SheWalksSoftly

I Don’t Get Fashion: 1970’s His N’ Hers

November 7th, 2014

I was only alive for mere months of the 70’s, so I did not have the benefit (detriment?) of seeing these fashions arise and fade organically with the changing times. It’s basically a given that anything worn in one time period will be reviled in another (then worn ironically by hipsters). But…was couples dressing really a thing?

This is, as far as I can tell, an actual catalog item, not a Roman Tarzan Baby Wrestling Champion costume.

I feel like the outfits on the left are what 70’s superheroes wore on their days off, if not too concerned with safeguarding a secret identity.

Did no one involved in this entire photoshoot notice that something is missing here? This is not how one leaves leaves the house for (presumably, by the background image) a boat ride.

“We’re soulmates. We finish each other’s sen…sible mint green mini dress sweaters.”

This is what happens when you overshoot the mark after practicing your Catalog Faces too hard.

See more here.
Karine Jollet: Anatomical Fabric Sculptures

November 6th, 2014

Karine Jollet creates amazing fabric sculptures, many of which are anatomical.

In her own words:
Fabrics are materials that came naturally to me as an analogy to our own biological tissues: bones, fibers, crystals… I start with old bed sheets and shirts, embroidered handkerchiefs and second-hand fabrics that I cut up, put the fragments together, pad them and then sew them by hand. In this way I reconstruct different body parts (arms, legs, heads) and several organs and bone structures.

Observing anatomy fills me with wonder and respect. In my eyes, there is nothing morbid in anatomy; I can only see beauty and the wonderful complexity of forms and of vital functions.

My sculptures are white to remind us of an invisible universe, far away from our own world, a dimension of unity and purity. White allows me also to connect all sculptures among themselves, to create a line of connection beyond the singularity of each work and recreate the complexity of the universe they remind of.

I love the idea of using household fabrics to construct models of human anatomy. She does a beautiful job, managing to balance the visible seams of the fabric with the precise design of bones and organs.

Karine Jollet
Anton Vill

November 5th, 2014

There’s a lot to look at in the drawings of Anton Vill. Be warned, many are NSFW due to their strange Bacchanalian collages of flesh.

Do no expect anatomically correct. Expect elaborately chaotic melanges of faces and organs, in piles, in pieces…in anything but natural (and at times stirring) physical form.

Anton Vill
Elaborate Door Embellishments

November 4th, 2014

A post on Dark Roasted Blend inspired me to go down a mad rabbit hole of door embellishments (I know…around the Internet I can’t be trusted not to research some of the most useless but fascinating collections on earth).

These images are from the source post, because they did the beautifully convenient job of combining more than one per image, but a vast wonderland of heavy, metal sonorous sculptures awaits if you poke around online.

This woman hanging on as her body gets blown away, washed away or otherwise horizontally whooshed is one of my favorites.

Check out that one on the left! Undoubtedly it is one of the most complexly designed mechanisms for the simple purpose of knocking on a door.

Because the Internet has thought of everything (and thought of everything a lot), a quick search on Pinterest reveals hundreds of boards dedicated to door adornments. I had to yank myself away from the screen to stop looking! And while I never thought I’d ask anyone “Sooooo, what’s your favorite door knocker?” please feel free to share if you do have a preference in this arbitrary category.
Lina Jirlen

November 3rd, 2014

Lina Jirlen has a collection of delicate, mysterious women.

Their smoky eyelids contrast with crystal irises…

They glance into the distance, wistfully; glamorous, strange keepers of secrets.

Hearts may be in or out of their bodies…one never knows.

Lina Jirlen
Tim Lee

November 2nd, 2014

I’m under the weather today, but I wanted to do a quick on the “folk pop” art of Tim Lee.

Tim Lee
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (Link Treat Bag Part 2)

October 31st, 2014

Jon Neill deserves his own post for his fabulous carvings (but alas he will have to share it with some links). Incredible designs:

And now a few other links…

The Blood Curdling Blog of Monsters (a plethora of posts about masks)

Pinch Me Boutique

My Favorite Spooky Socks This Year (wish-listed!)

Le Chat Noir (Exhibit at Modern Eden Gallery showcasing artwork featuring black cats).

This video is utterly bonkers. They…turned Halloween up to 11.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, everyone!
Halloween Countdown: Link Treat Bag, Part 1

October 30th, 2014

I always gather months worth of Halloween items to post, and am unable to fit them all in by the time the big day rolls around. So here are a bunch of assorted goodies!

INCREDIBLE “Crash Landing” Lawn Decorations

Gorgeous Miniature Halloween Village

Giant LEGO Vampire

The Muppets Holiday Haunt Book

Handmade Macabre Shadow Boxes (Thanks for the submission, Janice!)

Haunted Halloween Appetizer Plates

Giant Skull Chair (Thanks, Colleen!)

And a perfect zombie pumpkin by Ray Villafane.
Halloween Countdown: DIY Bat Mobile

October 29th, 2014

I didn’t realize I had a few bat posts back to back in my draft folder! We’re so used to seeing “Batmobile” in reference to our favorite winged crime fighter, that we tend to forget about the bat mobiles. Here is a handmade one for the home, of rather epic proportions.

I admire the patience and effort that went into the construction. It was made with sewing frames, acrylic paint, thin sheets of compressed foam, string, fishing line, and electrical tape. Well done!

Some other decorations were also featured in this post.
Halloween Countdown: Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell

October 28th, 2014

Over the weekend I received the most amazing book as a gift. I think it’s safe to say to any readers of this blog…RUN, don’t walk, to procure this incredible edition.

If you’re not familiar with diableries, have a look at the book description:

In France, around 1860, from the loins of a traditional national fascination with all things diabolical, was born a new sensation – a series of visionary dioramas depicting life in a strange parallel universe called ENFER – Hell – communicated to an eager audience by means of stereoscopic cards, to be viewed in the stereoscopes which had already become popular in the 1850s.

This 3-D phenomenon, which fascinated a nation for 40 years, is now yours to share. This book, the fruit of half a lifetime’s study by three impassioned authors, brings every one of the published Diableries into the 21st century for the very first time. Some of them are so rare that at the time of writing there is no known complete collection of the originals of these masterpieces.

The book comes with a viewer called The Owl (invented by Queen guitarist Brian May. Who knew?), and every time I glimpsed an image through it, I gasped. These dioramas, in remarkable 3D, are truly a sight to behold. There are endless details to drink in; incredibly entertaining and well crafted. There is also a great deal of interesting supplementary information to read.

Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell

Thank you, my dear GD, for bringing these wondrous displays into my life!