found this on a list by The Garden Glove (with about a dozen more DIY ideas).
Trina Lyn (of Trina Is Artsy Fartsy) shared this tutorial of how to make a bottle cap wind chime, as frequently seen – but not always explained – on Pinterest.
Trina also combined a variety of found objects, including a smashed vintage beer can, into The Junk Windchime. It brings together a lot of the materials in the other projects above, like bottle caps, glass, beads, and a key.
What materials would you use for a mobile creation? Chime in!
A few more shareworthy (and shoppable) mobiles and wind chimes:
Photos via their respective sites.