According to Atlas Obscura, “when the rain starts to fall, this colorful drain and gutter system attached to the outside of a building in the Neustadt Kunsthofpassage turn into charming musical instruments. The Funnel Wall is one of the strangest and most enjoyable attractions in Dresden’s student district in the new town. ”

We’re beginning to wonder if this is where GreenBox artist Yangyang Pan got her inspiration for “Every Time That it is Raining” from? Probably not, but none the less, it may not be so bad to be stuck inside on a rainy day – that is…if you reside in the Neustadt Kunsthofpassage.

This is most definitely a truly creative and artistic way to enjoy the rain!

For a charming, cottagey look we like this vulcanized rubber mat. It looks like iron and has a very sweet flower pattern. It’s available in all sorts of patterns, including ones that look like wrought-iron fences.

The PVC owl is just funny, in an understated way. It’s super-absorbant on muddy boots and shoes, and this little guy looks like he’s got something important on his mind, to keep guests guessing.

Have you seen these LED mats before? We haven’t, but they strike us as so beautifully obvious that it’s a wonder they aren’t on every third or fourth doorstep. Pretty smart for the approaching summer nights, don’t you think?

And then there’s our perennial favorite, which in some years is hard to find: Hi I’m Mat. It pretty much guarantees that everyone who enters your home will do so with a smile on his or her face.

And that’s enough to brighten up even the rainiest, muddiest day.

This is an important and exciting step into Donnas’ career and we are glad to be a part of it, since this stretched canvas art will be available to purchase with GreenBox Art + Culture in the upcoming July new products release. Stay tuned and don’t miss out on all the other great contemporary wall art that will be added to our product line!

We are so excited to announce that Flora Bowley, one of our exceptional artists, has just released her first book entitled “Brave Intuitive Painting”! In this one of a kind book, Flora gives the reader a rare chance to understand and learn from her zen-like approach at creating art without boundaries or limitations.

“Brave Intuitive Painting” was written and designed for artist’s of all backgrounds, styles and experience levels. Flora’s own canvas wall art exhibits a free-form style of breaking compositional rules and her book attempts to teach us ”a spontaneous, bold, and fearless approach to painting as a process of discovery.” ‘The reader is encouraged to engage the book as a guide to enhance their own creative innovations and artistic abilities “through a variety of techniques that combine basic, practical painting principles.”

Flora shares with us that the process for writing her first book ”was truly an act of love, a deep journey of the soul and one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. I poured myself into this baby, and I’m so excited to share it with you now.” She also explains that her book “is based on exploring the process, letting go of fear, releasing preconceived ideas of what your paintings are supposed to look like, and allowing the paintings to unfold naturally and with ease.” She is definitely one calm, cool, and collected artist!

“Brave Intuitive Painting” is available on her website Brave Intuitive You, on Amazon, and at most major retailers. Whether you’re a painter, an artist, or just a fan we definitely recommend picking up a copy.

And if the book isn’t enough “Flora“ for you, she has 2 signings coming up:

• May 8th, from 7:30-9pm  Author Talk and Signing @ Powell’s Books 1005 W Burnside, Portland, OR. 97209
• June 7th, from 6-9pm Author Talk and Signing @ Readings St. Kilda in Melbourne, Australia 112 Acland St, St Kilda, Victoria, 3182

Tyson’s artwork is focused on movement, change, and the environment; and his pieces explore this new type of harmony. He believes his job as a painter is to capture the change of the world as it is occurring; and he combines elements of abstract expressionism, color-field painting and spontaneity into his canvas wall art. Rural and urban scenes are in constant transition in Tyson’s paintings, taking the viewer from what was, to what may be.

Do not miss this fantastic event and a chance to view some truly unique and gorgeous original artwork from a magnificent artist!

More information can be found by going to the Ghost Gallery’s website or simply click on the flyer below.

Or bonsai. That ancient Japanese art of miniature tree-growing is kinda cool, as millions of people over a thousand years have already discovered. It takes patience, which we now recognize as a luxury rather than a weakness.

So we’ve been spending lots of time perusing sites like Stone Lantern lately. It’s devoted entirely to bonsai and Ikebana (that means Japanese flower arranging, in case you, like us until about a week ago, didn’t know). You’ll find teeny little shears, lime sulfur for preserving deadwood, and tons of interesting reading materials. There is even gear, like ball caps and tees, so you can let everyone know you’re on the 10-century-old bandwagon.

See, we’re old enough that we’re getting interested in pursuing ancient, solitary art, but we’re young enough that we still want to look hip doing it. Care to join us?

We absolutely adore the fact that he re-uses everything from recycled computer “junk” to so called “useless” audio and video cassettes. Nick, a London based artist, shows his “green side” with an art project that only uses outdated and obsolete electronics to make a truly unique style of art. He paints over and manipulates these deceased materials to create cyberpunk portraits that still embody their original 80′s and 90′s flare.

So the next time you find that copy of the Goonies on VHS in your closet sitting next to an AOL CD install disk – remember Nick Gentry and don’t be so afraid to give it a new purpose in art and life!

Well, almost.

There’s a movement called A Billion Acts of Green!® that challenges people to register their pledge to perform an “act of green,” like biking to work or planting a garden. The goal is, you guessed it, to get a billion pledges to the act.EarthDay.org site. That’s a lot of pledges, right? You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that as of this writing, 968,867,575 pledges have been recorded. What a way to keep Earth Day going.

While you’re on the site, stop by the Ecological Footprint Calculator. It doesn’t take too long to create your avatar and answer a few questions to figure out the size of your carbon footprint. Pretty eye-opening. We walk a lot, recycle and generally try to be aware of the planet, and yet our results informed us that “If everyone lived like you, we’d need 4.5 Planet Earths to provide enough resources.” Um, sorry about that, Mother Earth. We pledge to do better.

After all, “Green” is our first name.

Will and Craig have teamed up, yet again, to find a way to help raise money for this noble cause. The latest event involved two double decker buses, and what San Diego has on tap- craft beer! Tom and Karen, GreenBox’s founders, got to join the fun and have a few laughs. Even San Diego’s mayor, Jerry Sanders, stopped by in support of the cause.

So far, Cancer for College has provided over $1.5 million in scholarships to nearly 900 cancer survivors through many events similar to this. So, raise your glass for a toast to Craig Pollard and Will Ferrell- changing people’s lives.

Donate here!

This look is delightfully simple to pull together on your own. Choose a theme, like family photos, kids artwork, or nature scenes. Or the theme can be more visual than subject-matter, like reds or shapes. Then trace each piece onto newspaper and try “hanging” them in different configurations until you find one you like. (Or, if they’re going on a shelf, just try combinations until you find the one you like best.) With this layered style, less is very often more, so be careful not to put too many together or overlap so much that the art itself is obscured.

At Green Box, we’ve made it super-straightforward to select a grouping. You can narrow your search by color, artist, or theme. It’s a way to gather an instant collection of items that have an eclectic connection.