Inspiration: Jac Belcher
There's something very appealing to me about art created with an absence of colour: pure forms, shape and texture, white on white. Jac Belcher's paper cuts are a wonderful example of how a minimalist approach can result in beautiful high impact art.
All works are hand cut from a single piece of paper, some with over 5,000 cuts.
Jac is originally from Melbourne but now lives in New York, and currently is exhibiting at the Hunterdon Art Museum in NJ. Visit her website for more beautiful examples of her work.
Image Souce: Jac Belcher.
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Sweet as Candy :: Misako Mimoko
12 May 2009
Doli Toffee Candy and Dolo Apple Toffee Candy and the whimsical creations of Spanish Etsy seller Misako Mimoko. The unfinished edges and hand sewing that doesn't pretend to be perfect give these delicious dolls a lovely vintage handmade feel. When I saw Eva featured on The Storque I fell in love with her little dolls straight away... and isn't she just as fun and sweet looking as they are.
Freshly Painted
11 May 2009
I always enjoy it when bloggers allow me to peek inside their homes, so I thought I'd show you a few snapshots of some favourite spots in our freshly painted house.
This is our newest find - a beautiful 1930's sideboard. So new in fact that it's still empty and has yet to have the glass shelf and doors put in. It has gorgeous bakelite handles and is in wonderful original condition. We bought this for a song in the Hunter Valley and managed to sell our old one (also art deco but not nearly as nice) for more on ebay. Yay! In the background of the second image you can see one of the prints I own from Irene Suchoki. And on top are ArtMind's Mini Art Feelings, which I featured last week.
Our circular dining table and chairs are also art deco. We love the simple modern shapes and rich timbers that were popular in that era. The table is in our back living area which opens to our small garden and is bathed in sunlight all day. Any work that doesn't require me to be sitting in front of my computer is usually done at this table.
The old bottles are part of a big collection that belonged to my Mum. As you can see from the photos I love to scatter them throughout the house with a single flower in each. At the moment there are also some in my office and the bathroom.
Our bedroom is still in transition at the moment. I have stripped it back to the bare minimum while I contemplate what to do. I adore the look of an all white bed, so that won't change. The colour palette I want is white, natural and aqua - very soft, natural and peaceful. This is my idea of the perfect white bedroom. I have some absolutely gorgeous fabric from cloth (in the photo above right) which I'd like to make some cushions with, and I might also use some to cover an old chair for the bedroom. Cloth calls the aqua colour 'seafoam' - I just love that, it's so evocative.
Which brings me to the walls. I had my heart set on wallpapering behind the bed in Orla Keily's Blossom wallpaper, but we have moved the bed to a wall which has a small window in it, and I just don't think the wallpaper will work there. The furniture is much better in this configuration, so I need to work with the window.
I love the aqua leaf wallpaper which was featured (on the page top left) in Real Living magazine. It's from Scandinavian Wallpaper and Decor, who have some beautiful things, but unfortunately this one isn't featured on their website. The photo on the right and the one above are Trove wallpapers. Aren't they sooo divine! These tumbling designs might just work on a white wall with that little window. Or I could try something along the lines of Claire Coles' stunning creations... Armed with Lena Corwin's Printing By Hand and Lotta Jansdotter's Lotta Prints I am inspired again to create something myself. Maybe I should buy Lauren and Derek's new book Wallpaper Projects: 50 Craft and Design Ideas for your Home... or is that just an excuse to buy another book!
What do you think? Do you think a scattered and tumbling design will work? If you have any ideas or you've seen anything that you think I might like I'd love you to comment with a link.
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Monday Blogday ~ Blogging Your Way
Last week I completed an online course called Blogging Your Way, run by Holly Becker of Decor8. The 4 week e-course was aimed at bloggers of all levels of experience and it was so much more than I expected. A nice little community was created amongst my fellow students, and Holly is a great teacher and an insightful, inspiring and thoughtful person. I think you can really tell that about her from the way she writes Decor8 - I always feel like I'm having a chat with a friend when I visit there. And with about 25,000 visitors a day on Decor8 I think Holly knows what she's talking about when it comes to blogging! So I had no hesitation in signing up when Holly announced her first e-course.
So for for today's installment of Monday BlogDay I'd like to point you to the lovely blogs of some of my classmates.
Sam's Notebook
Sam is an Australian living with her family in Sweden, who blogs about her beautiful finds.
Fresh 365
A wonderful blog featuring seasonal vegetarian cooking.
Erin has also added a 'recipes by season' search and a metric conversion for those of us on the other side of the world.
A wonderful blog featuring seasonal vegetarian cooking.
Erin has also added a 'recipes by season' search and a metric conversion for those of us on the other side of the world.
Les Surprises de Fifi Mandirac
Fifi is a French (or did you already guess that?) graphic designer with a lovely vibrant blog.
Fifi is a French (or did you already guess that?) graphic designer with a lovely vibrant blog.
Bondville
The lovely Steph from Brisbane writes about "cool Australian art, design and products to keep you in the know".
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The lovely Steph from Brisbane writes about "cool Australian art, design and products to keep you in the know".
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Image Source: All images via blogs, as linked.
