Mighty Girl is one of the blogs I have been reading since shortly after I discovered blogs, over a decade ago. I love the writing, I love the photos, I love the ideas. Today's post really made me think.

Playing the video and thinking about what it says, this has an awful lot of merit. At the same time, I think there is a lot of privilege in the idea of "just do what you love and the money will follow." It may be true that the money will follow, but life doesn't stop costing money just because you are starting to follow your passion. The "DWYLATMWF" premise assumes that you have a support system to keep you going in the meantime: parents, a significant other, savings, a patron, a government grant... Otherwise what do you eat? Where do you live? How do you pay your medical bills? For anyone who isn't starting out from a position of privilege, Do What You Love is going to be a hell of a lot harder. There are a lot of people for which "Do What You Gotta and Maybe You Can Pay the Bills" feels like an aspiration.

What are your thoughts? How do we make DWYLATMWF realistic for more people? I'd certainly love to make it work in my own life. Is passion enough to build the bridge from that point A to point B, or does it also require circumstances that may be beyond your control.

In my own life, in my own family, I look at how to make this work. What does it take to make this work? What does it mean if you can't?

I assure you. Most definitely not a robot. I am a human, who does the human things.

These, on the other hand, are some fairly iconic robot faces from the past century, gathered together and illustrated by Daniel Nyari. I don't recognize all of them, but I know most of them.

It's kind of great to see Rosie, Voltron, WALL-E, and a Cyberman all hanging out, ya know?

(OK, maybe that's terrifying, if you really think about it. But great, too.)

"Everybody" knows that a more symmetrical face is more attractive, right?

Julian Wolkenstein created a series of carefully neutral portraits, which he then made into two photos each, using the mirror half of each side to complete the face. The results show just how uneven even the most "symmetrical" of face really is, and how odd and off-putting true symmetry can be in a face.

As a continuing project, people are invited to take phone or webcam photos of themselves, mirror them lie Wolkenstein did, and submit the results to echoism. The results are both delightful and bizarre.

Every spring, an interactive installation takes over a high-traffic area in Montréal's Quartier des spectacles and sets a collective ritual. The installation offers a fresh look at the idea of cooperation, the notion that we can achieve more together than separately.

The result is a giant instrument made of 21 musical swings; each swing in motion triggers different notes, all the swings together compose a piece, but some sounds only emerge from cooperation.

This is truly lovely. I would like to see this someday, and getting back to Montreal is already on my life list. I think I would definitely want to try to get there while this is up some spring.

After reading Tara Austen Weaver's account, on Tea & Cookies, of her walk through the labyrinth on Lummi Island and the small pile of little things (stones and shells, mostly) that she found there, I started thinking of a similar walk I took a couple of years ago.

In early fall of 2010, my boyfriend and I bicycled out to Governor's Island, on the northern edge of Lake Mendota. We spent a golden afternoon wandering around the edge of the island, and exploring the small trails through the little woods. In one shaded area, I found a small shrine or altar. It was very crude, made of things that one would find on hand there in the woods, but it was still quite recognizable. Sitting on top were a number of small objects, including several dollar coins.

I didn't take any photos, because by that point the late afternoon light was too dim under the cover of the trees, though I wish I could have. I don't know who made the altar, nor for what specific purpose. I certainly didn't touch the objects on the altar, particularly the coins. I figured that, sooner or later, someone would come along, disturb the altar and pocket the coins. But I was not going to be that person.

It isn't uncommon to see roadside shrines: crosses, flowers, maybe balloons or stuffed animals, marking the scene of a fatal accident. It is also pretty common to come across places like the Dickeyville Grotto, which are built with genuine love and respect, but are also pretty public. Something like this, in such a quiet place, stumbled-upon, rather than displayed, seems unique. Yet there are probably just as many quiet, out-of-the-way little altars and shrines as there are in full view. You just have to be there to find them.

Members of NAVA (North American Vexillological Association) responded to a survey, in which they ranked the designs of 150 United States city flags. Madison's flag took eleventh place.

But wait, what on Earth is vexillology? Apparently, it is the "scientific study of the history, symbolism[,] and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general." So now you know.

"Make, Do" seeks to leverage the potential of arts and culture industries, grow the creative economy, and inventory communities' cultural assets. The program builds upon findings in the City of Madison's Cultural Plan, which identified lack of workspace as one of the greatest needs. At the same time, underused or vacant commercial, retail, and industrial space suitable for art workspace is available throughout the county with an untapped potential for the reuse of a variety of structures, from storefronts to barns.

I love the idea of looking at vacant commercial, retail, and industrial space and saying, "Maybe instead of leaving this empty and not creating any revenue, let's see about renting it to artists." I don't know exactly what it will lead to, but it's an excellent way of thinking outside the normal lines, and I'm certainly going to keep this on my radar.

The are currently looking for input from artists, creative workers, local government zoning/building staff, and property owners, managers and agents. Go take a look and take one of the surveys if appropriate.

How often do you come across a nifty picture on the internet, and you want to know more about it, but can't because it is without any sort of useful caption? I often find this on Pinterest and Facebook: someone will post something cool, but when I follow the link to find more information (where was that photo taken? who built that cool house? what movie is that from?) I find that the link goes to someone's Tumblr page with an "isn't this neat?" caption and nothing more, or an aggregator site with similarly slight info. I find it incredibly frustrating.

"But where did they get the photo?" I wonder to myself. Somewhere along the chain of Tumblr and Pinterest re-posts, someone posted it first, and that person might have the information I need. They might even be the original artist.

Well now I know a way to find this, and because it is so simple, I want to share it with you.

Step 1: Open Google Image Search. Click on the little camera icon in the search bar.

Step 2: Paste the URL of the image itself into the search bar. (You can usually get this URL by right-clicking on the image and choosing "Copy Image Location.") Then hit "search."

Step 3: Look at your search results. It may take a bit of looking, if it is a popular image to post. If you have a lot of hits, try site that don't have tumblr, pinterest, etc in the URL. Places like Flickr or DeviantArt are more likely to be original sources. It may take a bit of sifting and clicking to find the right source. You can also limit your results by image size. It is easier to make a big image smaller than a small image bigger, so there is a good chance that a 200 pixel wide image is a copy of the 500 pixel wide image.

For example, I was very excited today to track down the origin of this lovely photo, that had been making the rounds all over Pinterest and Tumblr:

I could read about the location and see the rest of the photos in Pete Blakemore's lovely set. Thanks, Google Image Search!

You basically need to go take a look at this. The photos are lovely. It must be completely enchanting in person.

Sometime around 2000, I heard, in error, that Maurice Sendak had died. I was sad about this, but did not discover that it was a false report until years later, in 2006. I wept Tuesday morning when I heard, once more, that he had died. I knew that this time, I wouldn't be getting him back. I wasn't as heartbroken as I was when Jim Henson died, but Henson died well before he should have. I knew from recent interviews with Sendak that, at age 83, he was starting to get pissed out about still being alive. He seemed ready to go.

Maurice Sendak, like Henson, had a strong hand in shaping my childhood landscape. Where the Wild Things Are became a favorite of mine very early on, and it remains so to this day. I am not alone in this by any means.) I did find the movie version to be enchanting, but I'd probably rather watch the Scholastic Storybook Treasures version.

However, it wasn't just Wild Things. My sister and I had a cassette of the Off-Broadway production of Really Rosie that we played over and over, memorized, and performed on our own. (I was particularly fond of "The Awful Truth.") We had copies of Pierre and Chicken Soup With Rice that got their share of wear. We also loved listening to Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or, There Must Be More to Life on tape, as read by Tammy Grimes.

Like Trina Schart Hyman, he was one of the illustrators whose work I have most admired. I was tremendously excited to find the Pacific Northwest Ballet's production of "Nutcracker", with set a costume designs from Maurice Sendak on VHS in the late 80s. It was a wonder and a delight.

Unsurprisingly, this week I have spent a great deal of time reading other people's memories of Sendak and revisiting my own. We remember and we carry on.

Look into that face, those eyes, and tell me that it is "just" and animal. James Mollison has taken portrait photographs of 40 different apes, of a variety of species, from Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia. Each one shows a different personality, a different intelligence. Assembled together, the effect is rather striking.

I'm starting to sift through my photos and pick out what I might want to print for the WisCon art show. Some of these might work, but I'd love second opinions.

Yesterday, I finally got the opportunity to see Pina, which I have been waiting for since December. I was not disappointed in the least.

I saw the 2D version, so I couldn't say whether the 3D aspect was used effectively, but I don't really care for 3d, so that was a feature, rather than a bug.

Overall, I thought it was brilliant. I am not a dance connoisseur, modern or otherwise. I had not heard of Pina Bausch until I first saw the trailer for the film. That being said, it really spoke to me. The dance was a constant juxtaposition of the graceful and the awkward, the beautiful and the homely.

The version of The Rite of Spring that basically opened the film was a violently powerful display of sweat and dirt and fear. It set the tone for obvious effort and exertion.

One thing that struck a chord with me was how many of the movements and gestures reminded me of things I do when I'm feeling a little silly. Pina took that silliness and pushed it to the edge, stretched it, exaggerated it, and it became art.

The soundtrack was also a big winner for me. I think it was the use of Jun Miyake's "Lilies in the Valley" in the trailer that first grabbed my attention. It all really worked.

One more thing: I don't know much about Wuppertal, but man, I really want to ride on their tram now. Wouldn't you?

Pascal Witaszek has made a charming and delightful assortment of movie posters for movies that don't exist, but maybe should.

I guess the poster for Walt made a bit of a stir around the net, as people thought perhaps it was real. I'd certainly go see it, if it slipped out of that alternate universe into ours.

I sing in a large chorus (over 150 people) that performs large works for chorus and orchestra. Over the years, we've sung a number of Requiems. I've developed a fondness for the Dies Irae movements.

Tonight I was thinking about the Dies Irae from the Benjamin Britten War Requiem:

It is anything but comic, yet it reminded me of the type of scene that would appear in a 1930's comedy, like the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup, when characters are sneaking around at night, tiptoeing through the dark, only to have their stealth interrupted by something crashing down.

In this Dies Irae, the chorus is tiptoeing up to Judgement Day, only to have all that wrath come crashing down on them in spite of their best efforts. Voices, brass, and percussion all explode into fortissimo, and nothing is going to stop it.

Needless to say, I really like this piece of music.

Stereo is very exciting.

As you may have already heard, Wired.com has done a wonderful thing:

Beginning today, we're releasing all Wired.com staff-produced photos under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC) license and making them available in high-res format on a newly launched public Flickr stream.

Wired has some really excellent photography, so this is quite a trove. I wonder if any other companies might follow suit?

I have long had a deep love of abandoned and crumbling places. I know I'm not alone in this. Ruins are fascinating, a little sad, a little creepy. Of course, the beauty in ruins is made more complicated when the beautiful, crumbling structures are in the midst of modern American cities. It is easy to equate urban decay with beauty when you aren't trying to live in the middle of it...when it isn't your city that is falling apart.

The photos of 100 Abandoned Houses were shot in Detroit, which certainly has more than its fair share of urban decay. When we look at these, are we rubbernecking? Are we vultures? Do we pause and think, there but for the grace of god and the vagaries of economics goes my city? My home?

Whatever the case may be, they are beautiful, though hard to look at. They make me want to say a prayer and buy American.

Rion Sabean put together this excellent series of men doing some of the typical "pin-up girl" cheesecake poses. The guy with the shovel is probably my favorite.

The Art of Clean Up: Sorting and Stacking Everyday Objects

(My favorite it the alphabet soup.)

The Colors of Good vs. Evil: Comic Book Color Palettes [infographic] By COLOURlover

"Blue: the ultimate hero. Bright Red: Also used by the ultimate hero," as a Brewers and Badge fan, I can get behind that.

Creepy woman candle is creepy.

And the close-up photography quizzes on the back page. If you loved those, you will probably also dig Caren Alpert's magnified photography. The surfaces of ordinary objects look like alien worlds.

Wouldn't you want to spend some time walking in that shade?

But these photos are marvelous.

Dear Photograph is a charming photoblog that puts a cool spin on the "rephotographing" trend. Rather than just recreating an old photograph, "Dear Photograph" inserts the old photograph into the scene as it is today, lining up the shot as closely as possible, along with a bit of commentary (in the form of an apostrophe to the photo itself). So far, I am finding it utterly charming.

Ed Piskor of Wizzywig Comics has put together this nifty color chart of old 64 color comic colors translated into Photoshop values.

Cement Eclipses: Tiny Street Art Sculptures by Isaac Cordal

Both the sculpture themselves and the photos are wonderful. Enjoy!

Yarn bombing, knitted graffiti, crafty tagging... Maybe you've heard of it. Maybe you've seen it in the wild. This street art has been around for at least a decade (possibly earlier) and is now getting notice in The New York Times. The article is brief, but very interesting and informative.

I found three things to be particularly worthy of note. First was the contrast between the male dominance of traditional graffiti and street art, versus the traditional feminine orientation of the yarn-based work.

Next was the degree of "I'm better than that because I've been in galleries" attitude from one of the knitters profiled:

Olek, whose work has been shown in museums and galleries worldwide, considers yarn bombing to be the trite work of amateurs and exhibitionists.

"Lots of people have aunts or grandmas who paint," she said. "Do you want to see that work in the galleries? No. The street is an extension of the gallery. Not everyone's work deserves to be in public."

Deliciously snobby, neh?

Finally (and not entirely surprising) was the fact that was started out as DIY, crafty, underground, etc has been co-opted by a number of Fortune 500 companies for advertising purposes. Certainly not the first time for such a thing.

You do not want to miss this amazing panoramic, high-resolution photographic image of the library at Strahov Monastery in Prague, taken by Jeffrey Martin. It took him five days to shoot. The image is 40 gigapixels, and is composed of 2,947 separate photos, which have been joined together into one incredible, enormous 360-degree panorama.

If you have Javascript active for the site, you can pan around the room, including up and down. You can also zoom in onto small details with startling clarity. The tremendous size means that you can spend quite a while examining things and still not see it all.

Today (ETA: yesterday, at this point), I am taking part in an Edgewood College writing retreat at Painted Forest in Valton, WI. There is no internet here, but my plan is to prep a series of entries, to be posted later.

Our group drove over from Madison a little after 8. The drive through the Driftless Region was absolutely gorgeous. I am in love with the rolling hills and winding roads in this area. The "400" state bike trail runs near here, and I think I may wish to take a ride on it at some point this season.

Painted Forest is kind of a two-part location. The main activity of the retreat is taking place in the Art Studio and Study Center, which was built in 2004. I am tucked away in the sleeping loft, which is cozy and quiet and warm. Perfect!

Painted Forest proper is an old meeting hall for the Modern Woodmen of America from the 1890s. On the outside, it is just a plain, white wooden building. But on the inside, it is covered from floor to ceiling by murals painted by Ernst Hüpeden, a German immigrant who taught himself to paint while wrongfully imprisoned. The murals are weird and wonderful, full of symbolism and scenes of the organizations initiation rituals. My favorite parts were the areas were the murals move from wall to ceiling, with the tops of trees silhouetted against a blue sky, dotted with friendly white clouds.

It is a great location to do some work, without the distraction of the rest of the internet. (Though I was careful to make sure I opened a number of new tabs last night, so that I could make use of the internet in a slightly more static way.)

Brazilian designer Jum Nakao made a collection of gorgeous paper dresses for Fashion Week in Sydney. The dresses were then torn up by the models at the end of the show "as a reminder that fashion is a medium and not an end in itself."

They live on in photos, and are a delight to behold.

8 bits to be precise.

Enjoy!

...is what you will often find wafting through Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg's "cinemagraphs.

As they explain to John Pavlus at Fast Company's Co.Design:

"We wanted to tell more of a story than a single still frame photograph but didn't want the high maintenance aspect of a video."

You really want to take a look at these. Aside from being great photos, they are also quite clever and elegant.

Ryan Novelline has constructed a exquisite, couture ballgown out of Golden Books. The link not only has some great photos of the dress, but excellent documentation of the process. Showing your work: not just for math class. I love it!

If the Miwa Yanagi fairy tale photos are too much for your brain, here is a palate cleanser for you: 14 Rare Color Photos From the FSA-OWI

These excellent photos were shot between 1939 and 1945 by photographers for the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. They are striking photos regardless, but the color adds an extra element of beauty, since this is an era that we rarely imagine in color.

Even Disney can't make fairy tales entirely sweetness and light. No matter how they scrub, some darkness remains.

Now, the farther back you go for your fairy tales, the less scrubbing they have had and the darker they remain. They are full of death and sex and violence and complete weirdness.

Miwa Yanagi captures that darkness and deepens the shadows in her collection, Fairy Tale. These will haunt your dreams.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

There are some excellent photos in the archives of the New South Wales, Australia police department. Of particular interest are the mugshots, which are so different in so many ways from the mugshots of today. And yet... so very similar. (I could very much see the young woman in this photo in combat boots, a band t-shirt, and ripped jeans.)

A tip of the hat to Very Short List for bringing this to my attention.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Greenwich Locksmiths in New York City looks like my kind of place.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

I did not even know that such a book existed. Now, thanks to Maggie Mason, I do. And I am delighted by it.

Go take a look!

Need an icon? Check out The Noun Project: "The Noun Project collects, organizes and adds to the highly recognizable symbols that form the world's visual language, so we may share them in a fun and meaningful way." All of the symbols on the site can be downloaded and used for free with a Creative Commons license.

Dave Mead, of Austin, Texas, has collected some of the most fantastic beards in his "Magnificent Specimens." Magnificent they are indeed. Tremendous, in fact.

If you are in Portland, OR, you have just about a month to see the show in person. The rest of out can check it out via the portfolio on his website.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Some faster than others. Daniel Del Nero makes houses of out cardboard, covers them with flour and mold spores, and the photographs the decay. It is creepy and gorgeous and wonderful.
It's like something from a strange and haunting dream.

You really must check it out.

Go take a look!

Canton City Lines Token Cufflinks II

Rockville Centre Token Cufflinks

Sheboygan City Lines Bus Token Cufflinks

Mixed Michigan Bus Token Cufflinks

Mixed Transit Token Cufflinks, Blaumont and Winfield

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Philip Scott Johnson has creatued a video that morphs Vicent Van Gogh's self-portraits from one to the next. The effect is really something. The angles and colors change, but what keeps it really consistent as being the same person is the eyes.

One thing this really shows is how good our brains are at recognizing "this thing is also that thing".

Van Gogh from Philip Scott Johnson on Vimeo.

As is always the case, there was way more to see on Gallery Night than I could reasonably fit in the 5-9 time span. It's like a buffet banquet: you try to get in tiny samples of as many items as you can, but you'll still be stuffed before you can try it all.

This year most of my stops were also in/near studio spaces, which make me happy. Two of the stops involved glass blowing demos, which are always a treat for me.

I started out the night at Studio Paran on Winnebago, which included glass blowing demos by Richard Jones, and "Tables for Two" in the gallery space, a collaboration by Jones and furniture-maker Christopher Ueland. The artistic cafe tables they had built and set up throughout the room really did invite visitors to linger and talk, while examining the work close-up.

Next stop was across the street at the Winnebago Studios. It was still early in the night, and I know that some of the artists were also taking part in shows elsewhere, so some my usual studios were closed. But it was still wonderful to be surrounded not just by the art of art, but by the mess and material of art-making. Even a tidy studio has an energy to it that thrills me.

I have a quick stop at Tandem Press on Dickinson and then across the street to my old digs, Evolution Arts Collective. There was some great new work in the show, and the space was really alive. I you are looking for inexpensive, shared studio space in the Madison area, I high recommend contacting them at evolutionartscollective@gmail.com.

Radiant Glass and reneéglass factory in the Madison Enterprise Center on Baldwin St was next on the list, where there was more wonderful glass blowing demonstrations, and some stunning works of glass on display by all the artists.

Just upstairs in the Common Wealth Gallery, artist Michele Kraft had a series of gorgeous and intriguing oil paintings, based on the tarot. Sadly, I did not get any photos at this stop, but there was one particular installation based on the Lovers that made me stop, look twice, and then smile.

We were running short on time at this point, and decided that looking for parking downtown would eat up too much of what was left, so we had to skip the likes of the UW, Overture, and MMoCA. Instead we hightailed it up Monroe street to the always delightful Macha Tea House and Gallery, for some wonderfully weird paintings on velvet.

The last stop of the night was the most traditional, as we spend the last 10 minutes before nine in the Grace Chosy Gallery. There was some nice work on display, but nothing that knocked my socks off. It was aesthetically and technically sound, but it was also pretty safe. Not a bad thing, but far less memorable than some of the things we'd seen earlier that night.

After 9 bells tolled, we headed up to jacs for a light meal (all that we really needed after a night of gallery reception snacks). I can recommend the spinach salad, and will note that the small is quite substantial.

So, here's to Fall Gallery Night 2010. Now, on to Spring 2011!

I swear, I will find the time to get the Gallery Night photos up. In the meantime, I have a wonderful thing for you.

In almost every picture #7, collected and edited by Erik Kessels and Joep Eljkens has an amazing series of photos taken from the perspective of a shooting gallery. From age 16 in 1936 to the present day, Ria van Dijk has been going yearly to the shooting gallery at the fair, where he picture is automatically taken when she hits the target. (There is a gap in the photos during the war years.)

The series is remarkable as we watch her get older, fashions change, and the photography go from sepia to polaroid. All the while, her arms are up, her left eye is closed, and she bears a look of steady concentration and pride. It really is a wonderful thing, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Go take a look!

I used to draw, but I kind of drifted away from it in favor of other things...like photography. And, like any skill left unpracticed, I've gotten rusty as hell.

However, Pose Maniacs makes me want to get back into practice. I particularly like the gesture drawing feature, since that was my favorite part of life drawing class.

Today seemed like a good day to make some Etsy Treasuries:

Trick or Treat!, featuring members of the fPOE Team.

Boo!, featuring members of the Wisconsin Street Team.

This grand old post office building is going to be transformed into Moynihan Station, an expansion of Penn Station. In the meantime, a lot of it is currently vacant.

Open House New York allowed Scout, the blogger of Scouting New York to tour and photograph the facilities. The result is a really interesting photo series.

I'd love a chance to look around there myself, but alas....too far away. However, I really love looking at these photos.

Author Michael Swanwick has written a short story aout autumn, and put it together in a Flickr set using photographs of fallen leaves with words of the story written on in marker.

The story is pretty simple and some of the photos are out of focus, but the project itself is fun and clever.

Check out the set. It works especially well if you view it as a slide show.

Go take a look!

Wee! Tonight is Fall Gallery Night in Madison, and I am certainly excited for it.

I have well over a dozen venues that I'd like to visit, and only few hours in which to do so, which means I need to plan carefully. Fortunately, many of them are in clusters. Unfortunately, they are spread out from the near east side to the near west. Travel time is going to be a thing, as is parking.

Still, I know it is going to be a good time. I plan to bring my camera, and post some photos if I get some good ones.

LIFE.com has some previously unreleased photos of the Hell's Angels from 1965, LIFE photographer Bill Ray. These are great aesthetically, historically, and as a sociological piece. Too bad the story was killed in 65, but I'm glad they've put the photos online.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Denverpost.com has some fabulous arial shots of Manhattan in their photoblog. The perspective is breathtaking.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

NPR is featuring some neat "ground as backdrop" photos at the moment.

I'd already seen Oren Lavie's "Her Morning Elegance"

as well as "Sorry I'm Late"

But Strawberry Swing was new to me.

And now, into Friday we gooooooooooooooooo!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Miniature Art on the Tip of Pencil by Dalton Ghetti (via Odd Stuff Magazine) showcases the amazing and beautiful sculptures that Ghetti carves into the graphite tips of ordinary pencils.

He has a level of patience and devotion to his work that I have not achieved. The fact that he gives his work away, rather than sell it, adds a layer of wonderful to the whole thing.

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Dark Roasted Blend explores some really interesting book plates. Looking at some of the designs, I find myself wanting to make my own set of book plates. Time to start planning!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

I love all the lines on this one.

Go take a look!

My "Red Gym" photo has a nice inclusion on the Photogrunt blog. There are some other very nice pictures included. Why not take a look?

Go take a look!

Go take a look!

As blogged by T.

Go take a look! Week 10 is coming soon!

Go take a look! The other diptychs are pretty sweet, too.

Perfect for the start of the summer festival season. It would also make a great Father's Day gift if you have a dad who took you to the midway as a kid.

My Canton cufflinks are included in this nifty Father's Day treasury:

For the Most Interesting Man in the World

It's a Treasury! It's a Tarot reading!

I want to pass the word along on this, as well as making something of a bookmark/reminder for myself.

There is a call for artists for the Habitat Restore Annual Salvage Art Show and Auction in October of 2010.

The Salvage Art Show will be juried by professional artists. Interested artists will submit three examples of their work, which will be evaluated on such elements as originality, design, composition, subject matter, choice of materials, and skill of execution. Submissions to the jury will be due by May 22. Artists will be notified of their status during the week of June 1.

Worth a try, I think.

My first treasury in Etsy's new Treasury East beta. It features buttony selections from the Etsy Recyclers Guild, the Etsy Trashion Team, and the Etsy Wisconsin Street Team.

Cicada this time. Nice way to end the work week.

My MTA cufflinks are included in a cool Earth Day treasury (expires Saturday, just before midnight).

"Queen of Pentacles" was accepted at Craftgawker.

"Did he ever return,
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn'd
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned."

--"Charlie on the MTA," Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes

Lovely, old-school Boston subway tokens adorn these funky cufflinks. MTA, not MBTA, which puts these tokens at pre-1964. (The more recently discontinued MBTA tokens feature the large "T" on one side. Of course, it's all Charlie Cards now.)

I must admit, the Boston subway holds a special place in my heart, and I think these tokens are might snazzy. Don't you?

The Floating market garners a nice mention in this article on the Etsy Recyclers Guild Team (see page 4 for a photo and page 5 for the mention)

What a nice way to start the week!

Like the butterfly...

I've watched this one a couple of times, and enjoy it more each time.

ETA: In case you don't know all of the paintings.

ETA II: And yes, the blackface in the rendition of "Olympia" is rather troubling. I didn't notice it the first couple of times I watched the video, sad to say.

My photo, "Glow," is now featured in the March 2010 issue of Broadsheets.

Since December, I have been working on a painting for the wall of the nursery for the new son of my good friends. We have been referring to it as "the mural", though we decided to paint it on masonite and mount it to the wall, rather than paint it directly on. That way, if they move or he outgrows it, the painting can be moved.

Just getting the board home from Menards proved to be quite a trick. It was too big to fit in the car, so it had to go on top. M. and I had enough rope to tie it down, but we didn't have enough rope to make it really secure against gusts of wind at the front. So we rolled down the windows and drove really slowly, each of us with one hand out and up, hold the board down as the wind tugged at it. We laughed at our own ridiculousness pretty much non-stop all the way home.

The painting was a copy of a scene from Trina Schart Hyman's Saint George and the Dragon illustrations. N. had wanted a scene with actual dragn fighting, but we decided that it might be too scary for a really wee one, so we picked another interesting scene.

After gessoing the board, I traced the picture with the help of a projector.

Then I began the long process of turning that drawing into a painting.

Since I was using acrylic paints to copy a watercolor, I decided to mostly use washes or color, with only a few thicker areas here and there, and to let the pencil lines remain part of the finished look.

The last step (for me) came this Sunday, as I painted a bright red border around the edge to frame it.

Now all that remains is to get it mounted on the wall in the nursery. I'm looking forward to seeing it up, and I'll post a picture when it is. Both M. and N. were quite pleased with how it turned out.

I must admit, I was quite nervous when I started. I haven't really painted much since college, which was ages ago, and even then I was more of a photographer than a painter. My paintings tended to be very stylized and abstract. But Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite artists, and M. and N. are two of my favorite people, so I couldn't not do it.

If you care to, you can also see a slideshow of the photos above.

Another Craftgawker acceptance!

A pair of my cufflinks is featured in this cool p-poc treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=122237 Check it and click! (expires Wednesday morning)

A pair of cufflinks from The Floating Market has received a favorable mention on Small talk about big things. Check it out!

1. I am bound and determined to sell these hair sticks today. They are on sale right now for $5 off the regular price, and they are totally charming.

2. Starting today and for the next seven days, I have a tile ad up on Craft Cult. I'm hoping it does some good.

3. I have a wonderfully creepy treasury, "The Unsettling Toy Box" on Etsy at the moment.

4. This weekend, I expect to finish an art project I have been working on since December. I'll post pictures as soon as I do.

Happy Friday! What are you up to?

Apparently, at approximately 5:00am EST, Thursday December 31 2009, a treasury list that I made was featured on the Etsy front page. (It was about 5 hours later that one of my own items made the front page for the first time.) Check it out!

All hair sticks $5 off at the Floating Market, limited time only.

In Etsy's Treasury West, until early Sunday morning.

I've been a busy, busy bee with 6 new listings and 2 renewals. (This was after finishing painting a mural at a friend's house--more on that later.)

New:

Guitar, Fine Art Photograph, 8x10 Glossy Print, unframed

At the Terrace, Fine Art Photograph, 8x10 Glossy Print, unframed

Vine-wrapped Window, Fine Art Photograph, 6.5x4.5 Glossy Print, unframed

Malus, Fine Art Photograph, 6.5x4.5 Glossy Print, unframed

Cloudy Day at the Midway, Fine Art Photograph, 6.5x4.5 Glossy Print, unframed

They say the owl was a bakers daughter... Fine Art Photograph, 4.5x6.5 Matte Print, unframed

Renewed:

Night Nude, Fine Art Photograph, 7.5x5 Glossy Print, unframed

Queen of Pentacles, Fine Art Photograph, 5x7 Glossy Print, unframed

A friend of mine passed me the link for this video, a 5+ minute rough cut "teaser" for a series called In the Room.

I don't know much more about it than what you can find on the Vimeo page, but it looks really neat and I'd love to see the finished product. The one thing that I do know is that my friend's step-mother is the composer in the 4th segment.

Check it out!

As of this afternoon, I have a new scanner. I am very, very excited by this, as it means I can finally start scanning some of the many, many prints I have available. It also means I can restart my stalled project with the family photo albums. The old scanner just couldn't handle it any more.

To celebrate, I now have a new print up at Irving Place Photography: Red Gym.

I also have a treasury for the next few days: Forward!, a tribute to spring, Daylight Savings Time, and Wisconsin.

I posted three new items to the Floating Market late last night. Two individual buttons and one 4-button set:

Spikes, 1 inch Wooden Button with burnt-in design, OOAK

Clock, 1 inch Wooden Button with burnt-in design, OOAK

Hourglass, 3/4 inch Wooden Buttons with burnt-in design, set of 4

Nominations for the 2010 Hugo Awards close next Sunday. As I am still eligible to nominate (having been to WorldCon last year), I have been giving it some thought. I can nominate up to five in each catagory.

Best Novel, current thoughts are:
The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The City & The City by China Miéville
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Best Novella, Best Novelette...dunno. I don't think I read any new ones from 2009.

Best Short Story is also a dunno, as I can't quite remember which that I read where new in 2009. I'll have to look it up.
ETA:
I'm liking K. Tempest Bradford's "Élan Vital"

Best Related Work is a category that I know very little about.

Best Graphic Story is going to require more thought, and I'd be happy to take recommendations. (Any science fiction or fantasy story told in graphic form appearing for the first time in 2009.)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form:
Coraline
Star Trek
Moon

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
"Epitaph One," Dollhouse

Best Editor, Short Form; Best Editor, Long Form; Best Professional Artist...dunno. I'll have to think on it.

Best Semiprozine
I believe Shadow Unit qualifies.

Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer, Best Fan Artist, John W. Campbell Award...dunno.

I'd welcome any thoughts and input on categories that are blank or incomplete.

Blackbird Marmalade Creations is the work of C. Jane Washington, a Madison artist who makes the most wonderfully creepy art dolls.

I first came across her work at last spring's Odyssey Con art show, and my first thought was, "I know these creatures!" They were very much like the little beings, good and bad, that scampered around my imagination as a child. (See also.)

I picked up one of her cards for future reference, at which point it did that thing that business cards like to do to me: it went into hiding for a while. I rediscovered it last night, and was reminded to check the website, and hence, this blog entry.

Coincidentally, she is also on the WisCon 34 Art Show committee. (Or perhaps she *is* the art show committee, as these things sometimes go.)

Anyway, her work is delightfully creepy, scarily cute, and terrifyingly toothy. Go check it out.

For starters, there is this excellent retro sash belt. Then, there are five new bags constructed from scraps: a cellphone holder/coin purse made from the end of a necktie and my Four Seasons bag collection, constructed from discarded decorator fabric samples.

I'm happy with the pieces, though I think I may redo most of the photos when I get a chance. Let me know what you think!

I was digging through a box of fabric and lo and behold, I found where I'd put those bags I'd been working on. It turns out that I had attached the handles, and just hadn't realized it. I also think that they actually don't need a button or a snap at the top. So they really are finished!

I need to get some photos taken this weekend and the pricing figured out, but look for them soon!

In my inbox, passing along to you Madison-area folk:

Hello All-
One of our very talented members, Taya Kuklina, is offering up her expertise to you. Beginning this Friday, she will be offering the following classes. There is no cost for the classes, but a suggested donation of $5.00 to help the collective keep going and the ability to offer these classes in the future. Interested parties should e-mail us right away as they will fill up very quickly. Here are the days and times of the classes:

Thanks again, and happy art making!
Kurt Rossbach
Evolution Arts Collective

A very cool Flickr set: Passport Photos - Famous Artists

Today I got the heads up that I've been accepted to participate in the art show for this year's WisCon. Yay!

I found this series of post apocalyptic 80's toys by Tom Kyzivat/Murderous Automaton to be quite nifty. Kind of along the same lines as Eric Poulton's Steampunk Star Wars.

A treasury from Wisconsin Etsians, till Wednesday, at 8:15 PM CST.

Take a look while it is still around!

Can be found from Heather Tomlinson over on Tor.com.

Sometimes cover art can cause controversy,as was the case with Bloomsbury's Australian release of Justine Larbalestier's Liar. Often, the authors have no say in the matter, though in this case Bloomsbury was smart enough to change the art to something more suitable.

I have to say, sometimes it is really fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes angle on this stuff.

Elise Matthesen has new shinies up for sale.

The hairsticks are particularly nifty.

Ok, I really need to get these finished, as they have been left at this state for well over 9 months now. I really don't have a great reason for that, other than they got put away and forgotten about for a while.

These bags are made from some of the many, many pieces of scrap decorator samples that I have acquired. They are a nice, heavy-duty cotton. The inside and the outsides of the bags don't quite match, being from two different sample sets, but they do go together quite nicely.

I still need to sew the handles on, and perhaps give them a snap or button of some sort to close them. I might put them up in the Market when I'm all finished. We'll see.

I'm a little tempted to put the "This Item Made the Front Page of Etsy" icon on this one, except it wasn't exactly this item that made the front page but one very, very similar to it. Might be close enough, but there is still some difference.

I have a special fondness for this pair, since the original set was my first ever Etsy frontpage.

This was another shot from the Verona Hometown USA carnival, same day as the "Flight" photo. The name of this particular ride is the Zipper, and I have ridden it once. By myself. And that was quite enough. (That ride was next to the music tent, which gave me insight in to the length of the ride: the band was doing the last chorus or so of one song when the ride started. Then they played "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, and I sang along at the top of my lungs. Then they started up a 3rd song before the ride ended. It was a long, long ride.)

Both the ride and this photo make me think of the Tower card in a tarot deck, hence the name.

Someday, I'd love to have enough appropriate photos to build an entire tarot deck, though so far, I've only got two of the Major Arcana.

So it should come as no surprise that I love Picture Book Report. Illustrators getting together (on the internet) and making pictures for the stories they love. I'm charmed.

Yesterday afternoon, I dropped in to the High Noon Saloon to check out the The Valentine's Day Craftacular. It was the earliest in the day I have ever been there, that is for sure. From the moment I walked in, I looked around and thought, "This is pretty neat." The layout and the bustle of activity put me in mind of the actual Floating Market in the BBC version of Neverwhere (from which my shop draws it's name and inspiration).

I counted about nineteen vendors. Five of them were upstairs, which is where I started.

First up was Prettifications by Cynthia a store I'd actually stumbled across in the fall while looking for something to wear to a wedding with my little black dress. I didn't buy anything at the time, but it did add a piece of hers to my favorites list. (I still covet it...may buy it yet if no one snaps it up before me.)

Next was Haley Studio, who had some gorgeous handspun yarn and some truly lovely fabric pocketbook-type bags.

Gub Factory's cellphone holders and coffee cup cozies were neat, but the stuffed creatures were the highlight of their table.

At this point, the upstairs was getting crowded, so I went downstairs to look around for a little while.

Space Oddities had a set-up on the pool table. Very hip, very fun.

Picture Day, who also has some great shots of the day, was looking stylin' by the soundbooth.

Lulu's Stabby's Critters may be stabby, but they are also cute as hell.

Antique Basket Lady's bags were totally charming. I loved the bold fabric prints.

Mindy Kuen had little baby t-shirts with neckties. I am nothing if not all about the necktie fashions.

Glitter Workshop was the organizer of the whole shebang. Two words: button bracelets. Scrumptious! Two more words: crochet cupcakes.

The Bare Tree Apparel had a wide variety of belts, hoodies, and shirts, including these screen printed boneshakers.

Lula and Deedee's display table reminded me of a fireworks display, with funky beaded earrings bursting out in every direction.

Kim's Crafty Apple 'n The Apple was an explosion of bright fabrics and beads, plus tasty-looking jars of preserves.

Dainty Daisies, of Oshkosh had a rack of colorful fabric totes and a table overflowing with cheerful jewelry and hair accessories.

Fat Cat Beads' brick and mortar store is tucked away on Thierer Rd, but the Craftacular display was right at the corner of the bar. Tell me, do you not want one of these earring trees? Yeah, I thought so. Me, too.

orangyporangy was tucked in at the edge of stage right, just by the stairs. So, I am not allowed to buy myself any new skirts until spring, but my resolve wavered a bit at the sight of what have to be the happiest skirts in the world.

Stage left was Christina Ward Creatures and more rockin' plushies. Plush chupacabra? Check. No, seriously: hard rockin'. How about a plushGolem of Prague.

Bernie's Girl had skirts in the deconstructed/reconstructed/recycled style that I dig (but usually can only get away with wearing while LARPing), along with candylike "Word Drop" rings.

The last vendor I checked out before heading back upstairs was Whimsy House: "goodness fashioned from vintage buttons & felted wool." Picture a rainy afternoon spent rummaging around in your grandmother's attic and making crafts. (Well, someone's grandmother, at least.) Now picture those crafts done with exquisite taste and skill. Yup, it's kind of like that.

Back up to the balcony, where I was able to get a better look at Little Dandelion Studios' table. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do with pretty, handpainted clothespins, and yet I find myself wanting them.

Last, but certainly not least, was Sommer with an O who had beautiful photos, an interesting presentation, and great boots.

While I wasn't able to buy anything, it was great to see so many local crafters having a good day. The general consensus was that it was a fantastic turn out for a February, and that sales had been very good. I was happy to be there, and maybe someday will return as a vendor myself. For now, though, I've just stocked up my mental wish list.

This wood-burned button pair is ever so simple. And sometimes, simple is all you need.

This is another shot from the Troll series. It reminded me of a woodblock print. There was actually a specific image that I remember from years ago, but I haven't been able to find it, even after much searching. I wonder if it may have been an ad? It was a standard-looking samurai/kabuki actor portrait, only the figure in the portrait was looking angrily (and possibly cross-eyed) at a fly. I don't think I'm imagining it, but it may well have been a modern parody.

I love the intensity of the stare.

Tragic Ladies: Unlucky in Love, a new treasury on Esty. Expires Tuesday, February 9 at 6:46 PM CST, so look while you can.

"That's what she said."

But seriously, who *doesn't* want to be good all over Wilkinsburg?

I am really drawn to cheesy local festivals and carnival rides.The slightly bored carnies, the clusters of giggling teens, the wafting smell of cotton candy and funnel cakes, and the sound of the Cheap Trick cover band in the beer tent...

Besides the thrill of the ride itself, there is something about the thought "gee, I hope they put it together right" while flying through the air at great speed that gets the heart pumping. This photo captures that for me.

(Shot at Verona Hometown U.S.A. Fest, 1999.)

This landed in my inbox today:

Hello All-

Hope to see you there!
Kurt Edwin Rossbach
Evolution Arts Collective
evolutionartscollective(at)gmail(dot)com

Evolution Arts Collective is a really cool group, and you will probably get a lot out of attending this. I'd go, except that I will be out celebrating my birthday that evening. I'm hoping to make it to the next one.

"Six drawings per movie, in sequence, no movie stars" is the simple caption that accompanies a series of eye-catching black and white line drawings that recreate scenes from classic movies. The game is to guess what they are.

I probably guess correctly about a third of the time, but it is always fun trying.

Most of my buttons are done as singles, but these pinwheels demanded to be made ina sete of four. Perhaps this was to echo those four segments (which should not be confused with the fallout trefoil, though it did remind me of that).

Spin, little pinwheels, spin!

"Ophelia, you're breaking my heart!"

This is one of my favorite photos, and also from one of my favorite photo shoots. Did I mention how grateful I am that I have such obliging friends as fabulous models? This was my first "put the model in the water" shoot. Happily, we had a warm September day for the work, and the water was not at all uncomfortable.

Earlier in the day, we had wandered around in a graveyard, doing a mad scene. The photos turned out all right, but none were exactly what I was looking to achieve. We then trekked over to Lake Wingra Park, where an obliging willow tree and the warm, shallow water provided the perfect backdrop.

I always find this photo to be beautiful and haunting...and just slightly creepy.

Can you judge a book by its cover? Maybe, maybe not. Seeing the same image used for so many book covers really makes me appreciate how art and imagery can be interpreted.

It would be kind of nice if there were little blurbs for each book. Sometimes the titles can give a good indication of what the book is about and if it is similar or different from its covermates, but not always. The way the cover designers use different crops, color balance, contrast, etc to change the feel is also intriguing.

Study of Emma Hart as Circe seems to be particularly popular.

I just got in a bunch of cool new (new to me, as they are vintage) supplies. I'm going to play with them, and see what kinds of cool things I can create.

<oh so giddy>

Murmur is photographer Richard Barnes' fantastic series of photos of swarms of starlings. The clouds and shapes formed by the millions of small birds flying together are astounding. Some resemble spaceships or storms.

I think this is the sort of thing that would be neat to see in person, but only from a reasonable distance. Or with an umbrella.

Check out the Etsy Recyclers Guild Team Blog. It features lots of artists and artisans who make things with recycled and "upcycled" materials, including yours truly!

While I didn't end up going into illustration myself, a good many of the people who inspired me to do art were illustrators: Maurice Sendak, Trina Schart Hyman, and of course, Normal Rockwell.

My dad had a great big book of Normal Rockwell covers. It was huge, and I loved looking at it. I would sit in my favorite chair and the book would cover my entire lap. I could spend hours looking at it. I'd imagine the stories that went with each, try to spot the jokes in the April Fool's covers, look for repeating themes and ideas, and pretend that I was one of the characters in some pictures.

Of course, he is "America's most beloved illustrator". So it I know my love of Mr. Rockwell isn't some crazy rarity. At the same time, it can be fashionable to sneer at the sentimental Americana of Rockwell's work. I'll have none of that, thankyouverymuch,

I recently had the urge to look at those illustrations again. My dad's book is up in northern Wisconsin, so I picked up the three-volume Norman Rockwell and the Saturday Evening Post: The Early Years, the Middle Years, the Later Years from the library, and have been reading through it. And yes, reading. I intended to just look at the illustrations that I remembered from my girlhood, but I find myself reading the paragraphs that accompany each page, and learning quite a bit that I'd never know about the artist and his work.

Even his "less successful" covers are a pleasure to look at, and I strongly recommend the collection. What I really find neat are the oldest covers, before he was able to work in full color. They are only red and black duotones, but somehow I'd never really noticed the limited palette until it was pointed out to me. I thought that was pretty neat.

Winter, winter, winter. I have to say, I'm not digging it right now. If I weren't sick, and could take advantage of the ice skating this week, it might be different. Instead, I am craving flowers something fierce.

Well, Lynda Naranjo's photography feels like a bit of summer. At least a pleasant memory of warmer seasons. Hollyhocks and days on the lake.

Why not check her out?

You may already know artist Shaennon Garrity from her webcomics Narbonic or Skin Horse, but you don't have to be a regular reader to appreciate her delightfully droll Edward Gorey's "The Trouble with Tribbles". She really nailed the style.

Sometimes I get a little silly when naming things, but when I looked at what I had made, the alternating discs and seed beads really made me think of plate spinning. The cheery yellow base and the pyrographic design also lend to the circus feel. I think these are fun and decorative, without being over the top.

I am really not a "car person". I'm not someone who can tell you year, make, and model at a glance. (Well, except for the models with really distinctive body types, and even then I'm not going to be able to tell you a year.) Still, I do appreciate the lines of a well-designed automobile. There was something about this car that caught my eye.

This is also an early image for me, circa summer of 1998. It may have been within a roll or two of "Derelict". If you look closely, you can see a wee, unintentional self-portrait in the chrome.

These earrings are a wee bit less "found object" than my usual. The keys are found, the birds came from the same fabric store going out of business sale that netted me all my plain wooden buttons. But I just sort of love the idea of these hummingbirds bearing keys. Very much like something that might happen in a fairytale.

If I recall correctly, this was taken on Thanksgiving of 1998 or 1999. I was using a Cmeha Smena 8m, a Soviet Russian camera that I picked up for super cheap. (I think this was before the "Lomography" craze had hit big...I hadn't heard of it, at least. I picked up a Holga at the same time.) It is considered a "toy" camera, and it is pretty limited in what it an do, but the lens produces some very cool effects. Frankly, I wish that processing and printing from film hadn't become so much more difficult, because this kind of thing makes me want to shoot a few more rolls and hit the darkroom.

The shadows are from my sister and I, as we were out in a local nature preserve walking the dog. The title comes from a line in L. M. Montgomery's Emily Climbs.

Today was a wonderfully full day. I took a set of product photos for the fabulous Anandi, then started getting them web-ready (color correction, cropping, sizing...) We would have done more, but my camera battery started running low.

In exchange, she is going to make me a nightgown. I have been looking in vain for something sexy/cute, yet warm (it is, after all, Wisconsin in winter). So I bought a few yards of some soft green jersey cloth, and she is going to custom-make something for me. I'm very excited by this. I'll totally post some pictures of it when it is ready.

I'm also looking forward to seeing her shop up and running live. (She has a few pieces in it now, but she has quite a few more lovely things to list.)

Nice. I've got 6 new photos up:

Cicada

Tall as Our Shadows

Tower

Chevelle

Palette

Climbing the Walls

Enjoys!

"We gotta go to the crappy town where I'm a hero."

Seriously, if you are a Browncoat, these cufflinks will get the "Hero of Canton" song running through your head.

One of the things I really like about this pair is that it is pretty much the same token (unlike my mixed sets) but the colors are not identical. We have one silver-tone token and one that looks like it may have been coated in a darker layer (copper?) that has started wearing off. It would be too easy if they looked exactly alike. The difference makes it interesting to me.

This was totally a lucky shot from my very first roll of film in an SLR. Sweet timing, that's what I say to that.

I'm particularly fond of his shadow.

In a way, it was a LARP that set a good bit of this in motion. Not everything, but it certainly played a part. There was a period of almost 3 years during which I was taking part in a Live Action Roleplaying game based on Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. I was, in fact, playing a version of Ingress (Ress), the youngest daughter of the the House of Arch, who only appears in the book very briefly and is still missing (and perhaps dead) at the end of it.

She was an Opener, and had a tendency to collect lost keys. I didn't even have to try very hard, as over the course of the game other players would seek me out and hand me bunches of old keys. Sometimes they would want the prop back at the end of the game. Usually they didn't. Then the key acquisition started to bleed out into the real world, and old keys continued to find their way into my possession. I amassed quite a horde of random keys and a desire to find things to do with them.

This key actually did come to me during the course of some Floating Market session or another. So it seems appropriate that when it does eventually leave me, it will also be by way of The Floating Market.

This shot is the result of a happy accident plus some digital manipulation. I'd tried to get a good shot of a group of people staring down at the camera in an ominous way. The actual result, when I made the print, was pretty lackluster. Only, there was one tiny bit of a face in the corner which really drew my attention. I loved the way the light and shadows played together for in a highly creepy way.

I made that bit of the image the basis for a really cool pen and ink drawing (which I should find and scan one of these days). Once I actually had a scanner of my own, I made a very high resolution scan of that part of the picture, than started working with it in Photoshop to sharpen the contrasts a bit more and build on the scary anonymity of it. I must say, I'm really proud of how it turned out.

A few years ago, I started a project of buying old leather coats from the Dig and Save and revamping them in an odd, urban fantasy way...the aesthetic that soon took over a lot of what I was doing. (I don't have any of the coats ready for sale just yet, but you an glimpse a bit of one here.) Part of the revamp was to replace the plastic buttons with more interesting things. Around the same time, a local fabric store was going out of business, and I ended up with a whole mess of plain wooden buttons that were crying out for some pyrography. Of course, I liked it so much that I ended up with way more buttons than I would probably use.

This particular button plays with surfaces and textures. The design is owes more to pressure than to burning—quick, heavy presses with the tool. When I finished, I realized that it reminded me of the old Aztec and Mayan calendars. (Hence the name.)

Have I mentioned how much I love my obliging friends? This is the result of a collaboration with the fabulous Anandi. I gave her a Project Runway style challenge, with a Floating Market twist. Assemble a costume for a Bridge Troll using only items that could be found in the trash of the Dig and Save bins. The modern samurai feel came in as a why to indicate troll as honorable warrior, rather than scary monster. (And we tried to do the whole thing in a respectful, rather than icky, way.)

I think she pulled it off quite well, and J., our model was quite game for climbing around and under an assortment of bridges, even wading out in the water a few times. I was extremely happy with how this shoot turned out, and look forward to trying it again sometime.

I wear hair sticks all the time. In fact, a twist held in place with a pair of sticks is kind of my default hairstyle. Of course, this means I own a *lot* of hair sticks. A few years back I ended up with a surplus of these yellow wooden hairsticks. I'd have to break or lose quite a few other before I'd need them.

They sat on a shelf for quite a while. Then I started playing with a wood burning tool I'd also had sitting on a shelf for years. Turns out, they went together quite well. I love the way the spiral turned out, as that had me a little worried. The butterflies are also a fun touch. I'd be tempted to keep these if I didn't already have more hair sticks...than you can shake a stick at.

This is another very early image for me, which got me into playing with low-light, long exposure shots. I think this was a 30-60 second exposure (guess who failed to write this info down?), and the negative it super-thick. It is also another instance of "gosh, I'm glad I have obliging friends" because not everyone is going to let you wrap them in Christmas lights and hold very stil.

Actually, the "hold very still" thing only sort of applies here: about halfway through the exposure, she turned her head to the side without thinking about it. Talk about a happy accident! I love the way that motion totally obscured the face. I used it again with other models later, but this one gave me the idea.

Ok, technically, I can't get a Man Cold, but damn if it doesn't feel like that. Took the day off work and moped about the house drinking tea and feeling sorry for myself. However, the day wasn't a total waste, as I got 15 new items listed at The Floating Market. There was a long slog of color correcting and photo resizing involved in that, but I have a pleasant feeling of accomplishment—somewhere underneath all this grossness.

Can you? The Wolfman

Time for some late-night pyrography, as I just sold a bunch of buttons. I want to take pictures tomorrow, so tonight is the time to create.

Do you know of Elise Matthesen, AKA the Lioness? If not, then it is about time you did, for she is pretty neat and she makes some very cool jewelry.

I own two pieces by her, very simple but rather fun: two pairs of earrings from her Wiscon Haiku Earring parties. (Pick a pair of earrings. Show them to Elise, who will give you a title. Write a haiku to go with the title. Give the poem to Elise, keep the earrings.) This past year, I got to help her out pre-party, by assisting in taking photos of many of the earrings for the party. Doing so was very helpful, for it gave me the confidence that I would, in fact, be able to get decent product shots for my own jewelry when the time came.

Talking to Water

Before salt grey cliffs
Whisper to the Autumn sea
Speak my need of you.

Right now she has some of her "current shinies" on sale. Go check them out.

This is very neat. I can see the two front page treasuries I was in!

I took this photo in the spring of 2000 while on a road trip. I was in a phase of taking photos of my shadow. I really liked how it turned out, particularly with the textures of the ground below.

I actually used this photo as the basis for a graphic design project that involved making a pop-up book. I should dig that out and take some pictures. If I do, I'll post them here.

I was rather pleased with how these turned out, and had to fight the temptation to just keep them for myself, rather than selling them.

The purple beads and the larger silver beads (just below the purple) came from a necklace that a friend made for me about a decade ago. It was a beginner beading project, which I wore until the string gave out. I kept all the pieces, but after years of keeping it in a box, I decided to re-purpose the beads for something new, rather than trying to recreate the old piece.

I love these particular tokens. They are so petite—just the size of dimes—and the cutouts are very neat. I never thought I'd describe something made out of transit tokens as "airy," but I think that word really does apply here.

They sold pretty fast, but then the sale was canceled since the customer couldn't pay. So they are back and ready to sell!

Last night was Pat McCurdy's annual show at the Terrace. Unlike other years, where I'd take the day off, get there around noon and enjoy a day out in the sun, saving a table up in the front, I took it even easier. I meandered down to the Terrace after work, getting there a little after 6 with a falafel sandwich from Mediterranean Cafe. I ate down by the shore and read the Isthmus.No matter what is going on, it is fun to be at the Terrace on a nice day. West Side Andy and Glen Davis where playing for Jazz at Five. Love those guys.

I also wandered around the Union for a bit, and checked out the new exhibitions in the Gallery. Lucky me, I got there during the opening reception, so I scored some brownies, cranberry bars, and punch. Of the two exhibitions, one caught my interest and the other was kinda meh.

The Porter Butts Gallery was divided into two sections. In the front the gallery, dozens of small silver bells were suspended from wired pulled taut across the ceiling. Each wire was attached to a small stand which also held a small speaker. The speakers were projecting recorded thunderstorm sounds, and from time to time, the vibrations of the sounds would set all of the bells jinggling. Cool, if a little noisy at times.

The back of the gallery was seperated by a wall. In this back section, pieces of old wooden furniture--mostly chest of drawers--were hovering at odd angles, usually with only two legs touching the ground. Strong tensionwires were used to suspend and secure the furniture from the walls and ceiling. In each piece, one drawer had been removed and replaced with a facing of milk plexiglass, behind which glowed a flourescent light. I greatly admired the surreal quality of the grouping.

The Class of 1925 Gallery contained the work of a different artist. There was only one piece, standing on a low table at the center of the room. It was a intricately twisting tower of grey Legos, which stood about two feet high. It was certainly a splendid structure, yet as the one and only object in a show, it was underwhelming.

Back out on the Terrace, the sky was approaching dusk, and boats where moving towards the shore. Some where calling it a night, and others where just settling in to listen to the show. I grabbed a seat on a low wall behind the stage. I had a good view of things, albeit from the back. I was surrounded by families with goofily happy small children, who ran around and got themselves dizzy with joyful abandon.

Shortly before the show, an college-aged couple and an older couple (the young man's parents, it was revealed) sat down next to me on the wall. As luck would have it, they were a great bunch to be sitting near, as the parents had never seen Pat McCurdy before, and they totally loved it. I've discovered that most people either love him or hate him the first time they see him, and it is great fun to watch someone discover the joy of Pat for the first time. Listening to them laugh and being surprised at all the right places helped to make the show new again for me. Granted, I hadn't been to a show in about a year, but I've been to so many that I still know a lot of it by heart. At one point, while the son was off on a beer run with his girlfriend, the dad started asking me about the show...if I'd seen it before. When I told him that I had, he asked me if I knew where to get CDs (I pointed him to the merchandise table) and which one's I'd recommend (I said Pat in Person Vol 1 or 2 would be good choices). He hopped right over to the table and bought a couple of CDs.

After a while, my friends found me, and we all enjoyed the show together. We sang, we danced, we made funny gestures, we laughed and we chatted. We all agreed that we do need to make and effort to get back to the shows more. Maybe not every week, like in college, but at least one a month or so. I'd like that.

Followed up the night with a stroll up and down the length of State St., pretty sure that I might well have been the soberest person on the street (besides those who were working, like the police and the cab drivers).

Have I mentioned that I love summer?

I suppose it is the fact that spring is really and truly here. Maybe it is the warmth, maybe it is the pollen,doing funny things to our psyches. Maybe itis the fact that this town is relatively crazy even on a "normal"day. Who knows, but I am having fun.

I was downtown at the Richard Shindell concert. The show was great. Richard is one of those singer/songwriters that is a real storyteller, and he has something amusing to tell between each song. Long ago he was a seminary student, before he realized that he was an atheist, and therefore probably shouldn't be a minister. Nevertheless, many of his songs have a religious theme or feel, and his ancedotes are punctuated by occasional heavenward glances, as if to check on a different audience. There were two encores.

Leaving the show, I wandered out onto Library Mall, which was filled with colored lights. The UW Glass Department's outdoor neon and light exhibition was going in full swing. Pieces ranged from the lame to the amazing. I was mesmerized by a box on a podium containing a few tubes of neon that slowly changed colors. The box had a plexiglass window in the front, and all the other internal walls were mirrors, so the neon appeared to go on for etenity. I was also amused by a guy with a boombox and a huge box of kitchen matches. He would start a song on the boombox (always stadium rock), light a match, and holding it in the air screaming, "Queen! Yeah!" About five seconds of the song would play, then he would cue up a new song, light a new match, and start again."Deep Purple! Yeah!" There was an enormous pile of matches at his feet. There are people of all ages punking out to Irish rock at the student uinon (where I am blogging this now) and all up and down State Street, people in various stages of intoxication are singing and dancing to the street musicians that can usually be found busking there. One man plays flute, another steel guitar. A rather old, almost homeless looking man plays guitar for songs like "Margaritaville" and "Brown Eyed Girl", with the lyrics written in magic marker on large, laminated cards for drunken, happy sorority girls to wail. This isn't a holiday, it is just the town.

Times like this I can see why I haven't moved on yet.