Good Days At The Keyboard

Some days at work are just better than others. Today I got to babysit a coworker's puppy! After running hard outside, chasing sticks, she took a little nap at my keyboard! Ahhhh. Working doesn't get any better than that! Here is a better photo of Layla.

Bridge Tracker

Bridge Tracker, Check the safety of bridges you cross. Very interesting.

Help Bernie (A Place To Bark)

HELP A PLACE TO BARK WIN A $50,000 GRANT !!!!! There is only a day left. For those of you that don't know Bernie. Bernie's not only an extremely talented artist, but also one of the biggest hearted human beings you can possibly ever meet. If there are angels on Earth, she's one of them. She lives, breathes and just devotes 110% of her every waking moment to our four legged friends. This would be a huge dream come true for A Place to Bark. Please please consider helping!! Please pass this info on to anyone who may be interested. And thank you so very much. Read more about her cause here.

Bob Sullivan

My friend, Bob Sullivan's book, GOTCHA CAPITALISM, is on the New York Times best seller list this week! Woo Hoo!

Never Fails

The FAIL Blog, new and classic FAIL Pictures. The internet never fails to entertain me and when I get a change I am putting my face in this Jib Jab video, Night of the Living Democrats.

Gone To The Dogs

USB Humping Dog, watch the video for a good laugh.

World's smallest dog.

Better Sweater

I want one of each of these Swacket Jackets from Moira and Obbie. They are positively adorable.Sweet Felt Goods.

The recycled look from baabaaZuzu. Pagano Design Work's slick recycled sweater felt necklace, again, adorable!

Left Brain, Right Brain?

Kelly has this great find on her blog, a test for Left Brain Right Brain Creativity test, Brain Type Test (created by the Art Institute of Vancouver. I was shocked to find out that I am more left than right. I think my present situation is making me so ... ;), learning CSS, flash, grids, paying bills, juggling budget alone .... I think that and more all make me less right ...

I am Left: 51%, Right: 49%

You are more left-brained than right-brained. Your left brain controls the right side of your body. In addition to being known as left-brained, you are also known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information. You are able to retain this information through the use of numbers, words, and symbols. You usually only see parts of the "whole" picture, but this is what guides you step-by-step in a logical manner to your conclusion. Concise words, numerical and written formulas and technological systems are often forms of expression for you. Some occupations usually held by a left-brained person include a lab scientist, banker, judge, lawyer, mathematician, librarian, and skating judge.Your Left Brain Percentages

42% Symbolic (Your most dominant characteristic)
42% Logical
40% Reality-based
35% Sequential
27% Linear
20% Verbal (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages

46% Concrete (Your most dominant characteristic)
44% Fantasy-oriented
38% Nonverbal
34% Intuitive
28% Random
12% Holistic (Your least dominant characteristic)

My Kind Of Blog

This is my kind of blog, My Menopause Blog via Music and Cats.

Snow Falling

Low hanging grey clouds allowing only the bottom third of the Olympic mountains to be seen ... fresh snow is reflecting the morning sun making them glow pink. Outside, it is very quiet, except for a couple of crows laughing, a flicker cooing and a child laughing down the street. I love snow.

Rockin' Rings

I am crazy for rings and rocks, and this has to be the perfect combination for me from Switzerland's Mirca Maffi, seen below.



Plastic color by Claudia Correa Noe.



Universal Connections rings (below) from Dialog5.



all above via the always wonderful Carrot Box.

Eleanor Salazar's adorable rings called poolballrings, made from billiard balls. Adorable!



Mark Vaarwerk makes rings from plastic bags and bottles! I love these horn stackable, affordable rings from Old Beads

Two Russian designers, Stas Zhitsky and Sergei Kuzhavsk have created some fun and wonderful rings, Jody Work's O-U Ring Lite from Studio 1am.

Karl Fritsch organic and rough rings

Barbara Uderzo's "Succulent" Ring, sculpture wood, earth, small succulent.

Thinking Outside The Box

baud and bui cardboard furniture and House of the Future has a cardboard house.

Designboom has lots cardboard chairs with instructions and Truc Design shows a cute little cardboard chair.

Creativity with Cardboard on Love my earth and this cute chair at Yu Chih Hsiao

Recycled and cardboard chairs at Biothinking.

HAUTE*NATURE, Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle........an eco guide blending high style with sustain.

1995 IDEAS. The very cool video of the Glumbert folding chair video. Chair made from recycled cork.

Recycled barnwood benches

Spring, So Close

I am on another computer and found some photos I can't remember sharing ... spring is but a thought away.

Best Friends On The Wall

Robin sent me a photo of where she hung my "Best Friends" painting in her home. I love it against the red wall.

Go Collage Yourself!

Cathy M. Woo, in Alki Beach, work seen below.



Have always been a fan of Henrik Drescher, here are his dancers

Belinda Schneider

Ann Tracy Lopez, work seen below.



Joyce Hill, "The Tree's Are Weeping" (seen below)



Clare Murray Adams

Eydi Lampasona, assemblage art.

For a list of Collage Artists on the Internet .

Jeffrey Meyer's Goof Button via Collage Clearinghouse

105 matchboxes by Caroline Waite, and so many wonderful works, you must go take a peek! Work seen below.





Go see A Quarterly Journal of Art in the Woods by Julie Sadler (and download the pdf) via magikglasses

Dan Levine Board of Nails, seen below and lots more great stuff!



Alphastamps collage sheets.

Brian Dettmer Ram Skull

Brian Dettmer 02 Ram Skull, sculpture made from old cassette tapes.

Flowers In A Vase

You know how much I love flowers in a vase, well Carol Thompson collection of paintings featuring flowers in a vase are wonderful via Creature Comforts.

My Downer Day Post ;0

My eyes are drawn to leaves floating off the tree, then I realize they are birds swooping around in the air. I love the natural structures that reveal themselves in winter.





I arrived home last night from work to find that our neighbor's (who is out of town and daughter watching their dog) Maltese named "Little Bit" has escaped from the gated yard. Police were called. The entire neighborhood banded together most of the day in search of the pooch to no avail. I decided we should make poster and M and friends hung them around the neighborhood. I walked blocks, checking out the parks and wooded areas.

Someone found Little Bit this morning, all is well.

I am working today for primary. I have been feeling really down and blue because I haven't had anytime for my art. All I remember of my day is the drive in traffic going to work and the traffic home ... and everthing else seems like a blur. Not much energy to blog or write or clean house. I feel like I am bleeding out self-esteem, inspiration, joy. Everyone else seems to be going full-steam ahead and I feel stagnant. Boring. Low energy. Stuck. Depressed. Fat. Tired. Uninspired. What has happend to me? I am trying to figure it out. It isn't that I don't have ideas! I still have loads ... but ...

So many sincere apologies for not much surfing, leaving comments, interacting.

Paper Sculpture

Found on Illustration web, Gail Armstrong, paper sculptures, images below.





Nadia Flower

Gina Adams

Suzy Q, image below.



Grahame Baker Smith

Human tetris - Part 2

We have been watching silly TV bloopers this morning, but this Human tetris - Part 2 made my eyes water.

Harry Campbell

The wonderful work of Harry Campbell and Today's Inspiration, a place for those with an interest in illustration from the 40's and 50's to share their knowledge, views and opinions.

Digital!

Epic Edits Weblog's (A Photography Resource for the Aspiring Hobbyist) Shoot youself and the new project, Social Photography. Self portrait techniques, 16 Inspirational Portrait Photography Techniques.

Digital Photography tutorials.

Steampunk Name Generator

Steampunk Name Generator, mine is Countess Persephone Deering.

The Wonderful, The Whacky

Watches created by Haruo Suekichi are absolutely stunning! Go see lots more on Steampunk Lab, inventions of a curious sort.



Kardia Mechanicus, Scalaire Sculpture by Pierre Scalaire, of course the magnificent Keith E. Lo Bue's work can be seen here ... Molecules Necklace.

Pistol Ring

Also found on Gizmodo this morning, this Pistol Ring! What can I say, I want one!

A 100 Chairs

You know I have an addiction to chairs, but chairs and reconstruction! Amen! The wonderful collection of "A 100 Chairs in 100 Days" by Gamper Martino via Gizmodo.

What's For ... ?

Jan is having chili! We would have chili, but last Saturday we had a the Big Chili Cookoff (lots of good recipes at link) at M's school as a fundraiser. D and mom made their faves, mom ran out too early and still came in second. We have chili in the freezer for later this week.





So for our dinner tonight ... it was rather unplanned. The fragrance in the backyard is worth all the hard work we did out there today! We all got busy raking leaves, taking down Christmas lights, outdoor cleaning in general ... and sort of forgot about dinner. We had talked about ordering ribs from our rib source but they were closed for the holiday and ended up getting them from the grocery store. Mom made baked potatoes and beans.

But if you like garbanzo beans, mom made this stew Friday night and it was really good.

Bloomin' January

Wee and T House

Wee House, T house via A Daily Dose of Architecture, 3XN Architecture.

Patent room architecture

5 Night Dinner Challenge

Carrie is starting a 5 Night Dinner Challenge. I won't be cooking it, of course ... not sure I can magage photos either ... but I will post a recipe of whatever my mother has hustled up for us to eat.

Memory

Cell Memory is an artist’s book about the microscopic world of the cell and distant memories.

Home Study courses available are: Bookbinding I; Bookbinding II; Bookbinding III; Restoration & Repair; Finishing; Endpapers; and Introduction to Leather. Introduction to book arts.

Because people have a need to glue things to other things

Six Centuries of MasterBookbinding at Bridwell Library.



Ukulele Books (seen below) and The Lead Pencil by Peter and Donna Thomas, you must see all of these incredible books!



Emily Martin, make your own 8 page book. San Francisico Center for the book

Mary Ellen Matthews, Little Shorty, 1996. Boot-leather, xerox on silk and thread on Colophon. Seen below.

Chocolate Pudding

Food Chronicles has made some delicious looking chocolate pudding ... I think this might be on menu tonight ;)

For Free

First I would like to say thank you to all of you out there that extend yourselves, your work or ideas ... and then give it to us, for free! I always feel like a kid in a candy store when I come across such wonderful resources. It is very generous.

Meggiecat is posting again! We missed you, welcome back wonderful friend.

A full set of professionally designed icons for web applications for all ASP.NET developers for free!

12 Pixey (The Daily Design Resource) hi-res paper scans and 250 free patterns, for free. Beautiful patterns from Squid Fingers.

7 Illustrator Tutorials, 100 Excellent Free WordPress Themes from Smashing Magazine

Design Shrine has lots of resources and Pixeleye Germany, visual resource

Roundup of Design Galleries and a source for free icons, iconspedia via xyberneticos.

It is a good thing I don't have too much time, because I could spend alot of it on Colour lovers blog, I love colour.

Honu Photo

I discovered another friend is blogging.

Piet Hein Eek

Piet Hein Eek, using scrapwood makes this incredible furniture ... also garden house, kitchen of scrapwood, this beautiful home. The guy is a design machine!

Go There, In Your Mind

Even if we can't afford to go there, we can still enjoy the scenery, smell the clean, crisp sheets ... experience the exotic ... in our imagintaion.

Wonderful photos of the hotel Awasi in Chile.

Thailand's The Library's red tile pool.



Singita Africa, Ebony Lodge

Little Bush and Earth Lodge, Sabi Sabi.





Gravetye Manor, West Sussex, UK.

You go find where you want to stay in your mind ... Travel+Leisure 100 best hotels in 2007.

Earth And Sky

Sampling color to create a color scheme.

Living Treasures

Magical paper creations by Emma van Leest, seen in Austrailian Vogue Living, Nov-Dec 2007 ... amazing!

Marian Hosking, a living treasure.

Melissa Hirsch's Precious Ocean art made from fishing line (seen below) and cane leaf (seen below).





Ceramics by Gregory Bonasera.

Khai Liew furniture design.

Architectural elements.

Chris Henschke and Donna Kendrigan are Topologies, a unique and inspired creative partnership.

Mathieu Lehanneur

Props by Jongeriuslab, Crystal Frock commissioned by Swarovski, London. Jongerius has translated the chandelier into another powerful archetype often associated with it: the party dress.



I love this dining table by Ilse Crawford. Must go visit her site for complete thrill.

Seeing Snowflakes

Ken Libbrecht sees snowflakes

Icons

50 Excellent Favicon Designs via Smashing Magazine.

The cutest little icons, free download in exchange for credit.

Tiny Images

80 Million Tiny Images via msnbc.com's Clicked.

Just In Case

Just in case you have forgotten, it is all Jane! the next couple of months.



Pride and Prejudice watercolor illustrations by C. E. Brock and other novels by Jane Austen. Jane Austen's letters to her sister via The Austen blog and Jane Austen world.

Zune Arts

Zune arts via Ramiro Torres.

Chris Morris

My talented friend Chris has been very busy.

Leaf Lace

A friend at work kindly gave me these leaves that something had eaten delicate little paths in wonderful patterns. Nature is wonderful!



Grape leaf eaten, these beautiful images, huge image of the underside of a leaf, isn't this copper leaf lovely? An insect that looks like a leaf (leafhopper).

Happiness

Easy Renewal Tips For the Freelancer via The Happiness Project

Provoking Magic

Provoking Magic, Lighting by Ingo Maurer showing at Cooper Hewitt.



101 things to do, a unique meme that challenges and inspires you to set and complete realistic goals in life via Kristy Hall

A Delicate Cut

The amazing work of Cal Lane using plasma cut steel to create these delicate and wonderful pieces of sculpture.



Conceptual design for the Polish Expo 2010 Exposition Pavilion, seen below, both via BLDG BLOG. Amazing!



Reminds me of The "Guardian of Eden," an 18-ft plasma cut steel lotus flower at Burning Man.

Temple of Joy, designed by artist Dave Best, was a remarkable edifice constructed of panels of punched plywood from a toy factory for Burning Man and the burning.

3x3 Call For Entries

Fifth annual 3x3 illustration competition.

For The Birds

I love Anna Johansson's bird sculptures made from recycled tin, Mr Spots' simple, elegant, silver bird sculptures and Kathryn Spence Snowy Owl.

Keen Footwear's STAND UP, STAND OUT, and STAND FOR contest, artist talk about their process. Winners announced in March.

Joe Pogan

Joe Pogan Sculptures. Watch a video about his work. Isn't that fantastic?

"Joe Pogan creates animal sculptures using various "found metal" objects like old watches, sprockets, nuts and bolts. The stranger the piece of metal the better, since the end goal is an eye-catching, fascinating amalgamation of metal with odd nooks and crannies you can explore for hours.",

Typography

Oded Ezer is an Israeli typographer

Shallow Clouds

Very cool script type created by pequeñeces

The type junkie blog

The Polygraph System, Merci Bernard

Typeflash

All Things Bright, Beautiful

pia jane bijkerk, enhance the everyday, new blog to me found on the amazing All Things Bright and Beautiful, by the way has lots a good tips for new bloggers.

Lisa Leonard's It's the little things

What Kimberly Means

I wish some of these things were true now.

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life.
You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.
People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.
You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.
You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!

You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous.
You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things.
Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.
You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.
You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning? via Deb

BisyBackson

I am seriously in love with BisyBackson's photos on flickr. It has the feeling of entering an antique store with so many fantatic things, you don't where to look first. Windows, whites, faves. Marion definitely has an eye for the beauty around her!

Crazy

Bride Gets a Wedding Cake Shaped Like Herself, as my son said "why"?

Wow

Wow to Miss Julia's wonderful furniture.

Purple