In the last 24 hours I have watched 13 hours of the original Wonder Woman. The complete Season 1. (seriously if I hear these lyrics one more time I may implode). Now from a women's studies point of view, this show is a big cluster. Male fantasy disguised as women empowerment; A superlady in lingerie? With her own Clark Kent disguise that transfixes the lovestruck Steve Trevor? It's too bad all her powers lie in her accessories, and without them she's like any other (Amazon) woman. But I digress... let's talk about amazing 1975 graphics! Now I know it's 2012, and I shouldn't judge.... but I just can't decide if the graphics make the show awesome or embarrassing. All I know, is that they make it great. Check out the how they overlapped animation and human elements together for they opening sequence.
The show is really like a long-legged time capsule of technology and pop culture—oh, and a hatred of Nazi's. Like real strong hatred. Well go on Wonder Women, the World is waiting for you. (and your satin tights)
It seems, the post office is obligated to deliver anything properly addressed and stamped, regardless of shape and wrapping. Miss. Coffee has mail dolls with stamps on their skirts, records with letters inscribed across them and even rocks. I remember as a child mailing messages rolled inside pop bottles across the country to my cousin (message in a bottle?), and they did in fact reach their destination. But I admire Coffee's gumption and creativity, and I am inspired to start thinking outside.... the envelope. I love the idea of befuddling not only the recipient but also the postman and everyone mai meets along the way. So heads up readers—questionable mail may be finding you soon.
I work for the third largest shoe company in the world (Wolverine World Wide is the largest non-athletic shoe company, coming in behind Nike and Adidas.) So I shouldn't have shoe envy....
...but that doesn't stop me from drooling over the glorious marketing of Sorel—a Canadian company focusing on heritage and functionality. Check out the video below, they've managed to take rain boots and turn them into a city-life, high-fashion commodity. Now how badly do you want to frolic through NYC wearing knee high boots on lovely blue-skied days right now? Am I right?
Sometimes people make me happy. Like people who own ferrets—they make me happy. But people who own ferrets and who put them in Hamburger Beds? These are my people.
With the accessibility of digital cameras, photography as art has gone mainstream. And everyone's favorite backyard portrait involves a sparkler and a slow shutter speed. But drawing with light is not a new idea. Back in 1949, Pablo Picasso did a series of images while working for LIFE magazinewith Gjon Mili. These images are made using two cameras and an electric light in a darkroom. They showcase both the artist and the process.
What's amazing is how easy it is to recognize Picasso's other drawings of flowers, bulls and centaurs in these images.
We've been hearing about these 3D printers for awhile now— in fact we have one at work. And I'm not going to lie, they scare the crap out of me. But check out the amazing porcelain sculptures that Belgian Design Studio Unfold has started creating with the equipment. Their ceramics 3D printer gives them the opportunity to produce fine layers of pottery forms.
I'm still terrified, but at least after seeing these beautiful pieces, I'm also intrigued!
Earlier this year, Brush Studio opened in East Grand Rapids, at the heart of Gaslight Village. The studio offers a unique chance to express yourself creatively with paint—all under the helpful eye of an instructor. With a little coercion, I convince a few friends that we could, in fact, do this. Not being painters, with prepped ourselves with wine (which they sell at the studio) and then, coincidently enough, we painted wine.
It was the most fantastic girls night. The most amazing thing about it was, that although we were all painting the same picture and following instruction from the same advisor, all four of paintings turned out extraordinarily different—but all fabulous. And each one is quite representative of the girl who painted it. So in the end, painting is not scary. And in fact it's a lot of fun. Before the night was over, there was already much talk about planning a second evening at Brush.
It was an article about the striking style of the Chicago home of Jeffrey Moss in October 2012's Martha Stewart Living, that led me to Project Onward. The article, intended to inspire thoughtful ways to live in our collections , had an image of a non-pretentious wall of portraits that caught my eye. The collection of "glittery portraits of family and friends that he commissioned from Sereno Wilson of Project Onward (an organization of artists with disabilities)" the caption told me. And I immediately went to Google. Project Onward is a Chicago-based studio dedicated to the growth of artists with mental and developmental disabilities. Upon reading more, what intrigued me most was their Portrait Project, which brought people together, raised awareness and allowed the artists to interact within a live portrait setting. Since I was heading to Chicago for the Arlington Height's Santa Run, we put this on the to do list.
So last Friday, we visited the Project Onward facility at the Chicago Cultural Center, right at the corner of Washington and Michigan in the old Library building (across from the Bean). My artist was self-taught illustrator Andrew Hall, who's meticulous architectural and train-yard drawings blew me away. As he worked, all around us, artists of varying medians busied themselves in the creative process—working with glitter, charcoal, foamcore and markers. It was a beautiful sight, and both moving and inspiring to witness.
And, in about 20 miuntes, for about 20 dollars, I had a portrait of my own. My first ever professionally drawn portrait. So, if you're headed to Chicago, I highly encourage you to stop by. Portrait Project is open Monday – Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm. You can make an appointment ahead of time, or, do like we did, and walk in and be introduced to the artists on-site and available. If you have questions you can inquire at info@projectonward.org. Find out more on Facebook.
We hit up another UICA Quirkshop last month— the monster mash-up. Inspired by Sid and his kooky toy conglomerations in Toy Story.
The UICA provided miscellaneous clay body parts and animal bits and it was our job to mash them together. I, of course, went straight for the monkey head, which i attached to a baby foot. I can so just see this thing hopping around. Maybe a stop motion animation is in my future.... The lovely woodland menagerie is the work of my good friend and crafting pal, Amanda.
It's holiday time and it's likely you've got that crafting itch! Now I haven't had time to get to my holiday crafting yet, but no worries— Martha has your back. Here's some simple, foldable charming decorations from December's Martha Stewart Living. Download the template here!
I love surprises. So it was a pleasant happenstance when we were hiking near Huntsville, Alabama and stumbled across a State Champion Tupelo Tree. Now, I'm not making this up. While Tupelo's sound like, and kind of look like, something out of a Seussian world, they actually grow in the Southeastern US and are more commonly referred to as a sourgum tree. They sit, with their comically wide base in water, thriving in wet soil, swamps and flooded areas. In fact, their genus name, Nyssa means Greek Water Nymph But not only is this a cool tree species that we'd discovered, but we were also face-to-trunk with a Champion. I didn't even know there was Tree Champions, but boy do I feel honored to have met one.
This is not a news flash to say that I'm obsessed with ModCloth. 3 orders in 5 days? Clearly I have a problem. But I think the design of their latest StyleBook alone justifies my obsession! A little throwback flare is the perfect way to display their vintage inspired collections. I think they absolutely nailed these layouts, they look completely modern, while showcasing their '60s style.
I spent a cloudless Thanksgiving day hiking in the Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, Alabama. Today's blue skies reminded me of the work of Dutch Artist Berndnaut Smilde, who miraculously conjures clouds from thin air. The remarkable photos that result look like PhotoShop trickery but take a look at the video and you'll see that you're not being deceived.
It's that time of year again... here's a fun pairing to keep you warm from the folks at Threadless. And don't forget, if you are getting chilly... may I suggest some mittens and/or slippers?
Learned a fun little fact while browsing on dictionary.com... (I love words!) Did you know Dr. Seuss invented the word nerd? The slang term, which means "and intelligent byt single-minded person, obsessed with a certain hobby or pursuit"first appeared in Dr. Seuss's 1950 children's book If I Ran the Zoo.
According to Seuss, a "nerd" is a small animal from the land of KaTroo, not the pale kid with taped glasses that we think of today! And no, I'm so not a nerd for hanging out on dictionary.com.
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