Jaime: The Visit

We love any opportunity to peek into designers, architects, and artists' studios—to see their workspace, personal artifacts, and delightful clutter—and so were delighted to discover this online series, called The Visit, dedicated to Belgian creatives. Recent columns track visits to the studios (and sometimes homes) of Antwerp-based painter Tom Liekens; Ghent painter Matthieu Ronsse; and Helsinki-born artist Sara Bjarland, pictured here.

Aaron: Spanish Politician Says Architects "Should Be Killed"

Biden's big mouth, Romney's Olympics foul-up—politicians say silly things all the time and then promptly recant and say that they're sorry. But this week Esperanza Aguirre, President of Madrid, was recorded making some rather inflammatory offhand comments about architects. She was expressing her hatred for the town hall of the Spanish municipality of Valdemaqueda to that town's mayor when she got into hot water. Here's ArchDaily's translation of the conversation:

Mayor: The town hall? Oh, that thing. Well, it’s gotten prizes, president. Architecture prizes.

Esperanza Aguirre: That’s the only positive thing that’s come from the Crisis, that that’s all over. [...] I have never seen anything uglier.

Mayor: You don’t like it?

Esperanza Aguirre: How could I like it, hidden at the end of a plaza like this!

Mayor: Well, because they’re the architects of the Community.

Esperanza Aguirre: Well, they should be killed.

Mayor: They’ve gotten awards.

Esperanza Aguirre: Mario, it’s so stupid (addressing a person next to her). Do you know why we should have the death penalty? I dislike architects because their crimes last longer than their own own lives. They die and leave us with this.

Granted, her line about how architects' "crimes last longer than their own lives" is totally on the mark. But the death penalty? Not the kind of esperanza we can believe in.

Leah: Artist Yong Joo Kim- Wearable Art

Yong Joo Kim has cultivated an experimental process by molding Velcro® fasteners into wearable art. The jewelry is truly unique and beautiful. Yong Joo was born and raised within the bustling city of Seoul, South Korea. It was in Seoul that she began to study materials and generate art under the pressures of a fast-paced and creative environment. She then transferred to Providence to attend graduate school and it was there that she had to adjust to the empty streets of a slow-paced backdrop to find inspiration. It gave her time to experiment with non-precious materials, which led her to discover Velcro® as a tool. The material itself became conducive to her craft by generating stacking and piling options all while shaping and molding into wearable art.

She believes that the function of art is in its ability to uncover the potential for beauty in ourselves as well as in others. Wearable art is special to her because it can be seen worn on individuals while strolling through the city streets, restaurants, offices, or even while traveling to destinations unknown. It becomes an art object in a social context that empowers people to ask questions and discover the beauty hidden in everyday life through art.

Have a gander at some of her pieces on her site, you'll enjoy the curvaceous movement found in the beauty of her wearable art.

Diana: Fig and Goat Cheese Tartelette

The photos on the food blog Tartelette are absolutely scrumptious to view. This one especially so. If delectable epicurean photography is your go-to eye candy, check out our Food as Art Pinterest board.