Most of you will recognize Mercer Mayer from his prolific critter books (a childhood staple), but he has many gorgeously lavish, touching illustrations in his portfolio.
Who remembers these books?
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Check out Dan Mountford’s double exposure photography.
His juxtapositions in these photographs are surreal and beautifully designed.
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I was absolutely certain Mr. Riu’s detailed cut paper projects must be laser cut, but he does all of them meticulously by hand.
I think sometimes there is immense satisfaction in doing something the hard (er, traditional) way in an age where so much digital shortcuts are available. The act of creation is intrinsically meditative and meaningful.
The shadows are incredible!
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Present, former and/or punks at heart, Circulation Zero is an “experiment” that has released a huge collection of legendary old punk zines in digital format, available for download!
I was not quite born in time for what I consider the greatest era of punk (late 70’s). But I do recall running to my room to rabidly search through zines, with a pencil in hand to circle new bands to explore and take notes on new finds (wow…I was even a meticulous nerd in my musical quests as a kid). My dressers used to be covered in piles of goth, punk, industrial, hardcore and metal zines.
Production value ranged from horrendous to professional, depending on the publication, but I’m sure many of you remember the tangible satisfaction of these zines. It’s truly a lost art.
All files are ostensibly free, but donations are encouraged to keep the project going. What was your favorite zine?
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I used to have dreams about the apocalypse, in which the planets realigned and moved close to the earth in strange but gorgeous arrangements and colors. Bill Higgins’s series of exploratory paintings reminds me of these dreams.
It’s interesting to think about just how much we take the alignment of the incomprehensibly majestic cosmos for granted. We often don’t notice the sun, moon or stars at all…but I always make a point to look up and marvel just a bit.
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Lisha’s Body Art is the work of Lisha Simpson. She paints some fantastic cut-out illusions on her own hand!
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I saved so many images from Kelly Louise Judd’s portfolio. I just could not stop.
Her delicate paintings are inspired by fairy tales, folklore, ghosts, psychology, nature and Victoriana.
One finds many beautiful beasts and symbols in her work…
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Robin Van Valkenburgh makes what she calls “pop surreal ceramics.”
Many of these inspire a sense of nostalgia in me, while catering to my love of the absurd (beloved childhood characters mix with traditional ceramic creatures and shapes).
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Fabulous Cat Papers carries gorgeous handmade embroidered notebooks with all kinds of perfectly geeky themes (heavily focused on anatomy and science).
I’d having trouble choosing just one of these (and I have an odd habit of “saving” really nice notebooks and leaving them blank because they are are art pieces!).
SheWalksSoftly 