Cabin + Cub

Spotted this on the Etsy front page today and loved it straight away! There's something about the slightly angled cut-out and rich swirls that contrast really nicely. A giclee print of an original collage, you can snap up Constant Bird Talk for only $15, from a limited edition of 100 prints.

See more sweet things at the Cabin + Cub Etsy shop and read more about Valerie, her work and her inspirations at the Cabin + Cub blog.

Charting the Beatles: Working Schedule, 1963-1966

Charting the Beatles: Working Schedule, 1963-1966, originally uploaded by ChartingTheBeatles.

Charting The Beatles

Rob Ryan. Yes, again.

Bristol's Soma Gallery brought some lovely lovely new prints to my attention. (How is this guy not writing songs?)

Life in Technicolour (nightmares)

I don't get around to watching a lot of music videos, but this just appeared on my tv screen for a few minutes, and now I feel like Chris Martin is going to haunt my nightmares forever. Or a Chris Martin puppet, specifically. I have no issue with puppets, cute puppetty music videos, or puppets in rock star likenesses even. I once saw Beck play an entire set behind a small stage of Jim Henson Studio puppets, and that was bloody brilliant. The main problem I had with it was, aside from the general creepiness of the puppets (possibly a deliberate attempt to avoid being too cutesy, but really, who can tell?) is that it's SO bizarre, SO disturbing, (eerie, frightening, ghoulish, gruesome, hair-raising, horrible, menacing, nightmarish, ominous, shuddersome, sinister, terrifying, threatening, unpleasant, weird, etc...) that not only does it sit very uncomfortably with the song - Life in Technicolour, quite a classic Coldplay-being-amthemic, optimistic type of song - it actually completely distracts you from it. It insists that you don't listen to the song at all.

So, to sum up... it's rubbish.

Thank you. That is all.

Beck puppets = good. Just for your own reference.

Beck's Puppets, originally uploaded by Samuel Stroube.

Saw Your Face

Saw your face, originally uploaded by alistairh.

Something, somewhere in Amsterdam.
It made me smile.

Update: This work is by Marijn van Kreij and Alistair has more info on the exhibition here.

New from Recycle Club

originally uploaded by recycle club.

New characters on Flickr from the always brilliant Recycle Club. These images make me feel so happy!

Wanderlust Map

There's a really nice interactive map featuring famous routes on the Good Magazine website. It's a little light on information once you get into it but it could be really interesting if/as it grows. (And why haven't Google maps done this already?)

Marian Bantjes - Love Stories

Marian Bantjes has just published a set of fantastic personal work in the latest Monograph (available to Creative Review subscribers only). Luckily the Creative Review blog also has a bit of information about it, and you can see lovely big images of all the work on Marian's website. Each of the beautiful pieces is the story of someone she loves, and you really get a sense of the people behind these.

Ray Fenwick - Magic Tricks

Magic Tricks, originally uploaded by Ray Fenwick.

More lovely stuff. I recommend a good look through his Flickr, it's all fantastic.

Sailor in a Cup

sailor in a cup, originally uploaded by Camilla E.

Camilla Engman has been posting the progress of her collaboration with Karin Eriksson on Flickr and her lovely blog, and I had to show you this little sailor. I think he's wonderful, and a beautiful hopeful colour to lift the melancholy feeling. Apparently there's also a heart in the bottom of the cup which Camilla says he is "looking for... or maybe he has lost it.".

Ambroise

by Porchez Typofonderie.
I wonder how they think up those little poem-type things to show the fonts? Some of them are really quite pretty. Completely nonsensical but pretty nontheless.

Ásta Kristjánsdóttir

I found Ásta Kristjánsdóttir's website via createmake. There's some really nice portraiture on there, but really I find the 'behind the scenes' ones fascinating. I love the way they expose all the falsities of a fashion shoot. Probably not what was intended but they're really great photos nontheless.

The Sandwich Tin of Mystery.

There's a quality to old photographs that's so sentimental and romantic - especially if they are not your own. I found an old sandwich tin full of photos ranging from 1940 to the 1980's at a car-boot sale last weekend. I think the fact you don't already link the pictures to familiar mundanaties of everyday life ("oh, that's just another one of Grandad's picnics") means you immediately get some sense of romance and mystery - the photo above is a great example. Where are they? Why are they there? When was the last time you actually wandered across the tarmac with your suitcase - it must have been taken some time ago. Were they rich? Even famous? Perhaps they're on their honeymoon. Perhaps they robbed a bank the day before.

See the more of the photos here.

Diem Chau

Diem Chau is an artist who likes to tell stories;

Coming from a nomadic childhood, ...the things of greatest value to us were stories contributed by friends and family. Embedded in these stories are connections to the past, our culture and an occasional escape from reality.

...small deviations are what fascinate me with oral traditions. Ordinary events injected into fantasy worlds make them more believable but, at the same time, it makes them extraordinary. Stories enable us to live a more vivid life.

I came across her Storytelling series on notcot.com and had to have a look for myself. I love complex, intricate work like this, as it really forces you to get involved. Here, the crayons not only represent a kind of innocence that goes hand in hand with storytelling, but being such a universal memory for everyone they really include the audience in the story. You can't help but create your own narrative for this piece.

I especially like the characters who look a little bit shy and retiring, and the way that contrasts with the bright plastic colours. The throwaway pieces of paper wrapper still left on the bottom feel really precious too.



From left to right; Pigtails in Red, Bad Hair Day, Grandma in Beehive. All from Storytelling, 2005. Images copyright Diem Chau.

See more on her website, and contact her at diem@diemchau.com