The Coolest Barbie Ever

 Barbie Collector

OMG have you seen the new tokidoki Barbie?  She's due out October 1.  You already know I love me some tokidoki (see previous posts here).  I think this is the coolest Barbie I've ever seen.  She's sporting pink hair, tokidoki tatts, leggings and taking Bastardino for a walk.  Supplies of this babe won't last.

I collected Barbies when I was a girl, but I gave my collection away when I was a teenager.  I'm beginning to question that decision.  No matter.  Today's Barbies are way cooler than mine were.  Have you seen the Hard Rock's Barbies?  I photographed the top two Barbies in Chicago and the bottom one in Seattle.  Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, I had to do it on the down low.  The sales personnel got mad at me and chased me out of the store.  Man I love photojournalism.

 @manu

Today's Barbie has the coolest furniture!  Sometimes I see a photo of a Barbie room and think it's a real room.  Just look at that hot pink lamp, turquoise sofa and soft orange silk pillows.  I want those for my own home.  I never had furniture like that, I just had the Barbie camper.  Although I must admit, it was the coolest.  I'd love to have a life size version of it to travel the country.

Hello Kitty Never Looked So Good

Simone Lengno, the brains behind Tokidoki, keeps on doing it. He is amazingly prolific and his illustrations are just plain cool. We all know and love Sandy. Hello Kitty - being the stunning fashionista that she is - has borrowed Sandy's outfit. And she looks smashing in it. I'd order this if it weren't for its ridiculous price. Oh well. I love me some Tokidoki. (See previous post here.)

Don't forget your cactus suit

It's a tough world out there. Cactus kids by Tokidoki. A reminder to stay soft inside while protecting yourself on the outside. Available at Fugitive Toys.

Announcements and Independence Week

I love me some tokidoki!

Hello dear readers!  I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer vacation at this moment, and not working too hard.  Sadly, too many work too hard for too little money in our country right now - but that's not the subject of this post.  As you know, many of our traditional holiday celebrations just don't work for me.  But rather than continuing to feel excluded, or like an alien, I have been rethinking holidays.  As you know, Mothers' Day is one that is difficult for me.  So I turned it into a celebration of women.  (See my Mothers' Day post here.)

I've decided to rethink Independence Day as well.  Okay, now haters, before you go crazy - I am a patriot.  That's why I want our country to be the best it can be.  I believe in the constitution.  I believe in American values and the American dream.  I just don't believe so much in the American reality.  I want to do all I can to leave a better society for our children.  Arrogant, I know.  But, I've been called by God.  No turning back now.

A quick word about soldiers and their families.  Soldiers in our country are asked to sacrifice in a way no human should ever be asked to sacrifice.  I do support our troops.  I just wish they were here.  Instead of policing arguments we don't understand - and really have no place in - they could be here rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure.  Make no mistake, our infrastructure is obsolete and falling apart.  Instead of continuing to apply the bandages that caused these problems in the first place (i.e., pipelines, autos, natural gas consumption, etc.), we need to look at sustainability.  These bandages will not sustain us, indeed, they will continue to make the problem worse.

Instead of spending our billions of tax dollars on wars, why not rebuild our country?  We have the structure in place.  The military are highly-skilled individuals with the best technology.  Have our patriots rebuild the bridges, the roads, build the high speed rail, hospitals, schools, alternative fuel sources.  Make this country a mecca and then - lead by example.  Once our house is order and every American has enough food, shelter, education, medical care, then...hold out a hand to other nations.

Yes, I've been called naive.  A dreamer.  What people think of me no longer phases me.  I don't even like that my beloved President Obama says that these things are hard.  No they are not.  They are easy.  Perhaps that's the problem.  We need to eradicate the belief system that change for the better is hard.  What is hard is the way we are currently living.  I know of no one in the U.S. who is completely happy.  They are either overworked like slaves, or underemployed or unemployed.  There's a lot of talent going to waste.  And it all starts with education.

Worse, than that, I've been called unpatriotic.  What crap.  I want the best for our nation, its people and the world's people.  The loss of even one person's potential is unacceptable.  You can even look at our problems from the stand point of selfish enlightenment.  The poverty of one encroaches upon the comfort of us all.

Holidays such as Veterans Day and Independence Day are always a dilemma for me.  Like, I said I do support our troops.  But I do believe that sometimes these young brave men and women don't know what they are getting themselves into.  Can your young daughter who is stationed in Afghanistan actually tell you why we are at war?   Also, I have a brother in the military and I'm proud of him.  He's a fine man, soldier, husband and father.  Do I support the troops?  Absolutely.

My brother enjoys being in the National Guard.  Sometimes he goes on a mission to save people, such as during Hurricane Katrina.  

Do I support war?  No.  I have heard many arguments for war, and am not convinced.  It's the year 2013.  As a young woman I didn't even think we'd make it to 2000.  War should be a concept that is incomprehensible.

I do apologize for the outpouring of words again.  The words are just flowing these days.  It's a gift.  And a curse.  (Ha!  That's a joke from Monk, one of my favorite shows.)

The purpose of this long-ass post is to tell you that I am making this week Independence Week on Creative Influences!  This week were are going to look at the man in the mirror.  That's where change needs to start.  I'd like to invite all of my readers to look in the mirror and see a fabulous person they love looking back at them.

I'd like to encourage independence from your internal tyranny.  Forget about self doubt.  Forget about what anyone thinks of you.  Forget about perfection.  You are perfect the way you are!  Time for a revolution from within.  There's an oldie, but goody, by Gloria Steinem, who first encouraged me to think this way.  Called Revolution From Within.  I highly recommend it.  In fact, it should be required reading for all young women.

This week on the blog is Independence Week!  The next post is about some bloggers I adore.  Followed by a quick reading list of some women using social media to its fullest advantage.  On the 4th we will have a very exciting guest post.  Stay tuned, dear readers, should be an exciting week.  All based on empowerment.  And remember at all times, you are fabulous!  Thanks for reading.  xo

TGIF!

I was a paparazzi at lunchtime today. There was so much beauty all around me I didn't want to stop clicking! SNL & BB - thanks so much for the new camera!

Here are a few of the things I saw.

Shoes for a New Year's Eve party. They have a zipper in the back. How cool is that?

Even though I'd need a wheelchair to wear them, I'd still look fab because I'd wear this dress with them. Every girl needs to let the inner vamp out sometimes.

These shoes make a little more sense. They look infinitely more walkable, and let's face it - every girl needs a pair of lucite shoes.

Dig this Hello Kitty Bag. I swear I'm really five years old. Of course if I bought this bag, I'd have to have pink boots to go with it.













And dig these goof balls! They actually light up! Looks like pop art to me. One of each, please.
How much is that poster in the window?

I love me some Tokidoki.


Just 'cause it's an important cause, doesn't mean the poster can't be pretty. Love and want this. This artist and I are in sync. I've been painting with ice blue a lot lately.
A lovely siren posed for me.

There were so many beautiful people I wanted to photograph. Hey, forget Paris, Britney, Lindsey, Nicole, Angelina, Katie, etc. "Ordinary" people are infinitely more fascinating.

I thought I'd better eat before I got back to my last-minute rush jobs. Okay, just one more pic. Look at this groovy light fixture. I want it for my dining room.

Finally, I sat down to an Atkins lunch. A gyro salad. The guy who served it to me was wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt and told me how great revolutionaries are motivated by love for their people. He was so cute I wanted to take his picture, but I was afraid to ask.

Yum! Herein lies my hypocrisy. I'm not a vegetarian. Wish I was. But you'll never catch me wearing leather or fur. Is it 5:30 yet?

Year in Review - Best Contemporary Painters

To celebrate the new year, I would like to do a series of year-end reviews. The first is a review of some of my favorite painters. Painters that I would love to exhibit if I had my own gallery. Oh wait - I do! I have a virtual gallery. Welcome to the first exhibit of Creative Influences!

The artists I have chosen for this first review are all contemporary. It is a diverse group, as any good art exhibit should be. The thing that ties them together is that I love them all. I tend to be attracted to works that some may consider lonely and cold. I adore seeing rain expressed on the canvas, and no one does it better than Pat Stier. I also tend to be attracted to solo figures in paintings, like Jeana Sohn's work. I adore melancholy romance like Sachin Jaltaray. I am also attracted to paintings that appear dynamic, and organic. Some are witty, but all are soulful, sensual, thoughtful. I've included some artists who are technically illustrators, but there is no denying the impact contemporary illustration has in modern painting. Each artist has taken the time to share their unique vision, and for that I am grateful. To me there is nothing more important than art.

Posthumous recognition is given to Jean-Michel Basquiat and T.L. Lange, two artists whose impactful lives were too short. The works are arranged in alphabetical order.  With no further adieu, here is the first Year in Review Series. Enjoy!

Flickr user Arty Zen is a facinating artist. Her paintings are done with a gentle hand, and are quietly contemplative. Ms. Zen's flickr set is a wonderful place to visit when stress becomes overwhelming at a desk job. Indeed, I often use her set as a meditation.

Chiho Aoshima.

Hessam Abrishami.

Jean-Michel Basquiat.


Buff Monster.

Susan Danko.

Reed Danziger.

Melinda Hackett. This image here.

Derek Hess.

Tilo Kaiser.

Sachin Jaltarey.

Jeremiah Ketner.

Lisa Kowalski.

T.L. Lange.

Melissa Moss.

Mark Mothersbaugh.

Takashi Murakami. For anyone interested in otaku, anime and manga, here is a facinating indepth interview with Murakami (link). He places these new traditions in context.

Vickie Pierre.

Shauno.

Jenn Ski


Jeana Sohn.

Pat Steir

Aya Takano.

Tokidoki.

Gabriela Trzebinski.

Natasha Wescoat.

Hui-Chu Ying at Harris Stanton Gallery.

Karen Zilly.

Processing - Weekend Art Projects, Part II

When I was writing about the Tokidoki Barbie that's coming out next month (see post below), I discovered a whole new world of Barbie furniture.  There's a lot of collectors making amazing homes, with beautiful rooms for Barbie.  In fact, at times on flickr I thought I was looking at a real room.  And I've definitely seen some homes for Barbie that make be drool.  I began to think about decorating a home for a Barbie.  My Barbie would have a large, all white loft.  She'd need a vase collection and a fab way to display it.  Maybe even open shelving to help divide the space, but keep it airy.

Barbie's Wall of Vases, 2011, 16" x 20" cut paper and markers.  I cut out little vases all based on vases in my collection and arranged them on a simple bookcase.  The best part is that they are taped, not glued, and can be moved around at Barbie's whim.

If you're interested in Barbie furniture, here's a fun group on flickr (link), and here's a cute Etsy shop (link).