I fell in love with the concept behind the “Swept Away: Dust, Ashes and Dirt in contemporary art and design” exhibit at The Museum of Arts and Design in NYC. The 25 painters, photographers and sculptors participating in the exhibit all found beauty in dirt and dust – stuff that we consider annoying and work daily on cleansing from our lives.  The idea of using such ordinary, every day occurrences as a medium to create etherial works of art is what creativity and self-expression are all about.

~A still from the Burn Burn Burn video by the design team Glithero using flamable paint. See the full video here~

~ The Property of Two Gentlemen - Catherine Bertola used household dust and glue to paint intricate designs~

~Flora by Phoebe Cummings , unfired clay and dust~

~Jim Dingilian coats the inside of empty liquor bottles with smoke, then uses brushes and other small elements to paint~

 ~Catherine Bertola stenciled dust from the museum floor into a wallpaper-like design~

~Maskull Lasserre’s “Murder,” 19 charcoal crows and ravens made of burned wood~