nature of the beast

idiots' lion, 'ophelia'

maurizio cattelan's horse, image via pepe casals

polly morgan's fox, image via joseph casciano

thomas grunfeld's 'misfit', image via paperpetual

i'm absolutely awed by these artists and the force of their imaginations. and it may seem impossible to some, by i believe that a deep love and appreciation of animals comes through in each of these exhibits— a keen sense of animals' vulnerability, magnificence, and character. to my knowledge most taxidermy artists use animals donated by vets or owners— animals that succumbed to unpreventable deaths, or animals that were found (roadkill). these creations are provocative, a bit unnerving, quite mesmerizing, and they demand that we consider animals in a new way, a way that hopefully allows us to see what we usually overlook— the details of their originality, purity, and integrity. and hopefully it reminds us how desperately we need them to occupy this world with us, to remind us of all the things we might forget and to continue to inspire the bigness of our love and imagination.

tea time

alice at the mad hatter's tea party by john tenniel, via gayleroberts blog

image via venusnaturalis

chelsea green lewyta "swan tea party" print, image via redbubble

i want to go to a tea party— a child's tea party. where there will be plump-bellied teddy bears and stiff-necked dolls sitting across from me at the too small table, and maybe the family dog will be there too, gussied up in a bow-tie, waiting patiently for a few crumbs to fall his way. i will arrive dressed up and full of imagination. i will wear a full-skirted garden dress and shake the paws of teddy bears and shake the little hands of each doll staring at me with forever-wide eyes, and i will say, "pleased to meet you mr. oscar" and "oh, how do you do, ms. dotty ?" and then i will sit down carefully and make polite conversation and daintily eat scones smeared with jam and cream and sip tea without slurping.
...i think that would be a pretty amazing way to spend an afternoon.

animal origins

"the pearl necklace" by charlotte cory, image found at michael coulson

drawing of bear lady with ribbon by oh my cavalier!

illustration by lou beach for the new york times, 2006

lithograph from 1847 edition of "the public and private life of animals" by j.j. grandville

photo from prada lookbook

best bunnies collage found at dollface design

Anthropomorphism— creepy, captivating and something i am completely obsessed with, particularly when considering it's possibilities, both visually and as a storytelling device. it forces us (meaning human beings) to consider ourselves in an almost carnival fun-house mirror context...where there are truths and there are fictions, but the truths are disturbing and elusive, unforgiving and repetitious...

a sense of shadows

images via vivat veritas

the fall 2009 lyell lookbook— well, i just think it's styled beautifully and the right wide-eyed puffy-lipped model was chosen and i like the almost gothic-like quality of it all... there is the feeling of glamour and decadence, but also a hint of decay and darkness— a sense of brooding, a sense of shadows

etsy finds!!!

moss terrariums at greenbriar's shop

pig and tiger print by nicole j. georges at spinster summer's shop

general electric alarm clock at hindvik's shop

"children in paris" collage cards at storiesdivination's shop

1960's marble horse head bookends at uncommoneye's shop

la petite belle

lea seydoux— i think she is adorable. clean-scrubbed, bare-faced, almost kid-like. but still a bit tousled, still a bit sexy looking. my favorite kind of girl.

your enemy's arrows

image via new york time out

image via sky gellatly

image via the china arts page

artist: cai guo qiang
exhibit: "i want to believe"
what i think: haunting, overt, bombastic, remarkable