artistic appreciation: feeling minnesota!

via etsy seller gomattolson

presenting some visual appreciation for my homeland and the creative folks celebrating it's grandeur and quirkiness!

fantasy shopping...a new handbag

a must have for my (fantasy) tropical vacation - this fabric & handle favian tote bag is freakishly affordable and has lovely long straps.

ahhh...monday!

truly vintage style...weekend/life inspiration!

according to one smart woman in the video "(we) young ladies are all going to be old ladies one day"...cheers to these fearless old broads!

read more about this project here.
have a wonderful weekend!

friday fab/5!

books i read last month!

a cat for us allergic gals!

how could you not love this Donna Wilson Mitten Kitten Creature?

a picture & a poem: feeling bleh!

design by billy collins

--------

I pour a coating of salt on the table

and make a circle in it with my finger.

This is the cycle of life

I say to no one.

This is the wheel of fortune,

the Arctic Circle.

This is the ring of Kerry

and the white rose of Tralee

I say to the ghosts of my family,

the dead fathers,

the aunt who drowned,

my unborn brothers and sisters,

my unborn children.

This is the sun with its glittering spokes

and the bitter moon.

This is the absolute circle of geometry

I say to the crack in the wall,

to the birds who cross the window.

This is the wheel I just invented

to roll through the rest of my life

I say

touching my finger to my tongue.

(image source)
(poem source)

sometimes you need a little warning...

from tennessee based yee-haw letterpress - via here and here.

artistic appreciation: daniaelle simonsen

Atonement © Daniaelle Simonsen 2010 (source)

LA-based contemporary artist daniaelle simonsen primarily uses fabric and thread to create multidimensional images that (i think) are truly mystical and engaging!

just because it's so pretty: watercolour feather ring by golden ink.

yes, dreamy and pretty.

golden ink is a "small collaborative porcelain jewelery company from Melbourne Australia comprised of Abby Seymour and Katherine Wheeler. All porcelain wares are bespoke and exclusive."

ahhh...monday

friday fab/5

five fabulous things that are currently making me stop and say...hmmm, yes.

DIY thursday by bri! dyeing with wine!

(my friend bri graciously offered to be the guest DIY-er this week. thanks and take it away...)

For all you clumsy drunkards out there, this project is for you. 

just because it's so cool: metropolis II by chris burden

this kinetic sculpture by chris burden is just mesmerizing! seriously, if you are not convinced skip ahead to 4:44.

makes me wonder what happened to my old train set?

a picture & a poem: winter, etc.

winter love by linda gregg

------------

i would like to decorate this silence,   

but my house grows only cleaner

and more plain. the glass chimes i hung   

over the register ring a little

when the heat goes on.

i waited too long to drink my tea.   

it was not hot. it was only warm.

(image source)
(poem source)

artistic appreciation: steve powers!

source

since valentine's day is right around the corner...let's appreciate the work of artist steve powers (AKA espo) and his recent "love letter" project here in west philly.

total indulgence

so the story of the video above goes like this...i am starting a new design class this week and i need a flash drive for my assignment files. well, i grabbed a couple of the drives languishing in my desk drawer and the first one contained a "movie trailer" that i created for my animation class in 2000 (ouch) which strangely stars images of my brother and basically implies that he had a childhood of woe. i honestly would have never ever remembered that i made this, but watching it flooded me with late night computer lab memories...and had me laughing at/with the early 20s version of myself. i am posting the movie here as a pure indulgence to the younger me. sadly, this probably took me weeks in adobe after effects to create!!

hmmm...i do wish i remembered what i did with all the slides i scanned in to use for this project...maybe they are on another flash drive!?

(this does not seem to play on an iphone...sorry, i am not technical enough to know why??)

ahhh...monday

this is the start of a very busy couple of weeks...om/sigh.

(PS to philly folks: you must make a trip to see a free student recital at curtis. beyond the AMAZING young musicians, being in the curtis space (especially the building next to field hall) was like walking into another world. the cozy rooms, with dark wood walls and creaky floors, were filled with russian and german whispers...and sense of anticipation that made me feel like i could be anywhere but philadelphia.)

WEEKEND DISTRACTIONS: sense appreciation!

the opening night performance for nick cave's exhibition Let's C.
photo: james prinz

1. nick cave: let's C at the fabric workshop and museum!

this art is plainly more fuel for my texture addiction! added bonus: the fabric workshop is right next the AIA philadelphia bookstore and design center (which has very nice bathrooms if i may say so)...double whammy in sense overload.

the fabric workshop says: 

"The exhibition Let’s C highlights recent, prominent sculptural and performative works by Chicago-based artist Nick Cave. The exhibition features Cave’s iconic “Soundsuits”—which function in chorus as dance costumes, sculptures, and extensions of one’s persona—video of recent performance, and, for the first time, Architectural Forest: an ambitious, floor-to-ceiling installation of ornamented bamboo. For over two decades, Nick Cave has constructed Soundsuits out of a litany of unique, found materials, such as crocheted hats, plastic sandwich bags, gleaming buttons, stuffed animals, and other items from thrift stores, flea markets, and estate sales. Their sculptural form functions simultaneously to display and conceal through the visual references to the exuberance of masquerade and the protection of body armor."

DIY thursday: scrap paper pads for kids!

this DIY grew out of the fact that since i made bows for my niece last week, i needed to come up with a project that would round out the care package i'm sending to her and her brother. AND i (of course) seized on another opportunity to use up more of my scrap paper to create these cute little note pads with loose leaf rings.

a picture & a poem: thinking about inequality this week...

civil rights protestors stuck between tanks
and bayonets of the national guard - 1968

I, TOO, SING AMERICA by langston hughes

-------------------------------------

I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America. 


(poem source)

artistic appreciation: phoebe washburn!

i present to you...installation artist phoebe washburn.

Phoebe Washburn in her studio - photo by Ashkan Sahihi

phoebe is after my own heart by "producing large-scale installations: assemblages of garbage, detritus, cardboard, scrap wood, and, more recently, organic matter such as sod or plants."

WEEKEND REVIEW: burrrrrrrr!

WEEKEND DISTRACTIONS: wendy has rhythm!

Daddy Tattoo, Philadelphia, 2004 - zoe strauss

1. zoe strauss dance party at the philadelphia museum of art!
this event celebrates the opening of the mid-career retrospective (zoe strauss: ten years) by the acclaimed local photographer zoe strauss. from the PMA website: strauss states that her ambition is “to create an epic narrative that reflects the beauty and struggle of everyday life.”

my gal pal wendy is the best dancer in these parts and i cannot wait to get my groove on with her and see this amazing show!

DIY thursday: BOW-tastic!

i wanted to make something this week to send to my adorable little niece who lives in wisconsin. it had to be an object that i could also wear...so we could match from afar. these little fabric bows were just the ticket!

a picture & a poem: sometimes laughter is the best medicine!

instances of wasted ingenuity by dara wier

--------

falling off a triangle.

putting two fighting fish in one bowl.

talking yourself into a headcold.

falling off a rectangle.

putting insects in ice cubes.

talking yourself out of doorways.

falling off a parallelogram.

talking into a microphone.

falling off a footstool.

putting earplugs in acorns.

looking into a teacup for trouble.

talking yourself out of breathing.

taking a nap on a drum set.

eating a peach with an air filter.

wearing a dress made of hand grenades.

talking a mudslide back up a mountain.

lighting a camp fire in a taxi stand.

launching a boat on a horse trail.

hiking in an elevator.

falling into an envelope.

discussing smuggling with customs officers.

taking a cat to a dog show.

falling in love with a toothache,

questioning your thumbprint.

looking for milk in a gas tank.

kissing hydraulic acid.

blindfolding a parking meter.

falling over a water tower.

reasoning with a baby.

(image source: sarah spurlock/pinterest)

(poem from the wonderful website poetryfoundation.org)

artistic appreciation! margaret kilgallen!

i present to you...work by margaret kilgallen.

please appreciate this contemporary artist who was inspired by folk art and the imperfections of the handmade/hand-drawn. i especially love how she incorporated typography and found paper into her work. 

WEEKEND REVIEW: sun time = fun time!

WEEKEND DISTRACTIONS: ahhh chilly january!

1. cocktail with my gal pal at the new restaurant down the street: lemon hill!
i have walked/biked by this place for the last few months...hoping (with crossed fingers) that something good was happening behind the closed doors. they finally reopened the space last week and although the menu is not entirely "sara-friendly", the buzz is good and the drink list/location/atmosphere make it visit worthy.

DIY thursday: random stuff collage magnets!

i was trying to figure out a fancy name for these...but really, to be honest, they are collages of random stuff made into magnets! i came up with this project because i have been ridding myself of the "random stuff" AKA the "i will use this small thing later stuff" and the "one day i will need this thingy." basically all the objects i used in this DIY were one step away from the rubbish bin!

a picture & a poem: looking ahead/looking back

burning the old year by naomi shihab nye

-----

letters swallow themselves in seconds.   

notes friends tied to the doorknob,   

transparent scarlet paper,

sizzle like moth wings,

marry the air.

so much of any year is flammable,   

lists of vegetables, partial poems.   

orange swirling flame of days,   

so little is a stone.

where there was something and suddenly isn’t,   

an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.   

i begin again with the smallest numbers.

quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,   

only the things i didn’t do   

crackle after the blazing dies. 

(image by me)

(poem from the wonderful website poetryfoundation.org)

books i read last month

didn't realize that i read all these books until i looked for the pictures to create this post. i have a (bad?) habit of reading books back to back...with literally minutes between ending one and starting another. sadly, sometimes the stories run together and become a larger jumbled narrative!

appreciation week - day 4! it's not what you know, it's who you know!

i TOTALLY appreciate my friends and family...most of you are pictured below in no particular order!
thanks for your love and support over the past year - my best in 2012! 

appreciation week - day 3! music makes my world go 'round!

i don't have a TV, but i have 6.6 days of music in my itunes library and a healthy addiction to my pandora iphone app. AND although i have zero musical talent and questionable rhythm, listening to and appreciating music is a major part of my life every singe day. except jam bands...eww...i hate jam music. 

here are a few of my recent favorites:

appreciation week - day 2! the library!

i totally TOTALLY appreciate all libraries, but since my august move i have been a patron (and more recently a volunteer) at the parkway central branch - the main library of the philadelphia free library system.

appreciation week - day 1! the schuylkill river!

i am using this last week of the year to highlight some special things that i appreciate.

happy holidays and all that jazz!

i am going to take a break from the blog until next tuesday. have a safe, festive and cozy weekend!

(image)

DIY thrusday...envelope sachets!

ok, you may have noticed my DIY trend...that the recent thursday posts are a mild attempt to use up my HUGE paper supply. baby steps! to that end, i used my envelope templates* from paper source for this project, but you can use whatever regular envelopes you have on hand. oh, and i got this project from an old issue of martha stewart magazine. 

a picture & a poem...reflecting

LXXXIV by emily dickinson

------------

we learn in the retreating 

how vast an one

was recently among us.

a perished sun

endears in the departure

how doubly more

than all the golden presence 

it was before!

(image: jessica viscius)

(poem from my copy of the collected poems of emily dickinson, 2003)

getting fantastical

artistic inspiration: megan whitmarsh

color work station, 2009

soft sculpture, 2008

yeti explosion

WEEKEND REVIEW - burr...i finally had to turn my heat on!

(not only did i get some quality time with my BFF bri this weekend - i also got to see a talented local band play on saturday: the great unknown. check them out.)

weekend distractions: AV edition

1. first person arts story slam at the philadelphia museum of art!
i like stories and i like when people tell them publicly...so i think that i am going to enjoy myself tonight at this special event (during 'arts after 5' at the PMA) where the theme is GIFTS.

(the story in the video above is pretty funny and the guy is from MN...awesome! i had a job where i had to go to the dump more than a few times...let me just say right now that it was not a romantic place.)

DIY thursday - pinwheels

want to use up some of that extra paper around your place...while also creating some festive new year's decorations? look no further than this pinwheel project!

a picture & a poem...tropical daydreams

(can i tell you a secret? i wish that i could escape to a tropical island from now until january 2nd...skipping all the hustle and bustle to instead leisurely read under an umbrella on the beach and float in the ocean. ahhh...to dream)

(image and poem via pinterest via alyssa nygaard via source)
(i heart ee cummings)

give a little...

let's be honest...you don't bat an eyelash when you buy a $14 cocktail or a $25 t-shirt. why not join me in embracing the spirit of the season and throw a couple of extra bucks toward worthy organizations doing some hard work. here are my favorite philly non-profits and a few global do-gooders.

weekend review...AKA my shins say HELLO!

WEEKEND DISTRACTIONS - zooey, zen and ice

sadly, i am not on the podium with these 1981 novice freeskate champions...they all look so happy!

1. a visit to penn skating rink:
even though i grew up in minnesota and actually own a pair of ice skates (and can skate backwards) - my chances to hit the ice often boil down to a single winter experience. i may sound like a skating snob, but a groomed rink makes all the difference, which is why i am going to skip a visit to the river rink at penn's landing and instead head over to the university of pennsylvania arena. they have open skating for a whooping $7 on the weekends. time to lace up and re-enact my stars on ice routine!

books i read last month

i usually read fiction, but last month my book selection was heavy on the non-fiction side. without further adieu these are the books i read last month:

a picture & a poem for december

wow, it is december...it is winter...when did that happen?

winter winds by les murray

-------------

Like appliqué on nothingness
like adjectives in hype
fallen bracts of the bougain-
magenta-and-faded-villea
eddy round the lee verandah
like flowers still partying
when their dress has gone home.

(poem source)

(image via wit&delight)

20x200 = great gifts!

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION - art prints for you and others!

this is my purchase - kite hill by paul octavious

do you have art lovers on your holiday gift list? look no further than 20x200 for unique affordable museum quality limited edition prints.

WEEKEND REVIEW...ocean breezes and baby faces

i had a wonderful sunny weekend with good friends and cute little people!

WEEKEND DISTRACTIONS: massachusetts-girl-time!

tonight i am heading to cape ann with my friend wendy to visit our dear friend kate. kate lives north of boston in gloucester - one of my favorite places on the planet. i am looking forward to meeting her new baby boy and drinking red wine and celebrating her birthday and smelling the ocean and LAUGHING...i am certain that there will be a lot of laughing.

edward hopper also liked gloucester, ma

have an awesome weekend!

(i will do some specific weekend distractions next friday...kinda gotten out of practice!)
(image source)

DIY Thursday: neck warmin'

once the cold weather rolls in, i'm addicted to neck-warmth. after some 70 degree days earlier this week, philly is finally feeling chilly. now is the ideal time for a DIY t-shirt necklace...warm and fashionable!

this project has been making the craft-world rounds, but i got my instructions from whole living magazine (and they said that they got them from the blog: cucumbersome.com, which looks to be abandoned.) i deviated from the instructions by using two t-shirts of a similar coral color.