HOot, HOot, HOot!

In the days before finals (fueled by lots of black tea and dark chocolate with espresso beans), I accidentally spent hours making cards and envelopes to mail to the peeps for whom I give a hoot (whose addresses I have):

Merry Christmas!

With initials in the lightbulb :)

Made a series of deep blue and gold envelopes out of reversed UO bags. Thrif-ty!:


Things got a bit cut off by an unforgiving scanner. Hope you lucky Bs like those cards!

Maybe when Lillian and I get it together, we'll finally post it on Etsy. Is it foolish to think that people would pay for this? More importantly, will we end up on Regretsy?!?!

_________

Now that the semester is over, time for summer internship and study abroad applications... in China! Fly out on Christmas Day. I'm excited to spend lots of time on planes - I do my best thinking with recycled air and dry contacts :)

Doodlebug

Aw man. Apparently I can't read without getting hungry.

"We used to steal watermelons from Mr. Brown who owned this beautiful watermelon patch down near Wilsonia. We'd thump the melons to find out if they were ripe, choose the best ones, pull out the heart - the sweetest part - eat it and waste the rest. Mr. Brown had threatened to shoot Wesley, Clee, and me many times for stealing his crops, and he came out in the field one day with a loaded shotgun and caught us stealing watermelons. I don't know how we escaped. Watermelon vines are so low to the ground that you have to be as small as a doodlebug to get under them. Never try to hide your head under a watermelon vine with buckshot flying around your ass."

- Dizzy Gillespie, To Be or Not to Bop

This is very funny to me at 5AM.

a familiar face

Burden, by Samantha Hahn

Still complaining... but only for another 38 hours! I'm so excited to go home to SF to spend time with my family, have a ton of tapioca with sweet babies, squeeze Ella's cheeks, stock up on hoops, finish summer craft projects, and go to the Motherland!


Check out artist Samantha Hahn for her ink and watercolor drawings. Kind of funny how she incorporated a Louis chair, the Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chair, the Eames Molded Plastic Armchair, the Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair, the Thomas Pedersen Stingray Rocking Chair, and one more that I can't identify. Is it Ikea? Oh man this kills me.

...Back to this paper. Coincidentally, it's on the public policy of euthanasia. I am feeling excellent.

namby-pamby

I have this thing: I force myself to use a word of the day for the day on which a paper is due. And since I work better under pressure (read: am always rushing to squeeze out another page 30 minutes to the deadline), I am usually quite glad for any word to grace a blank page.

But sometimes, the words of the day are made up by poets for sing-song works:

namby-pamby \nam-bee-PAM-bee\ (adjective)
1. lacking in character or substance : insipid
2. weak, indecisive

Oh noes. And yet, I still did it:
Advocates of expansive Supreme Court powers object to Burns' idea of judicial review as "the power of judicial emasculation of legislation," citing its use as an institutional protection against namby-pamby state and federal legislatures.

Apparently, I am really good at bullying myself.

do it yoself: holiday ornament as kiddie necklace

Fairy Slipper Ornament, Anthro, 11.20

Fairy Slipper Ornament, Anthro, 11.20

Little Katja Ornament, Anthro, 14

Saithe Ornament, Anthro, 12.60

Country Mouse Family Ornaments, Anthro, 9.80

Brush Pony Ornament, Anthro, 9.80

Felt Plush Softie Owls, PinkPerch on Etsy, 11

Or make your own felted cuties? String or ribbon one or several into a chunky necklace for your nearest and dearest little chubster/kid?

Is that a silly idea? I'm sitting in the library, taking an Anthro/tea break from this take home exam. What is it called when you know what you should be saying but can't muster the strength or don't feel to urge to just type it out? - Mental. Constipation.

Rose Tree

Out of paper and satin! Oh dang, Martha!

Other Worlds: Making Sense of Other Worldly Museum Architecture

Thinking more about that Proust quote:

In contrast to the historicist, monolithic, and temple-like museums that established the museum as an essential cultural institution and dominated urban landscapes (think the Met, parts of the Louvre), the last several decades have witnessed a dramatic shift towards innovative and often other worldly museum architecture. While many of these structures may appear to be entirely ground-breaking – alien, even – case studies of three seemingly other worldly art museums of our time demonstrate that such structures necessarily refer to nature, site, and surroundings.

Frederic C. Hamilton Building, Denver Art Museum, opened 2006, Daniel Libeskind

The Frederic C. Hamilton Building of the Denver Art Museum was finished in 2006 to reveal a metallic, building with multiple pointed projections. Its lead architect, Daniel Libeskind (who designed the new Contemporary Jewish Museum in SF) says in interview that he was inspired by an aerial view of the "craggy cliffs and complex geometries" of the Rocky Mountains. He asserts that the building is “closely rooted…with the spirit Denver” and emphasizes the importance of a “plurality of experiences” in such a cultural institution that must refer to its site and surroundings. Yet another reference to the city of Denver as home of the largest titanium-producing company, the exterior is covered with plates of titanium. The jagged structure and impenetrable metal walls suggest that the Denver Art Museum is signifying a shift away from the traditional and chaste temple-style of museum architecture and towards a style that seems to jealously guard its treasures within its walls by material rather than intimidating, historicist columns. In The Accidental Masterpiece: On the Art of Life and Vice Versa, Michael Kimmelman writes that “a vivid memory can play a mysterious role in the imagination out of proportion to its significance, like a smell or some notes of music of a breeze that triggers the recollection of a pleasant trip or a childhood game or a lost relative. It stays there, waiting.” In the same way, the Hamilton building incorporates familiar components of Denver’s geography and economy in a radically unconventional way.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, opened 1997, Frank Gehry

Just as the Hamilton Building was constructed in reference to the natural landscape of Denver’s surroundings, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was designed by Frank Gehry in the likeness of a ship and in reference to its watery site. The titanium panels fit to forms that seem to contour swiftly but randomly, catching sunlight at various angles. They are shaped this way in order to resemble fish scales and bend like the body of a fish or an undulating tide. As to the Hamilton Building, the hull of a ship and the curved form of a fish’s body are all familiar images, but have been translated in an entirely novel way to appear other worldly.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, opened 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright
(Solomon Guggenheim, Hilla Rebay, and FLW admiring the design)

The first building of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, located in New York City, is a radical departure from its contemporary designs in the 1950s as well as the predominantly rectilinear architecture of Manhattan and most skyscrapers. Possibly the most alien-looking of the three case studies, “starchitect” Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark building recalls several more familiar structures: a reverse beehive, a fat cactus, a white ribbon wound around a cylindrical base. Wright is known for his regard for nature, which "furnished the materials for architectural motifs out of which the architectural forms as we know them have been developed" (In the Cause of Architecture). While there have been many controversies as to the efficacy of Wright’s design choices (artists such as Kandinsky and critics were adamantly opposed to the winding and uneven spiral pathway to the viewing of art and unusual angles through which light streamed via the skylight), there is no denying that such a seemingly unworldly structure successfully carries connotations of more familiar objects.

These three museum buildings communicate to visitors memories and feelings that are simultaneously natural and alien. Due to this dichotomy of traditional with radical, art museums continue to remain relevant to contemporary culture precisely because they manipulate the familiar and occupy a state of wonder.

______

Can't believe I just wasted an hour doing this/babbling rather than the thirty-some pages of essay/pain I have yet to write. Bad bad bad...

For those who read SAR with Hathwell:

Bullfight III, Picasso

"She was built with curves like the hull of a racing yacht, and you missed none of it with that wool jersey."
- Ernest Hemingway. The Sun Also Rises, p. 30.

Possibly the sexiest comparison ever. The other day, I used the hull-of-the-ship simile to describe a building's facade. MMMMM have to read SAR again! Plane ride to China, plane ride to China!

Also, really want some green trousers now.

PEACE AND GOODWILL: Pencils of Promise

Happy Holidays to you all!

This is the time of year when we gather together with family and friends and show our thanks to each other through the tradition of giving. Even in these times, when things are a bit harder for us than we are accustomed, there are certainly many in the world who have greater need.

Several bloggers are coming together today in a collaborative effort spearheaded by Paloma Contreras of La Dolce Vita, in order to make a difference for a very deserving charity. Pencils of Promise is a wonderful 501(c)(3) organization based in New York, that partners with local communities and organizations to build schools of early-stage education in developing nations for some of the world’s most impoverished and undereducated children. Sadly, there are more than 75 million children in this terrible situation worldwide.

Last December, the Pencils of Promise team visited a small village in Laos and by July 2009, they had built a new school for the village children who started attending classes on September 1st. This month, Pencils of Promise will be opening their third school and they hope to open the doors to education for more children in 2010.

In the spirit of the holiday season, we are asking for your help today on behalf of these children. Just think of the enormous impact we could have if each person who reads this post donates just $1.00. If you are willing and able to give more (35.00 buys shelves for a classroom, $50 provides pencils for one year, $100 provides a teacher’s salary for three months and so on), it would be greatly appreciated. We are in the midst of the giving season and hope that you will find it in your heart to make a donation to this worthy cause today. You can opt to donate via PayPal if you prefer. Every little bit helps and together, we can make a difference!

If you would like to stay informed about the difference Pencils of Promise is making, be sure to become a fan on their Facebook page.

You can be part of the solution, and that is a gift to yourself.

More information:

To show your support in building community throughout the world,

you may click HERE to give.

Thank you!

May there be Peace and Goodwill for all this season.

Poor B

Mmm happy Saturday!

Catching up on news this morning: it makes me so sad that Berkeley missed out on what would have been Toyo Ito's first building in the States. THE conceptual architect and interesting take on public vs private life in his designs.

From the NYTimes: "Last month the University of California abandoned plans for a new 140,000-square-foot Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. The project, designed by the high-profile Japanese architect Toyo Ito, was intended to replace a smaller existing building that does not meet seismic standards, but also to do much more: with its towering windows, huge interior spaces and curvaceous steel exterior, it was destined to become 'an icon for the entire Bay Area,' Berkeley’s chancellor, Robert J. Birgeneau, said in 2008."

Oh noes! Missing out on this:

Photo: Toyo Ito & Associates, via NYTimes

So smooth. Makes me want to drink milk out of a carton.

Poor B. From an Emily persective, Berkeley is already wonderful for 4th Street design shops/Paper Source and Anthro next to each other, a hugemongoes Discount Fabrics, and food+friends, but ohg this would have been so wonderful!

Some of Toyo Ito's designs:

TOD's Omotesando Building in Tokyo, 2004

Mm! The pattern is meant to be a reinterpretation of the elm trees that line this street. Both Tod's and the Mikimoto Building below are confined to the small and absurdly expensive plots of land in Tokyo and therefore maintain the typical rectangular shape, but stand out because of the texture created by the structure. In other words, insane in the membrane!

When can I go to Tokyo?!

Mikimoto Ginza 2, Tokyo

Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai, 2001

Sendai Mediatheque is an example of Toyo Ito's "simulated" city buildings. As a multi-purpose cultural space, it includes an art gallery, library, audio-visual library, cafe, and film studio. The floors are supported by a system of occupiable steel tubular lattice structures. An expression of lightness and Ito's design aim of stripping away anything that reminds us of gravity.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Hyde Park, London, 2002

One of the buildings for which Ito won the Royal Gold Medal in 2006, one of architecture's most prestigious awards.

Grin Grin Park, Fukuoka, 2005

Interesting inversion of architecture and landscape: landscape covers architecture rather than buildings shooting out of the ground.
But really, I just like it just because it looks like a hobbit hole. Home sweet home!

Silent Monks Singing?

You MUST visit To The Manner Born to see exactly how a Silent Monk manages to sing. You won't be sorry.

Have a VERY MERRY WEEKEND!

Gingerbread Gaudi

Whaat!


From Martha's Gingerbread House Contest by Kip37.

Related posts: gaudi

Oh Christmas Tree.....

Living Room Console all ready for the Holidays

It is that time of year again....time to deck the halls and all that jazz. I am finding that this year, the "divide and conquer" method is working for me. I have been working on one room at a time, and so far I am almost done with the Living Room. Granted, I have had help, but the duties are largely up to me. My family has found over the years that I am particular about the tree lights. Guess what? When one is particular, one finds that one is relegated to completing the task oneself. It takes me about 4 hours all together to do the lights.....I know....a bit compulsive.

But isn't it pretty? I do enjoy the fruits of all that labor. I truly do.

Our tree all finished

It all starts with this:

And this is not all of it, believe me. I have been collecting ornaments and "stuff" for a long time, and many of the ornaments were collected by my mother and passed on to me. As Mom has downsized over the years, I have become the lucky beneficiary.

As I said, I did have lots of help, and here are my little elves working away.

All done!

I decided to use burlap as my tree skirt for the first time, and am not quite sure what took me so long! I love how it drapes and the color is perfect for any color scheme. Best of all, it is very affordable and available.

And evening all lit up.

The tree was done first. Then on to the console. Every year I do a little something different on this table for the Holidays. One of my very favorite Christmas movies is the musical, SCROOGE. So I decided to add a little Dickens to my decor this year.

I used ribbon with music printed on it, and brass horns which I have had for many years. I stacked vintage books to add some different heights. I found a vintage star the other day at a shop I love (I will blog about it soon!) covered in tarnished glitter.

I have added silver candlestick holders leaving them a bit tarnished. I may be alone here, but I love a little bit of tarnish on my silver (unless it is to be used at the table). It has a bit of a romantic quality. I cut some boxwood from our garden and put it in silver baby cups (one was my father's, one was mine and a couple were from other family members.) Derby cups would also be pretty, but I do like the personality of the baby cups.

I added some votive candles and some evergreen cuttings.

Oh....and a few gold painted pine cones. (Here's a tip: if you buy wreaths that have pine cones on them, save them for future use before disposing of the wreath after the holidays. They do come in handy and are already pre-wired.)

As I said, I did have quite a bit of help. We put on the Christmas Carols, had some hot cider and had a wonderful evening making things merry and bright! But now it's time to take a little rest, sit back and enjoy........

It's late, I'm exhausted and my mind is easily impressionable.
Am I an idealistic teen?:

"By art alone we are able to get outside ourselves, to know what another sees of this universe which for him is not ours, the landscapes of which would remain as unknown to us as those of the moon... instead of seeing one world, our own, we see it multiplied and as many original artists as there are, so many worlds are at our disposal, differing more widely from each other than those which roll round the infinite and which... send us their unique rays many centuries after the hearth from which they emanate is extinguished."

-Marcel Proust. In Search of Lost Time, Vol. VII: The Past Recaptured. 1927

Living Art, Part 3: Woolly Pocket Living Walls

Photos: Woolly Pocket Living Walls

Pockets made from recycled plastic bottles aw! Their website is so adorable - nay "cart," yay "shopping pocket!" Too cute to handle! But too many photos of naked girls - message of urban Garden of Eden?

In any case, as a way of merging outside with inside, how beautiful would it be to have a cascading vertical garden made of these Woolly Pockets instead of a headboard! Only if this bedroom had enough natural light.
As in replacing the yellow canvas/series of prints below with lush, possibly edible greenery:


Photos: Domino before it died

Related posts: Living Art, Part 2: Succulents + Vertical Gardens; Living Art, Part 1: Pooktre.

Excitable Emily

I have had the most pleasant day! Woke up to completely powder-snowed Smith College. Early morning class with favorite Gov professor. Dollar peppermint latte at Elbow Room. Came home to snuggle with babies in Superbed. Read Dwell mmm.

Having spent the majority of the semester complaining about how I miss home/SF, I couldn't help but notice the more than usual amount of references to San Francisco in the December/January issue of Dwell. Feature of Bi-Rite and its accompanying farm (mm ginger ice cream). The Autonomobile by SF-based designers Mike and Maaike. Some mention of the Golden Gate Bridge. There are more. These are not complete sentences. Too excitable at mention of home!

Deck the Halls with.....FRINGE!

Front Window Display at Fringe

One of the most festive and inspiring things about the Holidays for me is to see the magic that small shop owners create in their windows and throughout their stores. I get my decor "fix" window shopping and gathering ideas for my own home. I also fill in the blanks on my list for Santa (aka my husband!).

One of my favorite haunts is so close to my house that I pass it almost every day. Fringe is a sort of curiosity shop with a little something for everyone. Owner and local imagineer, Audry Wells delights in vintage (and new!) clothing and shoes, antiques and one-of-a-kind furniture, interesting gifts and accessories, unique jewelry and vintage art. Oh...and let's not forget the Cowboy boots!

I was charmed by the front window display last weekend and stopped in to say hello. I found not only the Holiday Spirit I was hoping for , but quite a few things that will making their way to my house. These topiaries were sweet, and the decanters, pretty and well priced. The whole vignette with it's pine cone mantle, vintage pillows, and cut crystal on the twig tray fired up my imagination.

There was a pair of mercury glass lamps that I am mad for that would make an impact in any interior. Um...they may not be there for too much longer. I'm just sayin'. The combination of elements in this display, the crowns and tangerines, the black and white photo of the tree, and the lamps was perfection.

Cowboy boots galore my friends. They buy, sell and trade for all you boot stomping aficionados. (And don't they make a great image all together like that?)

Just so you don't think that Fringe is all about the ghosts of Christmas past, Audrey throws a little 150 into our Christmas punch with this hot fuchsia vanity by Sacramento artist Catherine Greenup. Audrey says this piece draws in as many men as women....they are fascinated by the quality of the Hot Rod paint job!

Another piece by Catherine Greenup is the Faux Deer head Trophy made from natural plant materials like pine cone, elk horn fern and seeds. A stylish alternative to be sure.

All of the festive plants and topiaries in the shop are provided by Tom Kurth of "Rooting Around". He hunts down specialty plants and brings them to all of us. (For more info on Tom, inquire at Fringe).

Audrey has access to industrial and mid century furniture like this stainless dresser. All of the crowns and crosses with the aubergine silk on the chair....scrumptious!

Fringe has a wonderful collection of candles all over the store. I just picked up a Mandarin Orange and Meyer Lemon scented candle...Mmmm! The rectangle shaped boxwood wreath is also from Tom Kurth. (A little bird told me plants will go on sale a little closer to Christmas....ssshhh!)

I loved this vignette in the front window with the contrast of the ornate gilt table and the mid century white leather chair (one of a pair). The Moroccan tea glasses almost came home with me right then and there, but "Santa" says I should wait.

Fringe has a little something for everyone. Vintage French all the way to 60's Psychedelic, Art glass, industrial metal furniture, Art Deco Decor, and glittering Green Deer Heads (another Catherine Greenup piece). Owner, Audrey describes her shop as "Indie Anthropologie" in style and approach.

More of Tom's beautiful Holiday foliage next to an elephant garden stool. You can see here the shop is full of little surprises.

I have always loved the idea of a large farm table filled with cloches covering Holiday treats. This one seems all ready for a party to start.

Vintage and new glassware next to these pretty mercury glass candle holders.....just a few more things to add to my list. (Santa are you reading this?)

New and vintage hats and jewelry can be found throughout the shop. I loved the pink beaded folk art cross.

Such pretty things! Shoes, fine vintage clothing...I could spend a lot more time here...and will before this season is through I'm sure. I mean, I have two teenage daughters.

These shoes were so beautiful, I had to take another look. And the velvet pumpkins bridge the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays don't they?

I had to show you these necklaces by designer Tamara Berg. She collects vintage fobs from all over the globe to make into these one-of-a-kind necklaces. I particularly liked the Eiffel Tower necklace which opens up to reveal miniature postcard replicas showing architectural monuments. Santa....pay attention now.

So here is the scoop on

FRINGE

Location at: 2409 21st St., Sacramento,CA 95818-2409
Phone: (916) 832-4466

The website is a work in progress, but you can find out much more about Fringe and the services they offer HERE.

And you can reach owner Audrey Wells here: audrey@fringe21.com. She invites any and all inquiries.

Happy Shopping!!