The above image is from a workshop that my husband and I took with Ken-ichi Utsuki-san, a third-generation master indigo dyer who uses an all natural fermentation process. Through a delicate balance of indigo, lye, limestone, wheat and sake he is able to achieve an incredibly vibrant, saturated and resilient blue hue.

The technique is 100% safe for your health in which Ken-ichi Utsuki-san demonstrated by dipping his finger in the dye vat and then into his mouth! He seemed to be perfectly fine minus the fact that he had temporarily dyed his teeth blue.

Literally a dying art form, this method has been replaced by synthetic and chemical processes which are extremely hazardous to the environment and our health. If you ever visit Kyoto, Japan be sure to visit Ken-ichi Utsuki-san for a one-on-one dye workshop at his amazing studio and home.

Also, I cannot wait for this to arrive by Loraine at Grijs.

And listening to this podcast about Reconsidering Craft recommended by Rob Walker.

And just read BUYING IN: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are.

We will be offering a fantastic collection of Swimmer Cups by Helen Beard at Ashes & Milk in 2009. However we thought it might be nice to offer a few pieces for the Holidays. You can view them here.

Also, just a reminder that our Holiday Ship Date is December 15th (that’s less than 10 days away)!

So I am doing a little catch up today and wanted to show you some additional photographs I took from SOFA Chicago 2008.

The following wood pieces by Mark Hanvey won my heart over so much that my husband was about to purchase one for me. Unfortunately I refused this idea with much regret, but the upside is I was able to take some pretty intimate photographs of Mark’s work.

Mark creates gorgeously organic hollow wood forms that are extremely smoothed and yet texturally rich. The wood is carved from the cross sections of trees so that the growth rings are exposed.

Looking down into the hollow of these pieces, you will that find Mark preserved the delicate stem of heartwood found at the very center of a tree that gave it the strength to stand.

You can see more images of the work of Mark Hanvey here.

FYI: an exclusive interview with Suzanne Carlsen soon to come.

I am extremely excited to welcome Bryan Nash Gill and to announce that we will be offering his work at Ashes & Milk. As a lover of natural textures and literal translations of beauty, I am completely embraced by the above print. Through relief printing and a laborious rubbing technique Byran created the above piece Hemlock 82. At the grand size of 52″ long x 38.5″ wide the actual diameter, texture and pattern of this tree section is gorgeously translated onto paper.

Living next to an old mill, Bryan is able to procure beautiful specimens to his studio. The above image shows Bryan preparing the surface of a Hemlock tree cross section into a print block.

Ink is rolled out and a piece of handcrafted washi paper is placed over the print block. Pressing little by little with his fingertips, Bryan imprints the texture of the wood on the surface of the paper. I love the idea that Bryan had to literally touch each tree-growth-ring in order to deposit its mark.

When meeting and writing about the artists whose work we represent on Ashes & Milk I enjoy the opportunity to learn new things and to engage in a sort of personal self reflection. In respect of Bryan Nash Gill, I am especially pleased to say how much his prints reminds me of a collection of my own, which I will share with you one day in detail. For now here is a peek.

I also like to compare similar themes running through some of my favorite pieces of artwork and the artists who create them. Bryan’s work makes me think of the science of dendrochronology, as well as this etching by Claudi Casanova and Kia Neill’s Graphite Drawings.

Bryan Nash Gill created Hemlock 82 exclusively for Ashes & Milk. You can see more here.

I am happy to announce a few honorable mentions from two amazing Chicago publications: Timeout Chicago and The Daily Candy Chicago.

Thank you Jessica Herman for a beautifully written article in the special Holiday Gift Guide issue of Time Out Chicago. When Jessica contacted me to tell me that she loved our website and that she wanted do a little feature in the magazine, I was absolutely delighted and honestly a bit nervous given that this was my first interview regarding Ashes & Milk. As it turns out Jessica is really likable (wink) and I really enjoyed talking to her about my background and how Ashes & Milk got started. You can read the write up right here and here.

Many thank you’s to Lauren Berger for the fabulous post in The Daily Candy!

I love learning about and sharing with you the artists we represent at Ashes & Milk. In a previous post I introduced the work of the lovely ceramicist Helen Beard and covered a little bit about what inspires her. Now I want to show you Helen’s unique method of constructing these ceramics. The above photos are of Helen in her London studio. On the left Helen wheel-throws a simple white vessel from a Limoges porcelain and on the right she is hand painting this piece from the Bird Cup Collection that she created for Ashes & Milk.

Below left is a sneak peak of the Swimmers Cup Collection that will be offered at Ashes & Milk in 2009.

Above the Woodpecker Cup is completed and ready for its final firing in the kiln. You can see more images of it here.

The photo above is of a lichen plant growing on a rocky surface which reminds me of this…

In the first post of this series I discussed the muse behind the beautiful work of Yoran Morvant and now, in turn, I’d like share with you the way I am inspired by this collection. I love it when art is a reflection of nature and believe Yoran’s work a great example of this. When I first saw his Pierres Graphiques, I was immediately reminded of the gorgeous patterns that lichen plants organically create based on the the surface of the rocks they inhabit. This parallel led me to an interest in learning more about lichen and coincided with me meeting a new neighbor who is actually making a career out of lichen. In fact, Todd Widhelm is working on his doctorate in Lichenology and is currently doing research at the Field Museum in Chicago. He was kind enough to share a collection of photographs from his fieldwork in Thailand and a recent visit to the Big Thicket National Preserve in southeast Texas.

To my surprise, lichens are very species-rich. In fact there 15,000 recorded species of lichen found throughout the world which grow in all shapes and forms.

They also grow on the bark of trees like the above photo shows.

And can be fluffy and flower like.

Or form patterns that look like coral.

And are often mistaken as moss.

This post is part of a two part series. You can view the first post [ here ].

I was honored to experience and photograph the work of jeweler Iris Eichenberg. She is well known for her bold, organic forms and melding of diverse materials including copper, silver, leather, Bakelite, wood, tweed and brass. She has that no nonsense earthy quality similar to the Mid-Century Modernists, where form follows simplicity, democratic design and natural shapes.

The left image shows the work of Iris Eichenberg displayed on the far wall while the right image is a detail of a necklace. Thank you Gallery Ornamentum for bringing the work of Iris Echenberg to Chicago!

This year’s SOFA exhibit included some outstanding jewelry including the work of Suzanne Loew.

There’s a certain delicateness and organic quality to this necklace that excites me. Thin sweeps of warmly colored metal remind me of some type of plant matter while the texture follows the natural quality of the material. You can see more of Susanne’s jewelry here and here.

I have to thank Charon Kransen Arts for bringing the work of Susanne Loew to Chicago.

I have a personal fascination with wool and am always excited to see how other artists are using the material. Above is a detail from a wall piece by textile artist Brigitta Varadi. Originally from Hungary, Brigitta now resides in Ireland and is very inspired by the natural landscapes around her. She mixes fibers like wool and linen with nontraditional materials including moss and lichen.