Yes! Let's talk some more about sasquatch.
Lizette Greco and her awesomely creative family had, I'm 99.9% sure, the BEST Halloween costumes this year. You guessed it: sasquatch!
Spy more sasquatch snaps in this flickr set.
Even bigfoot needs to push his bike up the hill sometimes. Now I don't feel like such a weakling.
ArtInfo has an interesting article on the old Art vs Craft debate, spurred on by New York’s Museum of Arts & Design - or the museum formerly known as the American Craft Museum.
The debate is nothing new, but I think this is a well-written discussion of some of the issues as they relate to the worlds of museums, galleries and collectors. Not surprisingly, opinions are split, with some believing that craft can demand the same prices as art, while some would prefer to leave craft out of art collections altogether. Some think that the lines are blurred between the two disciplines - but interestingly, not just that craft is getting more art-like:
Indeed, for many, craft at its best is just as infused with content (traditionally art’s domain) as art is informed by process and materials (craft’s bailiwick). The art-craft dynamic thus goes both ways.
Add to all this the evidence of a new mainstream infatuation with crafts—such once unthinkable phenomena as hipster knitting circles and trendy do-it-yourself magazines—and you have the makings of a movement that is not only top-down but from the ground up and, auspiciously, young. “There’s a real resurgence of interest among the younger generation, almost as if it skipped a generation,” says Carmine Branagan, executive director of the American Craft Council. Tellingly, Branagan recently lured 34-year-old Andrew Wagner, a founding editor of the stylish design magazine Dwell, to relaunch American Craft magazine—a move that, not long ago, would have been considered career suicide for a publishing up-and-comer. “I’ve never seen craft as anything but incredibly positive,” Wagner says. “People get confused by craft, because it has this vast definition. But I don’t think my generation has a problem with that. In fact, it’s exciting.”
The mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were unveiled today. Quatchi is a sasquatch. Miga is a, um, sea bear (according to the Olympics site, "the sea bear is inspired by the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations, tales of orca whales that transform into bears when they arrive on land.") Sumi is all over the place: thunderbird wings, bear legs, orca hat - representing the theme of transformation. You can get the low down on the mascots' site.
Boy, for a bunch of cute little cartoon characters, they sure evoke a lot of negative reactions.
Juding by the reactions of people around me at work today, and from reading a little online, lots of people immediately took issue with the mascots. The comments I heard ranged from "too cutesy" to "too anime" to "not 'Canadian' enough" to "confusing" to plain old "ugly". I even heard one count of "hideous".
Personally, I like them. I do find the combo creatures a bit odd (couldn't they just pick, say an orca, without mixing it with a bear?), but I love the fact that there's a sasquatch in the gang. I admit that I do have a bias for sasquatch in pretty much ANY context though. ("Hey, is that a sasquatch in your annual report? Awesome! Very professional.")
The new mascots were made by Meomi, a Vancouver/LA duo who do a lot of character design and recently created the ultra-cute-tastic picture book, The Octonauts.
What do you think about the new mascots? Yay or nay? Hot or not? Better or worse than previous Olympic mascots?
To refresh your memory, here's a gallery of other Olympic mascots.
Oh my, can sea life get any cuter? I mean, sure it's wet and slimey... but is it ever cute.
This jellyfish xmas card by Sub-Studio is one of the best holiday cards I've seen so far this season. What crafty little guys! You can pick up the cards right here and all proceeds are donated to the Shama Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing educational opportunities for children in Madagascar.
The other sea creature that's swum into my heart today is this octopus numbers poster by Binth. Oh, octopus, I knew your eight legs were meant to teach the world something.
(Both aqua links via Bloesem)
It's that time of year again...
If you live in or around Vancouver, here are some of the places you can get your holiday shopping done (sans mall)...
Happy craft hunting!I enjoy a good Rube Goldberg machine. They're defined as a "comically involved, complicated invention, labourously contrived to perform a simple operation." I went to an art gallery this weekend and watched a film that showed a lengthy one, involving a lot of fire. Here are some for you to enjoy:
The now-classic Honda commercial.
HEMA "interactive" website. Put your mouse over the blue cup.
From Japan, the incredible machine and the incredible machine 2, two sets of sequences of "machines" that use this principle.
Anyone know of other ones?
Are you starting to feel Christmassy yet?
These wintery prints might get you in the holiday spirit...
Winter Woolly by belleandboo
My Favourite Spot in Winter also by belleandboo
Stumps by Ashley Goldberg
Heartbreaker also by Ashley Goldberg
Wild Woman by Katy Horan
She Comes in the Fall by Christopher David Ryan
Put yer dukes up. It's time for a round of Aww vs Awe!
Today's match is a vegan-friendly fight to the death. Heh.
On Team Aww, we have a cute little garlic, from Flickr user Yara. His cute little body! His cute little face! That giant hand behind him! Oh, the fear! Oh, the cuteness!
Team Awe retaliates with an army of thousands in this fractal cauliflower, in a (real!) photo taken by Flickr user Arabella. Monster or miracle? You decide.
It's vegetable vs vegetable. It's all or nothing. Who will win?
Vote for Aww or Awe in the comments section below!
Woop! Laurie at TipJunkie.com has awarded us one of her Great Tip Awards! Thanks, Laurie!
In her post about fun advent calendars she gave a shout out for my 3D Joke Tree Advent Calendar. (For the tutorial to make your own, click here.)
As per the rules of the Great Tip Award (and no, it's not "Don't talk about Great Tip Award"), I am supposed to link to three blogs with great tips.
This week (and always), I am into creativity and technology, so here are some tips along those lines:
1. Tips for selling your crafts...
Tips on how to be a good businesss owner from Emily at OrangeBeautiful, who recently guest-blogged on Design Sponge. Read part 1 and part 2 and part 3.
2. Tips for craft bloggers (or anyone with a computer who wants to get organized)...
These Are A Few Of My Favourite Tools (from the last Northern Voice blog conference), plus 100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need (via So Misguided.) Bonus tip: DecentURL.com is one my latest fave web apps. Goodbye ugly and unintuitive URLs!
3. Tips for photographers (AKA: I just got my first DSLR and need to learn all the magical features!)...
How to master your DSLR camera, on LifeHacker.com.
I have a folder on my desktop called "great rooms, inspirations" where I put images of rooms that make me happy, that I would want to live in, or that strike a particular chord. This one went right in, and I had to share.
How idyllic. Someday when I have 16,000 books, I hope that I'll have somewhere as warm & beautiful to put them. [via]
Sometimes all it takes to make an everyday object interesting (or at least to have it stick out more) is to make it simpler. When it feels like everyone around you is trying to make things betterfasterstronger, making every device able to do everything else (like turning everything into a one man band), it can be... well, alienating. So, why not see how they make it in another country?
Take Kiosk. Based in New York, they are in the business of bringing you interesting things from around the world, focusing on "humble, straightforward and beautiful" objects that are simple and direct.
Their store is not static - often they'll be out of something, and their products are not always the same. Featuring objects from Japan, Sweden, Mexico, Germany, and Finland, it's easy to find something just right.
Emily Carr Institute, the art and design school here in Vancouver, now has a store to showcase and sell the work of students and alumni. About time, I say. I've always been surprised that ECI didn't have a year-round store near their campus on Granville Island, where there are dozens of artist's studios and art-buying tourists galore. Now, at least, there's a place for this online, at the ECI studioshop.
The online shop has everything from paintings worth thousands of dollars to socks. Pictured here are some of my current faves: pistachio and mimosa knee socks by Katherine Soucie, a sparrow platter by Jacqueline Robins, "Guard#1" photograph by Loe Russell, and a bok choi tote bag by Keiko Lee-Hem.
And for those of you in Vancouver, the ECI annual student art sale is on soon: November 16 and 17 in the Concourse Gallery at the school.
Craft + Rock = Two of my favourite things.
Dear Rockers is a new site that brings these two together, along wth a good old fashioned sense of well-doing. It was started up by a friend of mine, Darren Barefoot. (Darren's always up to random interesting side projects. Here's another one.)
Dear Rockers' tagline is "Paying back musicians, five bucks at a time" and that's just what the site is about:
Many of us own music that we didn't pay for. We don't feel guilty about shafting the record company, but what about the musicans themselves?
Here's how it works:
1. Pick a musician
2. Write them a letter
3. Scan or photograph the letter and send it to us
4. Send off the letter
5. Enjoy your new, guilt-free life
Do you know Fifi Lapin?
Fifi is a bunny. But not just any bunny. She has a blog. And she draws. Oh, and did I mention she's really into runway fashion?
Fifi draws all her fave fashions - bunny style, bien sure - and posts them online for the rest of us to oooh and aaah over.
Fifi hops around regularly on her blog and also at her Etsy shop. What a busy bunny.
Textile and bead artist Kirsten Chursinoff, whom I've blogged about before, has a show on now in Vancouver, along with painter Jewell Shaw. I hadn't seem Jewell's artwork before, but the colour palette of the show's promo piece (pictured here on the right) is gorgeous.
“Vibrant Elements” is on at the West Vancouver Memorial Library at 1950 Marine Drive in West Vancouver (map), and runs until the end of November.
I thought of a post we made earlier this year about Claire, who dreams up new designs (literally), when I saw John Fluevog's Open Source Footwear - that is, a place for design hopefuls to send their ideas for shoes.
All that you need is that brilliant idea. Even just for part of a shoe - scribble it down and send it to us. We don't care if it's on a bar napkin, as long as we can make it out. So, fax it, mail it, email it, bring it in, just get it to us!See here for some submissions that have been chosen to be made into real shoes.[via] Read more...
Is this not 100% awesome?
It is.
The knitted Beard Cap is made by a group called Vik Prjonsdottir. They're located in - where else? - Iceland, land of boundless snow and creativity. But not only is the Beard Cap the most stylin' balaclava on the block, it actually has historical relevance:
The beard caps refer to a traditional cap called “lambshed-hood” which was used in Iceland by farmers who in heavy snowstorms had to walk long distances between their sheds and to the neigboring farms.
The project was meant to revaluate the image of the Icelandic wool industry through unconventional product development. The new designs - woolen blankets and caps - make subtle reference to local myths, customs, and needs.
All the products are made of 100 % Icelandic sheep wool. A combination of fibres that result in a wool that is warm, light weight and water-repellent. It is a unique and sustainable source.
It's been one of Those Days. You know the kind. To combat it, here are three things to brighten the day - mine and yours:
1) An Online Colo(u)r Thesaurus. What'll they think of next?
2) Egg pants!
3) I'm sure you've heard of it by now, but just in case: FFFFOUND!
Above image from The Argyle Academy, source of joy and bunnies.
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