Cynthia Mosser

Another image from W Magazine (my favorite fashion/art magazine) - this time by Mario Sorrenti with a Burberry dress. The use of colored lighting show the shadow to be the complement to the light source. Additionally the composition is excellent. Photo credit: Mario Sorrenti

I love this whimsical and intensely hued Hermès ad in the March 2008 of W Magazine. Photo credit: Terry Tsiolis

Nylon magazine displayed this ad illustrated by Spanish artist Catalina Estrada in their February 2008 issue. I applaud the artist choice as an ad for Zune Originals (a Microsoft ipod where you can pick your own design for it's back). I adore her masterful use of color and her intricate use of folk art-inspired decorative elements. If my brain could scream any more excitement about this piece, it would explode! Image: www.magnetreps.com/wp/530

Martha Stewart's garden is truly a work of rectilinear design. Aside from the intensely organized rows of varied vegetation, the bird's eye view yields some excellent greens. Photo credit unknown www.marthastewart.com

is tiring and exhilarating . (A 20/0 brush.)

These two images are pieces by Brooklyn-based sculptor Laura Clay. I spoke with her briefly and viewed her exhibit at Tilt Gallery in Portland, Oregon ( www.tiltpdx.com ). Left: "There is a Place for You, In my Heart of Hearts" 85" x 96" x 45", acrylic on cut paper, wall painting, flocking, light Right: "Seized by the Power of a Great Affection" acrylic on cut paper, plexi-glass, fabric, mixed media 40" x 85" x 80" It is not often I meet an artist whose work I like and admire SO much! Her pastel color palette, assemblage s, and shapes - both geometric and biomorphic - are simply sublime and uniquely interesting. At times the rounded strips of painted paper applied to the wall appear to be feather/wing/birdlike. I would like to purchase a piece.

This month, Sarah Johnson is showing a wall installation made from gumdrops at the Chambers Gallery. It spells out "I am not sexually satisfied". The texture, blobulous grouping and colors are what intrigue me. She is using gumdrops as text...and what a better, juicy medium for her frustrated message. After entering the gallery, I noticed the sweet smell of gumdrops (Dots) - one unexpected additional element from so many exposed candies. BTW: What are the archival qualities of gumdrops? Perhaps short-term exhibitions are her goal. If not, keeping a design on a long-term basis, resin would be a better material. No photo credit available. www.chambersgallery.org

John Currin made a good point about making art when your attitude toward it (and life) changes. After meeting his (now) wife and artist Rachel Feinstein, his outlook became much more positive: "I came to the conclusion that there is no misery in art. All art is about saying yes, and all art is about its own making." Much agreed. Photograph: ELINOR CARUCCI "The New Yorker", Jan. 28, 2008, pp. 64.

This palette is pictured in at least three different Sunday newspaper ads. The Color Association of the United States orders us to immediately use this combination! Still, I love the brown and green. I'll link the palette to nature (i.e. moss and wood). Others I know well have named the palette "turds-n-algae".

I stumbled upon this chandelier in the lobby of SF's Union Square Hotel (Sept. 2007). Each bulb is 15 watts, and the design is definitely a "truth to materials" project. It's a nice light bouquet.