Last Easter, we posted Ambatalia’s extensive how-to on dying Easter eggs with natural dyes. We have that essential Easter item covered. What to do THIS year? There’s egg-shaped stones painted a la Max Ernst… Then an image we saw in a Remodelista post about cold frames got us thinking about another kind of ALT Easter…
Read More‘shelf of stuff’: what’s on yours?
A while back, we clipped a great post from Mondobloggo called ‘That Shelf”. It went: We all have one. The weird, cool ass shit that doesn’t go anywhere else. That gift that you like, but can’t get rid of. Your favorite thing in the world, and the stupidest thing ever…. It all goes on “that…
Read Moremodernist stenciled floor patterns w. lustig inspiration
We’re always on the lookout for interesting painted floor ideas and love this modernist pattern painted onto the naked wood. This ‘freeform’ design would have to be done with care, with a series of stencils, we imagine, shapes carefully cut out of big sheets of thin but firm plastic. We started to imagine other “moderne”…
Read Morebirch logs for book cases and other household accents
Recently, we’ve seen bundles of birch logs being sold at delis around New York City: cheap enough for an evening’s cozy fire. Since we don’t have a fireplace, we’ve admired them as a lovely, elemental raw material – right on our doorstep – and mulled what we could do with them; we’ve been meaning to…
Read More‘the imperfect is our paradise’ (wallace stevens)
We were talking about imperfection, wabi sabi, and how messy the creative process is when, out of the blue, David Saltman said “The imperfect is our paradise.” He looked surprised and then said “Wallace Stevens.” He had called up from memory the best line of a famous Wallace Stevens’ poem called The Poems of Our…
Read Moredo you want to fly?
(Video link here.) We stumbled on this video of slow-mo skydiving on Vimeo… It’s curiously relaxing, imagining flying, totally unfettered… We wished we could experience flying without having to jump out of a plane (all rigged up)… then realized we have… in dreams… and in the best of the work we’ve done… feels like flying…. Related…
Read Moreunusual guest ‘books’ on walls and furniture (and books)
Recently the New York Times ran an interactive feature about Osteria Senz’ Oste, an inn 40 miles or so north of Venice whose name translates “Tavern Without Host” or “Inn Without Barkeep.” The proprietor Cesare De Stefani wanted to create a space that “felt like home”, so he trusts people to pay what they wish…
Read Moresalvador dali says ‘yes’ to everything
(Video link here) We are totally charmed by this video of Salvador Dali on an episode of What’s My Line, an old tv game show in which blindfolded contestants had to guess the occupation of the special guest by asking yes/no questions. Here are all of the questions that Dali answered yes to (we’ve boldfaced ones that…
Read Morewhat helps you see things differently?
A still from the film yves klein: la revolution bleue (the blue revolution), found via Matt Olson‘s inspired blog Rolu, which so often gives us a new view. We would see the world very differently without it. What do you rely on to shift your view? (More on the great Yves Klein here.) Related posts: photo of the…
Read MoreRug and tile designs as painted floor (or wall) inspiration
We written before about “rugs” painted right on a wood floor. When we saw the actual rug in this picture, we thought: how great would THAT be painted on the floor. So now we’re looking at geometricly patterned rugs, as possible templates for our painted floors. Soon after, we stumbled on a picture in Reference…
Read More‘self-taught’ lessons about learning and creativity
(Video link here.) Frank ‘Sugar Chile’ Robinson was eight years old when he performed Caldonia in the 1946 MGM Film No Leave No Love. His pure boogie-woogie is notable not only because he is so young, but because of his unique playing style, where he uses fists and slams to create his fabulous sound. Neither of his parents…
Read Morestrangely gorgeous duct tape jewelry to d-i-y or buy
Two cheap and ubiquitous materials seem to inspire endless improvisations and creativity: shipping pallets (our pallet posts are some of our most popular)…and duct tape. We are smitten with the colorful duct tape jewelry Michele Howarth makes and sells on her Etsy store Quiet Mischief and Company. She also thought has a pdf tutorial for sale so you…
Read Morepeep show gif: funny, risqué, slightly x-rated
Ever since we stumbled on dvdp, a site devoted to seriously creative animated gif art, we’ve been checking in to see what leaps of techno-brilliance gif-makers have come up with. (There’s a great animated video of the gif’s history here). After the jump you’ll find a play on one of Michelangelo’s most famous images in the…
Read More‘our atoms came from stars’ (neil degrasse tyson)
(Video link here.) In 2008, a reader of TIME magazine asked Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson this question: “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” Here’s a slightly overwrought video version of his answer, along with the transcript of Tyson’s words: a stunning and essential message. The most astounding fact is…
Read Morereader improv: ny times illustrated wrapping paper
Carol McDonnell sent us an email about her very cool, very impromptu wrapping paper: Now that the NY Times has beautiful large full color photos, I decided not buy paper, but use it to wrap several books. The giraffe and the donkey head from the Whitney make a charming way to recycle . . .…
Read Morealex soth: the fantasy of retreat + makeshift lairs of those who have gone off the grid
A couple of weeks ago in the New Yorker, Vince Aletti wrote a brief description of an exhibition of photographer Alec Soth’s work: Soth’s subject here is elusive; he seeks out people who’ve gone off the grid, tracking survivalists, drifters, and recluses to their makeshift lairs… …Working through his own ambivalence—what he describes as “the…
Read Moresplit personality hotel room (white vs total bomb)
This room designed by the artist Tilt for Au Vieux Panier Hotel in Marseille, France is called “Panic Room” We look at it and see our two selves: loving serene white, admiring crazed audacious color – our split personality. It manages to evoke a whole world of possibilities: opposite ends of the spectrum in one fell swoop. When you…
Read Moredefining space with paint
We recently stumbled on a cool post at French by Design illustrating ways to define space by painting walls in unexpected ways. We especially like the illusion of sunlight make be using tones of grays and whites, and the blue paint defining the start of a new space:
Read Moreisamu noguchi’s creative process
Julie Houston, a reader who turned us on to that incredible Zorba the Greek video we posted a while back, recently sent this quote by sculptor Isamu Noguchi that she saw on a visit to Storm King Art Center, in a work called Momotaro. The nine-part, 40-ton stone sculpture provides seating atop a hill with sweeping…
Read Morethe brilliant past: poster dress with a ginsberg poem
Recently, we read that The New York Times has started an ongoing Tumblr project to post their photo archive; it’s called the Lively Morgue and it’s pretty swell. We found this treasure right away: a little bit of 60’s fashion brilliance: a dress that can become a poster. Here’s the description: March 4, 1968: “Don’t call them paper…
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