Monday, March 28, 2011

Poland's Alternative orange movement



Kitty Hubbard asked me to make a bunch of my bobsie dolls with orange hats and then she told me all about the Alternative Orange Movement in Poland.
Orange Alternative (PomaraÅ„czowa Alternatywa) is a name for an underground protest movement which was started in WrocÅ‚aw, a town in south-west Poland and led by Waldemar Fydrych (sometimes misspelled as Frydrych), commonly known as Major (Commander of the Festung Breslau) in the 1980s. Its main purpose was to offer a wider group of citizens an alternative way of opposition against the authoritarian regime by means of a peaceful protest that used absurd and nonsensical elements. By doing this, Poland's Artful Revolution participants could not be arrested by the police for opposition to the regime without the authorities becoming a laughing stock. Orange Alternative has been viewed as part of the broader Solidarity movement. Happenings took place all across Poland, and the numbers of supporters make for impressive reading – over 10,000 people attended the Revolution of Dwarves in WrocÅ‚aw, while another saw a similar number attend a mock carnival beseeching the government for ‘more festivities, more games and more eggs’. With communism crumbling the protests grew, with one seeing thirteen Orange bods walk the streets with individual letters printed on their t-shirts. Lined up together their shirts announced ‘Precz z upaÅ‚ami’ (away with the heat), though whenever the police would turn their backs the chap wearing the letter ‘u’ would slip from view, the message therefore changing to ‘Precz z paÅ‚ami’ (away with the truncheons).

Shopping in my basement


I am still cleaning out the basement - we are planning to get a tread mill for down there and I also need to have some space to work. I am now in the jewelry corner. I have a full set up to work in silver, but I rarely do it anymore. So I am posting a lot of vintage jewelry finds on Etsy. My grandfather, Forrest Lenker was a silver smith and I often traveled with my parents to his craft shows. He had a portable set up so he could fix broken jewelry and work on silver pieces at the shows. It was amazing back then when everyone worked at their craft during the show. The weaver had her loom, someone was always spinning or throwing a pot. These beads were in my Grandfather's stuff. He didn't travel so I assume these were bought at a thrift store. (I know my Grandmother went to second hand shops a lot).

Sunday, March 27, 2011

A Brownie, a pussy willow bloom and some thread


In the early Spring, I always cut down most of the pussy willow in the yard and bring in the long stems with the little bunny blossoms. I am planning to replant them in the back by the stream. They root just in water, so they are super easy to propagate. But they produce pollen like crazy indoors, so I have to stay on top of removing the blossoms as they become filled with the yellow irritating bits. I was not on my game this week and they are heavy in their production of pollen.

I am always enamored by spools of thread, and luckily lots of other people are too! I have a lot of success selling the vintage wooden spools on Etsy. I also enjoy photographing the spools, this group has imprinted text on the ends instead of paper labels. So I played around in photoshop with trying to get the text more graphic...


I purchased numerous Brownie cameras at a sale on Friday. I am very excited as these seem to be hard to find collectibles overseas. Obviously Rochester is over flowing with them.
I hope they sell!

Friday, March 25, 2011

more vintage





Vintage stuff



So yesterday's estate sales were pretty good. I just adore the blue dot flash bulbs. The design of one time use for a flash bulb is so lovely, so sweet to think that a photograph is worth one of these little explosions. The typewriters I pictured yesterday cwere $40 each - so I may go back tomorrow and see if I can get them for a reasonable price, but even $20 is too high...

I got two pink singer button hole attachments at two different sales, one was $8 (Daisy Estate Sales) and one was $3 (the private sale with the typewriters) Who knows how these people figure out their pricing. I have multiple aqua ones, but the pink ones are pretty rare. I am trying to post vintage finds as fast as I can on Etsy. Check out my shop - you may see something you can't live without.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Okay


Everything is okay - I am over it, I needed to blow off steam so I did, and I am leaving the post because I need to, but everything os okay. I am off to estate sales today to fill my life with stuff.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Better Days


I am not actually having better days, today sucks and I am really just wishing it didn't. But I am as helpless as always. I am posting this because I want to have something that reminds me not to ever have expectations, to not ever think again that anything will ever change. It happens to be our 20th wedding anniversary. I knew Allen would be entertaining a candidate for a teaching position in his department, so yesterday I made a nice dinner including a three layered cake and a celebration banner. So much for yesterday - today I spent the morning plugging my ears from Aster and Allen screaming at each other, I finally break and tell them to stop and he tells me to shut up and slams the door as he leaves. Never again will I believe that anything matters. People are fighting for their lives, people in our family, and strangers are standing up against tyranny and living in poverty - nothing that happens in our home is so bad that someone has to scream at the top of their lungs or call people names or be so very miserable.



Goo Goo Dolls' Better Days Lyrics
You ask me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And desire and love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Welcome to a new kind of tension.


I am having a crappy week - setting aside my personal woes, I am sick of these wars and government run (so called public) education problems. So I am going to hunker down at the computer and listen to Green Day all day! Welcome to a new kind of tension.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.

AMERICAN IDIOT LYRICS
Don't want to be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind fuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along to the age of paranoia.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.

Don't want to be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information age of hysteria.
It's calling out to idiot America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue

Monday, March 21, 2011

bookhou at home



A fellow Second Storie Crafter has gotten some great press this month. She was featured in Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Her wonderful bird tea towel (that I have myself) is in a Best Things grouping. And she also has a print in Dwell Magazine and her alphabet cutout in Marie Claire Ideas. I have to find out how to make this happen for my work...
Arounna is a toronto artist and I just love her work. You can see more of it at her Etsy Shop. She also has a blog.


Monday, March 14, 2011

tea tod toad


Tea Tod Toad is a blog by a wonderful New Zealander Mom that I enjoy very much. It is the end of Summer there and I don't think I could get through a Rochester Winter with out her gorgeous images. She has three incredible children and they all together have amazing outings in the countryside that she photographs so beautifully. I know we would be friends if she didn't live half way around the world. She loves to photograph, go thrifting, sew with felt and vintage fabrics and play with her kids. She also has an Etsy Shop.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

searching


I am searching the never ending number of collage images I have in the computer for one in particular - not finding what I need - but certainly coming across interesting nostalgic art and such. I wonder if this image works on the blog - stare at the center of the image, are the circles moving?

Saturday, March 5, 2011

dolls?

Looking for inspiration for new projects, I googled dolls and the internets spit out something called a ball jointed doll or BJD. I am now very enamored with them. A little like Blythe dolls, these are creepy adult looking dolls. Like a Blythe Barbie if anyone made one. I guess they are quite a phenonemon and adults dress them and photograph them. Sadly I can't make my own and more sadly I won't pay the $350 that they cost, and that is just for a naked doll, wig, undies and outfits cost more. You can also purchase a head alone - I assume people switch heads on their dolls' bodies instead of spending mega bucks for more dolls.


I found these dolls here.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Owls 4 and 5

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
because we can.
For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.
But there's no sense crying over every mistake.
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Owl 3

Small Magagzine



The winter issue of Small Magazine is amazing as always.
Great Snickerdoodle recipe on page 112.




Tuesday, March 1, 2011

white wedding

There are a few of estate sales on Thursday and Friday, but not one of them looks very interesting. I guess I will save some money this week instead of spend it. These two pictures were posted here, as part of advertising one of the upcoming sales...


I just love the attention to detail in the photos.