embroidery rocks

Embroidery rocks. For proof, witness Architecture in Helsinki's video for "Like It Or Not".



According to the credits page, the video was made by Mathematics, but the artwork looks to me to be the fine stitchin' of Megan Whitmarsh (aka Tiny Industries), who is well-known for her mini embroideries of such natural wonders as yeti and rockstars.



Fecal Face has posted a nice interview with Megan, along with lots more great images of her work.

I am inspired by a desire to be optimistic about the future of humanity. I like to combine the everyday and the junky parts of modern life with the iconography of the supernatural and fantastic and thus transform the mundane into something magical feeling

My favourite part of the video is probably the head-boppin' guy in an orange jumpsuit in the floating pirate ship... who seems to be the pyrotechnician from this other Architecture In Helsinki video!

(via Music Under Fire)

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play me a ukulele & i'm happy

Dear Beirut,

You are lovely. Thank you for playing your beautiful songs in my town.



(Psst, there are a ton more charming videos right here, filmed by the also-charming Blogotheque.)

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kids love yeti (but don't we all)

More kids' drawing goodness. Plus a yeti, which is greatness.



This is The Heavy's video for "Coleen". Bonus: here's a little snippet on the animator, who won a prize at the Radar Festival Awards for his fine yeti work.

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beyond refrigerator art...

If you liked the YoungMe NowMe project, oh, you'll like this.

For YoungMe NowMe, people restaged photos of themselves as children... Korean artist Yeondoo Jung steps it up a notch further by recreating childhood drawings as photographs.







The results are pure fairy tale.

Have a look at all the drawings photos in Yeondoo Jung's Wonderland series.

(via Drawn!)

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one day...

When I grow up and all my dreams come true, I will have a beautiful studio space like this one.

This workspace belongs to Geninne, who has just moved out of a gorgeous cabin (which I've had a crush on for a while) into a gorgeous house. Look at that kitchen, oh my.

Be sure to have a look at her artwork. Yes, it's gorgeous, too.

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these are my favourite kinds of people

Made by Will Bryant. (via)

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more craft in vancouver

Next weekend, there's more craft afoot in Vancouver.

Blim Spring Outdoor Market
Saturday May 24, Noon – 5pm (Free!)
At Blim, 197 17th Ave. E (at Main), Vancouver

The show features a bunch of local artists...

Basement Sweet- light switch covers and necklaces


The Re-Up - re-worked jewellery

Carny Love - custom clothing

See:Be - jewellery
(I have wanted one of her Floating Saucer rings for a long time now... maybe she'll have my size this time...)


It's Your Life - jewellery and accessories

Flight Path Designs - handmade accessories, including fun belt buckles

Catalyst - leather belts, cuffs, and buckles

Tea Candles - vintage tea cups turned into candles

Art at Snow - art prints, magnets, greeting cards and original drawings

BudVase

Factory on Fire Design Co and Burnt Flowers - custom sock monkeys, jewellery and accessories

Oh Sweetie! and Maked

Ji Young Yoon - handmade journals

Petri Dish

A Farmers Daughter - feather headbands and vintage charm necklaces and earrings

Stitchella


Bead Freaks - beads

Some Other Girl - clothing

Fuzzy Silver Cat - jewellery

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an evening at emily carr

The Emily Carr grad show was a good one this year.

Here were a few of my faves from the show...

Jennifer McGregor - House and Favorable Company
If you live in Vancouver, this one should resonate with you - and make you laugh. "Classic" Vancouver houses are photographed alongside matching desserts: a pink and white stucco house with a trifle, a yellow thatched roof house with a nanaimo bar, and so on.


Claire Henry
I love Claire's pottery. These little dioramas are filled with patterns, owls, miniature vases and other treasures.


Nicole Leong
These dragons are busting out of their teapots. To make them even better, Nicole planted them in shops in Chinatown to observe them in their natural habitat.


Lauren Mycroft - The meaning gets lost somewhere between you and me
Lauren embroidered spam and parts of emails onto dozens of sheets of crumpled paper, with threads and words hanging loose and tangled all over the place. People couldn't help but get up close and try read the mysterious messages.


Alana Kyle - The same, but not
Details! Details! And patience! Hundreds and hundreds of girls in striped shirts - the ultimate "spot the differences" game.


Sally Hutcheon - Braids and Bangs
I love the texture and patterns of these drawings. Elegant and beautiful and a little odd, too; always a nice combination.

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draw yourself as a teen

Ooh, I wanted to do this - nice one, Siobhan.

At 17: growing-out dyed red hair, necklace I made that I wore every day, thrifted t-shirt, two kinds of plaid, no pink ever, lots of rings, docks.

At 30: practically-natural hair colour, silver jewellery (but no rings, as I keep losing them), clothes that fit me, love pink, chucks.

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project: autobiography

Remember what it was like when you were kid? Remember what you were like? How've you changed since then?

Here are two projects that'll make you take a look back through your scrapbooks with a fresh eye...

Project 1: Draw yourself as a teen.



Pictured above is one by Robot Johnny. It's a fun meme; you should play, too. Here's my sketch:




Project 2: YoungMe NowMe asked people to recreate a photograph of themselves as a kid.






Some of these are downright hilarious, some are a little creepy. This challenge from Colorwars is closed now, but I know exactly which photo I would've recreated if I were to enter one... hmm...

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a skill i never knew existed ... but now i do i wish i had it

(via db)

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seeking mango perfection

I love mangoes. I adore them. But ever since I left Montreal and the best little corner fruit store in the world, where they stocked precut mangoes (which were also the tastiest, ripest mangoes I've ever had), I've felt that every one I've had has been less than a perfect experience.

Let's use the internet to help fix that, shall we?

1) How to pick a good/ripe mango.

Advice from one, two, three.

2) How to properly cut a mango.

This is too good to be true. There's no way it can be that easy! That has to be cheating. (By the way, this thing just looks scary.)

If you would prefer not to cheat by attempting to master the mad knife skillz needed to actually cut a mango, then good for you. Far more impressive.

Here's a step by step to guide you through the whole process, beginning to end.

Hm, I'm hungry.

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got craft?

Hey Vancouver! Got Craft?

This weekend - tomorrow - the Got Craft? craft fair is on!

Sunday, May 4th, 2008

11am - 5pm

Royal Canadian Legion, 2205 Commercial Drive (at E. 6th Avenue), Vancouver, BC

40 amazing local artists will be there. There are a few sneak peeks on the Got Craft? blog.

Just to call out a few: Olive (their soap smells oh-so-good!), Maked (a really great group of girls), Little Red Caboose (adorable wool felt crowns for dress up!), Track and Field (I have one of her lovely prints of birds on felt), Annabella Designs (lovely laser-cut silver jewellery) and a TON more talent. Here's a list of more vendors and links... or better yet, stop by the craft fair tomorrow and check them all out.

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