All Imperfect Things

Sewing Shed

 

Oh oh oh!! Is this not one of the most adorable work spaces ever?! I love this little sewing shed that belongs to tales of a jUnkaholic! As a kid I always wanted one of these outdoor sheds to fix up and play in and in recent years have always thought it would be nice to have one for crafting and prop building. This is quite similar to what I had in mind, only on a slightly smaller scale and for sewing instead.

And just when I thought it looked awesome in the day time...at night it's even better...

 

What a fantastic little way to escape into your own world and create!
I'm all for the idea of creating an environment around yourself that is truly your own little world. Whether it's just your studio or you whole house. For me, and I'm sure this goes for many people as well, I work and feel best when I'm totally comfortable, relaxed, and surrounded by things that inspire and motivate me.

Sometimes people ask me what to I do to stay motivated and inspired creatively, aside from natural curiosity and the fact that I'm interested and easily inspired by so many things anyway. One of the things that seems to help keep me motivated and inspired is to be able to come home and immerse myself in my own little world, having a cozy environment to work and live in, with the perfect creative atmosphere down to the smallest of details. To be surrounded by things and reminders of all that I find fascinating, inspiring, and beautiful. An escape from reality somewhat, although I feel it's more fitting to describe it as a way of creating your own reality and allowing yourself to delight in it. Taking the fascinations of the mind and working them into day to day life, making each day a little less mundane and a little more magical.

"The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”
    - Carl Jung

Palolem India

Palolem India from Phoric on Vimeo.

I was setting up a channel on Vimeo a few days ago (which I'll explain more about on my art blog later on), when I found this video. I thought it was breathtakingly beautiful! I've probably said this many times before, but I'd love to visit India someday.

Happy Easter

(photo credit unknown, this has been in my reference folders for awhile)

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love and remember me, for you are good, O Lord."

-Psalm 25:4-7

Holi

So, I'm back after a bit of a blogging hiatus, which has left me with about four weeks of 365 project photos to catch up on. I've been taking them but haven't really had time to post them, will get around to that soon. Not that they are really all that great though, since I've been so busy lately, I kind of feel like I'm just snapping photos to get them done rather then being creative about it. But, that is part of the 365 project, just capturing life day to day...sometimes you can't always be creative about it.

Anyway, I was looking for some reference photos to use for a painting and stumbled upon these fantastic photos from the Holi festival (Festival of Colors) in India this year, and thought I'd share!

Images are from Boston.com click to to see more (and much larger) photos.

RIP Alexander McQueen

I was saddened and shocked to learn today that one of my favorite fashion designers, Alexander McQueen, has died (apparently suicide). Although I'm not someone who focuses on brands or designers when it comes to fashion and I don't really keep up with who's who and what's going on in the fashion world. I am definitely someone who looks at fashion as an art form; whether it's designing and making your own clothes or simply having fun, being creative, and expressive in what you wear from day to day and how you wear it. With that said, McQueen's surreal, edgy, and imaginative designs and theatrical shows made him one of the only designers who's work I really closely watched and have paid a great deal of attention to. His work has also been a big influence in how my own personal style continues to evolve as well (especially the first half of his fall/winter 08-09 collection in the first video below, which has been very inspirational and influential to me lately). He was truly one immensely talented artist and will definitely be missed.

It’s a new era in fashion — there are no rules. It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together. " -Alexander McQueen

I almost forgot to add this amazingly stunning Hologram (or peppers ghost like effect) featuring Kate Moss, which was shown at the end of McQueen's 2006 fall/winter collection show (which was also a gorgeous collection, by the way. The first image above is from this collection).

Alegria and Varekai

Just a few video clips to share, I've been watching two of my favorite Cirque du Soleil shows,  "Alegria" and "Verekai", over the weekend. I always find Cirque du Soleil to not only be very entertaining but also a great source of inspiration as well. Especially lately with some of the projects I'm currently working on.

"Alegria" is described on their website as "a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth—it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it." which is probably the best way to simply explain what this show is about. They're on a US tour with "Alegria" this year actually, I'm hoping to see it when it rolls around here this coming spring.

"Verekai", which is probably my absolute favorite Cirque du Soleil show out of the ones that I have seen, is loosely based on the Greek myth of Icarus. However in "Varekai", instead of Icarus burning his wings from flying to close to the sun and falling to his death, he falls down to earth into a forest at the base of a volcano. Alive but unable to fly, within the forest he meets many strange creatures, including a caterpillar girl with whom he falls in love with. While some of the creatures of the forest try to help him, others try to bring harm to him.