Gathering Inspiration

Happy Birthday John... and me

Yesterday was our 40th and our first birthday apart.

A deep calling and need for soiltude and I found it walking Grace Cathedral's Labrynth in San Francisco. Entering its meandering path was met with emotional sadness, to go back into the memories of loss and separation. The center felt timeless where I paused, for a long while. Then, my first step, of coming out of it, much like my entry into this world—first born, but without John. Ironic to think that he was born all black and blue, from me kicking my way out. Foretelling? I wonder. I paused more, along the way... realizing it is time to move forward into this different being, me and as one. I am me, yet will always be a part of him.

Today, again in solitude, I heard the cry of a hawk. Not a kestrel, but above, in the skies over me were a pair of red tails circling and crying out: "Happy Birthday Julia". Thank you John... for being my twin brother, and celebrating this life with me. I'll always love you. See you on the other side one day.

David A. Smith: glass embosser and sign artist

A beautiful video on David A. Smith, a glass embosser and sign artist.
Words do not do justice for the most gorgeous works this man creates!

What I would give to have apprenticed with someone like him!
(Is it too late to scamper off to England to learn a dying trade?)

 

(Via Cameron Moll)

 

David A Smith - Sign Artist from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

Handmade banknote by Xavi Garcia

Spanish illustrator Xavi Garcia created his stunning ‘Handmade’ banknote illustration as a reaction to soulless digital design. “This note pretends to remind the viewer the amount of work, hours, patience and love that artisans put into the handicrafts they produce and stress how valuable they are, replacing currency for the amount of time spent working on it (3 months were given for this project). Entirely drawn by hand, using different printing techniques, it features security measures common in banknotes such as watermarks, tactile elements, see-through images and invisible UV ink.” On the front it says “Tempus Neminem Manet” meaning “Time waits for no one” and on the back it reads “Tempus Fugit” meaning “Time Flees.” As you stare at his work, it makes you wonder about the world it may have come from… and i love the concept of time as currency. After all ~ Time is Money, right? How nice would it be to be paid with one of these 3 month notes? How would you spend it? See the details up close on the next page…

Drypoint, screenprint and stamps on newsprint. 110x190 mm

ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!

(via notcot)

 

 

                       

Their Circular Life: An Exploration of Human Behaviour

Masterfully soulful and thought-provoking. . .

The Circular Life.

Enter the site by clicking on "With Intro" for full effect.
I do feel compelled to retype the beautiful entry here, just because.

This is where I get to say "Wow, amazing how the universe can
make such a deep resonance in me in ways I will never know!"

_________________________________________________

Humans are all Equal.

They have the Same Needs.

They Feel, They Act and Behave Accordingly
to an Unknown Law.

Urban Places Know this Well.

By Living the Day Life of Urban Infrastructure
and Not Yours,

You Become and External Observer of
What Happens Every Day of Every Place on Earth.

People Live.

_________________________________________________

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

The best part, they are open to contributions....

Read the feedback section too... inspiring!

Now go check it out! Go!

         

In soft gray, she is magnified: Anouk Griffioen

Dutch artist, Anouk Griffioen (1979) notes preferably in
large format and with great expression.

In soft gray, she is Avant-Garde Woman on Paper.

Poses and attitudes of role models which at first seem to be
strong women, yield to more of the opposite in which the
predominant emotion is loneliness, pain, fear and frustration—
magnified in its scale. What remains is emptiness, shame and
inaction perhaps, where the women go into their background
and are only in their own world.

If there ever was an artist who could inspire me to
desire big blank walls, it would be Anouk. I am so coveting
some bare walls to dabble in pencil on paper over here.

 

 

           

Up There

Humbling. Inspiring. and Disheartening—for a dying art.

A documentary about the art of hand-painted advertising murals.

UP THERE from Jon on Vimeo.

(via swissmiss)

The Afrikaners called them "lake cats", but they got it all wrong

Ok, is it just me, or did Bing one up Google on being incredibly witty and supremely hilarious!

Here's some screen grabs of what Bing has on it's background today (04.28.10)—no longer is it just a platform for a search, but a quizzical lure for some quips whilst waiting for that list of results. (click to see larger).

(yeah, I think it's just me....)

     

Troemner Precision Weight Cases

 

Now, the real geeky me comes through. I LOVE the whole packaged and well thought out design of the Toemner Precision Weight Case! Perhaps it was that one fortune teller that once told me that I was an alchemist in what is now Naples, Italy 600 years or so ago, who was then killed by renegades because I wouldn't betray my noble lord. How? By multiple spears to the throat (kind explains why when I was younger, I hated anything around my neck). And there you have it, my one fortune teller experience (definitely had that "how-much-did-I-pay-her feeling as I walked away. Chalk it up to an adventurous 18 year old me at the time!) The old world science of precise measurements, contained in a handy-to-go container, just rocks!

"The Precision Weight Set Case is a specialized enclosure, designed to secure and showcase a set of up to twenty-four precision-calibrated laboratory weights. These weights range in size from 1mg to 500g and have a flawless, polished finish, giving them a jewel-like appearance. The case presents the weights in an organized array and provides storage for the tweezers and brushes used when handling the weights. By celebrating the beauty of these weights, visible through a transparent plastic lid, the case encourages the user to treat them gently, preserving their calibration--which may be within 0.01mg. The case provides necessary protection during shipment and storage, while solidifying the manufacturer’s brand identity and increasing the perceived value of the weight set."

Designed by Daedalus.

Continue reading "Troemner Precision Weight Cases" »

(Found on the dieline)

Rooftop photoshoot - can I just say "ahhhhh"

Location: St. Helena, California - rooftop of St. Helena Hospital

Birds chirping, beautiful blue skies, still air, breathtaking views...what's not to like? (Maybe the fact that we were 6 stories high on St. Helena Hospital's roof, getting ready to do a photoshoot with the hospital president and board chairperson. AND, nothing to prevent one to take a killer (literal) mistep to a hard concrete pad below.)

Still it would be a gorgeous last view to take, right?

(all completed successfully - thanks goodness!)

nostalgic beauty: jeogori - captured by Kim Kyung Soo

...snap shots from Korean Vogue, beautifully captured by Kim Kyung Soo. Leaves me breathless and reminiscing on some of my own jeogori as a child...

(via bobbin talk)