antropophagie

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-03T03:35:00.001-08:00

falling in love again...

2011-07-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

image source - the beautiful world wide web :)

botanical

2011-07-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

getting inspiration from the intricate lines and delicate shapes of plants - just some pictures I took around the house :)

House of Quirky

2011-07-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

hello hello, such a long time since I've last posted in here, I know, but I have a good reason, I've been busy doing this : http://house-of-quirky.blogspot.com/ - delightful polymer clay jewellery, lovingly hand-made by ME :) I've also been to my first craft fair and sold some of these beauties. If you wanna own one as well contact me on my email vagabond.sister@gmail.com.

Have a look, tell me what you think! House of Quirky delights :D

oxford

2011-05-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

things that caught my eye on a day trip to Oxford...

screeeeam

2011-05-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

OK, I know it's a bit dark but I was feeling down today so I made this - now I feel better :D
I thought about it last night when my eyes felt so heavy and my brain was hyperactive, buzzing with plans and fears...

to resolve into elementary particles

2011-05-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

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Breaking down the colours of the red/blue harbour theme(my new obsession) - I took these pictures yesterday - I love the organic, odd but beautiful feel of these colourful convoluted membranes... Can you guess what they are?

seaside fairytale

2011-05-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from my holiday... this is a magical place St Michael's Mount - Marazion, Cornwall

You can feel the energy of the place, the history... it's the perfect setting for fairytales with maidens looking out the tower's window, waiting for their prince to appear on the horizon, midnight plots and defenestrations (I always liked this word :P)

dreams can come true - free wallpaper

2011-04-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

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Today I woke up and put together a mighty to do list with important stuff.
So... here's what I've done instead...This and watching lots of CSI, of course :D
And I decided to upload it large size as a free wallpaper just for you guys, enjoy! click on the picture then right click+Same image as
It's about dreams becoming reality...at least in Photoshop, hehe

Drop Dead Gorgeous by Daniela Edburg

2011-03-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Death by Oreos

For anyone who has eaten the whole box, or bag, or carton the photographs in this series make light of our secret binges. Here, the consequences of indulgence are tabloid or monster movie deaths. Daniela Edburg’s Drop Dead Gorgeous both mocks and satisfies our cravings. via

Death by Bananas

Feeling guilty? he he I know I do...

norwegian wood

2011-03-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

I am re-reading the book now - it find it so beautiful and haunting, I don't know if it is because I connect with it on a very personal level, but anyway I think of Murakami as a contemporary demi-god... this is the trailer for the film, it's being released this march in UK but I must say I have such mixed-feelings about seeing it - cause I have such a clear image in my head about the characters and I don't want to spoil it, but on the other hand I know the director worked closely with Murakami and just seeing the trailer made me tingle...

the mad ones

2011-03-16T05:52:00.000-07:00

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh..."

jack kerouac - on the road

forget everything you knew about dolls

2011-02-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

I absolutely love this video, found via Inspiration Across the Ocean... I always thought there's something a little bit creepy about dolls.
And... I kind of saved the best for last, 'cause today by total coincidence -there seems to be a doll theme today- I came across this other website - Enchanted Doll, via my bestest of friends over at Humbaya. I spend hours browsing through all the pictures of these truly enchanted dolls...Please do the same, they're amazing, you'll love them especially if you enjoy a little bit of twisted/fetish details :P

Cinderella

Twin suns of Tatooine

2011-02-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

Here's my new fantastic find: Jeremy Messersmith... and here's one of his songs, called Tatooine, with a great video from animator/filmmaker Eric Power . The song talks about this planet...

'There's room up there for second chances
Singles are fine but doubles are fantastic
I'd like to think that there's a star for me and you
Spinning round, falling for one another'

Check up both artists' websites. Eric Power does some beautiful paper animations and Jeremy has more great great songs and videos that you can download on a very friendly pay-whatever-you-want policy. Sweeeet!

To the sea...

2011-01-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Every new transition in my life is usually marked by a change of my desktop wallpaper. And this is only achieved after an extensive search for the one that perfectly matches my current state of mind...
Anyway during this two day search I came across a picture from Dungeness and it really intrigued me so I looked for more. I love these kind of quirky little places, a place where you'd like to get away from it all...well I would :D
Dungeness is more of a scattered collection of dwellings than a village and the area is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. You can also find there two nuclear power stations, the world's smallest public railway and an unique ecological site.
I still haven't decided on a new wallpaper... but meanwhile I wanted to write about this place 'cause it's small and seemingly unimportant but it has some really cool stuff - just like me :D

sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

more pics here

what I tell myself everyday...

2011-01-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

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Hello everybody this is the first post this year - I'm back and I'm better faster stronger than ever before :P

I have a few New Year's resolutions which I hope I will manage to stick to, but I'm not convinced I will so I won't write anything down to tell the world. But anyway, I do hope I will write more often here and make this blog what I always wanted it to be...

Meanwhile, listen to these guys, and if you're not doing it already:
stop chasing shadows, just enjoy the ride!
stop chasing shadows, just enjoy the ride!
stop chasing shadows, just enjoy the ride!

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the world and you tonight

2010-12-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

sources: flickr , apartment therapy , David Kozlowski , fric and frac

killola

2010-12-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Killola is three boys and one girl, making rock music out of Los Angeles, California. The band’s style of garage pop (often described as ‘Blondie for the 21st Century’) has received more than 1.5 million MySpace plays from over 80,000 friends.
Oh, and their latest album is available for free download. Viva la independencia!

via Lost at E Minor

belinda eaton

2010-12-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

'A world of colour, vivid characters, swirling spaces, uncontained energy that can’t be trapped by the limits of the canvas, images constantly on the move, living life, dancing, drinking, and eating.'

I love the imagery of Belinda Eaton's work: women with strong facial features, tattoos, contemporary fashion and vintage patterns, flowers and insects, oriental elements, and all sorts of bits and pieces reflecting her world traveler existence. She's a British artist born in the Sixties in Mombasa, Kenya. She lived in London, New York, France, Karachi, Barcelona and is currently living and painting between England and Andalucia, Spain.

Giclee prints and postcards available for sale on her website.

And I have a special interest for creative spaces, I think they give such a rich insight into the artistic process - so here's a picture of her studio :D

belle du jour

2010-11-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

Luis Bunuel's favourite theme - the dichotomy of elegance and depravity, Yves Saint Laurent fashion and sexual exploration of repressed desires in the 60's.

I want to ride my bicycle...

2010-11-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

source tumblr, flickr

it should be simple...

2010-11-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

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Colour. Joy. Romanian traditional motifs

2010-11-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm growing a deep interest in traditional patterns and motifs... I guess it's 'cause of that hippie part of me that's always longing for a back to basics kind of lifestyle :) Anyway... today I found around the house a traditional Romanian tablecloth that we received as a gift (cause you only find them in gift shops nowadays, don't imagine that's what people use every day :P) and I thought I'd explore this theme.
I don't know if being far from home makes me rediscover my own national values or it's just the fact that folk patterns are in fashion right now - probably a little bit of both :P
Actually this kind of traditional Romanian blouse is quite an original design and it served as inspiration for some contemporary collections from YSL, Anna Sui, Emilio Pucci - you can see them here
And last summer if you were a really really hip person in Bucharest you would have definitely had one! :P

And I was happy to find out about this website www.romanianmuseum.com which is not the greatest website in the world but has lots of pictures like the ones up here - there are traditional costumes from different regions (I wouldn't be able to recognize from where's each one). It's very funny to imagine a time when everybody dressed like this. Now they're only occasionally used for festivals or celebrations.

I found these pictures on this website http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaPortul/ that is very well documented (and it's in English if anyone's interested).
These costumes are hand embroidered and there are few people that still make them- especially the leather jackets and vests. There aren't many young people who wish to get trained to carry on this craft, it requires a lot of patience and great skills.
I used to love going to traditional craft fairs. I love the colours and the geometrical motifs. I would like to integrate this kind of pieces in a contemporary design. I like this kind of mix: rugs, throws, pillows in a contemporary interior... traditional embroidery in a cool outfit...I'm thinking of using these motifs in some way...I don't know how yet... but I'll let you know when I do :D

picture sources here here here and here

broken dolls

2010-11-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

our lost innocence...

cool creepy designs for your Haloween delight

2010-10-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

by Marq Spusta

'Necromancer' by Florian Bertmer

'The Hart of Valhalla' by Godmachine

'Redrum' by Michele Boscagli

'Oscarvorus Grouchamaximus' by Rhys Cooper

Zombie Art Show in Los Angeles

'Poltergeist' by Ken Taylor

victorian naturalist

2010-10-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

I love old Victorian illustrations...their attention to details... And they always make me think about adventurous explorers discovering new species! Such wonderful times...now it seems there's not much left to discover.... :P

And while searching for these illustrations I found this wonderful shop - stellanova jewelry - inspired by the etchings of Victorian naturalists. Enjoy!

Marion Cotillard is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

2010-10-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

She is such a great mix of strength and vulnerability...she's so beautiful and she's French! who could ask for more? :D
She's the best thing about the whole 'Nine' movie. I love this song.
And I can't talk about Marion Cotillard without thinking of my favourite Oscar moment, and if this doesn't move you, I don't know what will. Here's the link:

Marion Cotillard winning Best Actress for 'La Vie En Rose'

*****

Rainy day (Love England - part II)

2010-10-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I enjoy walking in the rain... Today I found red bricks, Tudor beams and autumn leaves... :)

polaroid coasters :)

2010-10-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

Love Polaroids? These ceramic coasters feature fun original photographs by the designer, shot with an analog camera.
Instrustions for use : 'Leave it scattered around the table for instant happiness!' :)
you can find them here ($10)

paint splatter and brush strokes - tattoos !?

2010-10-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Tattoos by Amanda Wachob - 'she has been pushing the boundaries of the tattoo medium in order to blur the line between fine art and body art'
I can't really decide if I like them or not... I mean I think her technique is amazing but it still looks like you've just got out of a Jackson Pollock painting session :)

scandinavian knitwear

2010-10-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm loving the Arne & Carlos knitwear inspired by traditional Scandinavian patterns. I imagine myself wearing them in a mountain cabin in Norway, reading in front of the fireplace...

I love devendra banhart

2010-10-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

My latest crush - Devendra Banhart

I love his music, I've been listening while drawing for the last two days... I find it very inspiring :)

I have a thing for men with long hair and his is just perfect! I love his style and his artwork... he's got it all :D

Listen to his albums on his website here

СЛЕВА НАПРАВ (Left to right)

2010-10-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Russian animation from Ivan Maximov - "From Left to Right", 1989. Nightmarish visions of a hungry puppy.

IKEA&cats

2010-10-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

I always love it when two things that I really love come together - like when I found out that Lenard Cohen and Janis Joplin had an affair :D

IKEA UK recently let loose 100 cats in their Wembley store overnight “just to see what happens”.
I would have loved to be there! Anybody who has ever owned a cat for more than 5 minutes knows how they love to investigate every little corner, to climb to the highest piece of furniture and declare autonomy on the comfiest spot in the room!

I heard about this experiment a few weeks ago and today I was looking on the IKEA website and I found this game that you can play and win IKEA furniture by guessing which piece the cats chose!

More details and delightful images with kitties nosing around in this video:

I love the slow motion with the cat landing on the glass table!! :D

thought of the day: playful

2010-09-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

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killer's photos

2010-09-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

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These are some pretty pictures from the 70's. But you loook at them differently when you know that these are also some photos out of of dozens found in a storage locker rented by serial killer Rodney Alcala. Police thinks that some of the people in the photos might be possible victims and are asking for public help in identifying them.

Incarcerated in 1979, Alcala has been convicted for 5 murders but is suspected for many more. He used to ask women to pose for him, passing as a fashion photographer.

I've always been interested in serial killers... it's a subject that captivates me and scares me at the same time. Seeing these photos is a little bit disturbing both because it makes the killer appear more human and artistically engaged and because I might be looking at portraits of women smiling just before they were brutally murdered. And even for those that weren't, it's still frightening to have been happily unaware so close to such a deeply disturbed individual.

These pictures offer an interesting but unnerving view from behind the camera of what the serial killer was looking for at that time...

See all photos in the Seattle Times here

via don't panic

mad hatter tea party

2010-09-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

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Feelin' a bit melancholic today... Mad Hatter is my best friend.

I miss our mad tea parties...

I miss our home...

I miss being kids...

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breathe

2010-09-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

hey guys... hope you have a nice weekend! I'm spending a few days in Manchester, having a nice time! :D

here are some of my tumblr favourites sending out my weekend message to the world:

breathe, relax, enjoy life!

animalz

2010-09-15T15:50:00.001-07:00

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I like them.

I apologize I really don't know the sources of these photos... I found them in different corners of my computer and just thought they will look nice together :D )

Love England - part I

2010-09-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

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I feel like me moving to England didn't really show on my blog so here's some bits and pieces that I love about it. These are some photos that I took at Arley Hall, Gawsworth Hall and Adlington Hall. Red bricks, rambling roses and green green grass...

and now...ladies and gentleman...

2010-09-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

I love the song... love the video... love Patricia Kaas...

I discovered this video by accident and was really surprised that she starred in a film. I had to see it.
'And now...ladies and gentleman' (2002) is a beautiful artistic work, tied together by Patricia Kaas's jazzy vocals. It's a story of life and romance, of two people crossing their paths at a moment in time that only European cinema can bring.
The magic of this film is in the intimate atmosphere generated by the gradual discovery of two somewhat lost individuals which is brilliantly supported by the nightclub jazz and Patricia's languid voice. A must have soundtrack!

away and back

2010-09-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

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Hey guys... Vagabond sister's been away for a few days, taking her vagabond ways to the mesmerizing Dubai... where everything is so new and big and shiny... I felt the need to compensate with these vintage inspired photos :)
I love traveling and I'm already dreaming about the next time I'm gonna jump in the plane for a new destination!

pics sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

only by the night

2010-09-06T13:20:00.001-07:00

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These photos have such a late at night in the city atmosphere... I miss that...

They look like a perfect setting for a scene from Haruki Murakami's novels. :)

Photography by justin lim

back to the '60s - swinging london

2010-09-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

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If anybody ever builds a time machine available to the public my first trip would have to be to the 60's. I've always been fascinated with this period. The late 60's exploded into a wild fashion frenzy and cultural awakening. There was a young generation who had something to say.

Swinging London was the term used to describe the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.

It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasized the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the British economy after post-World War II austerity which lasted through much of the 1950s.

The Kings Road in Chelsea became one of the main clothes centres of Sixties London, following the success of a small lane behind Regent Street near Oxford Circus, called Carnaby Street.
These were the fashion shrines of British youth in the early to mid Sixties. By 1965 Carnaby Street had become the mecca for boutiques, with all the latest clothes for the dedicated fashion followers of 'Swinging London'.

An article in the New York Times in May 1966 described Britain (i.e. London's King's Road to Soho area) as 'the new Sodom and Gomorrah'.

This is where Mary Quant opened her Bazaar boutique and sold the legendary mini skirt.

The model Twiggy with the famous A line dress

Jean Shrimpton was called 'the face of the 60's'

And of course there was the music... The British Invasion, the pirate radios...
There's no need for words to describe the 60's music scene... I only want to mention the film - the pirate radio/ the boat that rocked - which would give you a very good feeling of those times

And I kind of saved the best for last. Cause as much as I love these black and white photos, the 60's were all about vibrant colours and I am so happy that I found this video... you really must watch it! It gives such a genuine feeling of the swinging London and the fashion scene, presented with a typical English humor.

I still have loads of 60's music and fashion in my computer... there are so many aspects of that time I'm in love with...I could probably write the longest blog post ever!

Thanks for taking a trip back in time with me ! :P

say the word

2010-09-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

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It's so beautiful when people are so in love they want the whole world to know... and it's all they think about and want to write it on walls if possible.
I gathered these pics from all around the internet... it's such a wonderful thing when you find people from all over the world and all different backgrounds having the same idea. It just comes natural and shows that we're human and we're working the same way - like thinking about love and photographing the word :)
Anyway... these pics have a happy vibe and I think we need all the positive thoughts we can get!

FUR

2010-09-03T10:03:00.001-07:00

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I was cleaning my computer and I found these photos I took a while ago. I don't know if at the time I was inspired by it but they sure remind me of the film FUR, an imaginary portrait of Diane Arbus.

Nicole Kidman stars as legendary photographer Diane Arbus. Set in New York in the late 1950s, the film explores an unlikely romance that leads Arbus into a strange new world, that triggers her evolution into one of the most provocative and visionary photographers of all time.

I like her attraction to strange things that make one feel uneasy.
My Fur pics...make me think of taxidermy, extreme animal protection activists, stuffed animals, the spaceship of Barbarella...

thought of the day: empty

2010-09-02T03:36:00.001-07:00

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source

prisms

2010-09-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

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Light is magic
Today was such a bright day... I was out in the garden and the light refracting through my glass of water reminded me of this project I've seen on dezeen. It's called Rainbow Church by Tokujin Yoshioka.

I want to lay down on that floor surrounded by bright light and rainbows and listen to Pink Floyd's 'dark side of the moon'. Because I cannot ever see a prism without thinking of the world's greatest album cover. And yes, I'm a huge Pink Floyd fan.

Breathe, breathe in the air
Don't be afraid to care
Leave but don't leave me
Look around and chose your own ground
For long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be
Run, run rabbit run
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one
For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race toward an early grave.

a day at the beach

2010-09-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

It's been warm here in England the last few days but not nearly as a propper summer day back in Romania... I can only dream of hot days and pretty swimsuits...
If you fancy the charm of retro beach pictures, take a look at this flickr group, it has a lovely vintage summer holiday feeling that will definitely make you smile .

sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

surreally extravagant - gala & dali

2010-08-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

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I love these photos of them... make me think of the crazy '20s and the wildly beautiful coasts of Spain! Their romance was most unusual... only natural for such extraordinary individuals. There's no need for words about Dali and Gala, she was the perfect muse. She had a sensitivity for art and possessed an intellectual and physical beauty that didn't inspire just Dali... she was part of the surrealist group, most of which were in love with her.
It must be great to have a bunch of artists writing about you, painting your picture...
They seem like they had fun... which is what is all about, isn't it?

35mm

2010-08-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

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beautiful photography by sylvain-emmanuel

folie a deux

2010-08-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

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'I run away from reality. I always did...' he said to me.
I ran away from him last summer. I traded one illusion for another. Just a different sort of fairytale. When the magic faded I ran away again... Wanting to finally figure things out and 'get real'.
Why do we feel more alive when we're chasing a dream?

'Maybe it is crazy. But if we're in it together and we're happy, what else do we need?' he said to me.
I surrendered and we went to get ice-cream. The best ice-cream place in town. The menu was so long it could have given you a good read for days. So we smiled and just asked the waitress to recommend us something. She observed for two seconds our love-soaked gazes and she showed us page 36 in the menu, a feast of tropical flavours, an exquisitely baroque icy dessert called 'Folie a deux' !

Folie à deux (English pronunciation: /fɒˈli ə ˈduː/, from the French for "a madness shared by two") is a rare psychiatric syndrome in which symptoms of a delusional belief are transmitted from one individual to another, two people "morbidly predisposed" to delusional psychosis mutually trigger symptoms in each other.

But maybe falling in love is in a way a delusion shared by two.
Just like many other illusions we need to keep us going. We all like to escape reality, even for a little time, in books or films or peculiar hobbies. For some is just for fun, for others it's a necessity. I suppose the key is to balance fantasy and reality in a way that none overtakes the other.

Heavenly creatures is a film set in the 50's about two girls with an intense fantasy life, following a true story.

The film is very good at building the characters and truly makes you understand their justification for their acts. It is about escaping reality in a fantasy world in which they start believing so much that they would do anything to protect it.

pics source

10 current obsessions

2010-08-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

1. Odd self portraits

Yes... I did quite a few actually. I have a whole series in mind... I'm not self obsessed, I swear...it's just that late at night when I usually start drawing I have no other model :P

2. Serial killers

This one is an evergreen obsession of mine, reignited by a visit to Oxford where I got a new book with rare pictures... I'm a walking encyclopedia when it comes to serial killers. I still don't know if that's good or bad...

3. English country houses

I can't get enough of them... I never miss a chance to visit one...and I just got a new book about English architectural styles to keep me going :) pic source

4. Victorian dolls

This one started by looking through a book for collectors in a charity shop. I am fascinated with all the details and period clothing. I made some drawings, maybe I'll post them later... pic source

5. Circus

And by that I mean daring acts, life on the road, freak shows, burlesque costumes... the whole atmosphere... like in the 'Imaginarium of doctor Parnassus' - pic source

6. Rose incense sticks

I'd like this smell to soak into every inch of my room... pic source

7. Sunflowers

I had a bouquet in my room for a few days and I started to understand Van Gogh 's series - pic source

8. Weird animals

I love to watch documentaries about rare or unusual animals... I love knowing lots of peculiar details about them :D

9. Puzzles

Me and my sister bought 5 only in the last month... and I've got a new puzzle mat too! This is what I've been doing all day today actually :D pic source

10. Baggy jeans

Yeah, well... they're just comfortable! But I hope I'm gonna get over this one pretty soon... pic source

So this is pretty much what keeps me busy all day, or the things I want to get back to all the time. I somewhat hope that posting them here is gonna have some sort of cathartic effect... Do you have any current sticky obsession, something you can't seem to get enough of?

je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais...

2010-08-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

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I'm looking forward to seeing this film - 'Serge Gainsbourg (vie heroique)'. His music is legendary and so is his wild lifestyle. I want to get swept away for two hours in the world of this french controversial genius with a drinking problem and gorgeous lovers... great music and great style... sounds promising. I am always interested in biographies of artists...

His music was always progressive and raised questions with its often double meanings and sexual content. He even got some death threats and the Vatican cited his song 'je t'aime...moi non plus' as offensive.

Considered one of the ugliest men in French music, he had some of the most beautiful women of the time : Brigitte Bardot, Juliette Greco, Jane Birkin. And his unusual features inspired this blog Draw Serge! which is a place where lots of illustrators, more or less famous, post portraits of the great Gainsbourg. Have a go at your own version of Serge!

and I leave you with one of my favourite songs from him...

red and green

2010-08-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

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I can never seem to get enough of this colour combination... it's so fresh and lively!

pic sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

it's not what it seems

2010-08-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

CHOP CUP from :weareom: on Vimeo.

I had to post this...it's the product of :weareom: a London/Bucharest based group, part of which is the same richard hardy from the earlier post 'transcendent city'. I like things that play with your mind a little bit. I'm sure you'll enjoy it... watch that ball!!!

vincenzo rizzo

2010-08-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

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I love the work of artist Vincenzo Rizzo. Check out his etsy shop, for more of these cool and pretty inexpensive prints.

The transcendent city by Richard Hardy

2010-08-20T04:25:00.000-07:00

THE TRANSCENDENT CITY from Richard Hardy on Vimeo.

Bartlett School of Architecture graduate Richard Hardy presented this short film for his master graduation. It is his vision of a future-city wich is artificially intelligent and self sustainable. This video together with his thesis talks about artificial intelligence as a necessity for human evolution. The graphics are amazing, reminds me a little bit of Machinarium.

I see this video is an elegy. I know the idea of sustainability and ground breaking technology are positive values in nowadays society but for me this perspective is just sad. The idea that nanotechnology will surpass the human intelligence makes our existence as a race pointless which is of course frightening.

...and maybe I'm a hopeless romantic, and after my recent post about hippie houses, I think you understand my nostalgic approach to nature.

In any case... this is a beautiful powerful video that raises questions and it is worth watching even if you're not interested in all the futuristic-sustainable mumbo-jumbo.

Hardy's words:
'The concept of a future sustainable city is developed for a society that is currently not responding effectively to environmental dangers. “Transcendence” in this case referring to a point when artificial intelligence has reached or surpassed that of the human.The Transcendent City is an autonomous artificial machine that extends across the earth adapting to the natural eco-systems it encounters while deriving its energy from the renewable resources available at each particular site.'

jane morris - the muse

2010-08-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a short path to get famous maybe you never considered this, but hear me out: do you have no special talent, nothing you're brilliant at? do you have some unusual features that make you not beautiful but not ugly, just...interesting...well then you've got the basics for being a muse.
next step - find yourself an artist.
then get noticed through a bold act, something that will rock his world. after that all you need to do is act mysterious and play a game of love, deceit, jealousy and longing, maybe marry his best friend and you'll most probably get featured in his work.

At least that's how it looks like from a quick overview of the world's notorious muses.
'cause you've got to learn from the best!
From Dante's Beatrice to Gala and Yoko Ono there's nothing like an impossible women to get the creative juices flowing.

OK...now enough joking... I am truly fascinated by these women that inspired such great works of art sometimes for years and years and sometimes not just one artist. I am not going to lie...of course I like to picture myself as one. But who wouldn't?

Maybe there's no such thing as a muse, just the genius of the artist in love 'transforming' the image of his beloved. 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' kind of thing.
But out of all the famous muses there is one that makes me stop being so sarcastic.

A study for 'Vision of Fiammetta', Dante Gabriel-Rossetti

I have an old time obsession with pre-raphaelite painting. An obsession that was reignited by recently seeing lots of the originals in museums here in England.
The idea of this post came to me after staring for hours and hours at paintings of Jane Burden, later Jane Morris, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Yes, I have a confession to make: as weird as it sounds, I have a crush on Jane Morris. More specifically on Rossetti's idealised image of her.

'The roseleaf', Dante Gabriel-Rossetti

I love her sky blue eyes, her full lips, her flaming hair... I feel shivers down my spine every time I see a painting of her. And I don't know how much of this I owe to the real Jane and how much to the genius of Rossetti. The relation between the painter, the muse and the painting is a fascinating and dynamic one. The muse does her magic on the painter and then he transfers his vision onto the painting. But from the moment the art-piece gets a life of it's own it starts transforming both the painter and the muse. I am curious what Jane thought of the portraits because in viewing actual photographs of Jane, it is obvious that Rossetti glamourised her a great deal. But she was a quiet, enigmatic person and her mystery lives on as the differences between the real jane and the ideal jane got blurred.

‘My most representative recollection of Rossetti is of his sitting beside Mrs. Morris, who looked as if she had stepped out of any one of his pictures, both wrapped in a motionless silence as of a world where they would have no need of words. And silence, however poetically golden, was a sin in a poet whose voice in speech was so musical as his – hers I am sure I never heard.’
R.E. Francillon, Mid-Victorian Memories

She was the daughter of an Oxford stableman, living in poverty when she was asked to model for Edward Burne-Jones, Rossetti and Morri s. By all accounts, Jane was probably in love with Rossetti from the beginning, but he was already married. So Jane found herself engaged and eventually married to William Morris. After that she was private schooled and she became proficient in French and Italian, an accomplished pianist and extremely refined.

She continued to model for Rossetti and there are more than 20 famous paintings of her and numerous sketches so...I can only imagine the infatuation and magnetism that makes an artist paint the same woman over and over again. He painted her repeatedly until his death. And but for his paintings, Jane Burden Morris would be unknown to us. On the other hand one would say that without Jane Morris there wouldn't be the paintings that made Rossetti famous. :)
I'll have to think about this muse thing some more...

paintings source here
photos of Jane Morris here

sister power - celebration time

2010-08-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

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this is for my AAA* sister!!!

hippie houses

2010-08-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

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After years of living in a crowded, full of concrete city like Bucharest, I am fully enjoying the benefits of English countryside. In my walks along the canal here in the village where I currently live, I see endless green fields, sunny meadows, slow narrowboats, lots of birds and blackberries... it's just very peaceful and 'back to basics' kind of feeling.
And there's this place I pass by where you can see in the distance a shabby shack that in my imagination is actually that kind of self-sufficient green house belonging to some hippie guy (preferably an artist with long hair that makes lots of money from occasionally selling some of his work :D)...
I never actually look at it very carefully cause I don't want to spoil my vision. In my head looks something like this picture up here (which is actually from NZ and available for rent here)

anyway... I always had these dreams of escaping the city and living outside social conventions in a house like this. And there are some hippie communities that still live on today. Maybe one of the most well known example is Christiania which is a surreal, semi-autonomous, rebel neighbourhood of Copenhagen. I'm not gonna go into details here, in short Cristiania began in 1971 as an occupation of disused army barracks in the south of the city and has continued for over 30 years as a sort of utopian social experiment. It is currently in demise and you can read more about it here and here.

What I am interested in here is the houses themselves... I love this form of wild, freeform architecture that in its ways of meeting the climate demands with limited resources, the use of light, is actually very functional and closer to the modernist architecture than to vernacular. I love their use of wood and textiles and the way the interiors are full of coarse but pleasing textures, the architecturally bold beams and trusses and the sense that the trees outside are part of the room. These houses represent boldness, creativity, freedom.

There were more of these communities throughout the world... many of them faced lots of problems with the authorities for planning issues. I also found this article about one in wales that successfully won this battle and I love both the interior and the exterior of this house from their village.

And if you got up to this point of this long post I'd like to recommend a film.
The ballad of Jack and Rose is great film about a father and daughter living isolated on an island off the East Coast, US, in a once thriving commune grapple, starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
He lived his life motivated by environmentalism and altruistic ideals and the film analyzes the effect of his beliefs on himself and his daughter, and the difference between his world and the modern day 'invaders'.

I liked this film...cause I'm a film freak, however some people might find the film pace a little sluggish. But for film lovers this is a masterpiece on the disillusionment of the idealism born out of the 1960's anti-war movement and an unusual coming of age story.

OK...hope I managed to transfer some of my infatuation with hippie houses and ideals...

serendipity

2010-08-17T09:49:00.001-07:00

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photography by matt stuart. I don't know if he is either very lucky or just very attentive, capturing the perfect moment :) but all his work is like that, so I suppose he's always looking for the fortunate coincidences around him which make his photos funny and add a whole new meaning.

Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny

2010-08-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

I can't decide what I like more about these beautiful short films: the invented words, the vintage inspired graphics, the music, joseph gordon-levitt's acting... 'just let the words wash over you until you begin to make sense' (NYmag). I'm sure you're gonna enjoy it!

'Her headfront was polypainted with fauxface; lips cherried to the max, see-globe hairs enplussed to twin the limbs of arachnomonsters.'

“Oh tragedous, wronghap! woed Destiny. “What uber-humalian, what alphaknight will revicinitate my flitulous fluff-friend?”

These videos are the products of hitRECord. now, it took me a while to understand what hitRECord is and I think these videos make the best explanation. it is a project started by joseph gordon-levitt about five years ago and it's basically a place where creative individuals develop art and media by collaborating in different projects. these videos are the remixed result of many contributors and the first one was featured at sundance film festival.

gordon levitt's words about the film's story here

so if you feel inspired and want to be part of something like this there are a few ongoing projects that you could join (hitRECord collaborate), or even come with your own idea and find others willing to collaborate. i think this is a wonderful way to be part of an artistic community and who knows...maybe your project gets as successful as this one here.

relax, have a nice weekend!

2010-08-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

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photo source

behind masks

2010-08-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

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this is about masks...masks that we wear every day... hiding behind images that we project in trying to meet other people's expectations, or even our own. this is about smiling when you're dying on the inside, about saying 'yes, sure' when all you wanna do is run the other way as fast as you can. you all know what is like, don't you?

corset - it holds the figure erect

2010-08-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

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Now when I say I would've liked to be a Victorian lady I certainly don't mean I would've liked to be strapped with tight lacing and stiff corsets. I just want the part with the country house, tea in the rose garden and going to balls. But I guess every era has its beauty ideals and its women desperate to match them. And the romance of the corset lingers on... thanks god for lycra, hehe...
'cause hey, admit it...there is a little fetishist inside of you that kind of likes this...

pics 1,3,5,6 from lalacorsets.com - where you can learn more about the history of corsets and even buy some :)

yeah, you're the king baby...

2010-08-11T15:13:00.000-07:00

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I've just found this picture of johnny depp and I think it's one of his best... delicious!
:P

lessons in love - words of wisdom from vintage comics

2010-08-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

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these guys really knew a woman's place :P

anyway... i really love the style of these vintage comics - all the pretty girls with their perfect lips...
if you enjoy these as much as I do, you'll have a blast reading this blog - Comically Vintage
you'll find a team of sarcastic guys who take images from comic books out of their context adding some really funny words. they call themselves paleocomicologists :)
I've selected these about love but there are all sort of stuff there. Have fun!

paris pastel

2010-08-10T16:45:00.001-07:00

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dreamy and inspirational pastel colors

source weheartit

the sweet escape

2010-08-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

via my-ear-trumpet

introspection

2010-08-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

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I like seeing the small dark grains of coffee dirtying the white white sugar when I use the same teaspoon to make coffee. Coffee makes me hyperactive and my hands shake. I lick the teaspoon then I put it back in the drawer. I like to pour the milk; it goes down in the mug, hits the bottom and comes back to the surface, changing the colour. I like to take mental pictures of the fast changing shapes and different shades that appear until it blends in a homogeneous mass. I like the scars on my body. I am terrified by the white, immaculate paper.

I like things queer and questionable.

girl power :D

2010-08-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

first of all let me express my full disapproval of any kind of girls gatherings...I mean unless they're lesbians nothing interesting really happens...if you're stuck with a bunch of nice good girls you just end up listening to endless conversations about cats, the best moisturizer, and romance movies...
I have no idea how girls in girl bands get along ...I always thought to much estrogen leads to hysterical arguments ...

Having said that... I must admit there are some exceptions to my general opinion, so let me introduce you to some of my favourite all-girl songs:

littlest birds have the prettiest songs...The be Good Tanyas

'well it's times like this i feel so small and wild
like the ramblin' footsteps of a wanderin' child'

maria taylor - time lapse lifeline - the video is really nice :D

'Oh we dreamed a life
It was just like that, was like that
And just like that, and just like that it's done'

ok..the next one here is a bit of a guilty pleasure.... I think I like it mostly because of the video and the sexy pin-up style lingerie... but it's a nice song :P
the saturdays - I just can't get enough

Nanook Of The North

2010-08-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

I've always been fascinated by Eskimos...I still find it hard to imagine people actually live around the North Pole. When I was little I had a book about a little Eskimo boy called Ivik...it was time for him to kill his first seal...he was exactly my age and I remember thinking how lucky I was I didn't have to do the same!

I hate winter and cold...but I still think sometimes I would like to go there...in some research expedition. The fascination comes from the idea of a completely different world, closer to the realm of fantasy than to your average travel wish...

I would like to meet an Eskimo

Today i came across what seems to be the first documentary ever made...Robert Flaherty's look at a vanishing way of life among the Eskimos - 1921
Aaaah...The beautiful crazy effervescent years when the developments in technology like film, photography or transport made so many dreams come true...
Although this is a documentary the images - together with the music are truly poetical...the landscape, the people... a different world

And it's all free to watch on youtube - in 8 parts. Enjoy the first one here:

the happy place

2010-08-03T15:43:00.001-07:00

I want holiday here... I dreamed of English cottages today... found some for rent on this website.

weird nature

2010-07-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.
Wordswoth, 'The Tables Turned'

Intellectualizing nature feels weird to me... alien.

pics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

interior inspiration

2010-07-29T17:12:00.000-07:00

I am currently obsessed with these colours and relaxed airy interiors ... I love floral pattern and vintage inspired furniture...

sodden

2010-07-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

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This is a story of gluttony, of a compulsive consumption of beauty until the compulsion consumes you like a parasite.

my pics

if you remain undecided nothing will ever change

2010-07-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi quote, my pics

up your skirt

2010-07-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

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pics from weheartit

the subconscious

2010-07-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

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beautiful photography by elif sanem karakoc... see a lot more of his work here

vintage car show

2010-07-18T10:22:00.001-07:00

I know nothing about cars but I love good retro design :P
I really enjoyed Middlewich Transport Festival... it had a Gilmore girls - Stars Hollow feeling of community... especially with the cowboy singing country songs... country rooooooooooads, take me hooooooooooome!!!

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

2010-07-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

I just found this video of zooey deschanel and joseph gordon-levitt... just like the film -500days of summer- the video is a visual feast. And I love the she&him songs. I am really curious if there is anybody that doesn't like zooey deschanel...she's so pretty and smart and funny, it's hard not to like her... about joseph gordon-levitt I was initially really skeptical - I didn't think he will evolve much from the '3rd rock from the sun', but he surprised me. and I think he looks a little like heath ledger which is always a plus :P. I am actually looking forward to seeing one of his films - 'mysterious skin' (2004).

happy place

2010-07-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

i've got a strong urge to fly...

2010-07-09T04:06:00.000-07:00

...but I've got nowhere to fly to....

rest our heads upon the grass and listen to it grow...

2010-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

about things we take for granted

2010-06-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

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...like when he loved you or when you thought you had all the time in the world...

...like breathing. Yes. I am happy to breathe freely for the first time in the last two weeks...all due to a terrible flu. I think I never truly understood before what a wonderful exhilarating thing breathing is. I am indulging in this new found pleasure.

I'm not preaching anything here, I'm far from being one of those happy persons that finds joy in everything in life...I guess it's no news that we cannot really appreciate something unless we lose it for at least a while, same as we stop appreciating something that is always there. It's human nature...or maybe it's just me... I need to miss something in order to truly understand it and appreciate it...and then in a while I forget again...so in a few days when i go back to just breathing without thinking about it...what then? hope I will find some new drugs...

And then there's sunshine... While my friends back in Bucharest are complaining about terribly hot weather I am making the most of the few hours of sunshine we get here in rainy Cheshire. I was so happy today to hear my sister calling me out the window to go lay down on a blanket in the garden. Laying in the sun is great! Why are you guys complaining about!! It's just such an easy way to put a smile on your face! One thing about this country is that you never get to stop appreciating what a simple pleasure sunshine is :P

type and go

2010-06-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

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Type the Sky by Lisa Rienermann is an alphabet formed of shapes buildings make against the sky when photographed from below. According to the original post on German typographic blog Slanted the alphabet was created by Rienermann while studying at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

“It began with the Q,” she tells Slanted. “I was in a kind of courtyard in Barcelona. I looked upward and saw houses, the blue sky and clouds. The more I looked, I saw that the houses formed a letter Q.” She then set out to find more letter forms, spending weeks only looking upwards. The more difficult letters such as Q and K were the easiest to find, she says, but admits that PhotoShop helped here and there.

I love them especially because wherever I am I like to look up and notice all the details that you normally wouldn't on a fast walk down the street.

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Next is ABChairs by Roeland Otten. He has designed a collection of 26 chairs, each spelling out one letter of the alphabet.
Called ABChairs, the seats can be arranged to form words. Made out of plastic, very light and affordable the designer sees a great future for these chairs, suitable for cool interiors as well as outdoor furniture, kids rooms or libraries and schools.
I'd love some in my living room!

here's a cool lady...

2010-06-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

* Roisin Murphy

I love her music and her style - on stage and off stage. She's so cutting edge sophisticated!
I've seen her in concert and at that time I only knew a few of her songs but the atmosphere was soooo great and everybody was dancing, I fell in love with her music! It is just like modern magic ...all those intriguing sounds and the smart lyrics! Her hairdos, her outfits, especially her sunglasses are so classy cool :D

here's a taste of the real life cool roisin murphy :P

pics source here

machinarium

2010-06-06T15:17:00.000-07:00

is the best game ever!!! I absolutely loved it!!!

Machinarium is a point-and-click adventure game from Czech independent studio Amanita Design.
The graphics are wonderful and very inspiring...I'm thinking about drawing something tomorrow... Little lovely robots :D If you like it as much as I do, you can find wallpapers available on the game's website here
The soundtrack is great, I've been listening to it for a few hours now...This little game kept me busy all afternoon. Quite difficult sometimes...but this only gives you more satisfaction in the end. You've got to try it!

The Vanities Girls

2010-06-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

OK guys so you all know I have a guilty pleasure for pin-ups...so here's moooore from Vanity Fair

Since 1992, Vanity Fairs Vanities section has opened with a full-page portrait of a promising young star. In September 2006, they tweaked the format: the Vanities opener now features an up-and-coming actress in a 50s-style pinup shot. These shapely ingénues are on the cusp of fame or have just hit it big; they have names you need to know and faces you won’t have trouble remembering. Here’s a look at all the bombshells who’ve struck a playful pose in the new retro style.

-Text: Vanity fair-
-Images: Vanity fair-

Enjoy!

love ! love ! love !

2010-05-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love...

and robert downey jr is delicious :D

pic source deviantart

beautiful disaster

2010-05-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm high on floral pattern ! ! !

2010-05-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

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I just can't get enough... I just can't get enough... I just can't get enough...

when life gives u lemons...

2010-05-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

via my food looks funny