Noiram

A posse of vibrant creatures slyly scope out their surroundings in prints by Jo Pearson, a.k.a. Strangford. From pigeons and rabbits to alligators and fish, the artist’s most recent creations expand upon her previous works featuring playful animals.

In the last year, Strangford has gradually shifted her practice toward carving wood, contrasting her earlier techniques that largely focused on linoleum. “It might seem like a small change, but it makes a big difference to the character and texture of the print,” the artist explains. “The more handmade the finished print looks the happier I am.”

As Strangford refines her woodblock carving skills, she also explores the possibilities of reduction printing, which refers to the act of gradually carving away more material from the same block after using it to print initial layers. This is one of the ways she can achieve such detailed expressions and more complex patterns.

Strangford’s work is currently on view for the Lino Print 4 exhibition in the U.K. Follow the artist’s Instagram for peeks at her process, and check out her website for prints.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Suspicious Animals Take Stock of Their Surroundings in Strangford’s Vibrant Prints appeared first on Colossal.

Maripedia is an online database of hundreds of print patterns that Marimekko has used in their products since the 1940s. You can browse by decade, designer, or style…or you can search by image. That’s right, just upload an image of the pattern on your pillowcase or dress and it’ll tell you who designed it and when.

Also, just take a look at these patterns:

Endless design and color palette inspiration. (via @presentcorrect.bsky.social)

Tags: color · design · Marimekko

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

NEW COMIC: OH YEAH

With MiniDiscs and cassettes long consigned to the history books, and CDs making a hasty exit, the writing must finally be on the wall for vinyl, right? Wrong.

Amazon has reported that UK record sales have grown by more than 100% in 2013 compared to last year, though admittedly the e-commerce giant doesn’t divulge specific figures.

According to Amazon, Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’ – released just a few months ago – has become its best-selling vinyl since the dark days of 1999 when Amazon.co.uk first launched its Music Store. That’s really not bad going at all.

Other albums in the top twenty vinyl chart since 1999 include Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire, as well as Pink Floyd, Radiohead and David Bowie.

The top 20 vinyl best-sellers on Amazon.co.uk since 1999 are as follows:

1.       Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
2.       Adele, 21
3.       Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
4.       David Bowie, The Next Day
5.       Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon
6.       David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars
7.       Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
8.       Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (30th Anniversary Edition)
9.       Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
10.    The Beatles, Love Me Do (50th Anniversary Limited Edition 7” Single)
11.   Radiohead, In Rainbows
12.   Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here
13.   Bon Iver, For Emma Forever Ago
14.   Radiohead, Ok Computer
15.   Micah P. Hinson, Micah P. Hinson & The Gospel of Progress…
16.   PJ Harvey, Let England Shake
17.   Kate Bush, 50 Words for Snow
18.   Alt-J, An Awesome Wave
19.   The White Stripes, Elephant
20.   The xx, xx

And the top 20 vinyl best-sellers on Amazon.co.uk in 2013 to date are:

1.       Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
2.       David Bowie, The Next Day
3.       Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Push the Sky Away
4.       Black Sabbath, 13
5.       Queens of the Stone Age, Like Clockwork
6.       Atoms for Peace, Amok
7.       Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City
8.       Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
9.       Alt-J, An Awesome Wave
10.   Led Zeppelin, Celebration Day
11.   Iron Maiden, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
12.   Iron Maiden, Somewhere in Time
13.   Iron Maiden, Powerslave
14.   Boards of Canada, Tomorrow’s Harvest
15.   Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon
16.   John Coltrane, Blue Train
17.   National, Trouble Will Find Me
18.   Iron Maiden, Live After Death
19.   Iron Maiden, Maiden England ‘88
20.   Nick Drake, Bryter Layter

“Vinyl has traditionally been the music enthusiast’s format of choice,” says Xavier Garambois, Vice-President, European Consumer Business at Amazon. “It’s great to see so many people rediscovering a format that holds such an important place in music history. We expect to see sales of vinyl continue to flourish with Amazon AutoRip, helping introduce new generations to this timeless format whilst giving our customers the convenience and portability of digital music.”

Meanwhile, check out this funky infographic that outlines what people have been listening to on vinyl, and how sales have been on the rise over the past 8 years.

(via Pinterest)

(via Tosh.0)

coffeepott:

april-fools-eve:

mcderpderp:

i found googley eyes and manga….:V

I just spat my drink all over

heLP I CAN’T

Who is the Doctor exactly? Putting it into words isn’t easy, but this beautiful quote from the episode “Family of Blood” gives a pretty darn accurate description. However, it’s also a mouthful. No wonder that he just tells people he’s the Doctor.

Product Page ($25.99)

QWOP is not an easy game to play. You control the athlete in the Flash game with just the Q, W, O, and P keys, and it’s tricky business. It looks like it’s equally hard to cosplay. This guy was spotted at Anime North 2013 as Qwop the athlete, and he has mad skills at controlling his body to mimic the game. It’s hilarious.

Check out the video after the break.

(via Kotaku)

(via FYT)

These red Star Wars lightsaber sunglasses are just the thing you need this summer. They look like regular old red sunglasses, until you notice the lightsaber hilt built into each side. Oh, and the frames actually light up so it’s like wearing a lightsaber on your face, only less deadly.

See more pictures after the break…

Product Page ($16.50)

People have a love hate relationship with Ewoks. Even if the furry little creatures annoy the bejeezus out of you, you can’t deny they’re a tiny bit cute. They do have the teddy bear vibe going for them after all. This handmade hat by Etsy seller Mary Originals has all the adorable features, and it’s sized for kids and small adults.

Product Page ($40 via Technabob)