Category: Art Star Exclusives

Thanks to all of our customers who shopped handmade this holiday season.   Purchasing an item from our shop directly supports over 50 national artists – many of whom live right here in Philly.  These times are tough, so we appreciate everyone that made a commitment to shopping local & handmade this season.  It really makes a difference!!

Now that the holidays are over – its time to get organized.  Pick up one of our 2012 Calendars by Art Star favorites: Amy Rice, Rachel Bone, Eleanor Grosch, & Kurt Halsey.  We worked directly with these artists to create these calendars & they can only be found at Art Star.  We only made a limited quantity, so pick one up while they are still in stock.

Rachel Bone is a Baltimore based artist, painter & apparel designer whose illustrative paintings center around women on absurd adventures with open ended narratives and symbolism.  This series – titled I Bet You – plays with typographical design.  Each painting subtly represents one alphabet letter, while still standing alone as individual works of art. Signed prints of the entire alphabet series are available through Art Star.  Rachel also runs the hand-printed, folk inspired apparel line Red Prairie Press which is carried at boutiques across the country (including Art Star) and sold online.

Eleanor Grosch is a Philadelphia based artists who loves animals; you name it, she’s probably drawn it!  Eleanor’s unique graphic perspective aims to simplify line and playfully arrange form to capture the essence of each animal she draws.  She’s well-known for her graphic take on our feathered, furry, and fuzzy friends.  With roots in modernist design, she brings the mid-century aesthetic up-to-date.

We have been working with Portland based artist, Kurt Halsey, since we opened up shop in 2004.  We had no idea how huge of an online following he had when we asked him to exhibit his work in our shop. He is still by far one of our best selling artists!
Kurt captures small, precious moments in time through his sweet renderings of couples & animals just living life.  The imagery is illustrative in nature & the artist typically incorporates text, which is simple yet poetic.  The calendar includes all new work, rich in browns & sepia tones of drawings on collaged found papers.  Grab this calendar while you still can.  We only have 1 box left!

Beginning with not-so-traditional print making methods (hand cut stencils and a Japanese Gocco printmaking toy) Minneapolis based mixed-media artist Amy Rice makes original, one-of-kind pieces by additionally employing acrylic, gouache, ink and collage.  Her “canvases” range from weathered wood panels and discarded objects to antique envelopes, age-worn love letters, and found journal pages yellowed with time.

Amy’s imagery, nostalgic and wistful, is largely biographical and reflective of her pensive nature. She draws inspiration from childhood memories growing up on a Midwestern farm, the urban community in which she now lives, bicycles, street art, gardening, collective endeavors that challenge hierarchy, acts of compassion, downright silliness and things with wings.

Amy has exhibited her work in galleries throughout the United States, Canada and the U.K.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!