Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Reasons to Live, No. 96

When you're feeling blue, the cosmos will send you an angel ..... or two. All you have to do is listen.

Image via Cloud 9.

That day the angels took the form of Wesley Washington and Jimmy Love, together they are Cloud 9. And the name is appropriate.

Now it's not unusual for me to go to lunch feeling blue. But that particular day, I was almost numb, lifeless. As I walked to the The Arcade, I felt empty and not present. I can't even remember what my turkey sandwich tasted like, or if I even ate it.

Then I heard sweet music. Guitar, singing and the most beautiful whistling. I looked and saw two angels serenading me. The lyrics were especially poignant. "You can be a superhero," they said.

Image by Peggy.

The melancholy was no contender for these sweet guys. The ennui vanished, my mood uplifted. I stopped to chat them up. Wanted to let them know that I appreciated their art. Two guys, just doin' their thing, workin' to make their dreams come true, is how they described themselves. Yeah, cuz corporate jobs are death, said one. I may be paraphrasing - or maybe even projecting.

The message was clear. We just need to remember who we are. And we can be anything we choose to be - even a superhero.

Thanks for the love guys. I wish you all the best. One day I'll be saying, I knew them when.

Image by Peggy. For more peace sign photography, click here.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Turquoise!

Today I have turquoise on the mind. It is a color I think about often. The perfect turquoise can be elusive. I prefer the teal blue turquoise, as opposed to the aqua turquoise. One of my favorite posts featured all turquoise lamps. See previous post here.

I want to add turquoise to my decor, with lots of pink and white.

Isn't this cute? It's a new ring that I got for cheap at Pier 1.

My turquoise vases.

Turquoise fabric with pink fabrics. Love this color combination.


Turquoise items cleverly displayed in a window. I love doing reflection shots. For more of my reflection shots, see my flickr set here.



Turquoise pillow from Etsy user sassypillows. Now this is what I call the perfect shade of turquoise. Thinking of ordering two.


Look at this totally fab chandelier! I'm sure this is too expensive for my budget, but it would look great in my sleeping area. I fantasize about having a chandelier and totally going glam in my apartment. Image from Elle Decor.



This image from flickr user Christianna's Earthly Delights. She made the sofa cover and pillows. She is so talented, I wish I could sew like that. Her home is beautiful. Check out her flickr set.

Gorgeous pendant from Etsy user 1480degrees.


Mod dish from Etsy user jensstudio.
Stay tuned. I think I will be experimenting with turquoise paint in the next couple of days.

In the Pink!

My recuperation is going well, and I am feeling in the pink today! You can never have too much pink.

I moved a few things around today. A vintage pink LSA glass vase on the table feels just right. Looks great with my pink curtains from Target.


Dance of Pink Booties under a Cancer Moon III, 24" x 30", acrylic on canvas.

I haven't been able to paint for a while, but I completed this painting this week. I adore vibrant pink! The painting did not turn out as perfect as I wanted, my hand felt a little unsteady. Still, it felt wonderful to put a brush to canvas again.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Monday, June 15, 2009

Lamp Tramp

And now it's time for another episode of Lamp Tramp. Only seems right to get a lamp fix, since we've had our pottery fix this week. As my readers know, I love me some lamps. Almost as much as I love pottery, or as much as I love pottery ... whatever. Here are some fine lamps that I actually saw IN PERSON for the first time. I had only known these lamps in the virtual world. These lamps are all out of my price range (even on sale) and were at a store called Surroundings, in the heart of the warehouse district, downtown Cleveland. Cleveland needs many more hip stores since there are so many cool lofts and urban developments happening. The flats are located near the warehouse district and would be a great place to turn into a design, art, and furniture mecca. Fuck the tit and sports bar, we already have a ton of those, and people are still broke. But today is not about politics, it's about lamps. Hope you enjoy!




The Bourgie lamp. I almost shit when I saw this. I am sure Heaven must be lined with these lamps.



Caboche by Patricia Urquiola.







Jasper Morrison.

Nelson lamps (I think).




Philippe Starck.

Okay, I just can't resist showing some pottery too. These vases made me drool! They are designed by Nicole Aebischer. Muy bonita. Muy expensivo.

Please drop me a line if you know the designer of any of the lamps that I could not identify.


Sunday, June 14, 2009

Blog Love

The editors at Creative Influences adore the blogosphere. It never ceases to amaze us how many wonderful blogs we discover on a daily basis. It certainly has cut down on our magazine addiction. And we love the democracy of the blogosphere! We get to hear many unique voices, that wouldn't have been possible pre-internet. Today, we'd like to celebrate the following blogs that are being added to our blog roll. Congratulations to the authors of these blogs. Each one is an artist in their own right. Hope you enjoy!

Lori Andrews is a talented designer who goes by the name the 10 cent designer. She is a talented photographer as well. I adore her photography blog, Lori Andrews Photography. And her blog entitled The 10 cent designer has lost her head is not to be missed! All headless photography, all amusing!


Katie Lewis pens a fabulous blog entitled The Nomadic Reporter from Beijing. Hearing about a tall blonde's adventures in China is utterly thrilling. Better than any reality show. She's a great writer and her bravery is astounding. Katie also realizes that if you must park a bike in your living room, it must be a great looking one. You go, girl!



The blog world was buzzing when Ab Chao started blogging again. And with good reason. The girl is talented and hilarious. I adore her sense of humor and the lamp she has in her bedroom. And oh yeah, her new kitchen is fab and the 10 cent designer helped her with it. Check it out on Hashai.


Jon at Happy Mundane, reminds us there is beauty all around us. Even in our dish soap. In this post, he talked about neon duct tape. How cool is that? Gotta get me some. He does very interesting display and projects, and gives great instructions. Always inspirational.

deedee9:14 is a blog written by the fab artist Dee Adams, who I wrote about below. She is currently working on a series of mid century birds. The girl has great taste, I love seeing her design picks.

Resurrection Fern is a blog written by prolific artist Margaret Ooman. Margaret makes the most fascinating art combining a love of the natural world with her love of textiles. I especially adore her sea stone series.
Kit Lane is a very humble "nontraditional needle felter, sculptor, painter, 3D developer." I adore the little creatures she creates as well as her delightful narratives. I think she should write a children's book. In her little worlds, the darling creatures co-exist peacefully, reminding me of Apak's works. She makes lots of other stuff too, some not as cute, but all fascinating. And she has a great blog, entitled Kit Lane - Euphamistically Challenged.


Meet Joy and Janet, the creative geniuses behind The Mogg Blogg. Joy and Janet deconstruct the design world. Oh to hell with the pithy words, they are the queens of snark, and say what every other blogger wishes they had the nerve to say. You know it's true. And they are hilarious! When you get bored of the design world taking itself so seriously, click on The Mogg Blogg. I'll be adding the moggit blinkie to my side bar, because I just can't resist a free blinking widget. You go girls!

The Brick House is penned by Morgan somewhere in California. She writes of the love/hate relationship she has with The Brick House, a mid century ranch she is renovating. It's great fun seeing the fruits of her thrifting, and her clippy sense of humor will catch you off guard. On several occasions, she almost got me busted goofing off at work, because she makes me laugh so much! Morgan doesn't have a lot of money, but she has a lot of style. She has great taste in furniture, and loves bad art. While the latter mystifies me, it never ceases to intrigue me. She also has a father-in-law named Craig, who I need to borrow. He built those fab shelves on the sides of the fireplace. Sorry, Morgan, I used an old picture of your living room, because as my readers know (gasp) - I am opposed to animal skin rugs. But I do love your home, and your blog!

I've written about Whitney Smith's pottery many times. I adore her work, and I adore her blog, This Artist's Life. Her blog tells it like it is for an artist supporting herself with her art. I admire her so much, I only dream of supporting myself artistically. I also like the fact that her blog is unapologetically honest. Whenever I look at her blog or flickr set, I want to take a pottery class.

The Order Obsessed is a blog written by Laura Cattano. Laura has raised organization to a sublime art form and can do the most amazing things with a small space. See previous post about Laura here. I am fascinated by the fact that Laura has a vision and is putting it into action. You go, girl!
Haus Maus is a blog written by Holly of the most popular blog in the world, Decor8. Decor8 is one the first blogs I discovered when I started reading blogs. Haus Maus follows Holly's transition to German life. When she began the blog, she and her husband were splitting their time time between Germany and the U.S. It has been great fun watching her decorate her apartment from scratch, in her gentle signature style. Holly shares her creativity generously and encourages everyone to be creative. Her writing style is as upbeat and gentle as her decorating style.

Haus Maus is even more fascinating to follow as she and her husband are now moving to Germany full time! And she is planning to open a shop. Can you say green with envy? Holly leads a picturesque life and I am glad she shares it with us. As an added plus, Holly gives us the scoop on the best European blogs.


It is simply an oversight that Pia Jane Bijkerk's sublime blog is not currently on my blog roll. That oversight will be swiftly corrected. I adore Pia's words and photography. And she has a new book, entitled "Paris Made by Hand," which supports the hand-made movement. Check it out.

Hello Kitty suicide art series via Hello Kitty Hell. Hello Kitty Hell is a diatribe on the mysterious popularity of Hello Kitty. It is a meta-blog if you will. I could wax philosophically about popular culture and anti-popular culture which is actually a form of pop culture. But I won't. I mean isn't it amazing that an icon can become so omnipresent, that it actually creates a spin-off culture of criticism? Okay, I know there I go again. Suffice it to say, Hello Kitty Hell is not for faint-hearted Hello Kitty fans. Since I am easily amused, I find it hilarious. I also find the whiny emails from Hello Kitty fans hilarious.

Stay tuned for future editions of Blog Love.

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