Etsy Find of the Day: YooLa Wire Pendant Lights

I blogged Israeli industrial designer Yael Falk's (aka Etsy seller YooLa) delicate crocheted wire creations not too long ago, but I'm nuts about her new pendant lights (like the Pomegranate Lampshade, above, $90).

I love the webbed shadows the lights cast -- crazy cool.

Scheherazade Lampshade, $180

Each shade comes with a brass halogen light socket and a 78-inch electrical cord. Click here to see all of YooLa's Etsy offerings.

Etsy Find of the Day: YooLa Crocheted Metal

Using a tiny crochet needle and coated copper wire, Etsy seller YooLa -- aka Israeli industrial designer Yael Falk -- creates the most intriguing and ethereal objets.

I especially love her abstracted pomegranates, which mimic the form of the fleshy fruit, but do it in an airy, almost ghostly way.

In fact, these remind me a little bit of Ruth Asawa's amazing crocheted metal sculptures.

Prices range from $42 for this vase to $65 to $95 for the pomegranates.

Check out all of YooLa's crocheted metal designs (she has some gorgeous jewelry, too) right here.

The Artful Home: Ruth Asawa

I had to bop over to San Francisco's de Young Museum for a work thing this week (I know -- poor me). On my hurried way to check out the thing I needed to see, I was struck speechless by these ethereal wire sculptures by Ruth Asawa.

Seriously: One minute I was jogging to the elevator, and the next I was rooted to the spot where I stood, my mouth hanging agape at the gorgeousness before me.

The delicate biomorphic and organic sculptures themselves are breathtaking -- but it's the play of light and shadow that they cast upon the walls that's absolutely magical.

Although it turns out that I'd seen various pieces of Asawa's public art around the City over the years, I didn't know anything about her. And when I read up a bit on her life and work, I was even more blown away.

As a young woman during World War II, the California native was sent with her family to a Japanese internment camp, where she began to explore art. At art school, she studied under Buckminster Fuller and learned traditional basket-making techniques while traveling in Mexico.

Photo by Laurence Cuneo

In the 1950s, Asawa actually crocheted these pieces from iron, copper, brass, and bronze, often working late into the night while her six -- yes, you read that right: six -- young children slept. (So much for that "parenthood leaves me no time for creativity" rationalization, eh?)

Her work has been exhibited at various California museums as well as at New York's Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art. Asawa also dedicated much of her life to advancing and safeguarding art in San Francisco's public schools.

For more on Ruth Asawa and her amazing creations, keep an eye out for the book Contours in the Air. And if you're in the Bay Area, don't miss the opportunity to see her beautiful wire sculptures in person at the de Young -- they're in the Hamon Tower entrance on the ground floor, which you can visit for free.