Wynwood Walls and Street art (sort of)

I thought I show you these before more than a month passes and I don't see the point in showing you these. I'm having mixed feelings about this area of Miami, which has now become yet another tourist attraction. Long gone are the days when no one dared walk on this part of the city. You might be thinking isn't it a good idea the area got "cleaned up?" 

Well, that is where my mixed feelings fall. Quite contradictory I know, but it will soon become yet another strip mall,, and that is what I don't like about it. Plus apparently rents are becoming ridiculously high, and all the galleries that were here before all the "street art" took over, now have to relocate.

Is it worth it? Not sure. Is it still street art? No way!  My favorite part about street art was the element of surprise, and that is gone. Is it art? I would say some of them are, and I think I would go with the term "mural." instead. You're also not charged to see the walls (at least not yet), which is another thing I like about street art.

This particular wall made a great backdrop for this family picture.

I'm always curious to see what captures my attention, and I think this time it was color and the setting. I was much more interested in the whole context and not just the particular wall.

There is an overload of painted walls in Wynwood (I think that is the main attraction), but the day was pretty so why not?

This building was entirely covered (on the other sides), but I like how this one looked from the parking lot.

Gate, color, color, color, dumpster, tree!

Lately, I'm much more interested in this sort of wall, and the fact that they haven't chopped the palm trees down to paint another wall!  To me, this is the perfect wall.

This was the wall I wanted to see and the reason for visiting Wynwood this time. I have encountered Swoon's work in the past and have been an avid admirer ever since. This entire wall was quite impressive, and I'm glad I got to see it in person.

Pavement, lines, curb, grass, hybrids!

And of course it is almost "obligatory" to take a picture in front of Maya Hayuk's very famous wall. I almost blend in ;)

Wishing you a very colorful week ahead,
Giova
P.S: I really hope whoever owns this piece of land, keeps it this way, untouched, intact, etc... (below)

Street art in Cali - Colombia

One of the things I was not expecting from my trip home, was to find so much and so nice street art everywhere, albeit most of it was quite difficult to get to, but I managed somehow to catch these ones below. It has been awhile since I last posted pictures of street art. For some unknown reason it has stopped calling my attention, until now.

Unfortunately taking your iPhone out of your bag or pocket is a no, no in this part of the world, so I had to stop quickly for the pictures and I didn't manage to catch any names.

There were lots of resonating themes, mostly animals and a lot of social protest or inconformity towards the government (I couldn't get pictures of those), but I guess it is like that throughout the world. No one is ever happy with what they have.

I finally finished reading the book I mentioned in the last post and now I'm reading this one (after that strong subject matter i needed a much lighter one).  And for the first time ever I'm listening to an audio book. I haven't made up my mind if I like listening to books or not, it feels not right for some reason, but I do love her so much and all the books I've read from her, that I will keep on listening!

I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead,
Giova

Things I love #2 Berlin Finds

I have decided to rename this series, so now instead of looking for inspiration, you'l find things I love. These are some of the things I loved and that caught my attention while in Berlin:

• Wall displays
• Beautiful paper stores like Luiban
• Typography in the underground
• words on walls
• hand lettering for menus or daily specials
• paper cut outs on windows
• photo booths everywhere
• street art

I seem to be drawn to the same things, over and over. It doesn't matter where I am or what I am doing, it is different versions of the same thing. I think I need to get out of my comfort zone. Maybe next time?

*If you're looking for something crafty and easy to do this weekend (and an excellent way to use all that washi-tape you have), please take a look at my contributing post on Craftsy, and if you can, tell me what you think?


Have a most crafty weekend,
Giova

Street Art in Berlin

I bet you thought the posts from Berlin were sort of over? Nah!! As part of my attraction to street art, I just couldn't  not show you what I spotted during my walks there (granted I didn't have a lot of time, and also I don't search for it). I'm still an "amateur" when it comes to street art (so as you will see some names are missing) and I still enjoy the surprise of seeing it for the first time. It is the best!

By JR

By  JR

And also JR

Soon

I really loved finding those JR pieces. They are pretty massive and amazing as you can see. While I was sitting with Judith in The Factory Girl, a really nice cafe (do stop by if you are ever there) right in front of the first picture, lots and lots of people would stop to admire and take pictures. It was quite fun to watch all of the commotion.

Apparently a storm is coming today, so I'm hoping you have better luck with the weather, wherever you are.
Giova

Street Art in Miami

Whenever I visit Miami I always try to fit a trip to Wynwood where most of the street art is located. This time around I was mostly interested in the whole context, not just the wall, but if possible the entire building, or its surroundings. It has started to become a hip area with lots of stores, cafes and galleries, -I'm still not sure whether this is a good thing or not.

Seeing a Space Invader in downtown Miami was quite thrilling for me! See this post for all the space invaders I spotted when I visited Paris. These below are my favorite walls, and I would love to know which one is your favorite?

DALeast

Space Invader

On the left: Mr. Herget

TMNK

This week OneBuntingAway turned one year. WOW!! I still can't believe it. But more on that next week.

I'll be heading where the tulips are blooming this weekend. I can't wait!
Wishing you a blooming, spring weather, peaceful weekend!

Giova

Street Art in Paris

It's been awhile since I last posted on street art, but if you are one of my followers on Instagram  then you'll know I'm a bit crazy about it.
So last weekend while in Paris (there is so much street art in Paris is unbelievable), here in Amsterdam the street art you find is mostly in certain areas, not spread out like in Paris.
This time I mostly found  Space Invaders. If you want to find space invaders in Paris all you have to do is look UP. Of course while doing this beware of all the dog poop (which is also everywhere!). And then suddenly my older son liked the octopuses by Gzup which usually are in the same wall or nearby a space invader. We had a blast waiting to see what we would bump into next. But I won! I actually spotted more space invaders than he spotted octopuses!

Do you like street art? Is it something you pay attention to on your travels? For me, it has become an exciting part, when I travel I look forward to see what I'll encounter.

Have a great Monday wherever you are!
Giova

Street Art # 3

A few weeks ago my friend from grad school (art history) was visiting. Many talks and debates were had on the topic of street art. Is it art? What about graffiti? Is there a difference between graffiti and street art, or are they the same? When it is legal does it become a mural? So many questions, so little time. The only agreeing point we had was that scribbling on walls, just for the sake of it, was vandalism. But you be the judge of whether you accept it as an art form or not. The images below are from Wynwood in Miami, a rough neighborhood that is slowly trying to change.

Have a great weekend!
Giova

Finding inspiration

Remember I mentioned I have an obsession of taking pictures everywhere I go…? Well it continues, it actually is a very big part of me! (If only you could see my photo albums) Always stopping every chance I get to take photographs of the many things I’m attracted to!  Its really helpful because it focuses my attention and makes me visually aware of everything that surrounds me! These are a few of my latest obsessions…I see stories, I see colors and thanks to my lovely sister I see street art!!!

*the Herman Bang I took from inside an art gallery...I know its not streetart but by me placing it out there it kinda is

I would really like it if you would all share the things you look for when you are out and about! 

What inspires you? What calls your attention and makes you look twice?

Wishing you all a lovely weekend! 

Next week I'm headed to Documenta in Kassel!!! I'm so excited! Will let you know how that goes.

Giannina.

Painting with Chalks

The other day while "pinteresting" I came across an image that inspired me to get some chalks and get the kids outside. It took some persuasion to get the older one motivated (bring a friend, and I have some of the gummies you like, seemed to work). The little one had a blast, he couldn't figure out what exactly we were doing, he tried eating the chalk and when that didn't work he painted his face, and then rolled over every square we had painted! You can see in the pictures how clean he was!
The best part was that I hadn't grabbed a chalk in such a long time, and oh! it felt good! Just some snacks, two boxes of chalks and we had created a wonderful piece of street art!! In the end everyone was happy starting from the little one all the way to the oldest (that one is me by the way)!

It couldn't get more street art than this, and the view from my apartment is just very colorful and uplifting. This will be until it rains, and that will happen really soon!
Do you have any ideas to get the kids involved in activities that don't require too much planning or too much money?     I would love to hear any ideas, even if you don't have any kids?

May your weekend be a colorful one! And have lots of fun!
Giova