Owls Have More Fun

I was recommended by a friend to go to the opening night of Owls Have more Fun, and as soon as I saw the show's title I couldn't agree more, I just had to go! Owls Have...is Lisa Grue's solo show in NYC, at gallery hanahou. The show runs from 25th February - Friday 26th March 2010.

For the show the Danish artist mixes bold neon colours with images of nature (and of course owls a plenty) to create beautiful designs for the home such as a very large rug; 80 one off hand-printed porcelain plates and an enormous custom made wallpaper mural allowing you to submerge into her fantasy world.

I adored the wallpaper and rug but I'd have to say that my favourite was the hand illustrated and printed plates. The contrast of owls, words, nature, neon pom poms with the black and white imagery is just fab. There is also something about seeing objects en masse that I just love.


"Lisa, known for her playful and sometimes shocking illustrations that mix girlishness with feminism, puts her spin on owl and nature motifs, surrounding viewers with a magical world via domestic objects...Lisa's powerful and fun illustrations remind viewers to never forget the magic in everyday life. In addition, they make a statement to girls and women that wisdom and beauty go hand in hand." - gallery hanahou

Lisa's works isn't all owl focused, she has designed many pieces for graphic design, illustration and fashion magazines and labels. However she chose owls as her subject for this show as she wants to encourage women and young girls to "take pride in being clever in general, instead of acting like stupid bunnies to get attention."

Lisa was recently honored as one of the new design talents of Denmark, with a grant from the National Art Foundation of Denmark. To see more of her work check out her website and her blog.

Hoot-enanny!

Top row (l-r): Accessorize necklace; Owl Party paper art by Helen Musselwhite; Fingerless gloves by Manic Knitter; Thank You card by Kate Sutton.

2nd row (l-r): Cupcakes; clock by Decoylab; Paperchase stationery range; Where the Wilds things are cushion from Urban Outfitters.

3rd row (l-r): Mr Owl by Matte Stephens; Charley Harper's Twowls; Sweater by
Kate Davies (also includes free pattern); Wall vinyl by One Up Design's.

Bottom row (l-r): The Little Owl restaurant NYC; Cast-iron trivet from Three Potato Four; Door stop by Rose & Grey.

Happy New Year! and farewell 2009: the year of owls or so it seems...they kept appearing everywhere. Above is a small collection of owl things that I have spotted throughout 2009 and I wanted to share it with you, being that I am the intrepid owl.

I've always liked owls but it wasn't until I cleared out my mum's loft (attic) of my childhood memorabilia that I realised how far back it went...I actually owned a fair amount of owl ephemera. The list of owl 'things' included: 3 stuffed owl toys - ascending in height- from the 1970s (a hand me down from my mum), a photo of me with a tawny owl from when the owl man came to my primary school, a small stained glass window disc, pencil tops, a bag, a t-shirt, a small ceramic owl and the list just went on. I also found one of my favourite childhood books up there: The Owl Who Was a Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson - I still love the cover of this book!

I really liked owls and I guess I still do, hope 2010 is good for you.