Tsai & Yoshikawa

Please forgive the deluge of imagery but I just got too click-happy. The images above are works by Hsiao-Chi Tsai, a native of Taiwan but now based in London. They are, would you believe, textiles! Gorgeous colors and patterns, no? I saw the patterns and went "wow!" but when I realized that they were actually textiles and she fashioned garments out of them, I was pretty blown away.

Her work is multi-dimensional too. Below is a maquette for a proposed project, I hope it gets realized, it looks like so much fun!

Anyway, I explored the site a bit more, and realized that two artists share the space. According to the site, Kimiya Yoshikawa is a long-time collaborator of hers -- his work looks equally amazing!

The first and bottom images are site-specific installation projects that immediately caught my eye. How fun (and perhaps a wee bit intimidating for me) to walk into an art piece with only your heads peeping out, and that then becomes part of the visuals?

The images in the middle are from his "Balloon Series". Maybe I'm just a sucker for balloons, but they are my favorite. I'm especially digging the one to the left -- the textural contrast between the architecture and the balloon piece is stunning, visible even in that teeny picture.

Happy exploring! I've got to rest my eyeballs now.

Paul Barbera

Click on any link within Paul Barbera's site and chances are good that you'll be riveted by one image after another, his photographs are so mind-numbingly gorgeous. The ones that capture my attention the most are his personal photography projects, my fave so far is his "The Girl From Ipanema" series (above).

Homage to Beauty III

Have you seen anything lovelier? I wish I have talent like that! Embroidery by Rita Smirna as cover art for Bueno Aires city guides. (First spotted at emedemarta.)

Another embroiderer whose work makes me wistful –– Susie Cowie.

// Two links for you to check out: Mjölk is visiting local artisans in Japan, and they're letting us tag along on their blog (to follow the travel, you'll have to click on their travel category). If you haven't already, visit uponafold's blog -- I just learnt about Hina Aoyama from there.

//

After many moons of unrelenting sun and heat, the rain is finally upon us. I find it really invigorating to hear raindrops tip-tapping on the roof. Hope you find these gems I turned up on my recent forage in the vast forest that is the Internet just as invigorating.

Check out Eben Goff's amazing body of work, I especially *heart* his monotypes. Shown above is one of his many beautiful prints. Totally swoon-worthy.

Also having some major hots for this eclectic collection of animal parts and object by Bob de Graaf (below), though it's probably not everybody's cup of tea.

A beautifully animated Japanese haiku entitled 化粧する花 by Izuru Aminaka. I don't read a lick of Japanese, but luckily for me, beauty transcends all earthly boundaries :-) Still, if anyone's up for translating, I'd be mightily grateful!

I dig show-and-tells detailing the process of how something is made or done. Here's an insight into how gorgeous washi paper is made. I found the link via Upon a Fold, a fantastic store of paper goods with an equally fantastic blog.

And lastly, making the rounds in the ol' blogsphere today, an illustrated guide to a Ph.D. Interesting food-for-thought?

PeekaBoo!

I'm tired of looking at my blog with all that blue text and no pretty images so I thought I'll share with you the image that's captured my heart recently, Zimmerlinde by Wolfgang Tillmans. I love the juxtaposition (look at me using fancy art terms) of the flowers with the frosted glass, feels like I can get lost in daydream staring at that scene. Insert obligatory wistful sigh here :-)

Before I leave you, allow me to share a few links I came across today:

–-> This demonstration of the proper Japanese way to bow made me chuckle endlessly, heh heh.

–-> And while the Dog Poo Project is for a noble cause, there's still room for some humor. (Hard not to, given the subject matter I suppose)

–-> Lastly, I haven't tried any of the recipes, but I'm dying to. One of the things I find most frustrating about baking is having to assemble ingredients that I don't normally stock at home. This annoyance is followed closely by the near-impossibility of following instructions to recipes I found online that aren't accompanied by pictorial guidance. (I'm all thumbs and a total novice when it comes to all things baking). So while the mom in "mom it down" doesn't apply to me, her non-fuss style speaks VOLUMES to my inner baker. Itching to try her Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting and Mini Cheesecake. Wish me luck!

Hello, anybody out there?

This poor dead blog o' mine. But no eulogies for it yet as today, yes today!, it's getting a wee jolt of life. It's always so inspiring to see beauty originate from as humble a source as discarded envelopes and newspapers. And Kristiina Lahde's work is so inspiring that I felt I need to shout it out to the world from the top of the mountain (or, okay, from the seat of my chair via a blog). I *heart* her Envelope series.

link via Camilla Engman.

Josef Schulz

Currently being 'wow'-ed by Josef Schulz's photography. I am a big fan of the illustrative Bernd and Hilla Becher, whom I learned from a little digging that Mr. Schulz had studied under, so I guess it's not all that surprising that I was bowled over when I first came across the images above :-)

On a totally unrelated note, if you want to ogle at some beautiful photos of old Japanese farm houses preserved in an open-air museum, check out this posting at Ouno. Fantasizing about a luddite existence is a favorite past-time of mine. Is it yours too?

Never say sparse

When I wrote "sparse" in yesterday's post, I didn't think I would be squirming with delight at today's web findings :-) So delighted that I have to write about it pronto.

I'm not usually a big fan of beads, not quite sure why. But it's rare that I would see beads and clasp my hands together in awe. Never say never, I guess, for I'm swooning over Laura Lumaka's beaded jewellery. (via 18kt)

Another find that absolutely, and I mean that, made my day is of Maru the cat. I miss having a cat companion, and since it's really not viable to have one at the mo, sites like Maru keep me going. Many thanks to Maru's guardian(s) for sharing.  (via ii-ne-kore)

Fluid by Claire Morgan

I don't know about you, but this work of art is leaving me absolutely awed. Rotting strawberries and a taxidermied crow, who woulda thought, huh? To view better-resolution images, visit claire-morgan.co.uk. Man, talk about surreal, what an image. Still in awe. But will shut up now. Seriously, go to her site, so much goodness there. Ok ok. Going now.

Impactist

I honestly can't remember where I found out about Impactist from, but I'm grateful. Their work is lovely! My ISP is being a smidge miserly with its bandwidth allocation, so I couldn't check out the rest of their work, but what I see from just the miscellaneous section is leaving me wow-ed. Check it out if you don't believe me, click here.

Jan Vormann

I am a fan of street art, by and large. The ones that give me the most pleasure are those that surprise me, when I least expect it. Like these by Jan Vormann in Berlin, Bocchignano (a village near Rome) and Tel Aviv. Now tell me, wouldn't you want to stumble upon something like that on the way to work?

via woostercollective.

Selgas Cano Office

Wow. If the place I used to work at was this piece of magnificence, i might have dreaded going to work less :-)

Quimby the Mouse

Quimby The Mouse from This American Life on Vimeo.

Following on the heels of yesterday's find is this lil gem. I feel like I hit a streak of good fortune, since I adore short animations. Also, I've loved Chris Ware's work ever since Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth. (P/S: A bitty confession: I know it's not in good form, but I've always regretted gifting my copy of it --I believe in recycling books-- to a co-worker. Oh well.)

via Drawn!

Cooper Point House

Oh lookie, another cool house with grasses on its roof -- I like, I like! The genius behind this creation is Mickey Muennig and there's lots more to eye at his site.

via designboom.

P/S: My last grass-on-roof post here.

Too Tall Teahouse

Treehouses were something I knew of only through books, but its innate concept of a hide-a-way had always fascinated me. After all, who wouldn't want to escape from a suburban childhood :-)

Is it any wonder, then, that this teahouse by Terunobu Fujimori is so tugging at my heartstrings?

via ii-ne-kore.

The Japanese have a thing for treehouses, eh?

Cisternerne

Just learned of Cisternerne, an underground museum in Copenhagen that showcases modern glass art. It was part of the city's underground reservoir before it became the Museum of Modern Glass Art, and apparently visitors can still see water dripping from the wall onto the floor and stalactites that had formed on the surfaces, how cool is that! 

Pictured above is one of the two entrances to the museum. I'm presuming that visitors would then have to descend some stairs.

Water, glass, lights -- I can only imagine the loveliness when these elements are at work together. Would be one hell of an interesting visit.

via eatdrinkonewoman.

More images of the interior can be seen here.

Julie Evans

Wow. Julie Evan's work is blowing my mind away!

via Edward Winkleman's Artist of the Week.

Falling in love, Rajboori-style

'Tis was love at first sight -- I don't think I've ever seen beddings I've coveted as much as these. (Although, I have to admit I have quite a crush on Denyse Schmidt's). I love how everything at Rajboori can look so contemporary, kitschy and luxurious at the same time. And if you visit their site, be sure to click on the artisans link. They go to some length to show you the process the craftsmen partake in to produce such gorgeous creations.

via sara jensen of lost bird found, guestblogging at design*sponge.

Under the sea

Beautiful place to dine, but I'd be too distracted to eat. :-p

via picocool.

A House in Chiba

What's so special about the house above, you ask? Well, besides the fact that it's Gorgeous and I would give up eating to sit in that open-space dining room, it also happens to have a meadow for a roof!

See more pics at the architect's site, Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Co.

via Free People.

P/S: If you're a sucker for green roofs like me, you might want to check out two of my earlier posts here and here.