Absolutely love the way Ecochic has used reclaimed wood and up-cycled it to give it a new life as an easy chair and foot stool.
Source: One Green Planet
Webshop
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Midweek Eco chic
Absolutely love the way Ecochic has used reclaimed wood and up-cycled it to give it a new life as an easy chair and foot stool.
Source: One Green Planet
Webshop
Posted with Blogsy
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Flowing Time
Embroidery has a long history dating back as far as 3000 BC and is considered one of the earliest forms of art. With the appearance of the needle and thread and handmade clothing, embroidery seems to have appeared all over the world concurrently.
Early apprenticeships often lasted 10 years, with as a result, culture and material dependent embroidery styles were passed down through the ages to the present day.
These vibrant pieces, were created by Peruvian embroiderer and artist Ana Teresa Barboza. Her threaded natural landscapes are alive, as they literally flow out of the confines of their frames and down the wall.
By portraying the natural world through a time consuming process like embroidery, Ana is highlighting the common connection between the two - time - needed to make something worthwhile, both in the natural world and art.
Artist's work and photos via Bored Panda
Sources: Embroidery
For more about Alison Day Designs:
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Awesome Alien
Here's one of my latest designs - It's also on t-shirts and other cool stuff: HERE
"From out of thin air - an alien - you feeling ok? And . . . why? . . . Have you seen any lately?" asks a cynical voice.
"Yup, fine thanks and no, I haven't sighted one, awesome or otherwise. The design was inspired by a children's story I've written and illustrated. Incidentally, it is not about aliens at all. The story in turn is based on a mural I painted many moons ago, for my son. I've been in the throes of publishing the story ever since."
"How long ago would that be?"
"For . . . um . . . dare I say it . . . [ whispering ] over 10 years," I reply.
"OMG 10 years! What have you been doing? Growing the trees and making the paper too?" says the taunting voice.
"No I haven't and don't be so facetious!" I snarl. "Life in general has been the cause of the numerous shelvings, as well as a minor hiccup - leading to a total rewrite."
"So, what now?" goads the voice.
"At the moment, the story is being edited by a fresh pair of eyes and then. . ."
"Yes? . . . And then, . . . then what?"
"Then, I am going to steam forward, into the unchartered (for me anyway) land of self-publishing and bring the bugger out, once and for all, as a fabulous children's story book!"
[ Cue synhcronized glazed over looks from family members and friends ]
"Ha! Pigs might fly." laughs the voice.
"You think? Well, you just watch this space . . ."
Awesome Alien
Here's one of my latest designs - It's also on t-shirts and other cool stuff: HERE
"From out of thin air - an alien - you feeling ok? And . . . why? . . . Have you seen any lately?" asks a cynical voice.
"Yup, fine thanks and no, I haven't sighted one, awesome or otherwise. The design was inspired by a children's story I've written and illustrated. Incidentally, it is not about aliens at all. The story in turn is based on a mural I painted many moons ago, for my son. I've been in the throes of publishing the story ever since."
"How long ago would that be?"
"For . . . um . . . dare I say it . . . [ whispering ] over 10 years," I reply.
"OMG 10 years! What have you been doing? Growing the trees and making the paper too?" says the taunting voice.
"No I haven't and don't be so facetious!" I snarl. "Life in general has been the cause of the numerous shelvings, as well as a minor hiccup - leading to a total rewrite."
"So, what now?" goads the voice.
"At the moment, the story is being edited by a fresh pair of eyes and then. . ."
"Yes? . . . And then, . . . then what?"
"Then, I am going to steam forward, into the unchartered (for me anyway) land of self-publishing and bring the bugger out, once and for all, as a fabulous children's story book!"
[ Cue syncronized glazed over looks from family members and friends ]
"Ha! Pigs might fly." laughs the voice.
"You think? Well, you just watch this space . . ."
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Banshee Moon
It's been a while since I took part in an illustration call-up for Amelia's Magazine.
So, ... feeling inspired, here's my illustration of: Tallulah Rendall. For the accompanying article written by Amelia Gregory, about Tallulah and her new album: The Banshee and the Moon >>> HERE
Saturday, 10 May 2014
On a Stick!
Here are a couple of photos I took of an Indian, street artist duo that I spotted on a Spring jaunt to Rome earlier this year together with my sister.
They had set up their act round the corner from the Pantheon. Both were meditating and amazingly whilst doing so, one was holding the other up in the air, ... on a stick! Needless to say they drew a lot of curiosity from passers-by.
So, what do you think and any ideas how they did it? ;)
Monday, 5 May 2014
Strange is the Beast
Anyone else got the bad habit of watching TV and being online at the same time?
Guilty as charged. I do it all the time, my iPad sits pride of place, like a tame cat, on the arm of my red leather sofa. My excuse? Apart from the obvious addictive element, it has become an extension of my world. In an instant, I note down ideas, surf to interesting programme-related websites, interact on social media and monitor my emails. A multi-tasking delight, or is it?
Sometimes, however, I forget to close app windows when I am busy with something else, which shows me as online. On one such occasion, a contact from a well known social media site popped up professing to be bored. Always willing to help and have a chat - I engaged. Smart move or not, this interaction led to a conversation with a very strange mutation:
W: "Fecking bored."
A: "Really, why?"
W: "Should be working.'
W: "Can't inspire myself to."
A: "At this time - it's the witching hour?"
W: "Indeed."
A: "Why not do something totally the opposite - sometimes it helps."
W: "Like do something else beginning with w you mean?"
A: "Any letter will do. If you are writing, go count the stars for ten minutes, or something."
W: "I'd rather get naked."
A: "Well go do that then."
W: "Talking you through it?"
A: "?"
W: "The process from clothed to unclothed."
A: "Ha ha ha!"
W: "Glasses of."
W: "Off."
A: "Nothing like a bit of [edit] porn!"
W: "Socks off.
Belt off.
Jeans off.
Shirt off."
[ I suppose I could have anticipated that there would be no saving the conversation from here on. Surreal as it was - I decided to remain to see the outcome . . . ]
A: "Make a good blog post this."
W: "Pants off.
Birthday suit on . . .
it's the perfect fit.
What to do now?"
A: "Write."
W: "Not the other 'w' verb?"
A: "You're on your own there!"
W: "I'm sure you could lend a helping hand."
A: "I doubt it."
W: "Try."
A: "No-oooo!"
W: "Why not?"
A: "You need to ask?"
W: "Yep."
W: "You encouraged me to strip, so now I need some encouragement."
A: "No, I suggested you count the stars."
W: "Well go do that then."
W: "To quote."
A: "1, 2, 3 . . .
W: "What?"
A: . . . counting."
W: "You are?"
A: "4, 5, 6, 7 . . .
W: "Why not just get naked?"
A: . . . 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 . . .
W: "Right, night."
A: . . . 13, 14, 15, 16."
W: "Maybe you'll fall asleep like counting sheep."
A: "Night. Good luck with the inspiration. :) "
Of course my sister and I had a laugh at the absurdity of the exchange, when I recounted it to her the next day, in hushed tones over the phone from my kitchen. We even discussed the plausibility of this not being my contact at all, but an imposter from the Heartbleed virus clan, who had hacked into his profile.
It has become a blog post, as I said it would, because I wanted to highlight a few points that continue to niggle me. Using this interaction as an example, at what point do you draw the line and shout enough? Although I would class this discourse as mild in nature, I feel it does venture into the grey area, commonly referred to as the 'thin end of the wedge'. Some may accuse me of making a mountain out of a molehill, whereas I find it a classic case of the hazy definition that still exists when determining the boundaries of decency. Add this to the fact that society - in the 21 century - continues to sit on the fence, when it comes to objectifying women for pleasure and I think you get my point.
OK. I'm not that poe-faced that I can't take a joke - I did laugh - but in retrospect, why does it feel wrong on so many levels? Apart from my previous thoughts, is my reaction so because this social media contact is an acquaintance and one that I don't know awfully well? Was it made easier because we have never actually met? Did he for one minute consider that it might be inappropriate? How would I have felt if it had been a friend instead? And what's wrong with a normal conversation anyway?
The Internet has changed the way we interact with each other. In many ways the Web is amazing, giving us access to people, places and opportunities we might never have come across. On the flip side, however, the often faceless contact we have all come to readily accept also comes with a price tag. We have unwittingly redefined our boundaries and privacy settings too. In many cases, we have forgone face-to-face contact, reading facial expressions and anticipating actions for shallow estimations of the other. In this way it is possible to open up a right royal can of misinterpretations!
So, is a case like this acceptable or sexual harassment? I'm pretty sure it would never have happened in real time. What do you think, dear reader?
Final thought, it's never a bright idea to put things on the Internet that could come back to bite you in the derrière one day.
[ Exits *counting stars* : "1, 2, 3 . . . " ]
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