Ruth Marks, Lovely Work

In the interest of Day of the Dead and All Saints Day here's a lovely new to me artist. Her name is Ruth Marks and she has all sorts of dolls and sculptures that are just dreamy and spirity (it's a word [okay it's not, but I'm working it]) and eerie.

Like this one

or this one

Very cool. I went through all her previous works of the various years, but I'm having trouble saving the photos. And I really wish she had a blog.

If you're out there Ruth Marks, can you start a blog? It's not that hard. I'm dying to know about your techniques and inspirations.

Toto. We Are Not In Kansas

I am afraid of tornadoes. I had to spend a few dark hours in a basement with my kids and my neighbor, after I heard the train rumble and a tree fell down knocking out the electricity all over town.

Fine. No one saw an official tornado, but I'm pretty sure that when I was running around trying to close the windows to the wind and rain, and found that ALL the windows had rain blowing in, that meant it was an actual tornado. Plus that train sound. Plus the tree falling and the light going out.

Okay, we were only in the basement for a few minutes before it passed but it was scary.

Oh. What is not scary but in fact fantastic and inspirational?

The above tornado is not real. Nor is it digital. Nor is it an illustration or a painting or any of that.

It is a diorama.

*blink*

This man is a genius. He does dioramas of all sorts of scenes. From outer space, to glacier chill, to conflagrations, to gentle landscape. Amazing.

via astulabee. Thanks, Nicole. I love your blog.

Double Outstanding!

First this awesome art installation/camper for one on a deavy duty tricycle, found on Inhabitat,

then the awesome painting by it's owner Boston based Kevin Cyr. Loving. And check out his truck paintings, too.

I don't know why I've been loving campers and airstreams lately, but I have. Actually I always have. I'm a nester at heart, and sometimes I wish I could travel with my home right there with me.

If I had this camper, I could put my groceries away before I left the grocery store!

Wouldn't this be wonderful in your house?

How awesome would it be to have this typeface deer head mounted in your living room. The graphic quality of the print and the majestic, natural quality of the deer combine to make it a cheeky and conceptual statement, which is at the same time down to earth. Me love.

And if I have figured out how to post pictures from the web to my blog, again, I might just be able to start posting here again. My computer died, you see, and now I have to learn the new system.

I think I got this. I've been trying to post this for a couple of days. Yay me. But I'd like a better shortcut. I will keep figuring out.

In the meantime, lets thank this wonderful etsy seller, ruby's lounge, for her inventive creation.

Oh dear. I just realized this seller is Jennifer Koshbin. I've seen her art around for a while. She's wonderful. Check her out.

One Dress: 365 Ways. You Go Girl.

Wow. Loving what this girl is doing. I adore this outfit in it's punk/poet chic, but she is wearing this same dress everyday for a year and documenting her outfits. It's called the Uniform Project and you can find it here.I like this romantic one.

And this sexy tough one. I guess I like layered clothes and muted colors. She wears it as a mini sometimes, but I'm almost 40 and I'm kind of done with minis. I'll leave that to the kicky young girls and get me some leggings and long skirts to layer with.

Even better. I just read here that this project is both an exercise in sustainable fashion, with all the accessories being vintage or donated, and a fundraiser for uniforms for Indian school children. What a cool woman.

I want seven of these dresses, by the way.

found via secret notebooks hidden pages

What Are You Afraid Of?

What Are You Afraid Of, sculpture

I know I have been absent lately, kind of being a hermit, if you will, and have not posted... but I saw this artist in a treasury that I was included in and I fell head over heels in love. If I had a spare 500$ I would buy it. But since I don't, I have to post my love. Love love love.

Her name is Darla Jackson. Glad to find her.

And it is quite, uhh, coincidental that the title of this sculpture is "What Are You Afraid Of."

Stop hiding little hermit rabbit and start posting again.

Moss You Can Wear and Moss That Might Like to Wear You If You Hold Still Long Enough.

Look how beautiful and lovely. A pendant reminiscent of moss and stone. Neither are real, so you don't have to worry about water or weight or even little lively insects taking up shop in your jewelry. You can find this and OTHERS! at AdornJewelry, which I found through secret notebooks wild pages.

They have both inspired me to add my own image of moss.

I took this picture back in January in my garden, because, well, that's what January is like in Florida. This is a planter that was covered in this cool moss with sprouts-- or whatever that is.
It was kind of hard to photograph because there was so much green. The planter was green, the moss was green, the background was green. I like this shot because you can see those moss things so clearly. I like the narrow focus.

Maybe I should start taking daily photos again. Hmmm. I really want a new camera, but it is not in the budget at the moment. Someday, though.

Swoon

I'm a little in love with this artist at LittleRobot. Her name is Lindsey Carr and she has a blog, here, too. Let me tell you, it was hard to pick which images to show, because they are all swoon worthy.

I picked this one, Flight, because it reminds me of my Flying Girls. Not in style, obviously, but well... it's a flying girl. She has a sister, too.
And I wanted to show one of these puppets, too. They are fantabulous. They make me feel like I have fallen down a rabbit hole and into a strange and magical land. This one is the Strong Man. You can assemble him yourself. It reminds me of how I had my HS students create puppets to represent Shakespeare characters in The Tempest.

I found her through The Explorer's Notebook and Allison Murray's great etsy treasury. How does one get one of those, anyway?

Thinkin' Off the Beaten Path

I found this lovely wedding on Offbeat Bride. None of the fancy stuff. Not even a party with this one, just a ceremony and what seemed to be a wandering about exotic scenery.

I don't know if this is what I would want to do, because, well, we've been together so long, and had kids and everything, I think it would be kind of important to our families to see us get married, so i don't really want to elope. I still like the ideas here. And I like the way it reminds you to think outside of the box. Strip away all the orthodoxy, the idea a "wedding", the matching candle sticks and napkins, and there you have something important to them.

So pretty.


On a side note, or really not that side-ish at all, I want to post about the cake that I have thought about for quote some time. I found this recipe for a dark chocolate, nearly flourless cake at orangette, oh, I don't know... a year ago, and thought it looked so tasty and unexpected. My first idea had been a bunch of cupcakes. Cupcakes are nice and tasty and festive without being a big crazy deal. I might still go with cupcakes, but nice to know there's an option here. I also like that you can make this gateau ahead of time and freeze it. No need for last minute stuff, if you're diy.