More random links...

Artsy

Janine Mackintosh does wonderful things with eucalyptus leaves

Amazing art created from folded paper, by Simon Schubert

More folded paper, but this time in a completely different way. Make sure to scroll through the images to get the whole effect, plus a specially post modern ending.

I know not everyone is a birds fan, but Leontine Greenberg makes them seem sweet and whimsical to me.

Another interesting portfolio, this by Mary Katogi.

Some photos from the 2009 Biennale in Venice. Modern art can be cool, yet utterly stupid at times.

I can't even remember finding Chris Berens, but looking over his stuff now sort of freaks me out and intrigues me. Which I suppose is good.

Eek. I have no idea why I saved Sebastian Bremer since I can't find anything that makes me tingle to see it at the moment, but there is a lot of OCDish repetition and line work, which likely drew me in.

I really love the simple/cartoony style of Shigeru Ito... Scroll down to the book covers especially.

Art of Native Vermont. This is what I always like to call kitchen art. As in, it'd look nice framed in my kitchen.

Very influenced by Klimt, but still gorgeous, by David Sala. I think it's from a children's book, but my french is stuck at ou est la tour eiffle...

Amazing stuff by Meredith Dittmar.



Toys / Craftsy / Other Artsy Stuff Really

I kindof love this cardboard rhino, although not really sure wtf I'd do with it. (Likely stick it in a box somewhere to have it mate with dust bunnies. Rhino-bunny offspring -- Bonus!

I love things ordered according to their colour - and so this display of coloured pencils makes me smiley.

I'm not really into the whole typhography craze, but I can still recognize purdy stuff, like this poster of a vine-y alphabet.

OMG this is some insane shit - the whole text of Romeo and Juliet deconstructed into categories of rage indifference and passion

Amazing creatures and things from imaginism studios. This is what I want to do when I grow up...

Great installation of cascading books by Alycia Martin.



Design (aka more Artsy stuff) and Furniture

Local link this time by an art school in Tel Aviv - coffee culture. Am digging the bubbles.

Dachshund (caNNOT spell that) Lamp. Way too expensive, yet cute.

Heh, I marked this as inflatable something when I saved the link, so I guess I'll just leave it as that.

I've always been a sucker for crayons, and Crayola is the brand of my childhood. Still makes me nostalgic when I pass by their display at the Office Depot stores. Nice retrospective post about their branding through the ages.

Pretty Japanese crayons that make lovely mixed colours.

Perfect for those of us with anal retentive flat mates. Lego fridge!

Mushroomy air filled lamps.

I would love this pixely bag for myself. Or at least I would if it weren't so expensive, even though I have like 12 tote bags I never use.

Kitchy I know, but I'm a sucker for rainbows.



WTF-arry

You know I once watched a play where the dude saved all his fingernail clippings from his life in a jar on the mantle, sort of a way to mark the growth I suppose. This Life Urn thing reminds me of that somehow. Ack.

A creepy leash/lead, that I may have linked before... *hums The Beatles*

With the high holidays upon us, let us go back to Passover and renumerate the 10 plagues, with Peeps.

While also technically art, there is some serious wtf action going on here with this snail anatomy artwork. Slimy.

Giving new life to the term tea bagging. Heh.

Born Free

Is it weird that while taking out a chicken from the freezer for a good Shabbes dinner, the first thing that came to my mind was this song?

Even worse than that is the fact that the internet hop scotch brought me to where I am right now as I'm writing this post - listening to a playlist of Tom Jones... Yes, that's right. I AM LISTENING TO THE SEX BOMB. Go ahead and take my name off the hip list for all of time. (Saying "hip list" sort of makes me an automatic write-off anyhow, huh?) *quickly youtubes Ladytron and bops head in nonchalant yet utterly hip manner* Nothin to see here. Move along..

Actually, speaking of Ladytron, walking down the street the other day I heard a beat coming from some kiosk that reminded me of one of their songs that I used to listen to constantly on my Discman (who even uses a discman these days??) walking around the slummish neighbourhoods I lived in during University. I gotta tell you that it made my bowels go all crunchy with the memories of the ghosts of Uni past. Fuck if I didn't do a whole lot of things best forgotten back in the day...

But I digress (as usual. Can anyone spell ADD?) - I was actually thinking about freedom, and flying fowl. Or something. *blinks* Ok, sue me, I have no idea what I was thinking about.

I wonder sometimes if everyone's mind is like this - a crazy swirly black hole filled with bouncy rubber balls and disjointed ideas. I always envied those people who seemed to have such a strong grip on their minds - knowing exactly what they wanted from life - a goal always shining at the end of the tunnel to light their paths. Making steps in a direction that had always been a "goal" of my own for so long brings up the inevitable question of, will this be IT? The elusive IT we're all looking for (ok, this is IT. I've found IT. IT is where I want to be...).

Of course I know that it's not that simple, that happiness is something one has to work on constantly. Sort of like finding Mr. Right -- one doesn't tumble into love and that's IT, bring on the babiez and the picket fences, because dude, I am in LURVE!!!1 - I'm with who I am pretty sure is my own Mr. Right, and damn if we don't constantly have to work on finding the perfect rhythm for us.

But this afternoon, cooking non-born-free-range chickens for a shared friday dinner amongst many, and doodling on the laptop with a minimum of clothing and an acute case of bed-head -- I reckon I'll enjoy the journey for now. At least until the next bouncy ball bangs against my cortex just so.