Alexis Anne’s collages of ephemera are fantastical journeys for the eye.
Her designs are a beautiful combination of vintage print material and modern surrealism.
The style lends itself wonderfully to little scenarios isolated outside of space and time.
See more here.
Nikki Pinder’s collages are layered with gorgeous bits of art, found objects and ephemera. The rustic, muted colors perfectly compliment the subject matter.
I love her Mechanics of Mind series; busy landscapes that fuse and juxtapose human, machine, insect, animal and nature.
Though surreal and whimsical sights, these pieces are narratives, ready to reveal themselves to curious minds.
She also does crafty merchandise.
See more on her site.
I can always count on the fantastic Wurzeltod to uncover the gems I may have somehow overlooked in my web wanderings. One such example is Barnaby Barford.
Barford creates twisted, sardonic narratives from vintage ceramics and found objects.
I truly enjoy the use of past kitsch and ephemera to comment on modern indulgences.
Look how these cherubic figurines gorge on delicious trans fats!
See more here.
Following the outbreak of the Japan-China war in 1937, the Japanese Red Cross worked with government officials on a series of posters to educate the public about potential air raid defense.
Designed to create a pattern of “anti-aircraft defense” thought, these were displayed as part of a military exhibition in the Red Cross Museum.
New laws following the outbreak of war required citizens to take protective measures against gas attacks. The poster series covers the basics of evacuation and rescue, disinfection, gas identification, symptoms of poisoning, treatment and relief.
See the rest of the set, and learn all about gas here.
I had the pleasure of an early birthday celebration this past weekend, featuring lots of nostalgic goodies.
Friends contributed all kinds of treats, like these “30 things for turning 30” from Matt and Steph:
And homemade chocolate crucifixes by Lee:
There were TWO Space Invader cakes!
These photos of the Kiddie Comfort Food table don’t accurately reflect the majesty of the Hostess snack cake display.
The table evolved as the evening progressed…
If only I could share the fantastic music and video compilation! I’m so grateful to everyone for making this such a special night for me.
30 is going to be a wonderful year.
Love Week went by very quickly, and I’m left with a bunch of things I meant to post. So here they are, with minimal explanation.
FOOD:
Chocolate skulls…
This post from Let Them Eat Cake has some of the greatest chocolate skulls I’ve seen.
And now some Love Carrots…
HE(ARTS) and CRAFTS:
Geekalicious Reutersvard inspired heart (Source)
For the knitters.
Paper Ribcage with Heart (one of my favorite Valentine crafts this year).
Just an art piece I find striking (from here)
GREETINGS:
I’ll finish up with one of my favorite passages on Love. Kahlil Gibran has some deeply moving words on the subject. Read them HERE.
As long as I’m posting about bygone holidays, let’s take a look at J.C. Leyendecker’s tradition of “New Years Baby” Saturday Evening Post covers.
Something about the combination of babies and war motifs is particularly disturbing.
Even the benign themes can be mildly uncomfortable to look at.
However, Leyendecker was responsible for images that now hold archetypal status in our culture. For example, we take our modern concept of Santa as a jolly fat man from his illustrations. He had a tremendous influence on painter Norman Rockwell.
I actually enjoy the intense, glowing hyper-realism of Leyendecker’s work.
See the New Year magazine covers here. You can actually trace the major socio-political themes of last century in succession through these covers.
Andy Zito has the best collection of snowdomes I’ve seen.
I was *very* excited to see this souvenir from the Brussels Atomium I previously posted about:
There are some wonderfully rare promotional items, like these Levi’s domes:
Some have interesting shapes and composition, like this one, simply entitled “SCARCE PENGUIN” (I bet that polar bear was delicious):
I’ve never seen a split layer dome before:
Zito has over 4,500 rare snowdomes, and he has posted highlights on seven gallery pages, starting here.
Oh heck yes. The biological illustrations of Ernst Haeckel combined with vintage holiday cheer!
Now we know the greetings that marine invertebrates send to each other to celebrate the season.
And a few with a more modern style…
From the awesome flickr set of jholbo.
Let’s juxtapose the thrift horrors of this week with some enchanting use of vintage artifacts.
Eerie Art contains the work of assemblage artist Lisa Mei Ling Fong. Her signature “Introversion Boxes” (I even love the name) are beautiful, intriguing memorials comprised of international relics.
Lisa has traveled to over 27 countries, collecting material along the way for later use in her pieces.
Although she considers her Introversion Boxes to be “journal entries,” these little worlds stir the imagination of the spectator in a way that is entirely personal. There is a mood, a feeling created that the observer may piece together in a story.
I can’t help wanting to look closer and keep exploring…
So many amazing creations in the gallery.
SheWalksSoftly 