A soft spot for bundles....



(c) India Flint via Flickr



I can't quite explain it but I keep being drawn to bundles..





(c) Marchi Wierson via Flickr





(c) Abigail Thomas via Flickr



My very own teabag tags bundle..

And I looove bunches of bundles:

(c) BelleOcchio via Flickr



(c) Knitalette via Flickr

I even like what looks like bundles, but isnt' really bundles...



(c) Ginette Lapalme via Flickr




(c) Abigail Doan via Flickr

 What is it about them? The use of thread(s) - to which I confess being addicted to... A sense of security, or warmth? Or maybe it's because they make you think of swaddled babies? Oh boy... And it gets worse:
I just read in the dictionary that "Bundling  (1781) was  "sharing a bed for the night, fully dressed, wrapped up with someone of the opposite sex" was a former local custom in Wales and New England." Hmmmm...

Karen Nicol Fantastical Animal World

I love how British Designer Karen Nicol transformed these familiar creatures into magical ones:
 

And my very very favorite, the winged squirrel, which would explain why Oops can never catch them:

Want to see more? go there.. Enjoy!

Happy Rainy Monday

Need I say more?

Mochimochi...

Don't you just love the sound of it... Mochimochi... It sounds like those gooey rice cakes you eat in Japanese restaurants, sticky on the outside and ice cream or sweet paste in the middle.. yum! Well, don't let your taste buds or stomach fool you.. Mochimochi seems to be a whole other world that has grown out of Brooklyn, where, excuse my French, the proverb "Tout ce qui est petit est mignon" (all that is tiny is cute) rules... 

From what I could gather, it was started by master knitter Anna Hracovech in 2007, in Brooklyn, as "a place where knitted toys and people can live together in a spirit of tolerance". Here's some of what came out of it:

Tiny bat

Tiny Boos

Tiny Earcorns

Tiny Chef

Tiny Cowboy

Tiny Cowby with Cactus (of course)

Tiny Donut

Tiny Strawberry

And some of my very favorites:

Tiny Bedbugs (!!)

Tiny Acorn - French (ben oui!)

Tiny French Fries

The Mochimochi world is  much bigger and you can see a lot more of its inhabitants on Flickr, as well as on the Mochimochi website. And wait.. the Mochimochi motto is  "Let's make happy"  so how can you go wrong with that...  -  If you feel so inclined, super Anna even released a book this year, which you can buy  here, as well as some patterns for you to make your own Mochimochi thing.. If you're fast, you could even participate in the Mochimochi photo contest - the deadline is November 15.

I myself will stick to my newly acquired No. 17 knitting needles and make (yet) another chunky scarf (nothing to do with not wanting to make happy BUT I already have plenty of time-consuming, detailed, obsessive compulsive work on my plate :)

Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Embroidery thread on cotton, glass beads, approx.
4 x 2 3/4 in.

Oh boy do I wish I could be in Oaxaca right now, celebrating the Day of the Dead... I've been going every year for the last 5 years but never for this holiday which is probably one of the biggest celebration there. I love the idea of celebrating the deads in a joyful fashion and welcoming their spirit back to your life for the occasion.  Maybe next year... In the meantime, I found a few pictures on Flickr here and there; here are some of my favorites:



All above photographs (c) Glen Van Etten

 The top photograph was actually a student art project to commemorate the women killed along the Texas/Mexico border & each skull has the name of one woman killed in the Juarez, Mexico area. Read more about that here.

But I'm moving away from the JOYOUS spirit here... so some more pictures...





Above two photographs Copyright Luis M. Valdez M.

Above three photographs Copyright Christophe Morrisset



 Again, you can see more pictures on Flickr. Also a sweet video of the party in Oaxaca here.

And now, off to honor my own dead, with a glass of vino (in lieu of sugar skulls)...

Gerhard Richter's Drawings at the Drawing Center in New York City



30.5.1999, 1999  Graphite on paper  11 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.
Permanent loan from a  German Private collection, Courtesy Kunsthalle Emden

I highly recommend the exhibition  "Lines which do not exist" at  The Drawing Center in Soho. Loved the energy that came out of them. Most drawings are in graphite, and the lines and marks go from crisp to blurry, constantly pulling you in and out. I liked how he used the eraser to make marks too.


Untitled, 1966 Graphite on paper. 8 13/16 x 6 7/16 in.
Courtesy of Winterthur, Kunstmusem Winterthur

1.6.1999, 1999. Graphite on paper. 8 1/4 x 11 11/16 in. Courtesy of Winterthur,
Kunstmuseum Winterthur



These two are much larger and part of a group of 4 that's beautifully displayed on the gallery's back wall, at human height , so you feel like you can almost walk into them:

Drawing II, 2005 Graphite on Paper 59 1/2 x 40 3/8 in.
Collection of Donna and Howard Stone

 

Drawing III, 2005 Graphite on paper 59 1/2 x 40 3/8 in.
Collection of Donna and Howard Stone

 There are also a few stunning ones in very densely pigmented ink and watercolor that are worth seeing:

G. EL. 2, 18.1, 1984, 1984 Watercolor on paper, 7 x 9 5/16 in.
Private Collection, Berlin

22.3.88, 1988  Colored ink and watercolor on paper 6 1/2 x 9 3/8 in.
Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art, New York,
Gift of the International Council in honor of H.R.H. Prinz Franz von Bayern, 1989

The reproductions here don't do the artwork justice - go see the show if you can - it's up til November 18, 2010. More info here.