Mothers are Universalized in Photographic Work of Aline Smithson

Everyone can relate to having a mother, and Aline Smithson ran into a chance encounter with a garage sale reproduction of the famous "Whistler's Mother" painting (Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother by James Abbott Whistler). On the same weekend, serendipity struck when she found a leopard coat and hat along with a Fifties cat painting and a chair that closely resembled the one in Whistler's painting. She approached her mother and created a series of wonderfully witty and sensitively colored portraits of her mother (who didn't live to see the final exhibition of the entire series or witness their popularity around the world).

"Dressing up my mother" was one of the photographer's lighthearted goals, but the project also brought them closer and the results show. This featured Art2Share video shows a gallery interview with Smithson and samples from her Arrangement in Green and Black: Portrait of the Photographer's Mother series.

All the Tribal Rage - Holst + Lee Color Block Jewelry

Double Tiered Necklace, Holst + LeeThe latest fashion trend is color blocks – you can see it on the runway and you can see it on jewelry too. Shown above is the jewelry of Southern design duo Holst + Lee, based now in Brooklyn, NY. Like many creative thinkers, both Horst and Lee came to New York to pursue their dreams of fashion and fun, but not necessarily jewelry-making. That was just a happy accident.

Dress by Gucci; dress by Nicole Miller, Spring 2012 CollectionsAs Holst and Lee tells it: they couldn’t find the appropriate accessories to wear with their outfits when they went out at night to party. They started with whatever they had at home – leftover beads, ropes, fabric - and refashioned them to eye-catching statements of jewelry. What started as a craft project soon caught the eyes of designers and stylists and morphed into a business of very original jewelry. 

Both were attracted to bright colors and combined them to dramatic success – mixing the tangerines with the turquoise – as seen in the double-tiered necklace above, and the cobalts with the candy pinks in the necklace below. The result is a modern expression of tribal jewelry and a perfect complement to the bright colors of fashion this spring.

(plate 10, courtesy of Holst + Lee)