These wonderful, animal-themed illustrations are from Camilla Perkins, an illustrator and surface designer based in London. Camilla’s fascination with zoology and botany is seen throughout her work, with leaf patterns and various sea creatures adorning her designs. Her use of overlaying colour makes picnic blanket food look way more interesting than any I’ve ever seen. I particularly love the toucans dressed in shirts, and the orbiting planets being given human faces, while the recurring food platters are making my tummy rumble! Come on lunchtime…
Shared posts
Camilla Perkin's playful illustrations are packed full of animals
Megangrahamclick through!
Meg Callahan
Quilts by designer Meg Callahan. Providence, Rhode Island.
View the whole post: Meg Callahan over on BOOOOOOOM!.
he found comfort in patterns
Ink and watercolour, 8x10 inches. Original drawing is SOLD available.
Check for other available drawings and signed prints in the shop.
A GENEROUS OLD DIRECTIVE
Electrelane - "To The East". I need a mission, somebody give me a mission. An envelope with a folded, typed instruction. A clear cloud. A banner, a crackling radio instruction. Just a sign. Just give me a sign. Let it be plain or filigreed, simple or adorned. Let it be easy or difficult, let it be impossible. I will make love or wage war, I will run or howl, I will shove coke, spade by spade, into the belly of a train. All I ask is that you inscribe my future, so that I need not invent it myself. Give me something to live up to: a destiny, a fate. You will see me at my fullest, in body and indigo. I will stride into the tide. I will sing the rest of the song. I will find the puny needle or fire the long harpoon. I will go home, if that's what I am to do, or believe me darling I will hold out hope. [buy]
Leah Giberson
View the whole post: Leah Giberson over on BOOOOOOOM!.
Love Me, Love My Dog
Filling the role of Man’s Best Friend below are some featured pups being embraced, ogled, petted, held, hugged, and loved by their owners.
Dogs with style:
Chim (David Seymour), [Peggy Guggenheim on the Grand Canal, Venice], 1950 (354.1982)
Dogs with musical talent:
Elliott Erwitt, Amsterdam, 1972 (2007.4.32)
Dogs in all shapes and sizes:
Edwin Rosskam, Oil Town Children, Wyoming, 1944 (121.1983)
Dogs can be regal:
Robert Capa, [Adolphe Max, burgomater (mayor) of the city for thirty years, with his dog Happy, Brussels], 1939 (2516.1992)
Dogs are beautiful, too:
Garry Winogrand, from the series Women are Beautiful, 1975 (248.1984)
Tagged: Adolphe Max, Amsterdam, Brussels, Chim (David Seymour), dogs, Edwin Rosskam, Elliott Erwitt, Garry Winogrand, Peggy Guggenheim, Robert Capa, Venice, Women are Beautiful
NYC people-watching at 780 frames per second
MegangrahamMesmerizing!
Filmed at 780 fps with a Phantom Flex from the back of a moving SUV, James Nares' Street depicts people walking New York streets in super slow motion.
The film runs 60 minutes (depicting about three minutes of real time footage), Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore did the soundtrack, and it's on display at The Met until the end of May.
Tags: James Nares museums NYC Thurston Moore videoEvery Romantic Comedy You Hate to Love in Under Two Minutes
the ice cream says it'll be okay
Ink and watercolour, 5x7 inches. Original drawing is sold.
Check for other available drawings and signed prints in the shop.
In a Dream
Jenny Holzer, Selection from the Survival Series from the portfolio In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive and You Were Full of Joy, 1983-83 (published 1991) (2.1998.l)
Thomas Ruff, Constellations from the portfolio In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive and You Were Full of Joy, 1991 (2.1998.f)
Duane Michals, Untitled from the portfolio The Indomitable Spirit, 1989 (printed 1990) (1.1998.e)
Gjon Mili, Powder Puff (Vogue), ca. 1945 (8.1998)
Tagged: costellations, dream, Duane Michals, Gjon Mili, Jenny Holzer, milky way, Thomas Ruff
Lost Cat: An Illustrated Meditation on Love, Loss, and What It Means To Be Human
“You can never know anyone as completely as you want. But that’s okay, love is better.”
“Dogs are not about something else. Dogs are about dogs,” Malcolm Gladwell indignated in the introduction to The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs. Though hailed as memetic rulers of the internet, cats too have enjoyed an admirable run as creative devices and literary muses in Joyce’s children’s books, T. S. Eliot’s poetry, Hemingway’s letters, and various verses. But hardly ever have cats been at once more about cats and more about something else than in Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology (public library) by writer Caroline Paul and illustrator extraordinaire Wendy MacNaughton, she of many wonderful collaborations — a tender, imaginative memoir infused with equal parts humor and humanity. (You might recall a subtle teaser for this gem in Wendy’s wonderful recent illustration of Gay Talese’s taxonomy of cats.) Though “about” a cat, this heartwarming and heartbreaking tale is really about what it means to be human — about the osmosis of hollowing loneliness and profound attachment, the oscillation between boundless affection and paralyzing fear of abandonment, the unfair promise of loss implicit to every possibility of love.
After Caroline crashes an experimental plane she was piloting, she finds herself severely injured and spiraling into the depths of depression. It both helps and doesn’t that Caroline and Wendy have just fallen in love, soaring in the butterfly heights of new romance, “the phase of love that didn’t obey any known rules of physics,” until the crash pulls them into a place that would challenge even the most seasoned and grounded of relationships. And yet they persevere as Wendy patiently and lovingly takes care of Caroline.
When Caroline returns from the hospital with a shattered ankle, her two thirteen-year-old tabbies — the shy, anxious Tibby (short for Tibia, affectionately — and, in these circumstances, ironically — named after the shinbone) and the sociable, amicable Fibby (short for Fibula, after the calf bone on the lateral side of the tibia) — are, short of Wendy, her only joy and comfort:
Tibia and Fibula meowed happily when I arrived. They were undaunted by my ensuing stupor. In fact they were delighted; suddenly I had become a human who didn’t shout into a small rectangle of lights and plastic in her hand, peer at a computer, or get up and disappear from the vicinity, only to reappear through the front door hours later. Instead, I was completely available to them at all times. Amazed by their good luck, they took full feline advantage. They asked for ear scratches and chin rubs. They rubbed their whiskers along my face. They purred in response to my slurred, affectionate baby talk. But mostly they just settled in and went to sleep. Fibby snored into my neck. Tibby snored on the rug nearby. Meanwhile I lay awake, circling the deep dark hole of depression.
Without my cats, I would have fallen right in.
And then, one day, Tibby disappears.
Wendy and Caroline proceed to flyer the neighborhood, visit every animal shelter in the vicinity, and even, in their desperation, enlist the help of a psychic who specializes in lost pets — but to no avail. Heartbroken, they begin to mourn Tibby’s loss.
And then, one day five weeks later, Tibby reappears.
Once the initial elation of the recovery has worn off, however, Caroline begins to wonder where he’d been and why he’d left. He is now no longer eating at home and regularly leaves the house for extended periods of time — Tibby clearly has a secret place he now returns to. Even more worrisomely, he’s no longer the shy, anxious tabby he’d been for thirteen years — instead, he’s a half pound heavier, chirpy, with “a youthful spring in his step.” But why would a happy cat abandon his loving lifelong companion and find comfort — find himself, even — elsewhere?
When the relief that my cat was safe began to fade, and the joy of his prone, snoring form — sprawled like an athlete after a celebratory night of boozing — started to wear thin, I was left with darker emotions. Confusion. Jealousy. Betrayal. I thought I’d known my cat of thirteen years. But that cat had been anxious and shy. This cat was a swashbuckling adventurer back from the high seas. What siren call could have lured him away? Was he still going to this gilded place, with its overflowing food bowls and endless treats?
There only one obvious thing left to do: Track Tibby on his escapades. So Caroline, despite Wendy’s lovingly suppressed skepticism, heads to a spy store — yes, those exist — and purchases a real-time GPS tracker, complete with a camera that they program to take snapshots every few minutes, which they then attach to Tibby’s collar.
What follows is a wild, hilarious, and sweet tale of tinkering, tracking, and tenderness. Underpinning the obsessive quest is the subtle yet palpable subplot of Wendy and Caroline’s growing love for each other, the deepening of trust and affection that happens when two people share in a special kind of insanity.
The inimitable Maira Kalman blurbed the book admiringly:
The writing and drawings are funny. Nutty. Heartwarming. Smart. Loopy. Full of love.
“Evert quest is a journey, every journey a story. Every story, in turn, has a moral,” writes Caroline in the final chapter, then offers several “possible morals” for the story, the last of which embody everything that makes Lost Cat an absolute treat from cover to cover:
6. You can never know your cat. In fact, you can never know anyone as completely as you want.
7. But that’s okay, love is better.
Images courtesy Wendy MacNaughton
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Geometric and Natural Art by Deborah Zlotsky
I discovered the work of New York artist Deborah Zlotsky while checking out Kathryn Markel Fine Arts. I like the worn-looking surface of the oversized, overlapping shapes.
Not so happy, yet happier, oil on canvas, 60″ x 48″, 2012
Normally, geometric artwork feels super crisp and desperately seeking perfection. However, Deborah’s geometric works are much more muted and soft. They kind of remind me of aged wall murals painted on top of on one another. And that’s how she creates them too – by constantly layering over and over until she lands on a configuration that is satisfactory.
Agreeing on a signal, oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″, 2013
Can the devil speak true?, oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″, 2013
What you must do to get home safely, oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″, 2013
Sooner than later, oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″, 2013
Her spooky, ghostly drawings also drew me in. I love how they feel like a mix of alien life forms and weird unnatural organs. So very different from her paintings, but equally as captivating.
Vumb, powdered graphite on mylar, 60″ x 48″, 2010
Munter, powdered graphite on mylar, 40″ x 36″, 2010
Using Art to talk back to Unwanted “Compliments”
MegangrahamThis line drives me CRAZY.
Posters on a wall on Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, try to make the point that some comments to women aren’t welcome. “These things make you feel like your body isn’t yours,” the artist says.
Shorty. Sweetie. Sweetheart. Baby. Boo. If you’re a woman, you’ve probably heard it.
If you were to respond, what would you say?
Last fall, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh began replying — through her art — to the dozens of men who approached her in public each week. As night fell, she slipped out of her Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment armed with a bottle of wheat paste, a couple of posters and a paintbrush, and began to pepper Brooklyn with messages:
“My name is not Baby.” “Women are not seeking your validation.” “Stop telling women to smile.”
Since September, Ms. Fazlalizadeh has plastered walls in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. As winter came and night temperatures dropped, though, she retired her paintbrush. “The wheat paste starts to freeze before it actually dries,” she said. “So the paper wasn’t holding.”
Continue reading the full article at the NYTimes Here!
A Guide To Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Even If You Don’t Normally Like ‘Em
I LOVE this. SF Signal‘s guide to NPR’s top 100 sci-fi books. The recommendations (and reasoning) are spectacular and super easy to follow.
Cursive Is Dead and There Is Nothing You Can Do to Bring It Back
MegangrahamCURSIVE WILL LIVE ON AS LONG AS I AM BREATHING!
Bookshelf Interview: Laura from The First Mess
The First Mess is a knockout of a site. Laura’s approach to cooking focuses on natural, seasonal foods and sharing delicious meals, and her recipes are to die for (and I am so, so lucky to have had the chance to experience her baking– you have no freaking idea.) Like the warm veggie bowl with ginger miso gravy? Or the summer panzanella for which she made an absolutely beautiful video? She can even make DIY protein powder look luscious. Here’s a sneaky little peek into her cookbook and food-writing collection…
How many cookbooks & books on food in your collection?
104
Desert island (assuming a very well-equipped desert island kitchen) cookbook pick.
The 4-Hour Chef by Timothy Ferriss. Not even ashamed to admit that I own this. There’s a lot of survivalist stuff in there (pigeon capture and the like), but also instruction on cooking sous vide in anything that will hold water. If I’m stranded, I’ll be finding solace in some tenderly cooked foods FOR SURE.
Favourite food memoir.
Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune in NY. She basically puts Anthony Bourdain to shame on all fronts. Fun fact: he admits this on the back cover.
Prettiest cookbook.
Either NOMA: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine or Magnus Nillson’s Fäviken book that came out last year. That whole Nordic aesthetic makes me swoon big time. (blogger’s note: she ain’t freaking kidding, guys– these cookbooks are drop-dead gorgeous.)
Four fictional characters and a lunch: who and what do you pick? More importantly, why?
1. Tengo Kawana from Murakami’s 1Q84, mostly because I read this recently and also because he’s painted as a rather apt cook throughout the story and I mean, who doesn’t like a helping hand when they’re hosting lunch?
2. Katharine Clifton from The English Patient. You kind of have to love a woman who tags along on a desert expedition the day after she gets hitched, all on a lark. She reads The Histories around campfires and makes dudes fall in love with her. I think we could vibe.
3. Richard Katz from Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom. He’s a serial lone wolf musician-type and a bit of a jerk, but he hilariously attributes the inclusion of arugula in a dish to tendencies of the upper class at one point. Discussing socio-economic aspects of food accessibility will get me fired up every time.
4. Not a literary fictional character, but The Dude of The Big Lebowski fame is my last choice. Someone needs to bring up the chill factor at this gathering.
We would eat homemade papardelle with tomatoes from my garden and plenty of arugula (obviously), olives and pine nuts. There would be impossibly well-chilled rosé and white Russians. Everyone loves pasta and a crisp libation.
Food philosophy.
Pay attention.
Absolute fave top five best for everyone recommendations.
The Flavour Bible by Karen Page & Andrew Dornenberg
An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler
Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart (blogger’s note: this sounds tremendous)
The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara Forte
And here are a few of Laura’s favourite food quotes:
“Everyone I know is looking for solace, hope and a tasty snack.”
-Maira Kalman on her dog Pete for the New York Times
“We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other.”
-Ernest Hemingway in A Moveable Feast
“People who know me well understand fully what I am saying when I suggest that I am working an appetite and that we’d best be making our move. This means it is time to hit the road before my blood sugar–what’s left of it–crashes to that point where I’m going to ruin your fucking day.”
-Gabrielle Hamilton in Blood, Bones & Butter (the italics are 100% hers I swear)
“Then came the day with stars on it: time for what my grandmother would have called “the first mess of peas.””
-M.F.K. Fisher on the very best peas of her life in An Alphabet for Gourmets (I named my blog after this little tidbit)
Laura, thank you so much for sharing!