Your Thoughts?

I'm asking you for your ideas.

You guys come from all over the world. What's interesting or cool where you live? Design. Architecture. Textiles. (You know what turns me on). Ceramics. Give me a nudge.

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Slowalker -- Photography + Writing of Chris Rorrer

I am loving the new blog written by Twitter pal Chris Rorrer (@rorrer) .


It's safe to say that I'm drawn to his photography and the way it makes me question where exactly he took the shots and from what odd angle. Some look like he was lying on his stomach. I feel quite upside-down.
Even without the wonderful photography I would return to this blog. Professionally Chris writes corporate stuff that would probably put me to sleep (sorry, old guy). But Slowalker is written in a quiet, beautifully cadenced style. There's some pretty serious stuff going on and since we are only Twitter friends I am not comfortable enough to inquire, but I appreciate that we all have -- for lack of a better word -- stuff going on in our lives. I can but wish to find such a honest and harmonious voice. Maybe I ought to leave this darn machine and go for a walk and recall what it is like to be untethered to technology.

Whereas I am content to say I make up stories in my own little way, here Chris puts the same thing into a coherent and charming paragraph:

"I’m in the hills today in the town of Independence, population 971 or so. Independence is beautiful, rolling country in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia; not an easy place to get to, and not many people would every have reason to try. I’m stuck on what a crisply narrative name that someone, a long time ago, bestowed upon this place. The rustic fairy tale in my head is no doubt more interesting (at least to me) than whatever bygone truth is connected to this thickly emotive place-name, but I don’t know the reality and I tend to make my way best through the world by imposing my own mythology on it anyway."

walk slowly, breathe deeply … Write on.

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Wes on Wednesday -- "Of All the People in All the World"

There is a performance art/exhibit opening this week at Wesleyan University in Middletown CT that uses piles of rice to depict human climate statistics.

As part of its Feet to the Fire program (which explores Global Climate Change from Science to Art) Wesleyan commissioned the Stan's Cafe team (UK) to produce a version of the work which will help humanize the issues of climate change. At the conclusion of the installation, the rice will be donated to local food banks. The photo above shows the number of people who purchased the Beatles "Can't Buy Me Love" on April 4, 1964 (its release date in the USA). The photos below are the amount of people who heard JFK (on the left) and Barack Obama (right) speak in Berlin. The The exhibit opens Friday, February 20 and only runs to Tuesday, March 3 at the Zilkha Gallery and Olin Library Lobby. The photos are from flickr. Confused? It's Wesleyan, don't fret.

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Pssst! Non-profits, do something we actually WANT TO DO

Great idea for struggling non-profits! The Jepson Center for the Arts gets creative!

The Jepson Center, the youngest member of the Telfair Museum of Art trio, offers yoga classes in its stunning galleries. How cool is that? And, it purports to incorporate "various aspects of the artwork on display." Imagine the Yale Art Gallery doing this. Naysayers would counter that the wood floors don't look enticing, but I disagree. It's not the floor that matters. Members get discounts, NFP gets members. Isn't this what it's about? Check it out here.

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Lost Found Arts -- via Remodelista

My favorite design blog is Remodelista. The women behind it have the best taste.

Yesterday I saw this post from Julie, one of the editors. It was on about a design company right here in CT and I was smitten. Lost Found Art makes art out of collections and sells unusual objects from the past. As an oddball collector myself I appreciate the how great commonplace things can look grouped. Like the graduated calipers shown above. Their stuff would be great in a show house or rented for films or magazine shoots.

I love the burnt spoon look. Easy to obtain.



My friend Don started collecting these old tractor seats like the ones from LFA shown below more than nearly 40 years ago. He has them along the balcony of his barn in Chester, CT.
Thanks Julie!

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Recently I found the work of these two young photographers. They could not be more different.

But I like both of their work. Adrien Broom is a fine art photographer who also does commercial work (fashion, weddings and music seem to be specialties). Two series on her website are particularly of interest to me. The first, Places Larger Than You, shows tiny sometimes lonely looking, but not sad figures and landscapes. Second, check out her Aquariums series. I love them. They are relaxing and transformative. The three portraits I've poster are of Adrien's sister. The one above shows Margot an interior designer looking the part. The two below are also Margot -- playfully dramatic.



Andrew Robert Todd, a recent graduate of Paier College of Art. His work was (is?) hanging in a local art cinema. I was impressed. I look forward to seeing more of his -- very affordable -- work. He embraces both traditional and digital techniques. His work is rooted in an interest in both science and art. You can view his work here. Here is a small selection of his work.

The State of Things

Still Life



Beneath the Surface (my fav)

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