Haunting Houses

Frank Relle creates the most memorable nightscapes by painting the houses with light and then taking long exposures. The eerie quality is beautiful, haunting, and emotional.

all photos via frankrelle.com

......BOO!

Best Camera

"The best camera is the one that's with you" -Chase Jarvis. I am eternally grateful {well so far its been a week but I know this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship} to Chase Jarvis, the brilliant photographer/creator behind the only iPhone app that I have ever purchased. It is well worth the $2.99 pricetag, and offers so much flexiblity in editing iPhone photos with a myriad of color filters, and other enhancements. Those of you who have been around here a while know that I love my D90, but the camera on the iPhone might be the only point-n-click that I will have for a while and it completely suits my needs! Enjoy the iPhone photos below, all augmented with Best Camera app to bring out their true potential!

You can keep up with my Best Camera log here. I highly recommend perusing the live uploads page {so inspiring!} and this community is possibly the best feature of the app.

Cartwheels

I was feeling lucky on Monday when my Pilates instructor decided not to cancel class even though there were only two of us. Well, after the handstand sequence and Capoeira moves topped off with a round of cartwheels, I am still feeling muscles I have never felt before. Those moves really are a great oblique workout!.. {and shoulders, and glutes, and forearms...}

Photo credit: My fellow LSU Interior Design classmate, Emily Wynn.

I think this is the last cartwheel I had performed prior to Monday's class, that's me in the back row. I love the positioning of our legs in this shot.

Flooring Re-dux

Since I have knitting on my mind, I would love to replace the flooring in our master bedroom with a landing of Patricia Urquiola's Mangas {translation: sleeves} at the foot of the bed. These beautiful woven wool rugs are inspired by patchwork knitted sweaters. I love the variety of surface textures, patterns, and colors!

images courtesy gan-rugs.com

The collection is a series of modules based on sleeve shapes from rectangular to short to bell {sizes range from 5' x 10' to 8' x 8'}.

Vote Early, Vote Often

If you live in Houston this is your last week to vote early for the mayoral election! Click here to see voting locations.

Voting Booth, Dade County, Florida, 2007. Courtesy of Andre Balazs, at The Embassy, Frieze week, London via Wallpaper.com

Halloween Lexicon

While I am trying to figure out what to pull from the costume bag for Saturday, I am getting in the spirit by reading The Daily Candy's Lexicon: Words That Don't Exist but Should from years past {Halloween Editions}, here are a few favorites:

count mackula
n. The dude who takes advantage of being in costume to hit on anyone and everyone.

costude
n. Air of superiority while wearing a really awesome costume. (Sure, putting rocks in her dress pockets and going as Virginia Woolf was genius, but we could do without the costude.)

boo-bies
n. The effect of constantly being startled by the number of revealing costumes surrounding you. (There’s so much cleavage in this room, I’m getting the boo-bies.)

monster mesh

n. The effect of too-tight fishnets.

Read them all online here and here.

Knitta Please

Magda Sayeg has been tagging for years, only her weapon of choice is not a can of spray paint, it is colorful and cozy knits. Starting in 2005 out of frustration with a plethora unfinished knitting projects, the crew began tagging odds and ends around Houston and every city she traveled. Now Knitta Please is producing large scale art installations from Australia to Mexico to New York City. Take a gander at the photos below from the newly live Knittaplease.com and become a fan on Facebook!

I still display the copy of Cite {Fall 2007} with the KnittaPlease cover on our magazine rack titled "Who Owns the Street?"... I for one am thankful that Knitta does.

Bad Habit

When I jump up to get going in the morning without fail this is the first sight I see...I have got to break this bad habit! Each night as I religiously tend to my teeth and face, I discard my jewelry and clothing in the most "convenient" places {read doorknobs and back of toilet} only to walk around picking up after myself the next morning.

What is your worst habit?

Marfa

Nothing can renew the spirit like good times with family and new friends. Our extended weekend trip to Marfa was the best yet! It had been four years since our last trek to this wonderful art community in West Texas.

March Fourth

Pardon the iPhone blurry night shots.

If you have been around me for any period of time, you know that I am a sucker for a marching band or a brass band {formed out of the marching band tradition}. I live all year for Mardi Gras when the St. Aug Marching 100 come parading down in front of me; I beg and plead for all of my Houstonian friends to come to see Rebirth Brass Band one more time; and if Soul Rebels are in town for New Years, I am there.

So last week when Will asked me if I wanted to head downtown to check out this marching band March Fourth from Portland, I jumped right on it. I can not even put into words the sights and scenes that we were able to behold on Saturday night! My mind was blown. Stilts, acrobatics, burlesque, puppets, pole dancing, it was amazing!!!

Check out this 10 minute bio from Tom D'Antoni via March Fourths MySpace page.

I was looking for clips from shows to post, but you have to be there to experience it. The clips do not come close to emanating the power of their perfomances. You should listen to some tracks online here and here.

If you are going to VooDoo Experience, DO NOT miss this act!!

"Don't go 'round artless!"

What better re-purpose for an old cigarette machine than to vend art!? The Art-o-mat project came about in Winston-Salem with the abundance of banned vintage cigarette vending machines. The goal of Artists in Cellophane is to make art a commodity of our daily lives. The Art-o-mat can be found in a gallery near you. {If not} Then the brand new Art-o-carton is for you, all you have to do is answer a 10 question survey and a carton of art will ship with hand picked art pieces based on your answers. I think this is a great gift idea!

I have yet to visit the Art-o-mat in Houston but while in Charleston I won this wonderful little piece of Weener Ware flair.

Art-o-cart and Artomat images via Art-o-mat.org

Shake it like a Polaroid picture...

My life is filled with memories of our Polaroid Camera {tattling on my brother for taking pictures of the plant cart, our rehearsal dinner, and most recently my birthday}. Next year instant film will finally be available again. The Impossible Project has leased an old Polaroid Factory in the Netherlands with the mission to relaunch instant film with a modern appeal that will work with vintage Polaroid cameras. The deadline is 2010: first they will release the modern black and white version, with color and Polaroid branded film to follow. The cooperation with Polaroid was announced yesterday. Urban Outfitters has also been a part of the collaboration, just one more reason I am glad to be a stock owner in the parent company of Anthropologie {If you know me, you know I love Anthro}. I can't wait until I no longer have to ration my film.

I don't know what I love more about Polaroid...the fact that you only get one shot or the ability to add instant commentary to the photos.

Wear your heart on your sleeve

There is nothing better than a comfortable t-shirt with a great graphic or message. Here are some of my recent favorites from Dirty Coast {WWOZ:Listen to Your City, and Yat: Dome Edition}, Threadless {I am ALT of CTR, and Exit}, and T-post {Spare a Square?, the wearable magazine: Make sure you check out the story in the link provided}.

all images copyright of respective websites.

For those of you who are not familiar with Dirty Coast, they make the BEST New Orleans t-shirts for those in the kNOw {read: N.O. as in New Orleans}. The shirts are designed for New Orleanians not tourists and all have an insider joke appeal. If you love New Orleans then you will love Dirty Coast. Check it out.

Art Box

I have decided to participate in the Annual Art Box Sale {10% of which benefits DePelchin Children's Center}. The Show, December 4th-31st at Bering and James, is great fun with all boxes priced at $125, there is so much to see from amateur to fine art pieces. At this price pieces are snatched up so quickly it is best to go to the Opening two day extravaganza on December 4th and 5th.

I picked up my 12" x 12" x 2" boxes today and need to get busy creating...

Five Years and counting...

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I love you!

Scrapper's Delight

I have been dying to go salvaging ever since Will surprised me with a red metal tool chest {crash cart} for all my art supplies. So we ventured out this weekend to look for other discarded gems. It was such a trip to walk around and peek in all the old shipping containers chock full of anything you can imagine. As soon as I saw these old safe-deposit boxes in all these great colors I knew I had to have them for all my fabric and tile samples. As we continued to venture around the rest of the lot we practiced our bartering skills but their first offer was so good we took it. The pictures below are of assorted items throughout the compound. I have titled the first one "hello dolly"...enjoy.

Man Shops Globe

Now this is my dream job: to travel six months of the year looking for inspirational pieces to sell at Anthropologie. At least I can live vicariously through Keith Johnson's new show on the Sundance Channel {premieres tomorrow 10.07.09 at 9pm CST}. Check out the clip below with graffitti artist Timothy Van de Loor painting a Louis XV bed, the result is a definite conversation piece!

I made it to Third!

Cruising the parking lot in third gear on our Stella....soon I will mix in a little traffic {grin}.

PS: Enjoy the bobblehead helmet.

The wait is over!

The Domino replacement everyone is looking for is Lonny. A brand new publication focusing on design for all {accessible to all budgets}. For now it is only available online. Check it out!

All images Copyright of Lonny Magazine