High on my list of Useless Things I Still Want Even Though They’re Useless is a Jellyfish Aquarium.
Here is the version from The Sharper Image:
Create a calm, tranquil environment in your home or office with our unique Jellyfish Aquarium. This maintenance-free environment features two lifelike artificial jellyfish, illuminated by 18 LEDs that change color with five different effects. Simply fill the tank with water, add the jellyfish, and turn it on.
Now THIS is how you hold up a pane of glass for a coffee table! Kirk McGuire has a series of bronze sculpture tables that add a dash of marine adornment to the home.
The octopus is definitely my favorite.
But the giant squid is pretty great, too.
And the leafy sea dragon is a bit more understated, which is nice if you don’t opt for the bold look of cephalopods.
Perhaps I’m lured into Hannah Faith Yata’s work by my Piscean tendencies. Many of her paintings depict odd subjects; half fish, half human or animal, interspersed with the natural world an industrial elements.
I love the way she takes creatures apart in beautiful slices and spirals, and they simply merge with the either, sans blood and guts.
Artist statement: I make art inspired by everyday life: ideas on things that I see, I read, and documentaries that I obsess over. When I first moved to New York it really hit me how much garbage we generate. I grew up in the country sides of the southern United States where I was always surrounded by nature. Therefore, when I moved to the city I was mind blown by how much trash is generated and how many things are consumed. This motivates me to dig into large amounts of research on things that we do to ourselves and to our environment or order to sustain our standard of living. The pictures that began to form in my mind were ones of domination over nature, the struggle of animals in a changing world, and the effects of a changing world on the animals and humans. Women became the metaphor for mother nature as wild and sexual thing exploited and explored in my work, and animals became the subjects of examining abnormalities and evolution. Taking ideas that I had learned from ideas on feminism, I began to draw parallels in our ways of controlling and objectifying women to how we also think about the earth and it’s resources therein.
If it were not double sided, I would think this suitable for framing in a very long frame.
From the source: “Worse Things Happen at Sea” is a double-sided panorama chronicling mythical maritime adventures. From a more modern tale of a massive squid pulling a plane out of the air with its monstrous tentacles to the classic image of vikings beleaguered by strong storms and ferocious dragons, Strøm uses his serious illustration chops to recreate the mythical world his imagination seems to innately conceive.
If you view just one pygmy seahorse image-heavy post today (and you were planning to, right?), I recommend this one.
These incredible creatures live in the western central Pacific Ocean (known as the Coral Triangle region of southeast Asia) and rarely grow larger than 2 centimeters. They look like adorable toddler bath toys and blend perfectly in their Dayglow surroundings. Aren’t they fantastic?
I wish I could have one as a pet. I’d give it plenty of coral to…hover on.
My friend Vanessa is the QUEEN of pinterest! Our taste is remarkably similar (thus many boards would fit seamlessly here), but for today I’ll stick with Vita di Mare where she has collected stunning photographs of sea life.
Cannot type/talk due to severe illness (all words courtesy of voice software or kind typing helpers)…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond.
On Thursday, one of the dearest people in my life passed away: my lovely grandmother (a fellow Pisces, lover of seashells and all-things ocean, hence the following pics (source)).
Our time together was plentiful, and filled with smiles, laughter, hugs and “I love yous.” I feel a deeper sense of history in her home than my own. It was, from my first sparks of conscious memory to present day, the coziest place in my world. I still long to visit the cookie drawer in the kitchen, take a warm seat beside her and watch the hypnotic movement of her knitting needles. As I grapple for the language to describe our incredible bond, it all falls short.
She saw a great light in me. She saw only light. Whether I walked into her house wearing chunky platform boots and outrageous gothic oddities, or sweatpants and no makeup, she would look at me and say “you’re so beautiful.” She blissfully marveled at every stage of my life, as if I were this brilliant, radiant being that would change the world. In her presence I felt that maybe, just maybe, I could.
My heart breaks for the limitations of my physical body at this time, my inability to get on a plane and fly home to my beloved family. But they know that my heart and soul are with them.
Gram, my spirit is swing dancing with you on the astral plane. Your sweet little black sheep loves you beyond words, now and forever.
Cannot type/talk due to severe illness (all words courtesy of voice software or kind typing helpers)…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond.
SheWalksSoftly 