The Wall Breakers

Venice, CA-based Nicola Behrman has one amazing story. As she told us, "Over Thanksgiving 2010, visiting my parents in Chicago, I was suffering from a nasty case of lyme disease. Yup. Totally gross! Feeling super low energy and down in the dumps, I reached out to my friends and asked them to send me their favorite poems to cheer me up, and then on a whim, I asked them to write it out by hand and send it to me in the mail in California. After I sent the request I felt a little stupid to be hones, but by the time I had returned home the following week (in this insane fast-paced 21st century world where most of us can't find the time to respond to our emails) there were three poems waiting for me on my doorstep.

"In the weeks that followed poem after poem in stamped addressed envelopes started landing in my mailbox. They were beautiful poems, poignant poems, hilarious poems arrived on postcards, handmade pieces of paper, and even one on the back of a CBS writer’s contract. Every single one a favorite to someone on the planet, and most I had never read before. And then an even crazier thing happened, I received a poem from a lady called Faye Moskowitz, who I had never heard of nor met. Honestly, my world broke open that day. Then it happened again and again. I continued to receive poems from people I didn't know, people who had taken the time to write out and share intimate parts of themselves with a complete stranger. So, I put together this "flick-and-tell" book of the poems and the letters that I would cart around and show anyone that was interested and it became my most proud possession. I met Janean Lesyk, who is the granddaughter of a postman, a poetess herself (though she hates the word) and a graphic designer, and together we created this website to showcase all the beautiful poems and notes.

"Honestly, I wasn't a big poetry person before - I always found poems a bit scary and off-limits, but now they warm my hearts in ways I would never have imagined and I find myself hearing lines from them at the strangest times, but it's because each one is someone's favorite and there is something deeply special about that."

Janean and Nicola combined their talent to create Poetry Post, an ever-expanding blog of poetry and life inspiration. Be sure to check out Janean's additional website here. Do you have a poem of your own that you'd love to send in? Nicola and Janean would love to hear it! Send it to them here. Take a look at an example of one of the many beautiful poems Nicola received below.

Our friends at the London-based Studio LLI Design are back with this fun illustrated guide called Iconic Furniture. Iconic Furniture is an illustrated guide to some of the most iconic furniture pieces of the past century. The adjoining website (linked above) was built using parallax effects and media queries to scale up for for larger displays. In the Mad Men entertainment era, many of us are as familiar with these pieces of furniture as our grandparents were. There's no arguing the Romantic allure that clean mid-century modern furniture design has these days. I personally also love the bold colors and clean typography, coupled with the accurate and still playful illustrations in this guide. Take a look below and for the full experience be sure to visit their mini-site!

Italian-born and Manchester, UK-based artist Paola Bazz creates complex collages using recycled paper squares that result in beautifully simple finished fine art. As Paola tells us, "I've always been fascinated by printed paper and by the power of communication contained within it. I love the possibilities it offers to newly interpret its form and materials, revealing foolish aspirations, perishability and illusion. All these works place an emphasis on recycling obsolete media as a central theme, but are also linked by other common themes such as the opposites, the squared shapes, the faces of people, the movement of the human body and the relationship between public and private in everyone's life. These themes recur in all my artworks.

"For these artworks I use printed paper and cardboard as a raw material, selecting the paper according to thickness and color and the three-dimensional effect that I want to create. I cut it into strips and then I start to fold it, quite obsessively, in small or large shapes with a squared base. Then I place it all within a rigid grid that is mathematically conceived, following the pattern of magic squares."

We really love the Chuck Close-like "complexity makes simplicity" nature of her work. She also has a short how-to video below in which she explains her inspiration behind using this medium further. Take a look at that short video as well as her work below! 

Palette knife painter Kathleen Gallagher spent a good portion of her younger years traveling through the Pacific Northwest, including the Yukon, The North West Territories, and Northern Alberta, with a sketchbook in hand; feeling drawn to the landscapes and complexity of nature. She didn't find her true calling as an artist until she discovered her hidden talent for painting with palette knives and layering composition. Much of her inspiration also is taken from the textures and forms in nature that she now discovers when out hiking with her dog and camera. As she tells us, "I had been away from painting for many years while I worked at a job that paid the bills, but I needed to paint. My inner artist could not remain contained any longer. I started painting again in 2008 and haven't stopped since. So many friends and family who were in my home and saw my work either wanted to buy it or commission me to do a piece for them. I realized that I needed to start pursuing my art at the next level. I started showing my work at a local community gallery and had such good feedback that I realized I needed to take the next steps. This is where I am now. I developed my website, got on twitter, and am taking some steps, including contacting Thewallbreakers, to get some exposure on a larger scale.  I'm excited about where my art can take me in the future."

We are too! Take a look at Kathleen's layered palette landscapes below! The richness of the color and texture instantly transform you and bring you inside the landscape.