I'm happy to see the folks at USPS are venturing beyond the usual tacky "LOVE" stamps or stamp collections commemorating the films of John Wayne. The other day when I went to mail I package, the postal worker asked me if I'd like any stamps with that. "Why yes," I replied, remembering I was almost out of stamps. He gave me this hefty book of stamps to flip through, and as soon as I saw the abstract expressionist collection (by far my favorite art movement), I knew I had to have them.
Includes Rotko, Pollack, Clyfford Still, and more. The only one they were missing is Kline (my absolute favorite).
As you may know, I love fairy tales and folklore, and it doesn't get much better than Hans Christian Anderson (who is much less violent and dark than the Grimm brothers, but still has a lot of depth and meaning). And I love the Google Doogle illustrations they've done today for his 205th birthday. Check them out at google.com.
I can't even remember how I found out about this guy in the first place, seeing as he operates out of New York and has done tattoos for a number of celebrities and ordinary people alike. All I know is, if I were to commit something permanently into my skin, I'd want someone who knew what he was doing. And Anil Gupta is like the Picasso of tattoo artists.
Also, it would probably be something lame like a lotus flower (my name, in Chinese) or some other nature-inspired pattern, because I don't have an original thought in my head when it comes to body art.
I guess I should pay more attention to the random forwards my mom sends me, because everyonce in a while it turns out to be pretty awesome.
Here's Won Park, a Korean-American origami artist that creates his own unique, intricate, and original designs using his medium of choice: the US dollar bill. He never cuts anything - everything is constructed completely out of folds.
Check out his process in this clip (apologies for the supremely annoying s/he host):
I guess you could say I live in "the barrio" of MV (right next to the Burrito Triangle), but this truck definitely looks out of place. Yes, the guys are Chinese and yes, they are careful, efficient and pleasant to work with. I heard them speaking a dialect I couldn't recognize at all. Turns out they are from Hebei province! Not something you come across every day.
It's only been an hour and they are nearly through with clearing out all the junk I have in my current apt. $65/hour. I better tip them well.My coworker Sangeetha is taking a ceramics class with her husband. She brought all these little pieces he made to work and a bunch of us got to take our pick. This was one of the last ones left (I assume because it's not "useful" like some of the cups and saucers that other people took), but I love it. It is so weird and fantastic, like something out of a Tim Burton film.
It's got a wonderful heft, and I think it will make a nice desk denizen, paperweight, or random objet.
Posted simultaneously to: homing.posterous.com (I'm now a contributor to my friend Jena's home design blog)
If you are rolling in $ and want to spoil your kids silly, or want to make them the most popular kids on the street, why not splurge on a custom play- or tree-house from Barbara Butler, who makes a living carving handmade play structures out of sustainable redwood.
A dear friend of mine used to do marketing for the artist. The artist got her start twenty-odd years ago building decks for the likes of Bobby McFerrin, who requested a "unique play structure" on top of all the other work she was doing to his backyard.
I like how brightly colored the pieces are - and how sturdy they look. I have to admit I always dreamed of having a tree-house and outfitting it with modern luxuries like a rug and cozy place to curl up and play board games. There is just something delicious about the idea of holing up in a secret hideout, isn't there?
Prices range from $12,000 - $175,000. Yes, which is more than some "real" houses!
Well, not just girls -- he does monsters, superheroes, and other characters too. But I think pretty girls is what he likes drawing best (I mean, his website is www.idrawgirls.com)
I randomly found him on YouTube while searching for old episodes of Smallville. It is astounding what he can do with a digital painting program, more than what most people can do with traditional pencil and paper! Check out this awesome A to Z video of him drawing Kristin Kreuk as Chun Li:
And a bunch of his other work including drawings of Natalie Portman and Iron Man (click for more amazing video demos):
I've been wanting to post this since I saw it linked off a coworker's FB profile.
Meet Angela Y. Lee, a creator of creatures! That is, she's a rather imaginative person in Peoria, IL who makes huggable, lovable, customized plush toys by hand. I was quite taken by the sunny disposition of her website, its inhabitants, and the adorable little stories bursting out of every seam. A few things you should know about her operation:
- She never makes duplicates, so no two creatures are alike!
- She customizes it with your favorite colors, animals, ideas, and dreams.
- Her day trade: graphic designer.
- Her creatures are not cheap, but isn't buying handmade worth it!?
From her website: "I was living by myself in a dark, bug-infested, sublevel apartment with no furniture. I guess making soft little creatures comforted me while I was transitioning into this new city." I actually asked her blessing to post about her creatures. Her response: "Sure you can include my creatures on your blog, they would like that :)"
How can one not smile? Order here!
