Infinite diversities

"Our days are a kaleidoscope. Every instant a change takes place in the contents. New harmonies, new contrasts, new combinations of every sort. Nothing ever happens twice alike. The most familiar people stand each moment in some new relation to each other, to their work, to surrounding objects. The most tranquil house, with the most serene inhabitants, living upon the utmost regularity of system, is yet exemplifying infinite diversities"... Henry Ward Beecher (1813- 1887)

Amazing kaleidoscope lockets from Verabel + Fox.

xx

Sarah Applebaum

Okay, I know... quilts and granny squares in one day?!!! I'm guess I'm officially an Old Person. But in my defence I don't think you'll be seeing Sarah Applebaum's lurid creations in a rest home near you anytime soon!

"Sarah Applebaum weaves together a world both familiar and strange. Landscapes are peopled by conjoined yetis, shamanistic hunters, unicorns and geometric crocheted "bots". Her work takes you into an enveloping and tactile strangeness and keeps you company along the way."

See more of Sarah's creepy/ colourful works here.

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Beet it!

I'm definately going to try this. Homemade beetroot cheek tint!!

Recipe found on The Velvet Bird blog. Go have a look... it's worth it for the outfits alone...

Told you! What a stylish lady!!!

Vintage shoppers beware: Vanessa has an etsy shop too. Hide those credit cards :)

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Bright Star

"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days – three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain"... John Keats, to Fanny Brawne, 1918

Wonderful article by Jane Campion on the compelling love story of Keats and Fanny Brawne here.

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Bill Cunningham, New York

What a swell guy! Oh my, this movie was so sweetly charming and moving. I was in floods of tears by the end. Which is odd because it's not at all a sad or depressing movie. Quite the opposite in fact! A cheesy person would call it "life affirming". And since I *am* a cheesy person, that it is! You would think this movie is about fashion and New York and photography. And you would be right, it is about all those things - and would be worth watching for that aspect alone (Bill is an incredibly astute photographer, and pretty much invented the style of street fashion photography which is the norm nowadays)

But also, simply because of the wonderful kind of human being Bill Cunningham is, it becomes a movie about so much more. About beauty and passion, and individuality, and living a life of integrity and kindness. So inspiring.

I cannot recommend it highly enough! *tears up*

A taste of Bill's photography... and sweet and hilarious disposition... here (Warning: watching his NYT Street Style videos is somewhat addictive!)

Mah-velous, isn't it kids!

xx

Geoffrey Bawa

"Architecture cannot be totally explained but must be experienced"

"Every artist works on a different scale. A page. A painting. A sonata. A film. A novel. A house. A garden. But essentially they all create, in some ways, self-portraits of themselves. Art is a long intimacy. The scale of the achievement might be grand and take years but it has to be personal and carefully pieced together and specific to its culture"

(Micheal Ondaatje, on Lunuganga)

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"If you really feel something...

...if there's something really inside you, it's important... it's almost a duty... to tell your story in a different way, and to present your vision"

Harmony Korine

Finally got around to watching 'Beautiful Losers' last week - I had been a little reticent to watch it as I thought it might be a little too full of hipster back-slapping for my tastes, plus the association with Terry Richardson put me off (if you want to know why I would feel this way, read this scathing interwebs takedown written by Tavi last week, which still has me applauding!)

Luckily not only was Terry blissfully absent, but the artists were truly humble and insightful - not only about their art and the state of the art world in general, but also about the wonderful connection they all have with each other. I came away being inspired by their beautiful attitudes to friendship and community as much as by their beautiful art. Both are amazing, so go watch this video! Then make some art AND hug your friends.. :)

Margaret Killagen

Barry McGee

Steve Powers

LOL at that list of demands! Espesh "FREAK STREAK" :)

xx

Taglioni's Jewel Casket

... was the first Joseph Cornell work I ever saw, stumbled upon really, at NYC's Moma gallery. Ever since then he has been my favorite artist. I think he always will be.


"On a moonlight night in the winter of 1835 the carriage of Marie Taglioni was halted by a Russian highwayman, and that enchanting creature commanded to dance for this audience of one upon a panther's skin spread over the snow beneath the stars. From this actuality arose the legend that to keep alive the memory of this adventure so precious to her, Taglioni formed the habit of placing a piece of artificial ice in her jewel casket or dressing table where, melting among the sparkling stones, there was evoked a hint of the atmosphere of the starlit heavens over the ice-covered landscape."

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"I am at war with the obvious"

"I am afraid that there are more people than I can imagine who can go no further than apppreciating a picture that is a rectangle with an object in the middle of it, which they can identify. They don't care what is around the object as long as nothing interferes with the object itself, right in the center. Even after the lessons of Winogrand and Friedlander, they don't get it... They want the obvious... I am at war with the obvious" -- William Eggleston

Interesting looking documentaries on Eggleston here and here. I would love to see these.

xx

My Eternal Quest for the perfect swimming hole

Is officially...




OVER!!!!

As, hopefully, is my drought on blog posts.

Fingers crossed I can find a solution to having no interwebs at home soon!

And yes, I had a lovely break... obvs! :)

Hope you found something a little bit of something perfect (or near enough!) over the break as well...

xx

“I look at all the glass buildings and think, who wants to live like that"

I love these people. Well - hold the restraining orders - I mean... I love their aesthetic! Read all about these delightully ye olde style dames and gents and their “extremely previous lifestyle” (love!) here.

Also... LOL @ the comments: "Anyone who uses silk, selvage, and saga in a sentence should be mounted and stuffed too." Dude kind of has a point! I still like their pretty/ creepy apartments though :)

Do you think any of them would like to adopt me??! I'm quiet, and would fit perfectly into the corner of a Brooklyn brownstone!

xx

*(Wonderful!) Photos by Michael Weschler for The New York Times.... Slideshow here.

In Tat or Tatters You're Entrancing

This video is wonderful... ye olde timey dancing set to the Magnetic Fields song "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing" (hmmm... does that name sound familiar... like it's the name of an AWESOME BLOG mayhaps??!)

I found more sublime dancing from Merle and Gower Champion here. This still from the video is divine! The crappy YouTube resolution actually kind of adds to it's romantic charms, don't you think? So beautiful, like a daydream from the past.


Maybe it's the cold, slighty melancholy weather today... but I felt more than a little sad when I googled Merle and Gower (great names!) and read this snippet about Gower Champion: "After the failures of the previous decade, Champion was able to make a comeback with his longest-running show. In 1980, he choreographed and directed a stage adaptation of the movie classic, 42nd Street. It won the Tony for Best Musical, and Champion was nominated for his direction and choreography, winning for the latter. The show ran for 3486 performances, but Champion did not live to see any. After numerous curtain calls on opening night, the producer stunned the cast and audience by announcing Champion had died earlier that day"

I can just imagine the applause ringing out amongst the theatre, to the empty stage. It must have sounded so sad.

xx

Your Heart is an Empty Room

How lovely...






... are these images of abandoned buildings from The Kingston Lounge ? I was so excited to see these particular images, because when I was cycling around Brooklyn in a glorious daze a few years back I actually stumbled upon the VERY BUILDINGS these are in and was soooo curious to see what was inside. What a neat mystery to have solved years later via the magical interwebs!

I was way too scared to try and take a peek myself of course... having imagined that they were the secret hideout of a Warriors-esque New York street gang!!! Which would have been pretty exciting too... in fact... damn you interwebs for ruining my fantasamagorical vision!

And now, because I have fleetingly mentioned the Warriors, I have an excuse to link to perhaps the greatest opening credits of all time... click to enjoy...


Yipppeee! (Oooops... that wasn't very gangsta-y)

xx

I'm terrible at describing music...

I don't even know what "post-industrial" means (shhhh, don't tell anyone)

BUT... if I was going to make a subtle yet emotionally gripping coming-of-age film set in a bleak norwegian town, with scene after fuzzy scene depicting an ethereal loner moodily trekking over fields of ice, brooding with unrelenting ennui.... this would totally be the soundtrack.

I really hope that did it justice, because Children of the Wave are so utterly stunning. So beautiful!