What Do You Think About...

Panda Tank Happiness

I love the boldness of this top. First of all, I love tank tops in general (I'm a casual girl at heart.) Secondly, the pastel florals of spring are getting a little old...especially after I featured them heavily in my last film (every female character wore floral...I kid you not.) Thirdly, the pandas aren't overtly "I'm a cute little panda"-ish, a theme which we have Hello Kitty to thank for. (Smile.) The top is from Delia's.

Ironic Sheets

While researching a design project I found these sheets on www.urbanoutfitters.com. I love the irony of toille featuring polluted, suburban sprawl. Very retro-chic funny.

Elephants on Parade!

Why do I like elephants? Maybe it's because I have a fascination with India and Africa...or it could be my fascination with the world of the circus...I'm not quite sure. I found these pictures on the Internet when I was looking for a cover for a cd I made for a white elephant party. (I used the one on the top.)

Mary Cassat

These pictures might look generic to you, but at one time, they were revolutionary, even rebellious. Mary Cassat was a painter when it was considered improper. There were very strict rules for painting: everything had to be painted realistically, and only classical subjects, such as mythology or Bible stories, were considered worthy of any consideration. Instead. Mary chose to use loose brush strokes and paint ordinary people doing ordinary things. You don't always need to run away or dress goth to be rebellious (though these things aren't always bad.) Sometimes you just have to look at the world a little differently.

Graphic Design: Flower Fairies

I loved reading Cecily Mary Barker's poems about fairies and pouring over the beautiful illustrations when I was little. I still love these pictures. The larger image is from a website called www.fineantiqueprints.com. (It's from 1920.) There is such a timeless innocence about these images...very much like Beatrix Potter's work.

Graphic Design: Wrapping Paper

These wrapping papers, and the ones from my two previous blogs, are from www.papersource.com. I love the whimsical, bold designs, and as for the bugs, well, I have a brother who is obsessed with them, so I thought it was appropriate. It's always a good idea to have some non-Christmas and non-birthday wrapping paper around. or you'll end up like me and wrap every gift in newspaper...

Graphic Design: Kissing Klimt

If you've read my blog before, you probably know that I love when contrasting elements collide: old and new, sleek and soft, girly and boyish. Those are the main reasons I love the painting The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. (This is just a detail from the larger work.) Angular and smooth lines, abstract and realism (and a guy and a girl) meet to create a painting that's ethereal and vibrant, not a mess. History fact: the woman in the painting was Klimt's girlfriend.

Graphic Design: French Art

This is a painting titled Divan Japonaise by Lautrec. What captures me about this work is the fluidity. There aren't many straight lines in the picture. Despite the artist obviously not striving for realism, there is a life to this painting. It truly captured and immortalized a moment in time, something all art, I believe, should do.

Graphic Design: Jazz Age

I feel happy just looking at this vintage advertisement from 1919. The colors are so vibrant, and, despite being a drawing, the woman looks more real than most photographed models you see in today's magazines!