Slate magazine has posted (again) a great explanation of how conservators repair priceless paintings. The piece was originally published after casino magnate Steve Wynn tore a hole in his $139 million Picasso last year. (Also check out our March 2007 issue's Ask the Experts column, in which our own Michael Skalka describes the delicacy of repairing a cut canvas. You can get a copy of that issue here.) 

Boxes chock-full of nominations for our artists over 60 feature are nearly crowding me out! We've started narrowing down the field, and we are very happy with the work we've been seeing!

The members of the 2007 class of MacArthur Fellows have some thinking to do. Each year, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation gives no-strings-attached grants to two dozen or so gifted individuals with lots of potential. The list this year includes writers, engineers, biologists—and visual artists Whitfield Lovell and Joan Snyder.

The $500,000 is tax-free and paid in quarterly installments over five years, the idea being to take away any financial burden that might inhibit the recipients' creative flow. (Only one catch: You can't nominate yourself, and neither can your friends. The finalists and winners are selected by anonymous nominators and an anonymous committee.)

Lovell, 47, of New York City, does installations and tableaux on antique wood of people, often African-Americans who have not been memorialized by history, as he explains in a video interview. He says one of his biggest challenges as an artist has been making ends meet. He hopes to move on to bigger and more ambitious projects with the help of the grant.

Snyder, 67, of Brooklyn, New York, likens getting a MacArthur fellowship to having a baby. "I think I'll probably get a lot more calls," she says in her video interview when asked about how the grant will affect her. Her abstract paintings often incorporate found objects and elements of collage, and show a very personal evolution over her four-decade career.

Later on this week, I'll post a picture of the boxes and boxes of envelopes so you can see for yourself how big the pool is. As we go through submissions, we'll be sending out letters letting people know whether they made it. Please don't call or e-mail asking us if you are going to be in the feature or if we've reviewed your work yet. We kindly ask for your patience—we've got our work cut out for us!

Martha of Trumpetvine Travels has developed specific tastes in art materials, from a specific fountain pen to a style of sketchbook. She rebinds her Moleskine notebooks to replace the paper that comes in them with watercolor paper.

(You can also have a look at a step-by-step demonstration of how she sketches, with details on what paints she uses.)

I've never been a painter, but I do like to doodle and write lots of notes. For that, I built my own sketchbook, which you can see at right. Inside is a mix of lots of random sheets of paper. They are bound in a Coptic style, very similar to the way Martha does hers. Check out her detailed instructions on rebinding to give it a try yourself!

Via the Craft Zine blog: The coolest cake I have ever seen. This might be perfect if you've got a friend or family member who is still trying to solve the Rubik's Cube they bought in 1981.

Not knowing what to do with myself over the long Labor Day weekend, I made a trip to Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center for the first time on Monday.

An exhibit called "Open House: Cincinnati Collects" (running through October 14) takes up about two floors of the downtown museum at the moment. The CAC, which doesn't have a permanent collection, brought in pieces by more than 200 artists from more than 50 collectors.

A lot of contemporary art is hit-or-miss with me—I have an easier time understanding and appreciating traditional arts and crafts. But one piece—simply graphite on paper—had my undivided attention for close to a half hour.

My Future Based on Present Circumstances 4/01/04 by Beth Campbell is part of a series where she—as the title suggests—maps out the ways her life could go from one little decision she must make. I stood there tracing each branch up to read every possible outcome. (Yes, I was a fan of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books as a kid.)

In the 4/01/04 drawing, entrusted with the keys to a friend's apartment, Campbell might only pick up the mail and go, or she might start hanging out there regularly. Or she might get too comfortable and throw a party. And that might make the neighbors mad, or it might make her friend unknowingly the life of the building.

Campbell's quasi-calligraphy is beautiful to look at, and I can't help but feel the exercise could be adapted as a brainstorming too for people with a creative block. I think I'm going to try it later and see what my many futures might hold.

Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center