I wish it would snow. Like, really snow. A massive storm that shuts everything down and makes it difficult to get the store, turning everything quiet for days while the city struggles to come back to life. Also, you know the sound of snow falling? Like a very gentle ocean? I miss that.
And just because, here’s a cute picture of a fox.
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You know how I said I wanted to live in a human nest? Well, I did. Pay more attention.
Anyway, artist Patrick Doughrety makes what are probably the most elaborate and wonderful wicker structures I’ve ever seen. They range in size and shape; some look like twisty wooden tornadoes and others reach straight upward a windswept castle. There’s something really whimsical about his pieces—they look just like illustrations from a children’s book, come to life and made on a massive scale. I want to crawl inside and take a nap. Or maybe have a picnic.
More here.
I’ve been playing with Emotional Bag Check all afternoon (ever since I saw it posted on The Hairpin) and the results have been MAGICAL. It’s a website that lets you either drop off some emotional baggage, and receive a song in return, or suggest a good song (and send an inspirational message) to an unhappy stranger. It’s the bee’s knees.
I’ve gotten almost thirty new song suggestions (my all-time favorite being “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” which first made me feel a bit funny then I realized, whatever, it’s not wrong) and sent out too many songs to count. For some reason, I seem to feel like the answer to everything can be found in Liz Phair and Sleigh Bells? But on that… Continue reading
Oh my god, how much do I love this? A lot! The answer is a lot! It’s a chandelier made out of test tubes, which can be filled with everything from candy-colored liquids to single stem blooms. The innovative lamp comes from Polish Designer Pani Jurek, who was inspired by the work of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Maria Skłodowska-Curie. Science, decor, and design? I would like to live in that house.
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I used to be pretty religious. When I was young, my parents made us go to church every Sunday, and though I complained, there was always a part of me that liked the rituals and the traditions. I even liked confession (which isn’t something you are supposed to like, as every good Catholic knows). I liked the latticework wood booths, the rich red cloth, and the whispery quiet of telling secrets.
Nowadays, I can’t really claim allegiance to any religion—but maybe I would if I had mass in this church. Designed by Belgian architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh, it’s an art project that plays with the very idea of solid enclosures. Called “Reading Between The Lines,” it’s a really beautiful riff on the traditional space of worship. Made of 100 thin sheets and 2,000 columns of steel, the “church” is more sketch than sculpture. And (obviously) I love it.
More details (and some much more in-depth analysis) here.
1. Amazing paper flowers by Thuss + Farrell. While paper flowers are always my favorite (anything made of paper, really), their entire website is really inspiring. I adore the still-lifes, especially the images of food (and the makeup, which almost looks good enough to eat!).
2. Photographs of famous photographers with their famous photographs. Really fascinating images from Tim Mantoani’s book Behind Photographs: Archiving Photographic Legends. While I honestly don’t know much about photojournalism, it’s still really cool to faces behind iconic images—like The Tank Man of Tienanmen Square or the portrait of the Afghan Girl from National Geographic. But my favorite one? Mary Ellen Mark.
Just spent the past hour looking at my new favorite website: Cabin Porn. Despite the NSFW name, it’s really just a massive aesthetic feast of lovely-looking cabins. They have ski chalets, log cabins, yurts, glass houses, and everything in between. The only connecting thread is that they’re all cozy, and they’re all remote.
A few more favorites…
Despite being scary and medical and reminding me of hospitals, this picture is still kind of beautiful. It has a weird under-the-sea vibe, I think. Or maybe it’s the hues (green and gold is maybe the prettiest pairing of colors). Can we make up a genre? Luminescent scifi? Life support chic?
Anyway, much more importantly, this is a picture of a garden.
Wait, what?
I don’t usually post about music, but I have a new favorite album and I’m listening to it on repeat: Jennifer O’Connor‘s I Want What You Want. Her voice is so great. It’s a little folksy, and a little feminist-y, and I like it a whole lot.
My favorite track is “Already Gone,” but there’s a “Swan Song (for Bella)” that I kind of love too—and not just for the Twilight reference. Apparently, that song was almost in the movie, but the director decided to cut it. Which is maybe a blessing in disguise, though I’m sure O’Connor was probably bummed.
Here’s the whole thing on Bandcamp.
When I’m not listening to I Want, I’m playing this song over and over. Swedish teen pop with a country western feel? Yeah!
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Artist Brendan Jamison makes amazing architectural structures out of sugar cubes. “I was always in my room building Lego models,” he said in an interview with the BBC. (Of course he was! Legos are the best! I want to play with them right now!)
But before he landed on sugar cubes, he tried building with smarties, which didn’t work quite so well. He says he liked how much he can cut and mold the cubes, whereas smarties are apparently too rigid for such detail. “I was attracted by the beautiful sparkles on the sugar cubes. It is a beautiful finish, you can see the fairytale sparkle in the natural light.”
And if that wasn’t enough to make you like him, here’s a helicopter he made out of wood and wool. Fuzzy!
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Katy Kelleher 