insect/artist.

I love art. I love science. I really love when art and science combine. It's why I'm becoming a dentist. So when I discovered what I'll call the collaborative work of French artist Hubert Duprat and a group of caddisfly larvae, I was beyond amazed.

Caddisflies are small moth-like insects that are recognized by their two pairs of hairy membranous wings. Their larvae are aquatic, and the larvae of some species of caddisflies build cases around themselves, made from their own silk and incorporating small bits of material they find in their environments such as gravel and tiny shells.

Photo by Jan Hamrsky. View more of his exquisite insect photography on flickr.

Photo via Dr. Geoff Balme

Duprat gives the caddisfly larvae bits of gold and precious stones, and as you can see, the results are quite remarkable.

Read more about Duprat's work and see more of his and the caddisfly larvae's work at cabinetmagazine.org

tumblr tuesday. rainy edition.

It's been raining a lot here, so I thought I'd pay tribute to the rain with a set of appropriate images. This gives me the chance to showcase a piece of art we own too.

The last piece is a giclée by the artist Michael Flohr depicting Royal Street (in the French Quarter) in the rain. We love it because it captures the true sense of the darkening sky, the wet street, and the warm glow coming from the shop windows.

View all of the full size images here.

made ya look.

I used FreeTranslation.com to determine that the blogger who originally posted this (in French) over at Fubiz called this design a "very successful execution." Very successful indeed.

MMX. (or the year 2010.)

This is not a list of New Year's resolutions. I really thought about the person I want to be one year from now, and these little steps will help me get there.

• The person I want to be is more of a morning person, so this year, I will initiate little rituals that should make my mornings more appealing, the first of which has been to set up my Google Reader subscriptions and read through them like a morning paper.
• The person I want to be complains less.
• The person I want to be meets new people and tries new restaurants, new shops and new experiences.
• The person I want to be has a house that smells good, so I'll light one of our many scented candles whenever we're sitting around at home.
• The person I want to be doesn't have 796 messages in her inbox, so I'll get that cleaned out and under control. I need a system...
• The person I want to be has a collection of plants that thrive in her care. I'm not sure what to do to fix that issue.
• The person I want to be drinks more water, fruit juice and tea than the person I am right now does.
• The person I want to be keeps in closer touch with friends who have moved away.
• The person I want to be walks her dog more often and for longer periods of time.
• The person I want to be finds the time to read books. (The person I am right now reads textbooks quite often, magazines occasionally and spends entirely too much time flipping through flash cards.)
• The person I want to be makes less of a big deal over cold weather.
• The person I want to be eats more foods that start out raw and get cooked in my kitchen.
• The person I want to be regularly posts to her blog and to Twitter.

So far, I'm off to a good start on that last one. ;)

tumblr tuesday. freak-me-out edition.

Yes, there is something about each one of these images that just totally freaks me out.

1. The foggy early morning light, the abandoned picnic table, and those owls. Ooh, it just sent shivers down my spine.
2. The way that piercing bright light cuts through the darkness and the shadows.
3. How can something that gives off light be dark and foreboding?
4. Crumbling, abandoned old theater. The perfect setting for an off-Broadway staging of Phantom of the Opera.

You can freak out too here.

tumblr tuesday. retro edition.

When I was in college studying graphic design, I was obsessed with retro styled imagery like these pics I just posted on tumblr. I'm sure these won't be the only ones I ever post.

buy local.

I don't remember where I first heard about this idea, but I think it's great. The idea is that you support 3 locally owned independent businesses by spending $50 with each of them in one month's time. And you do that every month (if you can). It can be the same businesses every month or different ones. My husband and I prefer to dine out at local restaurants here in New Orleans – Parkway Bakery, Camellia Grill and Joey K's have been some of our favorites lately. I've also picked up a couple of great gifts at local shops such as Mignon, Agora and Magic Box Toys. Try it yourself in your own neighborhood. For more info, visit the 3/50 project's website.

tumblr tuesday. lonely edition.

I've collected quite a few images that feel lonely to me. I can't explain their appeal. I don't feel lonely. Maybe it's that many years ago, I would sometimes go all night without sleeping, and there's something about each one of these pictures that reminds me of the loneliness that comes in the middle of the night when the rest of the world is sleeping. (Full size images can be found here.)

tweet. tweet.

Maybe it's Twitter's influence over me – I find myself thinking birds are cuter than ever. I did a quick Etsy search for "birds" and found 1,000's of items. Here are six that really caught my eye:

1. 8 Notecards - Flavored Birds from SpawnStudio – I love the graphic simplicity of these guys.
2. Joel the Felted Chick from kitchentable46 – I mean seriously, how cute is he?
3. Atticus Finch is My Co-Pilot T-Shirt from inexplicableconfetti – I know this artist. He's a local New Orleanian. More to come on him and his t-shirt business.
4. three bird planters from catherinereece – Love the personalities of these and the other hand-drawn birds in #6.
5. Orange on Off White Blooming Blossom Rectangle Pillow from joom – Nice silhouettes.
6. Bird Stack II (Limited Edition Print) from barkingbirdart

enchanted.

The visuals in this commercial for a Samsung LED TV are just stunning. It's like a beautiful enchanted forest, and I think I should like to see a whole movie done in this style. It's a style befitting a modern take on Alice in Wonderland. Again, just stunning.

Watch the full commercial on YouTube.

tumblr tuesday. typography edition.

This week's additions to my image collection on tumblr are examples of my fascination with typography. Check 'em out here.

stay tuned.

I decided to join Facebook this evening. Good thing I took a nap this afternoon! Building a network of friends in the virtual world takes time. But I've already discovered the benefits of the whole Facebook thing – I saw some great photos of my college roommate's adorable daughter, so I think this is going to be worth it. Now I have to improve upon my own profile and remember to keep in touch with my friends.

layered looks.

Loving these layered looks over at Shade. Also love that at Shade, they pride themselves on their offering of modest clothing.

Cropped Jacket with Tie
Pleated-Peplum Jacket
Gold Button V-Neck Short Sleeve Cardigan

tumblr tuesday.

New pics added to my image collection on tumblr – nice brushwork, two spectra of colors, and a laugh. (Yes, spectra is the plural of spectrum.)

chic scents made totally affordable.

I am really excited to try the new fragrance collection from Glade. I tore an ad for the Sheer White Cotton fragrance out of a magazine, and it has been sitting on the ottoman near the chair I've been sitting in for the last hour. It smells fantastic – very fresh and clean. I always go for these types of fragrances, but after visiting the Glade website, I'm having trouble deciding which fragrance to try first. McIntosh Apple is definitely a top contender. I used to stockpile the Yankee Candle plug-ins in Macintosh Apple whenever I saw them at Linens-n-Things. At the better-than-reasonable prices I've found online, I can justify trying both. I don't have a printer set up here, so I haven't tried this yet, but here's a link to a $2.00 coupon. If I can get it to print tomorrow, I might try the Earthly Awakening too!

(scented reed diffusers and two sizes of soy based candles available in six different scents)

letterforms and logos.

I think a huge part of why I became a graphic designer is because of logos like these. The serendipitous discovery of a shape that can be one thing and another thing all at the same time – how clever! And when the two shapes are letterforms – even better! It takes a special eye to see things in a way that no other eye has ever seen them before.

via Siah Design – good collection of black and white logos
(I don't remember where I first saw the link. I've had it bookmarked for a while.)

tumblr.

I've got some new pics up at tumblr. Tumblr is another site people use for blogging. I'm using it as a library to store my collected images. Here's what I say in the intro to my tumblr page – "I find that a lot of images online strike my fancy. I would like to be able to see them whenever I want. Most of them either inspire me or bring a smile to my face. So I'm collecting them here in a sort of digital scrapbook. You're welcome to enjoy them too." So enjoy!

ahhh!

Just sunnin' on the back porch.
(caption by Godiva)

ann taylor loft – are you kidding with these prices?

A couple of sale prices at Ann Taylor Loft caused me to do a double-take this evening.
Check out these bargains:

Python Frame Clutch – $14.99!!
Ruffle Trim Crewneck Cardigan – $14.88!!
Gold Bamboo Hoop with Green Stone Earring – $9.99!!

holy hit!

My sister and her husband, along with two of their theatre friends, are the four in FourFront Theatre. This is their inaugural season, and so far, they've produced two fantastic shows – Gutenberg! The Musical and The History Boys. They're closing out the season with the Off-Broadway sensation Altar Boyz. Check out the tv commercial. I'm predicting a sell-out.



Don't you think their logo designer is super-talented? She must be really expensive. :)