Can You Call Them Dolls?
EJ Taylor was raised in a family of salmon fishermen then went on to Parson’s School of Design and has worked as a designer in theater, film and ballet. I’m willing to bet his life has the makings of a great book or documentary.
When I hear the word “dolls” the first thing that pops into my mind are Barbies and Raggedy Ann – and while they both have their fans, the dolls of EJ Taylor are unique and border more on artistic sculpture than any doll I’ve ever played with. The detailing that goes into them evokes a story, like they could be placed in a tale of some faraway place.
Doll by EJ Taylor
Doll by EJ Taylor
EJ Taylor: ejtaylor.com
Be Who You Are
Eiko Ishioka was a costume designer who died at the beginning of 2012. There is a large number of movies that come out every year, many of them forgettable. Eiko Ishioka not only worked in interesting films, her work was distinctive and often enriched the films she designed costumes for. She won the Academy award for best costume design for Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula and her last film, Mirror, Mirror bore her creative touch.
She stayed true to herself while working in an industry that it is often easy to get swallowed up in.
Happy New Year and as we enter 2013, stay true to yourself – be who you are.
Dress by Eiko Ishioka for Mirror, Mirror via The Hollywood Reporter
Dress by Eiko Ishioka for The Fall via The Seamstress of Avalon
Dress by Eiko Ishioka for Mirror, Mirror via Life & Times…
A Big Hello
Somber, sad, sobering…it is hard to come up with adequate words to describe the emotions that surround the events of last week. My heart and thoughts go out to the people of Newtown, Connecticut and I know that people the world over are expressing the same sentiments.
I spent some time over the weekend mindlessly perusing the internet to essentially numb my emotions and I came across an image that reminded me that as dark as our days can get, it is the light that can give us hope.
Elly MacKay creates layered paper images in what she calls her theater and then carefully lights them so that the end product is an image that is light and ethereal. And on this dark weekend, looking at her work reminded me of the good things in people and what they can do.
On the back of a tiger by Elly MacKay
Along the Way by Elly MacKay
The opening page of her website greets you with “A BIG HELLO from a world inside a paper theater…” And it really does feel like she is welcoming you into her world.
Elly MacKay: ellymackay.com
Not Your Mother’s Collage
The first time I saw Michael Waraksa‘s work I accidentally stumbled across it on Flickr while I was looking for something else. I was immediately taken with his choice of design, color and content. His work definitely sparks the imagination – it’s like an infinite number of stories could be told, depending on the viewer.
DO by Michael Waraksa
Untitled 2012 by Michael Waraksa
Michael Waraksa: michaelwaraksa.com/
Adjusting My Frame of Mind
I’m sitting here looking out at a cold gray day and trying not to let it get me down. For moments like these, you need something that can act as a quick pick me up – this short video, “Frame of Mind” by Ben Boutwell and Steven Alan is just the ticket. It’s well made and guaranteed to lift your mood:
Ben Boutwell: benboutwell.com
Steven Alan: thestevenalan.com
Respectable Polymer Clay
Polymer clay has been around for quite awhile, but didn’t really start to rise in popularity until the 80′s and started being taken seriously as an artistic medium until the 90′s. I think it was difficult at first for the art world to know what to make of polymer clay. Polymer clay is made out of plastic (polymer polyvinyl chloride) and until artists started pushing out its boundaries and showing what it is capable of, outside of cutesy craft applications, it was hard to know what to make of it. One of the great things about it is accessibility – you don’t need a kiln or a torch and it can be relatively inexpensive to use.
Today, there are many amazing and respected polymer clay artists and also collections of polymer clay pieces in museums and galleries. I’d love to write about them all, but I was thinking about two people in particular who have been around since the beginning of the polymer clay resurgence: ford/forlano is the collaboration of Steve Ford and David Forlano. They do beautiful work and one of the things I appreciate about them is that they continually work on new ways of doing things and using materials.
Cane Earrings ford/forlano 1989
Big Bead Necklace 1996 ford/forlano
Flower Pin 2008 ford/forlano
ford/forlano: fordforlano.com
Never Too Old
I think the meaning of the word “toy” has been narrowed down too much; we generally think of children or people with too much disposable income. For me, toys are the joyous outcome of an imaginative mind. And unlike going into a gallery or museum, where chances are good you’re not allowed to touch the art and for most of us, it’s out of our price range, toys are meant to be had and handled.
What got me thinking about it is this great site that specializes in tin toy robots. Tin Toy Robot has some robots that are just oozing personality and waiting for adventure:
Meter Robot from Tin Toy Robot
New TV Robot from Tin Toy Robot
Tin Toy Robot: tintoyrobot.com
Cake Alive!
Two of my favorite things together in one short film – animation and cake!
I was instantly taken with this homage to Tim Burton. The Caketrope of BURTON’s Team is an imaginative take on zoetrope animation by Alexandre Dubosc.
A zoetrope is a cylinder with a sequence of pictures on its inner surface which, when viewed through the vertical slits spaced regularly around it while it is spinning, gives the illusion that the pictures are moving. Some modern day zoetropes use strobe lighting instead of the slits to get the same effect. The Ghibli Museum has a wonderful zoetrope populated with characters from their films and Disney also has a Toy Story themed zoetrope at Disneyland Resort.
Another thing I love about the Caketrope film is the combination of the visuals with sound and music to make the cake come alive:
Alexandre Dubosc: alexandre-dubosc.com
Virtual Museum Hopping
Let’s just say that my travel budget right now is somewhat limited, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a long list of places I’d like to go and things I’d like to see. High on my list of things I want to see in most places I want to go are museums and galleries. The Met, the Louvre, the Tate…it’s a long list. I’m hoping to someday see these places in person, but in the meantime, there is Google Art Project.
Google Art Project allows you to virtually tour museums and galleries all over the world – you can tour the facilities as well as view high resolution images of certain works of art. It’s also an interactive site where you can create a collection of your own and do a host of other things that I haven’t even touched on yet.
Not every museum and major gallery is represented, but the collection is growing all the time and affords you the opportunity of “touring” museums and galleries that you may not have heard of before and you can discover artists and art that you may not find otherwise.
Here is a short video from Google Art Project and if this doesn’t suck you in, you’re a stronger person than me:
Google Art Project: googleartproject.com
Joy Brings Joy
There are a plethora of food blogs out there. Honestly, I’m amazed at how many there are – just when I think I must have found them all, I discover ten more which leads to ten more…I’m sure you get the idea.
Most of them are okay, some are good, there are a few that are bad and a very few that are stellar. Joy the Baker is definitely a shining star in a huge constellation.
She has great recipes and photography, but what sets her apart is her writing. She’s got a bit of an edge, not in a bitter way, but in a I’m-telling-it-like-it-is way. And she is often funny. One thing she isn’t is verbose. The internet being what it is, you need everything pretty much in sound bites, and she does a wonderful job at telling stories succinctly and often hilariously.
Image from Joy the Baker
I have not made these crackers yet, but they sound mouth watering and the story that goes with them is great:
Joy the Baker Sharp Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Even if you’re not interested in food blogs, you’ll like Joy.
Joy the Baker: joythebaker.com