my love for you is a stampede of horses.

"tomorrow i'll be kissin' on your blood red lips."*

ali  j is an artist and illustrator from perth, australia.  her drawings and illustrations and paintings are of waifish, beauties w/ rosy cheeks and gorgeous locks.  her images are vibrant w/ rich color.  purples, turquoises, pinks and greens.

ali j has been very busy of late.  she was in last months N.E.E.T on line magazine as a featured artist.  venus online just posted an interview  w/ her cuteness.  she is forever keeping her etsy shop filled to the brim.  not only can you buy original artwork in her shop but her latest addition is blank note cards w/ a bunch of her gorgeous girls gracing them.  hey pretty cupcake has a bunch of her art turned into earrings, badges, keychains, etc.  AND, pheww i'm tired!  she is busy at work getting ready for her first upcoming solo show.  oh! and don't forget, she updates her blog all the time w/ great posts.  oh and yes, her flickr page too!  ok, i think i've covered all she is doing.  i'ma take a nap now.  go ali j!

* lovesong of the buzzard by iron & wine.
** all images used w/ ali j's wonderfully, sweet consent.

"pick a color and it's your's, we'll dedicate our lives to that color."*

to be able to sit all day, sew, embroider and create, what a life that would be.  karen nicol a mixed media textile designer from london, england, leads that kind of life.  she works w/ embroidery, fabric and lace making extraordinary creations.  she has designed pieces for some of the biggest names in the fashion industry.  chloe, channel, marc jacobs, clements riberio to name just a few.  her pieces are stunning and dynamic.  they range from colorful parrots to 3d floral sculptures to intricate lace to adorable little origami tiaras.

karen's work doesn't only exist on the catwalk.  she has shown her lace and fabric in galleries as well.  her design pieces are just as exquisite.  karen uses background materials such as old journal and ledger paper, mail bags, and flags.  i love how she mixes old school craft w/ completely foreign objects.  her pieces on her website are truly beautiful, and i can only imagine how they are in the tactile world.

* in places, empty spaces by the most serene republic.
** all images used w/ karen's permission.

"anything to make you smile."*

linus.

look at linus.  look how cute he is.  such a fine looking speciman isn't he?  well that is just how allison sommers gets down w/ her painting.  fine.  exquisite.  impeccably well done.  much of her work is done in gouache.  so impressive.  allison's paintings are not only well done but they are layered w/ symbolism and brimming w/ scenes that keep us so busy; mesmerized.  for instance take sepsis (just below this paragraph, you can click on the image to make it bigger) there are some pretty adorable scenes going on and oooh a bit naughty as well!  if you check out her flickr page you can see details of the painting here and here and here.

sepsis.

allison has two shows coming up.  paper pushers, a group show at gallery 1988 in san francisco that opens tonight.  picks of the harvest another group show at DvA in chicago that opens on november 3rd.

spontaneous generation.

if you aren't in san francisco or chicago this week you can always hang out in your room on your laptop on allison's flickr page.  it's just as exciting and stimulating w/ out all the hipsters and tallboys.  oh whoops, did i just type that out loud?

the lonely klabautermann.

* no ones gonna love you by band of horses.
** all images from allison sommers.

"when under ether the mind comes alive, concious of nothing but the will to survive."*

ok, so go out right now and buy the new pj harvey album, white chalk.  that's pretty much all i need to write in this post because her new album is PHENOMENAL.  and really you are on a need to know basis, and that's all you need to know at this point.

perhaps a bit more info would be helpful, yes?  i think i can do that for you.  anything for you.  i'll start by saying white chalk is unlike anything she has done in well, forever.  it stays true to harvey's dark side and at times the album is only that; dark and macabre.  but it's haunting and lovely.  she uses her voice in a way that we haven't heard often from pj; melodic and pitched.  there is extensive use of piano on white chalk, which is an instrument we don't hear enough of lately, unless you're a ben folds five fan.

pj doesn't lose her rough side just the gnarly bits.  she may sing a little bit higher these days.  but we hear a softer, lovlier side of polly jean.  albeit different, white chalk is definitely not refined.  some of the reviews for the album have been a bit harsh...but the boys over at pitchfork always tend to be some tough nuts to crack regardless.  i think it's a great album and well worth the ten bucks.

* when under ether by pj harvey.

** images gleaned from all over the web.

a bride's property beyond her dowry.*

back in september agathe from stylebytes wrote a post about a truly unique jewelry line called paraphernalia.  she featured this amazing parrot necklace.  yesterday, i was in the museum of fine arts in boston and a woman walked by and i instantly noticed her necklace.  it was the fauna goldfish necklace from paraphernalia.  i chased her down and asked her if i could look at it, asked her how much she loved it, etc, etc.  the necklace was even more amazing in person.  it was so smooth to the touch.  despite it's size, about 3 to 4 inches in width, it was so elegant.  it looked beautiful against her black t-shirt.

paraphernalia is located in manchester, england.  they use all sorts of images, birds, anatomical hearts and silhouhettes of little happenings and lots more.  you can shop on their etsy store, right here.

* definition of par·a·pher·na·lia, etymology: medieval latin.
**  all images used w/ paraphernalia's lovely acquiescence.  the first photo: taken by a lovely paraphernalia customer, who also has a cute little etsy store.