April 2009 Archives
I worked with a lively group of high school students at Independence High School in San Jose a while back. They heard I'd etched my face onto a toilet paper roll innard and chimed in to deliver me this jolly green giant of a cardboard tube etched with "Laura's Super Duty Toilet Tissue".
pretty good etching, guys! the grooves would be fun with silly putty if I have any spare time around this object.
in thanks, I laser cut this message and had it delivered back to them.
Thanks for your charmin' gift!for the curious - of all the materials I've lased, this one used the least amount of heat - at the fastest speed with hardly any power. the exhaust was something to be reckoned with as you can see with the dense use of washers. due to the good and strong exhaust, the little cutout pieces would blow around before they were done getting cut, sometimes keeping another part of that same letter from being cut. shown above is my second run. I almost had to tape down the end roll to keep it from tp-ing the inside of the machine while the job was running but this one turned out to be just heavy enough to stay put.
lovely muscles and veins felted onto paper - clever interesting work by Dan Beckemeyer posted on Mr X Stitch.
check out this collection of "contemporary embroidery and needlecraft". they seem to really mean "contemporary" in the most open forward thinking way, like if it can be imagined or seen, it can be created in fiber. yesss!
thanks, Tanya, for the link!
check out this collection of "contemporary embroidery and needlecraft". they seem to really mean "contemporary" in the most open forward thinking way, like if it can be imagined or seen, it can be created in fiber. yesss!
thanks, Tanya, for the link!
ruby42's handiwork.
thanks, T, for your forever combing the web widely for wonderful wisions. meow...
thanks, T, for your forever combing the web widely for wonderful wisions. meow...
once upon a time I had a manager who I was very much not aligned with. she was fond of saying "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" to which one day I finally almost yelled:
that's when I knew I needed to get far away from this manager, which, I guess is an ironic and circuitous way of getting stronger by getting the hail away from the politically inclined in what should have been a more scientific and engineering straight-up environment.
that's when I knew I needed to get far away from this manager, which, I guess is an ironic and circuitous way of getting stronger by getting the hail away from the politically inclined in what should have been a more scientific and engineering straight-up environment.
always wondered where little trucks came from, didn't you?
they came back the next day and parked the same way. I think they're having an affair.
more action in this first shot - I saw the guy actually walking between the trucks carrying stuff.
they came back the next day and parked the same way. I think they're having an affair.
more action in this first shot - I saw the guy actually walking between the trucks carrying stuff.
a superb use of knitting, in my opinion, to alert women over 50 of the risks of HIV. according to this page, seniors represent about 14% of the people with HIV while senior women represent 18%.thanks to an artist friend for passing this onto me.
treat the natural as ordinary to decrease our human angst. ahhh... we have coloring books for all the other parts of the body. what if we had respectful ones for all our parts? what if we grew up in this environment? what if we saw these since day 1?
how did I miss this? the cunt coloring book by the late Tee Corinne has been around for about 25 years and I've never heard of it till now, thanks to an artist friend suggesting I might like Tee's work.
on the Last Gasp page that offers this book for sale, it says:
This item contains adult content. If you are under 18, please leave this page.
but their writeup for the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book with a thick line art gun on the cover, says nothing of adult content. however, it does say "The juxtaposition of the outlaw image of the rappers with the childlike innocence of a coloring book makes for an instant laugh." huh???
why the vulva is off limits to under 18 in our culture while the gun is not is beyond me. make them both equally accessible, one way or another - either of these is better to me than the way it is, yes?
anyway, I went looking for what else I might have missed. I searched for coloring books of vaginas, vulvae, cocks and penises. I found The Big Coloring Book of Vaginas and The Big Coloring Book of Cocks, both by Morgan Hastings - hard to find more about this author. both are more cartoonish than the Cunt Coloring Book.
imagine if we all grew up with comfort about all parts of our bodies. I think I am more likely to win the Nobel Prize than to get my mind around all the implications of that.
and yet I still wonder - could we do this?
how did I miss this? the cunt coloring book by the late Tee Corinne has been around for about 25 years and I've never heard of it till now, thanks to an artist friend suggesting I might like Tee's work.
on the Last Gasp page that offers this book for sale, it says:
This item contains adult content. If you are under 18, please leave this page.
but their writeup for the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book with a thick line art gun on the cover, says nothing of adult content. however, it does say "The juxtaposition of the outlaw image of the rappers with the childlike innocence of a coloring book makes for an instant laugh." huh???
why the vulva is off limits to under 18 in our culture while the gun is not is beyond me. make them both equally accessible, one way or another - either of these is better to me than the way it is, yes?
anyway, I went looking for what else I might have missed. I searched for coloring books of vaginas, vulvae, cocks and penises. I found The Big Coloring Book of Vaginas and The Big Coloring Book of Cocks, both by Morgan Hastings - hard to find more about this author. both are more cartoonish than the Cunt Coloring Book.
imagine if we all grew up with comfort about all parts of our bodies. I think I am more likely to win the Nobel Prize than to get my mind around all the implications of that.
and yet I still wonder - could we do this?
funny, weird, delightful, gorgeous! a cross between renaissance costuming and earthiness. red tuber-looking shapes dangle from a headdress of delicate leaves. costumes by Betsie Withey.
oh, my mind takes me to "we are what we eat". and I'm reminded of those times getting to jump in a pile of fall leaves. I'm probably taking this a little more literally than she intended but I love it. to me these constumes remind me again and again how we are connected to what we eat, to where we live, the earth beneath our feet, the items we ingest (which jumps to "the friends we keep") and I find that real and satisfying. and if that weren't enough, I find her choice of color, shape and texture absolutely captivating.
oh, my mind takes me to "we are what we eat". and I'm reminded of those times getting to jump in a pile of fall leaves. I'm probably taking this a little more literally than she intended but I love it. to me these constumes remind me again and again how we are connected to what we eat, to where we live, the earth beneath our feet, the items we ingest (which jumps to "the friends we keep") and I find that real and satisfying. and if that weren't enough, I find her choice of color, shape and texture absolutely captivating.
for me, this resonates with Jennifer McNeely's work, Raven Hanna's Made with Molecules, Laura Splan's creations related to viruses and blood.the back of this dress expressing "parasitic nature" reminds me of a show on TV I saw many years ago discussing all the organisms living on our skin, in our gut - EveryWhere - and how we don't want to kill them 'cause most of them are good for us. that took a while to get used to. and now this dress depicts that beautifully.
check out her etsy shop for more of her gorgeous, delightful, and I'd say even enigmatic creations.
check out her etsy shop for more of her gorgeous, delightful, and I'd say even enigmatic creations.
on this fine day, which some are celebrating as Easter ... what if you needed a plumber?
go here and click on image #17 to see the plumber diorama by Anne Lucas. extensive peep art sponsored by The Washington Post
thanks, Bill, for the link.
go here and click on image #17 to see the plumber diorama by Anne Lucas. extensive peep art sponsored by The Washington Post
thanks, Bill, for the link.
cozies for your bedroom toys. from craftastrophe. disguise it as a sushi roll. 'course this one looks like it's ready to blast off. well, maybe that's fitting. oh, they've got more - go check 'em out.
someone else is etching names onto sausages. I see Jorg and Michal and ...ahh, synergy in the laser universe ... alike minds think great!
playful creations from artists I've just come across ~
felted uterus/fallopian tubes and penis pin cushions
crocheted sperm
crocheted egg and intruder
sphincters made out of ... pipe..clean..ers
thanks, Alessandrina, for the link although you were pointing to something else ;)
toilet paper crocheted scarf
crocheted tampon case with a red flower cap. holds 4 tampons.
crocheted handcuffs
thanks, Will, for the link while trying to help me find ways to sit at my desk to finish my taxes.
felted uterus/fallopian tubes and penis pin cushions
crocheted sperm
crocheted egg and intruder
sphincters made out of ... pipe..clean..ers
thanks, Alessandrina, for the link although you were pointing to something else ;)
toilet paper crocheted scarf
crocheted tampon case with a red flower cap. holds 4 tampons.
crocheted handcuffs
thanks, Will, for the link while trying to help me find ways to sit at my desk to finish my taxes.
soy, soy, a wonderful food
the more you eat, the more you ...
... have a chance of remaining a standalone entity.
of course, water and mosquitoes are more responsible for transmitting parasites to humans than meat is. but those little diddies haven't popped into my head yet.
did you know that having a parasite in you can affect how your immune system works? some diseases are because our immune system goes into overdrive, which can be calmed by having a certain parasite inside you.
talk should be on fora.tv soon. very interesting subject and engaging stories last night. speaker was Jim McKerrow; Director, Sandler Center for Research on Parasitic Diseases.
the more you eat, the more you ...
... have a chance of remaining a standalone entity.
of course, water and mosquitoes are more responsible for transmitting parasites to humans than meat is. but those little diddies haven't popped into my head yet.
did you know that having a parasite in you can affect how your immune system works? some diseases are because our immune system goes into overdrive, which can be calmed by having a certain parasite inside you.
talk should be on fora.tv soon. very interesting subject and engaging stories last night. speaker was Jim McKerrow; Director, Sandler Center for Research on Parasitic Diseases.
Abe, you increase my faith in the male phylum/species/gender/bunch o' people.
only the realest of the real will also model a reversible camo apron with caution fabric.
originally posted here.
what I really like about this experiment of theirs is that it makes me think again ... and again ... what we make of hair.
hair seems to be loaded with meaning for us. do you have enough in the right places? too much in the wrong ones? is it the right color? length? texture? if it's not connected to a living body, do we want to touch it?
but what if we all had hair like this, growing long out of our eyelids? or out our noses? and we were so used to it we didn't see it as odd. in fact, if you bucked the trend and cut your nose ponytail off, you'd look freakish.
how freakish do we all look today to the aliens who are trying to decide if they want to make contact or not?
note: I could not find the original source of these photos. search "longest eyelashes" and maybe you can. if you know, I'll gladly update this post with references.
hair seems to be loaded with meaning for us. do you have enough in the right places? too much in the wrong ones? is it the right color? length? texture? if it's not connected to a living body, do we want to touch it?
but what if we all had hair like this, growing long out of our eyelids? or out our noses? and we were so used to it we didn't see it as odd. in fact, if you bucked the trend and cut your nose ponytail off, you'd look freakish.
how freakish do we all look today to the aliens who are trying to decide if they want to make contact or not?
note: I could not find the original source of these photos. search "longest eyelashes" and maybe you can. if you know, I'll gladly update this post with references.
a friend has reported that he hears "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and he always thinks, "yeah, fonder of absence."
that's worthy of adding to my little crusade.
how do you hear it?
that's worthy of adding to my little crusade.
how do you hear it?
don't you just hate it when someone uses a pithy sing-songy saying to add credence to whatever they just said? as if that makes it unargumentable?
well, I'm starting a little mini crusade (as opposed to a little large one) against pithy sayings because no matter what point you want to make, there's a pithy saying waiting just for you.
there must be a table of opposites of these, yes? I've never found it and I've been thinking about this for years.
for example:
absence makes the heart grow fonder
vs
out of sight, out of mind
if you know where anyone has drawn up a neat table of these opposites, please do tell!
if this image can garner comments like "dear god WHY?!?", "CREEPY! I" and "That is just wrong on SO many different levels", then clearly We Need More!!seen on craftastrophe.net
artist Monika Lidman
crochet collaborations anyone?
giant strawberry pocky, to be exact.
when friends come back from Japan and bring you some of the good stuff...
when friends come back from Japan and bring you some of the good stuff...
my friend Will has alerted me that I am not alone.
I wrote about a month ago that
I dream that someday in america on the sides of houses in suburbia we will be free to ... paint flying phalluses on our houses just like they do in Bhutan and no one will get sued or jailed.
but this kid has me beat! he is doin' it! and so far I hear he's not going to jail or getting sued - by his parents. Go Rory!! and his parents!
it does have a similar style to the Cerne Abbas giant. do they all look like this in England?
I wrote about a month ago that
I dream that someday in america on the sides of houses in suburbia we will be free to ... paint flying phalluses on our houses just like they do in Bhutan and no one will get sued or jailed.
but this kid has me beat! he is doin' it! and so far I hear he's not going to jail or getting sued - by his parents. Go Rory!! and his parents!
it does have a similar style to the Cerne Abbas giant. do they all look like this in England?
plug this usb crochet hook into your computer and it'll build the pattern of what you're making as you crochet! what an idea!thanks, The Crochet Dude, for the twittered link! and thanks, Jimbo the inventor, for the idea!
next release will allow you to connect different sized hooks. you'll also be able to point the end of the usb cable to the person or object you're making the item for and it will magnetically be drawn to the correct sized hook for use with the yarn or thread you've wrapped around it.
optionally you'll be able to turn on a siren that will sound when your stitches are becoming out of gauge. you can of course replace the siren with a download of your favorite music and simply enjoy crocheting out of gauge.
