What do you think about Pantone’s 2014 color of the year? They call it Radiant Orchid. The Pantone Color Institute says “People associate purple with creativity and originality.” An article about it is here.
Category: General
Furoshiki
I’ve been reshuffling my studio, to make room for a laminating press I recently bought, and I had to find a new home for one of my prize possessions—a lovely piece of fabric given to me by Kumi Korf. It’s the kind of wrapping cloth she uses to transport her books. I’ve long forgotten the name of the wrap, but that very same day, I read a post entitled An Offbeat History of Wrapping Paper which mentions this Japanese wrap
Take the eco-friendly Japanese wrap, the furoshiki. These lovely, reusable cloth wrappers were originally used to bundle up personal effects while visiting public baths. Gradually, they broadened in use to an all-purpose wrap, including concealing gifts. Furoshiki date back to at least the Edo period (1603–1868) and combine a beautiful concealment with portability and craft.
And it mentions a youtube video that elegantly shows the many ways to tie up furoshiki into a bundle. The photo is my own furoshiki, carefully protecting several of my books.
Magritte: Artist in a Box
After making a Magritte matchbox for my last word group meeting, I wasn’t quite done with Magritte. My sister suggested that I consider Magritte for my “artist in a box” series, maybe using “This is not an artist in a box.” Here’s what I did with that idea, based on this Magritte painting called “Decalcomania”
Recurring images in many Magritte paintings are a blue sky with puffy white clouds and a guy in a bowler hat. Here’s my matchbox for Magritte:
Public Domain Images from the British Library
Recently the British Library uploaded over 1 million photos into the public domain via Flickr Commons. The images, according to the library, include “maps, geological diagrams, beautiful illustrations, comical satire, illuminated and decorative letters, colourful illustrations, landscapes, wall-paintings and so much more that even we are not aware of.” Each image has been tagged with information about its provenance but little else. The Library is hoping they can collaborate with others for ideas on how to classify, markup and organize the images. See them all here and read about the images on the Library blog here.
Here are a few examples
Holiday Fair
I did the first two San Francisco Holiday Fairs, in 2007 & 2008, when they were in Golden Gate Park. Five years later, while the fair might have about the same number of vendors, it’s gotten much more elaborate. Before, a “booth” was enough room for a table and 2 chairs. Now it’s 8’x8′ and the woman next to me put up 3 floor to (almost) ceiling wooden walls, covered in wallpaper, as if one was walking into a B&M store. My little table looks a tad forlorn!
But the first day was gratifying —I’ve had old friends stop by, and new friends— people who read this blog and looked for me especially.
I made a few of my Ode to Louise matchbox books—my piece inspired by the black reclaimed wood sculptures of Louise Nevelson. Much to my delight, many people recognized the Nevelson-ness of the box, and there was much reminiscing about art we’d seen growing up (how I first saw Nevelson’s work).
2013 San Francisco Bazaar
I’ve gotten a table at the 2013 San Francisco Bazaar, Dec 7th and 8th, from 11-6. If you are in the area, do stop by and say hello. Admission is free and it’s at the Concourse Exhibition Center (620 Seventh St.– at Brannan — San Francisco, CA 94103).
