It's Monday, and you know what that means... A week full of fresh finds, sales, interviews, and whatever else I can drum up over here! How was your weekend? What did you do? Care to share? (email or comment below.)

Saturday was so beautiful here, in the low 50s, sunny, a teaser for Spring! It was exciting to be outdoors without acquiring frostbite for once, enjoying the warm sun, walking with a gelato in hand, listening to the birds sing, bicycles zooming, inline skaters darting through crowds, and even some daring enough to wear shorts! Sunday, on the other hand, was rain rain rain! But not the cats 'n dogs kind, more like light refreshing showers combined with a gentle sea breeze. We took refuge at the local Boston Billiards where my husband proceeded to kick my...well you get the picture. For three hours we giggled ourselves to tears enjoying erotic themed fruity drinks (i.e. 'sex on the pool table', who names these things?), making up new rules as we went along, enjoying every last drop of our relaxing weekend together. And now....it's Monday. I noticed some buds peeking out on the trees this morning, so I guess the warmth of Saturday combined with Sunday showers seemed to excite the flora!

Over tea this morning, I flipped through the April '06 Elle Decor and spotted the works of Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes, with paintings saturated with vibrant colors and layered with designs that are loosely derived from flora and fauna motifs. Her inspiration? Brazilian pop culture and the baroque religious art of the Americas combined with geometric abstraction and Op Art. Quite an exhilarating mix! Milhazes uses a technique similar to monotype or collage; she builds up elements gradually to form her masterpiece. If you're interested in learning about Milhazes, Bomb magazine interviewed her, so check it out if you care to explore the mind (and more works!) of this fascinating artist.

(photo from the James Cohan Gallery.)

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