Pledge Handmade:
I pledge to buy handmade this year, and request that others do the same for me.

More than 8,000 people have signed the petition of sorts on the Buy Handmade website, and I'm one of them! Visit the site for a good description of what's becoming known as craftivism—hacking mass consumer culture and taking industry back to the individual.

Do you think it'd be possible to make every gift you give this year? (Or buy gifts from people who are making them themselves?) I admit there are already some things that I've store-bought for people, but I generally make probably two-thirds of the gifts I give anyway.

Linzie Hunter found a use for all those unwanted e-mails: She turned them into awesome posters. Her spam-inspired art is for sale at the "so hip it hurts" Thumbtack press.

Via the CRAFTzine blog

Panthéon officials and guards were unaware of the activity until the restoration was complete and the group asked an administrator to try winding up the clock. (The cultural ministry overseeing the monument later fired the administrator.)

According to The Guardian, the Untergunther gets into a lot of fun stuff:
Since the 1990s they have restored crypts, staged readings and plays in monuments at night, and organised rock concerts in quarries. The network was unknown to the authorities until 2004, when the police discovered an underground cinema, complete with bar and restaurant, under the Seine.

Just one question: How do I join? Click here to read the whole story.

The New York Times recently reviewed David Michaelis' hefty biography of Schulz, shedding some light on the lonely life of a man who might have been America's most successful artist. (And note the wonderful illustration from the cartoonist Seth.)

Slate put up a slideshow that's a great quick-and-dirty bio accompanied by some of the existentialist strips. Slate points out that the Charlie Brown holiday specials everyone remembers (and that are probably on TV right now) make the cartoons seem much more upbeat than they are.

I feel like Peanuts is inextractable from my childhood... Have you already watched any of the TV specials this year? Looks like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is on tomorrow...

We'll be back on Monday, folks! Have a great Thanksgiving.

Following up from 2006 Annual CD (which is flying off the shelves, by the way. Not that I actually can see those shelves, but I think you understand my gist), The Artist's Magazine's 2007 Annual CD is on sale now!

On the fully searchable CD you get all 10 issues from 2007—that's 990 pages worth. All you need to open the files is the free Adobe Reader (available for download here if you don't already have it).

(And to all of you who've written in asking whatever happened to Artist's Sketchbook—stay tuned for digital versions of the 2005 and 2006 issues!)

I came across this this step-by-step pictorial on the construction of Damien Hirst's diamond skull today. Aside from feeling a little queasy from thinking too much about skulls and teeth, I was left feeling exasperated.

For the Love of God, as the skull is called, is a platinum cast encrusted with more than 8,000 diamonds—made by jewelers at Bentley and Skinner, not Hirst. Hirst claims to have sold it for 50 million pounds, but that's disputed.

So, dear readers—what's your take on Mr. Hirst and his diamond skulls, sharks floating in formaldehyde and maggots in a box?

You can get a sneak peek at the work in an online slideshow from MoMA and a slideshow from Slate.com. The MoMA slideshow (which requires Adobe Flash and Acrobat) focuses on his sketchbooks, subjects and conservation. The Slate slideshow looks at his relationship with art critic and anarchist Félix Fénéon, who championed Seurat's work and helped get it in the public eye.

Georges Seurat: The Drawings is on display at MoMA until January 7, 2008, with many related lectures and talks in the coming month.

Instant remedy for what ails you: a free, big ol' desktop picture of Bob Ross. Click here to get it.

(Via HOW)

We've put all 11 issues from 2006 in a digital format that is fully searchable and easy to navigate. All you need to open the files is the free Adobe Reader (available for download here if you don't already have it). Pop the CD into your computer, and you can browse through issues, search for a specific medium or artist, or print out articles to share with a friend! Web links in the issues are activated, giving you one-click access to helpful resources.

To learn more and order your own copy, click here.