We just passed the new year but my local Rite Aid tells me it’ll be Valentine’s Day before too long. (Yes, the chalky conversation hearts are already on the shelves.) My girl’s taste in baubles is less than traditional so this little shop might be just what I need. Piggy’s charming, offbeat selection is unlike what you’ll find at Zales or other local mall haunts, and the price tag is even starving-artist friendly.

See more of Piggy’s creations in her Etsy shop. Be sure to use promo code PIGGYINLUV10 at check out for 10% off on your order. Sweet

While not exactly on the same brilliant level of Tampon in a Teacup from Ghost World, The Robert uses old books to create very cool art, both stand-alone and installation pieces. Definitely check out his online gallery or stop into one of his shows if he’s exhibiting in your ‘hood.

Hank Scorpio wants his familiar back!

And a quick congrats is in order to Sir Patrick Stewart, who was knighted in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honors list. While most famous for his roles as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D and Professor Charles Xavier, we all know that his greatest bow came in episode 12 of season 19 on Saturday Night Live.

Are you mad?! Do you know what you are flirting with?! I will feed your steaming organs to all the hounds of Hell! I will watch your eyes burn... til the cows come home!

All of Sarah Haskins’ videos on Current TV are pretty amazing. Here’s one of them:

I guess it’s obvious by now that I like weird weird art. That’s why this collection by Chrissy Conant caught my attention. This woman’s commitment to her creative projects makes my relationship with art look like a one night stand. Homegirl got 6 weeks worth of fertility shots and underwent egg harvesting surgery for the sole purpose of creating and packaging “Human Caviar.” You can read more about that here.

I think the piece I find the most interesting is this human skin rug.  Conant made this piece “to exorcise a part of my psyche that feels powerless and objectified.” To me this speaks to how humans regard animals though. (I know it’s not what she intended, it’s just how I reacted.) It’s mundane to see a bearskin rug but really shocking to see the same suggestion made about human skin. Why shouldn’t we react the same way to any once living creature splayed beneath our feet?

I love this photo series by Dina Goldstein. The artists writes “These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The ‘…happily ever after’ is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues….I began to imagine Disney’s perfect Princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me, such as illness, addiction and self-image issues.”

I started posting about artists I like because, well, to be perfectly honest, there are a lot of artists I don’t like. The ones who blow me away are hard to find and when I do discover them I want everyone to know about them and like them as much as I do. Because of the nature of my work, I spend a lot of time around art and artists, and most of the time, I feel like I’m living in this scene from Art School Confidential:

I digress though, work like that of Simmons makes me feel excited about art again and restores my faith in the ability of artists out there to do something creative and interesting. You can read more about Simmons on her website, or just admire her portfolio on her Flickr account.

I am not sure that I want to file this under “Artists I Like” but maybe under artists I find interesting. I don’t think I’d want to own a sculpture by Daniel Edwards but I like what he does. He’s provocative and let’s face it, provocative art is more exciting than pretty art. You may not know the name, but Daniel Edwards was the artist that caused stir a few years ago with his giant sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth.

His new piece is equally creepy and worthy of chatter, he’s captured the infamous octomom with her brood in an icky pepto shade of pink.

Alright, so no one wants to put a piece like this in their living room. This intersection of sculpture and pop culture has tongues wagging about an artist and his work every place from the snooty art scene to gossip rags.

Normally I try to share some amusing webby finds or good personal anecdotes on le blog but I have been super busy…. gah. So before a whole week goes by without any fun stuff posted, I thought I’d share today’s webby find that made me smile — a personal comic strip by Allan Wood. Enjoy…

My Photoshop skills mostly involve removing red eye and cellulite from models. The work of Chrisophe Huet is much more interesting.

Check out more of his stuff here.

D.Billy | Site Interventionist from Brandon Bloch on Vimeo.