San Francisco Chinatown
His favorite chair, in front of our shop
Contemplative after haircut
zen garden
summer morning
bikin' it
with Aussie gal, Lola
wildcat
rocket boy
in his garden
tomato land
hothouse flowers
prayer wheel
a la playa
con papi
the right profile (clash)
Marcel's Selby Moment
with his homegrown torpedo onions
that was then
this is now
avec Nella
dreamy boy
I know, I know. Totally self-indulgent. But hey, it's my blog. heh!
Well, it's that time of year again. Did you know that October is a month that's brimming with "awareness"? Take a look at the month of October on the Wikipedia page for the list of commemorative months and you'll find multifarious examples such as: National Country Ham Month; National CyberSecurity Month; National Toilet Tank Repair Month; Hunger Awareness Month, and many more. But none of them can hold a candle to the most heavily promoted: Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Or as I like to call it, Corporate Manipulation of A Trendy Disease Month — and I include the big name nonprofits in this category.
In case you haven't heard, I have a bone to pick with the breast cancer industry and if you please – please don't ever buy anything pink in my honor ( for the back story read my post When Pink Stinks).
I'd like to dedicate this post to dear Kate's father who succumbed to PANCREATIC cancer — a cancer for which there is little awareness. Did you know that November is National Pancreatic Cancer Month? Well it is. And purple is the color of the ribbon. Not that these are the things that truly matter.
My point is that breast cancer is the sexy disease that gets all the big money PR and it bothers me. A lot. I feel for those – and their family members – that have one of the less "popular" cancers. Would Ford Motors or Yoplait Yogurt attach Colon Cancer to their product? You know the answer. Don't encourage or support this scheming trend in consumerism, please. Stretch your awareness above and beyond the glossy media campaigns and don't be swayed by schmaltzy rosie colored adverts. For some good reading — from my favorite alternative sports writer — check out Dave Zirin's article, The NFL Is Thinking Pink.
I wish you all good health.
I felt like writing a special letter. Something completely in contrast with the modern mode. So I decided to stitch a letter. At first I tried it out on paper (click on photos to enlarge):
I love the embossed paper but it wasn't quite sturdy enough to hold up to more than just a couple of words. My tugging at it with each stitch would have taken a toll and I couldn't use a heavier stock as it would have been too difficult to puncture. So, I switched to fabric:
I hunted through my vast stockpile of yardage and scraps and came across several sample swatches I had made when trying out an original block-print design of mine. I chose this heavy weave cotton that I had printed with a vine pattern. I love the combining of the two art forms.
This is on its way to Italy. It stretches out like a long banner.
I hope she likes it!
Here’s my first attempt at a book sculpture. Okay, my exacto knife was dull and I don’t have the supernatural shadows going on, but it’s a start…
“Hey! Look out behind you space boys!”
Thomas Allen, from SW Michigan, creates moody photographs of his book sculptures, fashioned from vintage pulp paperbacks.The results are bold and stunning.
I spent hours reading his fascinating blog.
The deteriorating spine of this book has the appearance of a rough-barked tree trunk:
This is one of my favorites:
And this, great shadow:
I love the interplay of his 'assemblage' sculptures, where multiple books interact:
He has been known to lead workshops, as seen here at
If you're intrigued check out his book,
Uncovered, Photographs by Thomas Allen:
Another wonderful book sculptor is Su Blackwell, from SE London. She creates fantastical vignettes out of book pages, on the surface of open books. Each sculpture is made using the pages of a single book:
She has been commissioned to do large-scale replicas of her sculptures for exhibition, as seen in this venue in Hong Kong:
"It is the delicacy, the slight feeling of claustrophobia, as if these characters, the landscape have been trapped inside the book all this time and are now suddenly released. A number of the compositions have an urgency about them, the choices made for the cut-out people from the illustrations seem to lean towards people on their way somewhere, about to discover something, or perhaps escaping from something. And the landscapes speak of a bleak mystery, a rising, an awareness of the air." — Su Blackwell
You can find some of her works in Playing With Books, The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimaging the Book:
And Paper: Tear, Fold, Rip, Crease, Cut:
It's occupied my days of late — getting inventory uploaded is a tedious process. But I think I have enough pieces to feel like I can launch So Sylvie Etsy. Please pay a visit and let me know what you think. I'll be adding more items daily. Yipee!
Surf's up!! Catch a wave over to my shop!!
My first sale: Vintage Kokeshi Dolls
It's all vintage, all fab. I'll be selling textiles (including drapes, table cloths, yardage, dish towels), original paintings, ceramics, clothing, jewels, kitchen items, decor objects, and more! I deal in 1920s through mid century. Spread the word, s'il vous plait.
Here's a great DIY project. This map decoupage coffee table is at the Firefly Café in Santa Cruz, California:
It looks great even when it gets worn around the edges:
Now that I think about it, I'm going to do this treatment on young Marcel's headboard. If we get tired of it or want a change I can always make a slipcover to go over it.
Please forgive my absence these days. I've been trying to get my Etsy shop together. It's a tedious process — photographing, measuring, uploading, describing, etc. In a few days I will be sharing the link. Merci beaucoup for hanging around 🙂
I sold this one way cheap. I like its simple lines.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
So Sylvie 