SheWalksSoftly

1,000th Post

January 16th, 2010

This marks the 1,000th post on this blog. I feel like I should do something special, but basically I want to extend tremendous thanks to everyone who has bothered to read my little collection of oddities. It started as a way for me to keep an online scrapbook of sorts…and I’m so happy this site has managed to reach like-minded individuals (despite my complete inability to engage in promotional efforts).

So thanks for sharing the darker, lighter and just plain unusual corners of my psyche. I’d welcome any feedback or suggestions as to how to make this site better.
Wall Blank Prints

January 16th, 2010

I was first enamored with this print from Wall Blank:

This prompted me to search their archives, and sure enough there were a few treats to be found.

World’s most complicated (yet humane) mouse trap:

The site is adding a new print each day for the month of January.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop

January 15th, 2010

Has anyone been to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop at Discovery Times Square in NYC?

Exhibition features:

Full scale models of Da Vinci’s inventions including his self-propelled cart, airplane, robot knight and mechanical lion

Innovative touch screen technology translates over 500 sketches from his actual notebooks into 3-dimensional models

Da Vinci’s most important paintings can now be viewed using avant-garde technologies and extensive 3D imaging and animations

I’ve seen Discovery Channel specials about building Leonardo’s contraptions based on his sketches, but I think it would be rather interesting to see these models in person.

The exhibition closes March 14th. If you see it, please let me know how it is!

Source
The Candy Truck

January 15th, 2010

If only driving one of these could be my job during grad school…

Source
iVictrola

January 13th, 2010

I rarely talk about Mac products (sorry fanboys and girls), but this is pretty unique. The iVictrola iPod Amplifier evokes the classic record player design (actually, it’s more like the ghost of a Victrola rising from a block of wood).

What looks like an antique at the first sight can play your iPod without using batteries or an electrical plug or a solar panel for that matter, but the device runs on an acoustic amplification based on its simple and smart engineering.

Source
Don Shank

January 13th, 2010

I just want to call attention to my favorite piece by Don Shank: Laboratory Still Life.

I really want a print of this.

Artist site
Santa Muerte

January 12th, 2010

A recent Boing Boing post inspired me to dig through my collection of Santa Muerte (Saint Death) images (and grab a new one or two).

I find myself drawn to Santa Muerte imagery because I’m fascinated by Mexcio’s colorful, celebratory reverence for death (a cultural phenomenon rarely exhibited in the US).

I’ve come across some wonderful displays and products.

Some have a slightly morbid flare…

If anyone knows a place in NYC (or online) where I might find some great Santa Muerte artifacts, please share!
Alan Wolfson

January 12th, 2010

I just spent way too long getting sucked into Alan Wolfson’s miniature urban sculptures, drinking in the luscious, gritty detail.

His website hosts an incredible collection of pieces, most under 24 inches in length, width and height. Most are amalgams of places and images, yet the viewer experiences a distinct form of recognition in each one. I feel I have passed all of these fictional places in my travels; a true testament to Wolfson’s ability to capture the vibe of a city.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe I’m not starting at photographs.

He tells his stories without human subjects. Can’t you just envision a struggling writer in this hotel room, subsisting on cigarettes and junk food, typing out pages upon pages?

Perfect subway portrayal…

City lovers and city dwellers will not want to miss this collection.
Adam Voorhes

January 11th, 2010

I’ve been meaning to post about Adam Voorhes since I came across his fantastic Exploded series.

Everyday objects, uniquely deconstructed, suspended in time and space…

Check out the rest of his work here.
Homunculus

January 10th, 2010

Here is a fantastic little short film from Humble TV.

Conceived of and directed by Sam Stephens, Homunculus is a dark and twisted fable of spontaneous generation and untrammeled id.

Taking its title from the Latin word for “Little Human”, the piece is an associative mashup between the two concepts behind the word: The first being middle-age alchemical beliefs that “little men” could be spontaneous generated from dead or decaying matter. The second being Carl Jung’s usage as a personification of pure id. These ideas, combined with our love of Dutch still life’s “beautiful decay,” sowed the seeds for this unique little monster of a film.

I can’t wait to see what else these guys come up with!