flashback

i thought i would jump on the bandwagon and partake in flashback friday (even though it's saturday here in nz it’s friday still in the states right?). this somewhat relates to this weeks theme of weddings/formal/sunday best. this is me on my parent's wedding day. mum gave me a bath outside and dressed me up for the occasion. but being a wee water baby i was determined to take another dip...

books to enchant

when i worked at powell's bookshop for a year in portland, i discovered some beautiful children's books. one day i will show you some of the contemporary illustrators i adore, but today i want to show you a few of my favourite illustrators from the first quarter of the 20th century. the first, and perhaps the finest, is kay nielsen (1886-1957). his wonderful illustrations mix rich, sumptuous details with minimalist, zen-like compositions. these images are from the twelve dancing princesses...








another inspiration is edmund dulac (1882-1953). his illustrations are a little warmer, less rigid than nielsen's, and his use of colour was gorgeous. these images are from the nightingale and the little mermaid...






and last but not least is arthur rackham (1867-1939). his palette is somewhat more sombre than the other two artists, but his imagery is very dreamlike. he also did some very fine pen and ink drawing. these images are from the elder-tree mother and alice in wonderland...





to see more images from these marvellous artists check out the children's book illustrators gallery

belated birthday wish

it was my mum's birthday on monday, she would be 65 if she were still alive. in remembrance i wanted to show you a couple of my favourite crafts she made. when we were kids our mum was always making magical things for us—splendid birthday cakes in the shape of dolls or trains, princess costumes created from curtains, little angora wool dolls dresses made to disguise toilet paper. she would have loved the current craft revival and i wish dearly she was here to make crafts with me.


this is a crochet dolls dress she made, complete with crown


this is the decoupage tray she made which i rediscovered in the faded fancy shop


this picture was taken of mum on her birthday. i think she got a new purse and bike that day


a magnolia tree that used to be in mum's garden is blooming at the moment. happy birthday mum!

brooklands

dad, jj and i went to brooklands zoo for father's day. it was a short visit, dad managed to walk to the monkey enclosure before getting too sore and tired. i ran around and took a few snaps...


forget-me-nots?


purdy birdy


fat, vibrant kowhai blooms


famous taranaki rhododendrons


my bro appreciated the fractal patterns of these strange cabbagy plants

sea and mountain

i just got back from a trip to new plymouth. the mountain peeked out from the clouds a couple of times while i was there. as an adult i really like the location of the town, between sea and mountain. but when i was a kid, i would often have vivid and terrifying nightmares of tsunami and volcanic eruptions.

lost and found

i have a small collection of photos i have found in flea markets and second-hand shops. i love that these rich vignettes give glimpses into another person's life and world. i wonder why these photos were thrown out, forgotten, lost...it's maybe a result of death or divorce or people just not caring about their family histories. but it is nice to adopt these people and breathe some life back into them with our attention and imagination. this is one of my favourites from my collection. a wee girl showing off her butterfly costume...



there are several amazing sites out there which showcase collections of found photos including foundmagazine.com. here you can see a variety of stuff people have found, from photos to to-do lists. sometimes "the finds" can be sublime or funny, sometimes they are incredibly tragic or have that cringe factor. but i love that through happenstance they were rediscovered. i found these two images of dress up divas...





another very good site is look at me. it was here i found one of my favourite images. this little person is about to have the bejesus scared out of her...



i have saved the best for last. if you want to see some wonderful imagery check out square america. here photos are grouped into catagories. my favs are the book of sleep and in mid air. these two images are just lovely...

the wondrous

i am camera-less for the next couple of days, so i am going to showcase a few of my favourite sites that inspire me. after seeing the splendid lunar eclipse last night, i thought it fitting to introduce you to a website that embraces all that is wondrous and curious in the world. it's called the proceedings of the athanasius kircher society. there is a cornucopia of fanciful and marvellous things to discover here, including the museum of food anomalies and the fish powered vehicle.


through the kircher society i found these images by photogapher victor shrager. he photographed of over 100 species of birds in the hands of an ornithologist. check out the bird hand book


also found were the enchanting sculptures of arthur ganson. you have to see the sculptures in action to actually appreciate them, so check out the walking artichoke petal or machine with 23 scraps of paper. who knew that moving inanimate objects could ignite child-like wonder and imagination?


another notable find was this blog paleo-future a look into the future that never was. this image by albert robida from 1882 shows folks going to the opera in the year 2000. if only!


finally i rediscovered the bizarre taxidermy work of walter potter. this fellow potter was certainly a little potty, but i am still fascinated by these odd whimsical tableaux

biscuits and badges

i worked on some new badges over the weekend. check out cloud of birds for others. i quite like them, but i'm not sure if other people will.


kingfisher boy


i also made some mandarin melting moments (aka yo-yos). they were good...like a buttery, zesty party in my mouth. i was initially disappointed by how few the recipe made, but after stuffing down two i knew that one per sitting is quite enough. not exactly a slimmers choice.

spring springs II

i wish i could take a smello-photo. they have a fragrant flower section at the gardens with pink and white daphne, paper whites, hyacinths, and other unidentified sweet smelling blooms. this little poppy garden i remember seeing last year, so pretty!

spring spings I

i took a wander through the botanical gardens yesterday. i went a little overboard taking pictures so i will have to do two installments...


this magnolia tree was small but so vivid


there was a small grove of magnolia trees yet to bloom. i'm loving the naked trees at the moment, it gives us a peep at their wonderful structural patterns before they slip on their blossomy spring dresses and summer green jackets

look up

j and i took a train trip yesterday. we did the op shops at tawa and walked around a bit. then we went up the coast to paekakariki. it was nice to get out of the city, see the sun set over the sea, breathe the fresh air and look around (and up).


I took this pic outside the paekakariki train station


don't forget to watch the lunar eclipse on the 28th of august

bird junkie

i took this photo of a silvereye diving for food outside my dad's window.


and when i got home to wellington i found a little present from j on the table. it was this neato badge! check out the urban bird watchers society

mutant magnolia

in stratford we were having a picnic by the river when i spotted this magnolia tree. it is perhaps the biggest mag tree i've seen with the most gargantuan blooms!

the king lives on

my dad, my sis and i took a little road trip. we headed to stratford to check out the gallery there, but ended up heading further south to hawera to visit k.d's elvis presley memorial room . a befitting way to spend the 30th anniversary of when elvis left the building for the very last time. k.d had a wall of photos showing who has visited the museum, including the chills, push push and more recently jeremy ‘newsboy’ wells (who was doing a ditty for the unauthorised history of new zealand on people who obsessively collect). anyhoo, the memorial room rocks! so much eye candy. k.d graciously gave us a very thorough grand tour even though we came 15 minutes before the place was meant to close. bless him!


the chocka full memorabilia room. those are k.d’s suits


check out those bedroom eyes! hubba hubba


in the record room


no elvis collection is ever complete without a black velvet painting


k.d. and the king