Abelardo Morell

I first came across Abelardo Morell's work about six years ago at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego's Balboa Park. I immediately fell in love with his camera obscura work. It's hard not to. Now that I have had the pleasure of visiting the Camara Oscura in Habana's Plaza Vieja, I wonder if he was inspired by it as a child. Though originally from Cuba, Morell now resides in Boston, where he is a Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

In a camera obscura, light passes through a hole and projects an image from the outside onto a surface within the "dark chamber". The image, however, is upside-down. The use of a mirror can turn the image right-side up but what's the fun in that? That's what cameras are for. The first two images above are of the Paris Pantheon and Manhattan. The two below are seasonal images of Central Park in New York.


Though well known for his images of upside-down urban scapes in lonely rooms, Morell also has a vast portfolio of more traditional photography. Perhaps my favorite theme of his is books. He plays extensively with texture, scale and of course, shadows to create rather arresting images.
Morell has even created an illustrated version of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. I can't conceive of more apt images to depict a trip down the rabbit hole.

Paper art

As a letterpress artist, paper constitutes a rather important part of my livelihood. While I value its weight and texture, it is still merely a canvas for my creations. I find it rather interesting that the artists below have used the paper itself as their media, with rather awe-inspiring results.

British artist Richard Sweeney revels in the hands-on manipulation of everyday materials. Handling them, he can find new ways of interpreting the media while taking advantage of their intrinsic properties. While his explorations range widely in scale, they are all beautifully architectural.

Peter Callesen of Denmark is best known for creating paper art out of single A4 sheets, though he sometimes uses larger media. Callesen believes that the frailty of the paper underlines the tragic nature of the pieces, as does the fact that the sculptures are able to inhabit the space around them but without the possibility of escape from the sheet they have been cut.

Russian graphic designer Yulia Brodskaya constantly pushes herself to try new styles and media. Her passion however, remains constant, typography.


British artist, Su Blackwell creates eerily beautiful and delicate scenes out of book pages. Like Peter Callesen above, she explores the idea of her characters and scenes being bound to the books they have been cut out of. She instills a sense of urgency and fragility to the pieces, which is underlined by the destructive process by which the scenes are created.

Pratt alum, Kako Ueda has been "cutting paper" for the past five years. Her painstakingly elaborate pieces are simply breathtaking. She mainly deals with organic imagery: insects, animals and human bodies. Simultaneously morbid and beautiful, these large installations are an extrapolation from the kimono stencils of her native Japan.

Cake toppers

I chose to forego a cake topper for my own wedding mainly, because I didn't think I would be able to find anything cool. Consider me wrong. These toppers are freaking awesome for your wedding, you birthday or your "I'm awesome cupcakes!"


Ann Wood of Brooklyn creates these gorgeous bird cake toppers out of vintage dresses. All birds are handmade and hence, unique. Most importantly, she names them! Above, you can see "the Blue Roses" and "Greta & Marshal".



Rain's End makes some of the cutest pottery and felted stuff I have ever seen. She has a virtual parade of birds, eggs, penguins and chickens that just melts your heart.



Fancy Flours offers the most amazing collection of vintage toppers all the way back to the '20s.


Tamra Kohl of Clay Lindo creates awesome polymer clay pieces celebrating "El Dia de los Muertos". She also does jewelry and all sorts of animals and daily life vignettes.

2009 letterpress calendars

You would think that being a letterpress artist, I would have no problem sending out gorgeous holiday cards on time or printing my own beautiful calendar for the coming year. No such luck. Those will have to remain as New Year's resolutions for now. In the meantime, I can at least recommend other shops' calendar offerings. Even if you're irrevocably attached to your iphone's calendar, who's to say you can't grace your wall with one of these beauties.


Chicago based Snow & Graham has been turning out amazing letterpress work since 1998. Now a household name, their stationery sets and wrapping papers can be found far and wide at mom and pop shops and national chains such as Anthropologie. You can find their wall calendar here.



INK + WIT's Tara Hogan is known for her adorable yet modern graphics seen on everything from invitations to notecards and linen towels. Make sure to check out her art prints while shopping for her calendar on the website.



Liz Coulson of New York is the design talent behind Linda & Harriett. She has produced a gorgeous specimen in her first foray into calendar design. She also offers notecards, notepads, gift tags and wedding invitations.