Due to the chaos of moving and the lack of Internet since the wireless router belonged to my roommate, I'm going to take a short break from my search for daily inspiration. I'm hoping to be back early next week, but Comcast doesn't have an impressive history with being prompt...
on eggshells
Some people are just too creative. I wonder what they used to make the shell for these chocolate eggs...
-the dieline
-the dieline
For me, there's nothing more uplifting than the unconditional love and support of my family. No matter how many bad choices I make or wrong turns I take, my family will always be there with open arms and a shoulder to cry on. There's something about being back home that makes me feel content...I can get away from the chaos of my normal life and just be for a few days. My parents' love inspires me to be my best every day. I have no idea what I would do without them.
Who can resist that face?!
the great outdoors
I would consider myself a pretty outdoors-y person; I love the smell of fresh air and the warmth of the sun on my face. But when it comes to bugs and other creepy-crawly things, I draw the line. But I could definitely spend some serious time in any of these beautiful outdoor getaways-from a simple backyard swing to a Canadian mountain retreat.
-images from Pinterest, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, and Home Sweet Home
-images from Pinterest, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, and Home Sweet Home
stuck with the blues
I tend to go through phases when it comes to colors that I'm drawn to or that inspire me. Right now, it's blues. I love the whole spectrum, from pale to bright to deep and dark. Plus, I think it has a very clean look when paired with white and yellow...perfect for summer!
-images from Color Me Pretty and Pinterest
-images from Color Me Pretty and Pinterest
music therapy
There's a reason I've ruined multiple headphones, stereos, and car speakers...I listen to my music way too loud. I know, I'll probably be deaf by the time I'm 40, but sometimes it's exactly what I need. When I feel overwhelmed, stressed, upset...anything really...I lose myself in music. The best songs are those that fill your heart and take over your head, pushing out everything else. I made a list of the songs that never fail to make me feel better (the first two have been on repeat for the past couple days...)
so you think you can dance
Dance has always been a huge source of inspiration for me, so of course I'm addicted to the television show "So You Think You Can Dance". These dancers have to perfect two performances each week...it's absolutely incredible. Usually, you can tell when a dancer is out of their element...ballroom dancers struggle with modern, hip-hoppers are a little too loose for jazz.
But ballet dancer Alex Wong blew me away a few weeks ago when he danced with the talented hip-hop dancer from last season, Twitch. Alex is classically trained in ballet and has perfect technique...but he kept up with Twitch and truly looked like he'd been doing hip-hop for years. I was speechless. Literally, speechless.
See Alex and Twitch's dance here.
But ballet dancer Alex Wong blew me away a few weeks ago when he danced with the talented hip-hop dancer from last season, Twitch. Alex is classically trained in ballet and has perfect technique...but he kept up with Twitch and truly looked like he'd been doing hip-hop for years. I was speechless. Literally, speechless.
See Alex and Twitch's dance here.
hours
I was first introduced to the work of Matthew Pillsbury during a trip to New York City years ago and he has been my favorite photographer ever since. His photographs have such a mysterious quality to them and he is incredibly talented at capturing movement in a two-dimensional piece of work. The photograph of the jellyfish tank in Coney Island is my favorite photograph of all time (first one below). There's an ambiguity to it that I love, but it's not abstract in the least. I could stare at it for hours and still feel the same excitement I felt all those years ago in the back room of the Bonni Benrubi gallery.
...
Sometimes the only inspiration I can muster is something my mom sometimes tells me...
"This too shall pass."
"This too shall pass."
styling
How do you become a stylist? I would love to be the brains behind sets as beautiful as Lotta Agaton's. Her work is so clean, but has a unique personality with vintage touches that I fall for every time.
bonjour mon ami!
I miss France...everything about it. So I'm starting to think maybe a French inspired room? I've always loved the mix of neutrals with pops of red and black. And I've been dying to do something with chalkboard paint lately...
-flag banner can be found on etsy by monkeypuzzle, table runner by myadobecottage; all other images found on pinterest and The Society Inc.
-flag banner can be found on etsy by monkeypuzzle, table runner by myadobecottage; all other images found on pinterest and The Society Inc.
color
I am terribly tempted to paint my new room some incredible color that I never would have considered before. Looking around Marie Claire Maison made me want to head over to Home Depot and start picking out paint samples. Considering the only thing I've actually decided on for my room is a cream duvet, I'm pretty sure I could go any direction my heart desires. The only downside will be painting it back to white again when I have to move next fall...but who can resist the rich color in these rooms?!
he's just not that into you
Just another silly chick flick where the guy gets the girl in the end, right? I guess so...it definitely had its predictable moments. But, nonetheless, this may be one of my new favorite movies. It takes on love in a way that I can relate to...through hope.
Love. It can be rough and it's not always fun. It's complicated and a roller coaster and sometimes hurts, but in the end, it's worth it. It's what everyone is looking for...to love and be loved in return. And when all is said and done, you can't fight it. But with love also comes hope. Hope that she'll say yes, hope that he'll call you, hope that everything works out just how you want it to. You put yourself out there - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and hope that one person loves you too.
We don't make it easy on ourselves. We over-analyze and interpret and question until we convince ourselves that we've got it all figured out...I know I do it. But how can we understand it all? Hope and love are powerful emotions; how can we even begin to have any idea what will happen? At some point, you just have to dive in head first, trusting that anything can happen.
Maybe these are just the idealistic rantings of a girl who just finished watching a mushy chick flick, but I wholeheartedly believe in hope. And I would rather have hope than nothing.
"Maybe the happy ending is this...knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment...you never gave up hope."
Love. It can be rough and it's not always fun. It's complicated and a roller coaster and sometimes hurts, but in the end, it's worth it. It's what everyone is looking for...to love and be loved in return. And when all is said and done, you can't fight it. But with love also comes hope. Hope that she'll say yes, hope that he'll call you, hope that everything works out just how you want it to. You put yourself out there - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and hope that one person loves you too.
We don't make it easy on ourselves. We over-analyze and interpret and question until we convince ourselves that we've got it all figured out...I know I do it. But how can we understand it all? Hope and love are powerful emotions; how can we even begin to have any idea what will happen? At some point, you just have to dive in head first, trusting that anything can happen.
Maybe these are just the idealistic rantings of a girl who just finished watching a mushy chick flick, but I wholeheartedly believe in hope. And I would rather have hope than nothing.
"Maybe the happy ending is this...knowing after all the unreturned phone calls, broken hearts, through the blunders and misread signals, through all the pain and embarrassment...you never gave up hope."
still on the search
I'm still looking for ideas for decorating my new place and have been inspired by all of the beautiful homes out there. Jessica Helgerson is an interior designer with an eye for simplicity and boldness, two qualities that blend impeccably this home. I'm usually a little skeptical about using black as a main interior color-I think it can look a little too modern for my taste. But Helgerson used it admirably to create an elegant home with pops of orange for added interest. And of course, I absolutely love how open and clean the kitchen feels...the flowers and clementines are a perfect touch.
planning for change
I'm moving in two weeks (it's getting so close!) and I cannot wait. I want to do something new with my bedroom...the place I'm living in now was a throw-together-last-minute move. I've been very inspired by the book Etcetera Etc. by Sibella Court. Today when I was looking for more information about it online, I found Court's website, The Society Inc., which has even more styling ideas than the book itself...everything from color palette ideas to items that enhance each space. There's a story behind every theme, creating a feeling, not just a room. The website itself is beautiful, even if you're not planning on re-decorating your home any time soon.I know how I'm going to be spending my morning...
contemporary american batik
Batik is yet another medium that I would love to learn someday. Lisa Kattenbraker makes such complex and detailed batik paintings that I have no idea where she even begins! Batik is a resist process in which wax is painted onto fabric that is then dipped into dye; where ever the wax was, there won't be dye. The more complex the pattern, the more times the process is repeated on a single piece of cloth. Kattenbraker dips her each of her pieces more than twenty times in order to create just the right image on the cloth. It amazes me...I wish I had that kind of patience! I love the colors and patterns that Kattenbraker achieves in every single piece she makes; it creates an amazing texture to her work.
boxes upon boxes
Hetty Metzger is another artist whose work should be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Her work is created by piecing together boxes within boxes on top of boxes, all meticulously made out of paper. These images just don't do them justice. Each and every time it seems as though there is a color or texture change, it's a different box. I included a detailed shot of one of her pieces to show just how impressive and elaborate her work truly is.
It takes true dedication to your work to put in the time-consuming effort each piece must take to create. I also think it's fascinating to see what beautiful forms paper can make just by simply being folded. I was drawn more to some of her newer pieces that she hasn't yet featured in her online gallery. Metzger has started using string to suspend boxes within the frame. I'm a sucker for negative space, so for me, her pieces with less struck me more. But even in her more minimalistic pieces, she still focuses her attention on detail above all else.
It takes true dedication to your work to put in the time-consuming effort each piece must take to create. I also think it's fascinating to see what beautiful forms paper can make just by simply being folded. I was drawn more to some of her newer pieces that she hasn't yet featured in her online gallery. Metzger has started using string to suspend boxes within the frame. I'm a sucker for negative space, so for me, her pieces with less struck me more. But even in her more minimalistic pieces, she still focuses her attention on detail above all else.
beeswax art
Encaustic painting is one of my absolute favorite mediums and I cannot wait to learn how to do it someday. It's a painting process using layers of beeswax that are then fused together. The texture is amazing and the process gives each work a somewhat translucent, three-dimensional effect.
Seeing Cheryl Gail Toh's encausting paintings online is nothing when compared to seeing them in person, but she was still one of my favorite artists at the show and I can't wait to share her work. I talked to her for a while at her booth on Saturday and she encouraged me to take a class in encaustic; who knows, maybe I'll take a trip to Kansas City and take one from her!
Seeing Cheryl Gail Toh's encausting paintings online is nothing when compared to seeing them in person, but she was still one of my favorite artists at the show and I can't wait to share her work. I talked to her for a while at her booth on Saturday and she encouraged me to take a class in encaustic; who knows, maybe I'll take a trip to Kansas City and take one from her!
urban bird
Every year at the arts festival, I make sure to buy one piece of artwork for myself...nothing super fancy or expensive, but something to remind me why I wanted to become an artist in the first place. This year, it was Lisa Wharton that did that for me. I've been going through a houses phase; everything I've been drawn to has some sort of reference to houses. Lisa Wharton's silkscreening (the one I bought is of a house!) is simple and somewhat flat, but I think that's what makes it so interesting to me. She is able to express complex emotions about homes through straightforward and uncomplicated visual representations.
cherry creek arts festival
The Cherry Creek Arts Festival is my absolute favorite part about the Fourth of July weekend. There are so many talented artists that it's overwhelming to see them all at once! I was so inspired that I'm dedicating the entire week to the artists I was drawn to at the festival.
Painter Chris Vance had an amazing way of creating pieces that I just wanted to reach out and touch...not in a realistic way, but just through rich colors and abstract images. He has a very impressive sense of composition in all of his work and I love the way he brings different ideas together into a single painting. The patterns and repetitions he uses are simply beautiful.
Painter Chris Vance had an amazing way of creating pieces that I just wanted to reach out and touch...not in a realistic way, but just through rich colors and abstract images. He has a very impressive sense of composition in all of his work and I love the way he brings different ideas together into a single painting. The patterns and repetitions he uses are simply beautiful.
my next project...someday
When I first saw this picture on Pinterest yesterday, I was immediately impressed by the beautiful paper lantern collection above the bed. But then I took a closer look at the bed itself and decided I definitely need a daybed like this. I once saw a wooden palette used as a plate holder, but this is even better! I love how rustic it looks in such a clean, white room. The door as a headboard fits so well to finish out the somewhat vintage industrial look.
The how-to for the daybed was referenced today on Design*Sponge when another woman turned a palette into a crib-like bed for her daughter, following a couple who turned one into a potting station. Looks like wooden palettes are the next big DIY thing...I'm so excited!
The how-to for the daybed was referenced today on Design*Sponge when another woman turned a palette into a crib-like bed for her daughter, following a couple who turned one into a potting station. Looks like wooden palettes are the next big DIY thing...I'm so excited!
inspiration overload
I was looking around online this morning in my search for today's inspiration when I stumbled upon the website Pinterest. And I don't know what happened, but suddenly an hour and a half had passed by! Pinterest is a site where users can post images to different boards such as "crafty inspirations" or "home". It's amazing! There are so many places to find such beautiful ideas for design, decorating, food...anything! These are some of the images I found on the "home" board that I absolutely love.
