SheWalksSoftly

Planetary Glass Set

February 3rd, 2016

I really love this gorgeous Planetary Glass Set. My only reservation is that most of them only hold 8 oz. of liquid (I never noticed how small one cup actually is until I realized that a serving of ice cream is listed as half a cup, and curiously measured it out one day. They think I’m going to eat that little? Hilarious.).

The planets are (kinda, sorta, a-little-bit-but-not-really) in proportion. However it’s a very nice looking set for the astronomy enthusiast who is not preoccupied with scale model inaccuracy, isn’t it?

Planetary Glass Set
Desktop Goodies 2/2

February 2nd, 2016

You realize what happened here: this bird was killed, only to be zoomorphized into a bastardized version of itself in a stupid hat. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Debatable:

Terrifying:

I’m completely entranced by this piece, yet can’t find an artist credit anywhere. Ideas? If no one knows…it’s obviously an alien cell phone.

Parenthetical note:

Excellent…I like strong coffee; strong enough to make my head blast clear off my body.

I almost cropped out the caption because it’s so clear that this thing originated from a very unholy place that it just seems redundant.

Isn’t this all our monsters ever really want? (No really, think about it.)

I searched, in gleeful hope, for a vintage TV commercial featuring Drippy the Runny Nose Kid. But alas, no record of one exists. Sorry I couldn’t deliver this thing in action (or maybe I should be saying “you’re welcome”).

1) Reading books about death becomes considerably more difficult.

I find this photo incredibly haunting. It actually stirs up a visceral unease.

Yes, some might consider the following a deal breaker. She seems open minded. The horse (or…man-horse?), not so much.

Your fist becomes a real face.

The truth of how brains really work, unveiled. SCIENCE!
Image Odyssey: Bat Embryos

February 1st, 2016

Yesterday I received an email bursting with bat embryos (which sounds like cyberbullying, but is actually what people do when they love me). The message prompted me to seek out some of the most beautiful specimens on the Web.

While ostensibly a rather morbid search entry, these images (particularly the diaphonized variety) allow us to see the awe inspiring artistry of nature. Even the tiny creatures so often reviled by humans are majestic in their own way.

And adorable. They’re also adorable.

See no evil…hear no evil…

Thanks for the inspiration, CP!
David Diamondheart: Ascension Art

January 30th, 2016

Ascension Art is a store on the 3d printing site Shapeways, specializing in sacred geometry.

The store description is “transformational jewelry and other objects of art that will accelerate you on your spiritual path.”

For those who are on a spiritual path, these do make excellent contemplative totems, reminding us of the ineffably beautiful interconnected truth of the Universe, the intricate splendor of the natural order and organizing principles.

Grand metaphysical principles aside…they are also just damn pretty to look at.

You can choose all types of colored plastic or metal for your custom printed piece. This even allows for a “trial” piece in plastic before investing in a more expensive high-quality version.

Ascension Art
Lorena Assisi

January 29th, 2016

Lorena Assisi caught my eye with her gorgeous double sided piece “Gods and Monsters.”

I love the gentleness and empathy this voodoo priestess radiates.

Her portfolio also contains beautiful depictions of girls and “spirit animals” (for any of you into symbolism and archetypes, I highly recommend studying the meaning of animal totems. We can learn so much from our non-human cohabitators).

Lorena Assisi
Jennybird Alcantara and Nicoletta Ceccoli Interviews

January 28th, 2016

I don’t often conduct long interviews on this blog (mostly due to my own health/typing constraints), but here are links to two substantial interviews with female artists who rank among my favorites.

Jennybird Alcantara

Nicoletta Ceccoli

When it comes to art, do you prefer to just look at images, or do enjoy reading interviews that probe the minds of the artist?
Kay Pike

January 27th, 2016

Ah, some fine comic book art, yes? Nope. It’s some fine BODY PAINT. Yes, you read that right. This is Kay Pike’s uncanny comic character reproduction on a canvas of human skin.

She does such a good job that it’s nearly impossible to make out some of the natural physical features she has camouflaged.

Perhaps some of your childhood favorite heroes and villains made it into her portfolio.

Kay Pike’s
Mijn Schatje

January 26th, 2016

Mijn Schatje digitally paints beautiful, porcelain-skinned little girls. Usually just the disembodied heads (but we find the occasional body or neck).

These little innocents always possess an otherwordly glow.

Their eyes are sad and deep…

Years ago there was a fascinating controversy surrounding her work because she was accused of using photographs of dolls as the basis of her vector art. I can see how some people who make a living through art would get incensed (if she didn’t ask permission from the doll creator), but I feel she was unfairly blasted. She may have used doll photographs as a starting point, but her work clearly shows her own imagination and ingenuity. Art isn’t simply the creation of something out of nothing, but the ability to transform.

Mijn Schatje
Joe Black: Angels With Dirty Faces

January 25th, 2016

This is the center piece in the Angels With Dirty Faces triptych by Joe Black. From afar, it seems like some fine use of unique brush strokes, color and shading…from up close, one discovers it is made of 8,000 individually spray-painted soldiers on aluminum with resin coating.

From the artist bio:
Black combines his natural craft skills with a love of materials – many of which are recognizable everyday objects – to create portraits and abstract works.

Using a laborious technique of hand painting and altering each tiny object to give gentle lines and shading to his subjects, Black has pioneered an elaborate new form of pixilation that he uses to hid subtle implications within each of his images.

Joe Black
Lino Tagliapietra

January 24th, 2016

Italian sculptor Lino Tagliapietra began his career working in the island of Murano’s glass furnaces and factories.

After many notable commercial artistic endeavors he began an independent sculpting career in 1990, and is now one of the most accomplished glass blowers in the world.

His pieces are complex and multi-layered, often containing a depth and sense of movement that are almost…organic.

Lino Tagliapietra