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Thursday, December 31, 2009

with a bang

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Shabd Simon-Alexander tights in aurora

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Less for 2010

Apologize less.

Focus less on stats & figures.

Fixate less on fashion.

Spend less on shoes.

Try being a little less snarky.
Less confinement.

sculpture: an fischer indizesseries; dress: luella bartley; shoe box by aya masuda (ricoh company ltd.)
all other uncredited photos found on you know, the internet.

Monday, December 28, 2009

initiative comes to thems that wait.

This past week proved to be baby anti-venom to any hints of baby fever that may have been lurking within my loins. I love my adorable niece & nephew but they're all I need for now. Although I'm confident we won't be procreating for a long while, when I spot images like this mini Alex from Clockwork Orange, my heart skips a beat.

photo sourced from one of my fave visual diaries: fuck you very much

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zomg.
I just jumped out of my skin.
The cause: world's best care package.
Thank you Gracie!

phew, it's all over

With all this recent air terror I think I'd rather commute via wingless bird from now on. Bird Power, circa 1906 Forget about horsepower. Ostriches pulled a sulky around a Los Angeles ostrich farm in the early 1900s. Although too heavy to fly, these strong-legged birds can reach speeds of 40 miles an hour sprinting and 30 miles an hour over longer distances.
little red blog of revolutionary knitting

The last thing you need to deal with during the holidays is added travel stress. Because getting up at the crack of dawn after too many Tiramisu martinis and leftover turkey isn't rough enough. Yesterday we had to arrive at the airport 2 hours earlier for added security measures. Mine & Parker's patience levels were being tested. I thought TSA was going to go apeshit on my bulging luggage, bags of foil wrapped candies and my suspiciously over sized Marc wool shawl. Fortunately we made it home in one piece.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

you better not pout

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

testing

warm habitation

I love this burrower knitwear series. Is this not the most novel idea? I think anyone with a tiny fur tot can appreciate this.

In a few hours I'll be flying up to Boston to meet up with the in-laws for a chilly white Christmas. I'll be traveling with a very bundled up Chihuahua. I usually take Parker in her dog bag but she ends up nestling into my sweater mid way trip. She's mastered the art of burrowing into warm soft things. I need to knit up something to sling this critter around with me in style.

"Who me?"

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

laud

Yoshimasa Tsuchiya “Unicorn”
woodcarving, polychrome, crystal

This week I learned from Fragmented Fascinations that a group of Unicorns is referred to as a Blessing. Let me say that one more time: A Blessing. This might be common knowledge, so please disregard if this magical news is pffft to you. I clearly know nothing about anything.
Unbeknown, the unicorn world has other effing adorable group names.
If you see one unicorn with another it is called a dualcorn, followed by a tricorn, et cetera. If there are too many to count it can be referred to as a multicorn.

links: holiday edition


sled greeting card; goldteeth

Monday, December 21, 2009

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christophe kutner; via knight cat


I've been known to drink one too many cocktails, laugh loudly and get comfy with my shoes on your couch. I'm ready for the holidays!

put on a happy face

Still staying positive!
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source: love it or leave it; punks git cut

I've been a bit quiet lately due to the fact that my computer died and life is getting in the way of my normal routines. I am a creature of habit & routine so this sudden shift is slightly unsettling. For non jinxing reasons I will not bring up what's been getting in the way of my habitual interneting. All I'm going to say is that I am working on being considerably more optimistic about life. I'm nurturing a "YES I CAN" attitude for once. With this new forced outlook I have begun using some really random expressions and euphemisms. I actually said" gilding the lily" the other day. Really.

gild 1(gld)tr.v. gild·ed or gilt (glt), gild·ing, gilds
To give an often deceptively attractive or improved appearance to.
Idiom: gild the lily
1. To adorn unnecessarily something already beautiful.
2. To make superfluous additions to what is already complete.

If you're not accustomed to hearing random idioms on a daily basis like I am (2birds1stone, in the fold, turning a new leaf, play it by ear), you can always check out the Euphemism Generator. Although I have to warn you, these damn things have a way of sneaking into your lexicon.

This unique and colorful custom is referred to as

paddling the brakes.

Guess what I've been doing? That's right --

titillating the biscuits.


Needless to say, I promptly began

cancelling the perpetual flesh polka


Friday, December 18, 2009

till death

Get ready Parker, you're coming with me.
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A queen's pet gazelle was readied for eternity with the same lavish care as a member of the royal family. In fine, blue-trimmed bandages and a custom-made wooden coffin, it accompanied its owner to the grave in about 945 B.C.- animal mummies; National Geographic

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

blindly optimistic

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Oscar Cueto
Untitled (Brujeria/Witchcraft) 11, 2008
gouache on paper; 11 5/8" x 16 1/2"

Be blindly optimistic for once in your life.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

thank you

Robb Putnam, Mongrel (detail); 2008
fabric, plastic, leather, vinyl, thread glue, acrylic medium and mixed mediums, 63” x 17” x 14”

A sincere thank you to everyone who sent Parker well wishes today.
I don't think she can withstand much more doggy trauma. She's so fragile that an allergic reaction to a bug bite caused her tiny face to swell up like a balloon.
I kinda feel like a major dipshit for overreacting this morning and rushing to the vet instead of googling that shit. Had I done so I would have just spent $10 on over the counter benadryl versus spending much much more at the animal clinic. This is a clear cut sign that I'm going to be one of those parents isn't it?

Erin McKenny: Balsam 4/30
I robbed the woods; acrylic on pinecone

A portion of the following poem by Emily Dickinson:

I robbed the Woods

I robbed the Woods –
The trusting Woods.

The unsuspecting Trees
Brought out their Burs and mosses
My fantasy to please.

I scanned their trinkets curious – I grasped – I bore away –

What will the solemn Hemlock –
What will the Oak tree say?


I need some woods to rob. We've actually been hunting for pine cones lately. Miami's manicured palm trees have muscled out all the natural pines. I would never commit the sin of stepping into a craft store for decorative pine cones when I know they're lying on the ground somewhere for free. Can one of my sweet followers please mail me some natural Christmasy accents?


Miami is a difficult place to live sometimes. It can be sunny and warm nearly all year round but it's difficult to adapt to the lack of seasons. Once you've experienced a shift of seasons you begin to long for spring, fall and early winter. (I'm not going to complain too much because bike ridding along the beach boardwalk in 75 degree
January weather is divine.) Yesterday I did have momentary longing for New England though. Christmas still seems a little forced down here. No matter what people do it will never feel * excuse this cringe moment* like a Thomas Kinkade painting. Even with the world's largest Christmas Theme park, Miami doesn't cut it. When I spotted this piece by Erin McKenny I was immediately reminded of the brainstorming session me and my bf just had. We're hunting for of few pine cones to complete the centerpiece he's been working on. Its a little crazy to me that we can't find pine cones easily. I miss being able to step outside and be surrounded by trees and wilderness. On the other hand, I'm sure there's someone yearning to find a sand dollar or seashell right outside their home.

fondness

Does this scene feel familiar to you?
This is basically what my entire weekend looked like:

Kate Pfeiffer Distractions 2009

Acrylic, graphite & charcoal on paper;18" X 24"

Friday, December 11, 2009

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Laura Meyers You All Look the Same to Me, 2008

Oil paint, oil pastels, collage on canvas; 61 x 68 inches

All I want is what I... I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.


Dear Santa Claus,
How have you been? Did you have a nice summer? How is your wife? I have been extra good this year, so I have a long list of presents that I want...Please note the size and color of each item, and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself: just send money. How about tens and twenties?
-Sally Brown
excerpt from A Charlie Brown Christmas


I like many of you, I hate to sound so wanty... there are so many sites dedicated to lusting after this and that. I totally fall victim to this obsessive favorite-ing and bookmarking of stuff. I loved ESB's ten things to do instead of shopping post. The hoards of gift guides are making me ill lately. I find that too often when I browse for gifts I end up falling for crap that I feel I must have. Goddamn my needy characteristics. It's not like I plan on only giving homemade or charity gifts this year but I will make an effort to be less consumer and brandfocused this season.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

skin.

Transitioning from animal to human.

I fell for Ariana Page Russell's work this past weekend. I love the idea of skin as language and blushing as fashion. I am someone who wears my emotions on my skin. Unfortunately I can't disguise my intense anger during staff meetings. My rosacea causes my face to be a frustration meter. Ariana's work discusses her relationship with her body, emotional vulnerability and fashion. Aside from relevant, I find her works to be beautiful and elegant.
Skin series:


Dressing collection:

"...adorning myself with a longer lasting, intentional blush. Rather than being frustrated by my skin's transparency, I claim it by dressing up in the crimson hues that reveal my vulnerability."

Artist Statement:

A body is an index of passing time. Skin protects us as it shows shifting bones, bruising, muscles loosening and tightening, and freckles and wrinkles forming. I am interested in this as a transient fashion of skin, including the revealing way a blush decorates one’s cheek, freckles form constellations on an arm, or hair creates sheen on skin’s matte surface.
My skin is very sensitive and I blush easily. I have dermatographia, a condition in which one’s immune system releases excessive amounts of histamine, causing capillaries to dilate and welts to appear (lasting about thirty minutes) when the hypersensitive skin’s surface is lightly scratched. This allows me to painlessly draw on my skin with just enough time to photograph the results. Even though I can direct this ephemeral response by drawing on it, the reaction is involuntary, much like the uncontrollable nature of a blush.
I also make wallpaper and collage with photographs of my skin cut into decorative designs, then attached to the wall or onto board. Sometimes I use these collages to decorate my skin by scanning the patterns and turning them into temporary tattoos. Then I place the tattoos back on my body as an additional layer for the fashion of skin. The tattoos are red and pink shades of sensitivity so I can adorn myself with a longer lasting, intentional welt or blush. Rather than being frustrated by my skin’s transparency, I claim it by dressing up in the crimson hues that reveal my vulnerability. Some of the tattoos also go on the wall or window after they’ve made contact with my body, leaving traces of cells and hair, and holding a record of skin’s map.
I am investigating where one surface ends and another begins, the bloom of adornment, and how shifting exteriors reveal as they conceal.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Sadly, I can relate.


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The Berkley print winner is:


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carlee fernandez; friends series

Congrats Sherri, Random.org picked you!

Great Haikus:


LURVE animals clothed
Berkley's in particular
would keep for myself

christmas comes, chilly
goat chews on blue bolo tie
those prints must be mine

in winter, art soothes
bat is rockin my damn world
me, he must be mine

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

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Ray Cabarga, The Smulkulites

mine, all mine

Can you hear my insane cackling?
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Eeek! I gifted myself this depression-era fox fur shrug from safeasmilkvintage (cutest shop name ever).
I can't wait to meet this furry fellow! Check out that face and coloring. I'm going to wear the hell out of this woodland friend.

Monday, December 7, 2009

This year's Art Basel Miami came and went. I'm sad that it's all over. My brain is still processing the sensory overload. We had a great time prowling all over the city in search for good art, free drinks and exclusive parties. There was some amazing, some meh. and some atrociousness this weekend but all in all it was a whirlwind. I was pleased to see some favorite art pieces in person and meet/fall in love with Canadian artists Ziz & Gordy, my new Caesar drinking cohorts.
Here are a few camera phone snaps from this past weekend:
yetis!invisible people
nathanal rogershernan cedolasnow in the design districtportia munsonallison schulnik
hairy kidsnatalia edenmontdeitch project murals

absolutely enthralled as per usual
littlest sister @spinello


monica canillao

amy ross

ben inside a methlab

Z & G


hair check


MM