And Then There Was Freedom

Apologies for absence of late. I finally finished the academic year and thusly became allergic to my computer and ran away to do things like read books, see friends and sleep in late. Also, I had to wake up to the nasty reality of study being replaced by working far too much to save some money up for next year. Now that's it is holidays and despite the nasty retail hours I have promised myself to get some summer projects done. My poor sewing machine has been lying dormant for far too long and now I am determined to use some of the little free time I have.

I am deeply obsessed with patterns. To start me off and spring a little inspiration I have been looking through some of the clothes I own and some of the material that I want to use. I took photos of some of them to share with you, apologies for the somewhat dodgy photo quality. Enjoy.

A Place To Call My Own

by Eleanor Rudge

Hello lovelies. Today is a neither here nor there sort of day. The weather has plummeted from blossoming spring warmness to some sort of drizzling cold greyness. There is much to be done before I finish my degree in SIX DAYS TIME. So I am procrastinating from what is really very pressing by hunting for a house to live in. An activity which is in equal parts tedious and exciting.

Tedious because you have to search through listings and realise that everything is too expensive and then go see houses which turn out to be awful and then find one you love and have someone else get it before you do. BUT exciting cause there is much time to be spent in planning the way things will be. I have been saving homely images that I want to model my abode on. I love the fresh brightness of these combined with a sort of eclectic clutter. I think my version will have a few added super bright artworks.

I can't wait to escape the study hibernation and find myself a brand new kitchen to spend the summer cooking in.

I come from a family of hopeless bibliophiles. Moving always involves some epic logistic feat of book packing and rearranging. I never feel at home until they're all on the new shelves. I love this slanting bookcase, I know that it won't quite be the same in the small studenty apartment that I will find. I can dream though.

Goat Of The Day

Ok, so this post is pretty much just nicked from my love for you is a stampede of horses, but the goatiness was just too good to refuse. Montreal based artist Brad Woodfin has painted a series of mysterious goats for his latest exhibition: The Returning. The combination of goats AND art together is getting me all jittery with excitement.

Giarra

Le Classique No. 342

Betorz

I'm sitting writing this in a cafe and a stranger just walked past, atonally mumbling some mangled lyrics: Sheep are very boring, goats go to heaven. Too perfect.

Maybe My Essay Would Write Itself If I Put A Bonnet On and Ran Away With A Mysterious Stranger.

Friend

hey

still the pope of procrastination?

18:00Me

hells yes

you?

18:00Friend

no

but i am the duke of doing fuck all

My attempts to study this weekend are a farce. For a little bit more procrastination, here are some pretty book covers I found while looking up dramatic farces in Spanish. 

Ring is in the air!

Well it turns out we all have exam-time backgrounds. I too have adopted a mantra of sorts. Mantra? I don’t think that’s the right term. Anyway, mine reads “This too shall pass”.

The story behind it is quite long and has Jewish/Turkish Origins. Pretty much king Solomon wanted to take his chief minister down a peg or two, so sets him this obscure test; “go find a magic ring that makes sad men happy and happy men sad…my son” I’m pretty sure he would’ve said. “Also, get it done before the night of this specific festival, my son”. Night before the task it due some local jeweller works it out for him. The minister turns up to the festival with a golden ring baring the inscription “This too shall pass”.
The king realises his wealth is fleeting and he will be dust one day.
During exam-time dust is the best I can hope for.

The trick with the saying is getting it down before holidays start…nobody likes a dusty spring.

My Mind is A'Wanderin'

These last few weeks of springtime have had me drunk on blossoms and sunlight winding through bright green leaves. There have been many wide smiles while riding home on my bike in the evening inhaling the heavy scents from sun soaked flowers. 

The end of the university year is drawing near and thusly there are many things to be done involving writing things that sound intelligent and memorising large quantities of information such as exactly what are the functions of third person pluperfect and the subjunctive in indirect speech. 

However, the distraction of life and spring time is making me feel more like this when I try and sit down in front of the books. To quote Bernard Black I can feel a bit of my brain falling away like wet cake.

I have set this as my desktop background and hope that it might just convince me to get something done. You can buy the print from Mary Kate McDevitt here

If I Could I Would Build You A Whole New World Out Of Paper

I love paper. I like drawing on it, writing on it, reading it. I like the way it feels and all the possibilities that can stem from something so bland as a single white square of it. One of the oft-told apocrypha of my childhood is that one christmas I was sitting on Santa's knee and upon being asked what I wanted for christmas, I answered 'A big roll of sticky'. Barbie be damned, all I wanted was a big roll of sticky tape so I could stick pieces of paper together and make things. When I got older I became enchanted with the story of Sadako and have contributed twice to sending one thousand paper cranes to Hiroshima's Children's Peace Monument. 

I started thinking about this all again the other day because I saw a fantastic documentary called Between The Folds. I just love watching passionate people get excited about something wonderfully esoteric that they've adopted as a passion. At first I thought the documentary would just be a series of lovely, slightly crazy people talking about making animals out of paper. However, Vanessa Gould has crafted an elegant documentary that flies through the realms of craft, to art movements and mathematicians exploring the possibilities of paper as a modeling tool. 

I think it is something very special if someone can manage to get me so excited about maths. This guy conveys infectious enthusiasm for the subject:

Erik Demaine

As well as making incredible mathematical origami 

I also stumbled, quite by accident, upon James Roper, who has incorporated origami into his sculptural installations.

Construct, Into The Fold exhibition 2005-2008

I want to go home, ignore my obligations and fold creases to make something unexpected. I want to go and write letters to someone I haven't talked to in a long time, with a pen and a nice piece of old paper. Go home and make a cup of tea and curl up and inhale the smell of old book pages.

Goat Of The Day

This here drawing comes courtesy of my lovely friend, the divine Miss Sophie Hopmeier. She originally passed this goat with a note of enigma in his eyes for publication in BLOCK journal. It floated somewhere near the surface of my memory recently and I new it had to reappear for some I Know My Goat love. Thank you Miss Hopmeier. 

The Best Things (live) Under The Sea

.

Kraken - Lawrence Yang

Well hello there! And thanks to Marco and Polo for letting me guest blog. You can normally find me over at A Whistle and a Milkshake, a food and music blog that doesn't, unfortunately, accommodate my other great love - sea creatures.

I am absolutely, and shamefully, oblivious to the goings on of most of the world. More specifically, the parts of the world that aren’t covered in water. Quiz me about the economy and you’ll meet a blank face. But if you ever need anecdotes about octopuses, I’m your girl.

If films such as Finding Nemo, Ponyo or the much underrated Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus have taught us anything, it’s that the underwater world is pretty cool, and it’s one that I’ve always loved. While most people check the ABC or SMH for their daily updates, I’m afraid to say that my news site of choice is www.deepseanews.com . And try as I might, I just can’t muster the same enthusiasm for local elections as I can for frogs that gestate their young in their stomach.

Right?

And I think I’ve figured out why. Like many little kids, I had a thing for mythical creatures. Unicorns, dragons, griffins, Mr Tumnus, mermaids, the whole kettle. Even though I held out hope for Narnia for an awfully long time, I knew that these creatures weren’t really out there. Except for one. The Kraken, the creature about whom Tennyson had written the famous verse, who had been hypothesised by ancient Greeks, actually existed. Although no one, when I was young, had ever seen a giant squid alive, plenty of evidence supported their existence, not the least of which being giant sucker marks born by sperm whales, the scars of epic battles.

I gradually stopped reading Greek myths and legends and started reading about the ocean. From the deep sea hydrothermal vents where blind and blanched white creatures move like ghosts, to whale falls that house bone eating zombie worms, to ancient giant tortoises (like Harriet) and vigilante octopuses, the sea held all those stories I loved. The beautiful and the bizarre, the joyous and the monstrous. And who needs unicorns, when you’ve got narwhals?

Narwhals. So awesome.

If you need more convincing, here are some my favourite weird and wonderful things from under the sea. (With thanks: I wouldn't have found half these awesome things without the lovely Sarah: co-conspirator and workplace distraction of the best kind.)


The fish with the see through head: the barrel-eye fish

The Luidia sarsi starfish: confounding scientists.

Translucent creatures.

I may have mentioned earlier: Bone eating zombie worms My favourite line from that article? "The female worms keep males inside their tube as a sort of little harem that fertilises eggs as they are released."

The vampire squid from hell. A literal translation from the latin.

Blingin' rainbow jelly fish:


This ... amazing thing:


And, when I'm feeling blue, sea otters holding hands:

Goddard et Puke

After being misinformed about the availability of the film in many a good bookshop, I finally procured a copy of the Godard film Breathless. I have often waxed lyrical in a wanker-like way at parties on the classic, timeless qualities of the film and its unrivalled ending. Well, one of them. Being a French film, and myself unable to say more than “I would like to buy an apple, please”, I am at the mercy of the subtitles; your trans-language guide to the film. Fine, if not wonderful, as long as some sort of consistency is maintained. My magic ending is only one of three translations available. “It makes me want to ‘Puke’” is treated as somehow equivalent to “It is a little bitch” and “you are disgusting”; which in the final moments of a film has substantially varied impact and implications.

That many endings

I’m trying to share my disappointment without giving too much away about the content of the film, but one of them is dying. It’s a poignant moment.
The difference may seem trivial to some, but that final statement reflects upon the entire story and character arc. It would be like finding out that in the ‘original’ Citizen Kane; ‘rosebud’ was a reference to his lethal rose allergy. If you haven’t seen either, well you’ve probably seen a lot of other good films or filled your time doing other, perhaps even more interactive or creative activities. (Revised ending to the post). When you do get a chance to see ‘breathless’ though, make sure you get the ‘puke’ version.
Also, if you do intend to see it and you should, don’t watch the video below; it is literally every available ending to the film.

Procrastination and Pretty Pictures

Hippopotamus, 2007

 

I've been wasting time recently playing link tag on the interwebz trying to dredge up bits and pieces that may be relevant to my thesis. Today playing that game I came across Belgian artist Carsten Höller.

Mirror Carousel, 2005

He is a practicing contemporary artist who also holds a doctorate in biology which does so tickle my fancy for intersections of science and art. 

Upside Down Mushroom Room, 2000

I think his art holds a good balance between well crafted and realised form and whimsy. He works across a whole gamut of media, which also makes me happy. 

Höller's work also relies heavily on user involvement and participation, an idea which is becoming more and more interesting to me. I wish I could experience his slides first hand. He has installed giant tubular slippery dips in galleries across the world. It just looks like such fun, the way art should be. You can view an interactive 360 degree photo and read more about his slide at the Tate Modern here. Enjoy.

No Really, I Don't Mean To...

The Rabbits' Village School, 1888 

I feel sort of hesitant about writing this post because it is starting a trend. A tag that has been used more than once. Taxidermy. It isn't that I have a fondness for it, I just sort of come across the various examples and they suck me in to a vortex of horror and fascination. 

The Upper Ten or Squirrels Club, Date Unknown

What is it that possesses people to take dead animals, stuff them and then rework them into hideous anthropomorphic poses? I was reading a book about museums and came across the work of Walter Potter. A man who devoted his life to create tableaux comprised of lots of very cute and very dead animals. 

Kittens' Tea and Croquet Party c. 1870s

Count 'em, thirty-seven kittens playing croquet. A further garden of furry delights and tales of taxidermy can be discovered at A Case Of Curiosities.

Trash Bag

Hunting around for links between art and environmentalism I came across Nico Van Hoorn's Trashlog. Every day for three years he found something on the street that had been discarded and posted it to his website.

 I like it for lots of reasons. I like the aesthetic of bright and graphic objects dislocated from any meaning or utility. I like imagining the paths the objects took from their production to their disposal. 

I like knowing that something that has been forgotten by its original owner has found a new home. I like that it makes you think about all the things we throw away carelessly. 

I like the tenacity and determination of someone who can keep going with such a banal exercise to create something quietly wonderful. 

Goat Of The Day

This really does speak for itself: A ridiculous photo of a goat standing in front of some wallpaper. What more could you want in life? Thanks to Catherine's Animals via Lizzy via Tara's Facebook wall. (Yes I am a stalker). Goat! 

There Are No Words

My lovely friend Tara has a not so lovely, yet very curious obsession. She has a special soft spot for the truly bizarre and wondrous lives of sea creatures. Last night we were talking and she shared this small joy with me 

I think that it is, quite simply one of the most disgusting things I have seen in my whole life. As such I felt compelled to share. It is an isopod that eats out the tongue of sea creatures and then installs itself as a replacement, seemingly without too much detriment to the poor host. Argh. Yuk. Wow. If you can handle it, you can read the original article here

The Internet: The Good, The Bad and The Simply Curious

You just came on here to check your email and then all of a sudden you've been here for four hours, and you're several cups of coffee and many confused, delighted and disgusted facial expressions later. Welcome to the internet. 

This week I have thoroughly enjoyed trawling through Ashkahn Shahparnia's website which is a combination of his own graphic work 

and funny little bits of debris that he finds inspiring

(It's not all text, lots of pretty pictures too) 

I have been horrified and addicted to Crappy Taxidermy, a train-wreck-don't-want-to-know-but-can't-look-away inducing tidbit passed along to me by my partner. 

I've also had my curiosity piqued by the work of young Mr. Robin F Williams a 25 year old New Yorker. I can't quite decide if I love it or hate it? 

One Three Pretty

Seeing as Marco started on the subject of Mondegreens I thought I'd share one of my own. See the thing about mondegreens is once you've misheard a lyric you always construct a narrative in which the completely illogical version makes complete sense. I somehow, misguidedly I admit, convinced myself that Lovecats by The Cure was all about a call-girl based on the fact that I thought that Robert Smith was belting out the phone number to ring for love...

...One Three One Three One Three One Three Pretty

Oh you know I'd do anything for you... 

As soon as it was suggested to me that perhaps it was instead "Wonderfully Pretty" I had to concede that it might make sense. Well, I didn't concede as much as try to fight to death because I thought I was right and everyone else was wrong. Have a listen and see if you can hear what I'm on about... 

...Still at least it's not as bad as my mother who was convinced that "I believe in miracles, you sexy thing" was "I believe in milkos".... you know, the little white chewy lollies. Hmm. 

Over The Hills And Far Away

"The things one finds wandering in a landscape: familiar things and utterly unknown, like a flower one has never seen before, or, as Columbus discovered, an inexplicable continent; 
and then, behind a hill, as if knitted by giant grandmothers, lies this vast rabbit, to make you feel as small as a daisy. 
The toilet-paper-pink creature lies on its back: a rabbit-mountain like Gulliver in Lilliput. Happy you feel as you climb up along its ears, almost falling into its cavernous mouth, to the belly-summit and look out over the pink woolen landscape of the rabbitÌs body, a country dropped from the sky; 
ears and limbs sneaking into the distance; from its side flowing heart, liver and intestines. 
Happily in love you step down the decaying corpse, through the wound, now small like a maggot, over woolen kidney and bowel. 
Happy you leave like the larva that gets its wings from an innocent carcass at the roadside.
Such is the happiness which made this rabbit.
i love the rabbit the rabbit loves me.

After almost 5 years of knitting the rabbit found its final place in the italian alps (close to Cuneo). It waits there to be visited by you. You might even take your time or check back every now and then as the rabbit will wait for you 20 years from now on."

gelitin 

Hase / Rabbit / Coniglio

Artesina, Piemont, Italy

2005 - 2025

The AntsR

The universe directly balanced Polo’s nice work day with mine being several kinds of unfortunate. I managed to exit one work location early, on the grounds of being ill and fairly useless, only to pass another personal work hotspot to see the man I am forever karmically indebted to swamped with customers.  I jumped in, worked hard for a few hours, received some free though somewhat odd tasting bread and accidently accrued more karmic debt to this super Samaritan by accepting an offer to have a rope ladder made on my behalf.

The point of this post, before I suddenly discovered a whole vault of angst that needed exercising, was to start sharing my mondegreens. 

 Lyrics I’ve misheard and wrongly sung at people often enough to eventually have be corrected and be made aware of my adaptation. This month I’ll start on a favourite one I’ve always struggled to relinquish; “ants are my friends, they’re blowing in the wind. The ants are blowing in the wind...”

That About Sums It Up

Friend                              

How do we get through the waiting?

21:42Me

I don't know how to survive, you get antsy and angry and drink four thousand cups of tea

and then wait some more

21:43Friend

Because its all you can afford

Reminds me of Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

On Wheels

When I finish work in the afternoon jumping on my bike and riding home makes the whole day disappear. I feel weightless and free and my feet stop hurting as I fly home. Today was particularly lovely, I finished while there was still light and while riding my music player seemed to pick all the right songs. Belle and Sebastian came on and it was so right, I haven't listened to them in a while and the moment has rekindled my love. The dulcet tones of Stuart Murdoch fitted in perfectly with the day of the year it is today: cold enough for people to have smoke curling out of their chimneys but bright and warm enough for every blossom tree in town to have spontaneously burst into flower. I ended the evening by talking to my far away best friend Bridget and debating which B&S songs we liked the best, funnily enough we differed greatly. However I did find this rather lovely clip of Dog on Wheels. 

Oh No Not The Goat

We sort of fell down a lego wormhole and ended up at The Brick Testament and seeing as how we're on the topic of goats (always) this one in particular got us a little upset:

Judges 13:19
Manoah then took a young goat and sacrificed it on a rock to Yahweh.

Oh noes! Not the goat.