Skull Chair

How could I not post this wonderful skull chair? Especially right after Halloween! I got it from www.likecool.com, (my links aren't working, I have no idea why) where the comment was as follows:

'Cool Skull chair from 'Nouvelle Vague'
'Nouvelle Vague' exhibition will be held from 12 to 17 April 2011 at the French Cultural Centre - Palazzo delle Stelline - Corso Magenta 63 20123 Milan.

And I'm afraid that's all I know about it.

tags:
skull chair
likecool.com

Insight Lamp

A re-take on the classic "light bulb" idea icon. Created by Solovyov Design.

via Beautiful Life


tags:
Solovyov
Insight Lamp
Beautiful Life

Flower Girl

Provocative image from Sublime magazine. via Book of Joe.

tags:
Sublime Magazine
bookofjoe
flower face

Sometimes you just gotta go over to lolcats and let it crack you up.

tags:
lolcats
ican has cheezburger

thomas wold-rock candy

thomas wold-rock candy
Originally uploaded by thomas_e_wold

Those who know me best know that my favorite piece of furniture is the shelf unit. (Actually, those who know me best would probably guess that my favorite piece of furniture is the couch.)

I find this assemblage-style shelf unit playful and almost Dr. Seus-like and delightful. Can't you just imagine what it would look like with the appropriate knick-knacks on it?

By Thomas Wold via flickr and the DESIGN
PUBLIC blog.

tags
Thomas Wold
DESIGN PUBLIC

They say that the Kindle was the hot gift this Christmas, and it must be true: I got one, and I gave one to my brother and one to my niece.

I was apprehensive. As my niece pointed out, we like the feel of books, the texture of books, the very smell of books. But sometimes it's time to move on--not to replace the old, but to add the new.

So here is my review of the Kindle, after owning it for about two weeks:

It's wonderful. I was surprised by how quickly I adapted to reading from it, and soon wanted to read only books on Kindle. Part of this is simply my gadgety-ness. I LOVE a new gadget, and this is no exception. But unlike some gadgets I've had, this one is simple to use. Enter the code of my wireless router and it was pretty much ready to go.

Downloading books is as simple as finding them on Amazon and clicking the "Buy" button--they've made it almost TOO easy to buy a book! The download happens quickly, and then there the book is, on the Kindle's home page.

The display looks just like paper, and it acts just like paper. When it's dark, the Kindle is not back-lit and you need to find a light source--in other words, turn on a lamp. Mine came with a reading light, and using it to read the Kindle is just like using one to read a book.

They say that it is easy to read in sunlight because the display is glare-free. Since it's the dead of winter, I haven't had a chance to try this, but I can say that the display doesn't get an annoying reflection from indoor light sources.

I fought against this revolution in reading for a couple of years, but it turns out that there was no need. Books and a Kindle--it doesn't have to be either or. It can easily be both. Though right now the Kindle is in the lead on my bookshelf.

Available for $139 at Amazon.com.

tags:
Kindle

Apparently I have managed to figure out how to upload images to my blog again!!
The fix was to disable Adblock Plus, which I believe must have a pop-up blocker.
















I haven't blogged in MONTHS due to this problem! Will I begin blogging again? I hope so!! Please be patient with me as I check for links that don't work, etc.

I'm glad to see you all again.

--LisaJay

Technical Difficulties

This would be a perfect time in my life to be blogging. I'm in love with creativity again, and have just the right amount of time on my hands. However. . . for some reason I'm unable to add photographs to my posts. It started with my new computer, and I haven't been able to find a solution, despite trying all of the obvious things.

If anyone knows a solution, feel free to post a response. I'd love to be blogging again.

Amy Taylor Jewelry

A brand new year, and no better time to show you my favorite Christmas present. This was from my husband and by request: I knew exactly what I wanted, and pointed him in the right direction. The piece above is called "Caged Amethyst," and the metalwork artist is Amy Taylor.

Amy is a friend I met through other friends on Facebook. Her posts were warm and witty, and she was someone I wanted to get to know better. Since we "friended" each other, I have had the chance to meet Amy in person several times. Once was at her display at one of the summer art shows in the Chicago area (Glenview, to be specific). There, I had the opportunity to enjoy Amy's company, and also to see the wide array of her work, which is splendid.

Many of Amy's pieces feature tiny hinges that make them dynamic and moveable. The piece below is one of Amy's hinged pieces.




















Amy has been interviewed by The Daily Muse, an interview where her sense of humor and quirky personality really come through--well worth giving it a read. To see more of her jewelry, visit Amy's Etsy shop, Hinged Jewelry.

tags:
Amy Taylor
hinged jewelry
metalsmith

Incredible Recycled Houses

A self-taught builder, plumber and electrician, artist Dan Phillips makes low-income housing out of recycled materials. Here, the corners of picture frames adorn the ceiling. "A frame shop was getting rid of old samples and I was there waiting," said Phillips.














Above, a cork floor is made from actual wine corks. According to Phillips, the corks are easy to come by: "We have some heavy drinkers in town."

via TimesPeople, an offering of NYTimes.com. Courtesy of Elizabeth Van Jacob.

tags:
recycled
low income housing
building materials

From the Category "People are Weird"

Bullet-shaped ice cubes from a bullet-shaped tray. Raises once again the epistemological question, "Where do ideas come from?



















From Find Me A Gift, via StoreCrowd.

tags:
bullet ice cube tray
ice cubes

Artist Sarah Spitler

It is not often that an ad on a website will entice me to click through to see what more there might be. But an image of a painting by Sarah Spitler--well, entice me it did, and disappoint me it did not.

The artist talks about her work on Gawker:

Chaos manifests itself alongside form in my work. Chaos is powerful in that it is beyond human control; specifically, it interests me in depiction as catastrophe - as the uncontrollable and random force of natural cataclysms. I enjoy the emergence of fragments of imagery in relation to a destructive force - they become reduced and ephemeral, they are representative of the momentary and transient. However, according to the scientific study of chaos, it is the minute and transient that manifest as larger factors, further down in the equation, in the study of matter.

I've always been intrigued by visual chaos, and Spitler's representation of it delights my mind and my eyes. For more of Spitler's work, go to her page on Gawker.

tags:
Sarah Spitler
art
chaos
Gawker

My stuff: Linen Cabinet

We seem to have embarked upon a change of scale. The last "my stuff" post depicted a bookmark. Here we find me covering over the doors of the linen cabinet with collage.

I'm pleased with my efforts, but not sure I like the two of them together. No matter. There are four more panels to do, affording plenty of opportunity to mix and match.

tags:
Lisa Jewell Michael
collage
decoupage

Objet du Jour: Mathias Koehler Rocking Wheel Chair

In addition to having sleek lines and an elegant simplicity, this chair just looks like a blast to me. Not just a chair, but a total sitting experience. Did I mention the light at the top? So you can read? It just gets better and better, doesn't it.

Rocking Wheel Chair by Mathias Koehler.
via Gizmodo.

tags:
Mathias Koehler
Rocking Wheel Chair
Gizmodo

Trend Alert? Puh-leeeease

This coral fabric pillow ("Trieste," by Manuel Canovas for Cowtan & Tout) is one of the examples used in a recent spread in Elle Decor magazine, labeled "Trend Alert: Coral!"

Trend alert? Coral? REALLY? Hasn't coral been a trend for at least the last five years? I know that I posted my "Coral Corral" list on ThisNext in February, 2007, and let's face it, I'm not exactly the first person to know things in the design world.

Please don't get me wrong. I like coral. I love it as a color, and I like its use in design. The Manuel Canovas fabric is woven and wonderful.

But I think it might be time to graduate coral from a trend to a classic design motif. Induct it into the Fashion Hall of Fame, as it were. Coral is just not current enough to be a trend, in my humble opinion, but it does have demonstrable staying power. Coral is one of nature's fractals and, as such, is bound to be pleasing to the eye in a way that does not get stale.

Elle Decor, nice spread. Silly title. Love your mag.

tags:
Coral
Manuel Canovas
Cowtan & Tout

Beadwork: Teri Greeves

OMG, are these sneakers not amazing? They are the handiwork of Teri Greeves, a Native American bead artist who combines traditional beadwork techniques with modern objects and images. What caught my eye at first was the vibrant red together with the iconic Converse All-Stars image. According to an article in Cowboys and Indians Magazine by Amanda Montgomery,

Greeves always intends for her sneakers to be worn, not to collect dust on a shelf. "Beadwork is a way of decorating objects we use every day. The art form I chose is functional, and the wearer becomes part of the work."

I love beadwork. Beading is the craft I do best in the sense that the finished product is of the highest quality of all the things I make. I can't say I bead well because the process of getting to the finished product is fraught with peril. I drop beads, I drop trays full of beads, my thread gets hopelessly tangled, and if I'm following a pattern I have to rip out two stitches for every one I put in. It is a process that I suffer through, and ever more so with each passing year.

But I love beaded work of all kinds. I relate to it. I feel a kinship with other beaders, even bead artists who are so far out of my league that we're barely doing the same craft.



















For more on Terri Greeves, see Jane Sauer Gallery.


tags:
Terri Greeves
Cowboys and Indians Magazine
Jane Sauer Gallery

My stuff: Bookmark

Let's start with an easy one. Here is a scan of both sides of a bookmark I made using paper collage. I'm very pleased with it. I have a bunch more in the works, and I will most likely post them as I finish them.

tags:
bookmark
collage
decoupage

Objet du Jour: Oak Heritage Rocking Chair

One of the fun things I did over the summer was visiting Art on the Rocks, a yearly art fair held in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan (in Marquette, more specifically). If time allowed, I would make a yearly pilgrimage to this beautiful art fair nestled into the woods and rocks of Presque Isle Park. In any case, we made it this year, my husband and I.

One of the things we liked best (and almost bought on the spot but had no way to get it home) was a rocking chair made by Oak Heritage. What makes these chairs special is the the way the wood is hand-bent to conform to the human body. This is the most comfortable rocker I've ever tried!

Here is how the chairs are described on the Oak Heritage website:

We are probably best known for our rocking chairs. Inspired by Amish design, our chairs have been crafted using a more radical steam-bending technique. This signatory curve in the seat and back design gives each chair superior lumbar support which makes each rocker extremely comfortable while adding beautiful curving lines to its design.

Since we didn't buy one on the spot, we are going to make a special trip to Yellow Springs, Ohio, to pick one up. This will be our Christmas gift to each other.

tags:
rocking chair
Oak Heritage
Furniture

I'm Back. Am I Back?

Ok, I've been suffering from what I can only call "blogger's block" for many months now. I'm going to make a concerted effert to begin posting again. I may fall flat on my face (again). Thanks for those of you who have hung in there with me.

Objet du Jour: Maury Island Farms Preserves

This is the best stuff I've ever put on toast. A delight to the tongue. And my jar, generously left for us by my aunt and uncle, is at that "scraping the sides with a spoon, hopelessly" stage.

I'm not a foodie. Toast is, in fact, one of the few meals I prepare. I would never have bought a gourmet foodstuff in a store--I'm more a "grab the store brand, it's cheapest" gal (unless, of course, we're talking chocolate). But I just ordered three jars for $6.00 apiece from The Country Store and Gardens.

I'm hooked.

If you don't believe me, here is a review by consumer Kathy Behrens from The Country Store and Gardens website:

This is the most excellent Jam you will ever taste, like freshly homemade! You'll never be able to go back to the grocerystore jam again. Annnnd, a major plus is that is spreads so easy, making a PBJ in a snap!

Rating: 5 of 5 Stars!

tags:
Maury Island Farms
gourmet preserves
toast