Length x Wit | Liza Oldham

Snow Bound

2012-02-29T08:49:00.001-05:00

It's supposed to snow today... and I'm not excited. I know it's been a rather tame season weather-wise, but I think I have winter fatigue! I keeping longing for bright colors, leafy plants, and warmth - warmth from the sun, not from my little floor heaters. This is probably not the best state of mind as there is at least a month and a half left of cold weather up here. So what to do? Other than stare at entirely therapeutic photographs of cute animals. :) I'm going to take the rest of the week off here and clear my head, go for a walk, work on an embroidery sampler, and take some vitamin D. I'll see you all next week, hopefully better rested and without the winter blues. Be well, my friends!

Photograph by nikolinelr II.

The Sum Of Its Parts

2012-02-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

The Modern Woman Wears Knowledge by Alicia Kovalcheck.

“The Modern Woman Wears Knowledge” is a wearable sculpture made out of newspaper pages and book pages that replicates the style of Victorian era women’s hats to reference the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the changing societal standards. Both a critique of the expectations and influence that originally placed women in a role of meek and beautiful obedience, and a hopeful portrayal of the evolution of beauty standards that have begun to focus less on appearance and more on intellectual thinking, this piece seeks to communicate that while great strides have been made, there is still much work to be done to achieve gender equality.

A Little Break: Maddie On Things

2012-02-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

Maddie the Coonhound has really good balance.

Photographs by Theron Humphrey.

Ulyana Sergeenko Spring/Summer 2012

2012-02-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

Now that you've seen backstage, what do you think about what's going on front and center? Sergeenko calls it Brigitte Bardot goes to Russia. To me, it's perfection.

Images from Vogue Russia, spotted on where is my crown?

Behind the Scenes: Ulyana Sergeenko Spring-Summer 2012

2012-02-21T09:15:00.001-05:00

Scenes from backstage at Ulyana Sergeenko's Spring-Summer 2012 show. I adored her 2011 fall/winter lookbook from top to bottom (I still go back and look at it), and before I share her newest collection, I wanted to post these more candid shots. It's nice to see the details in these photographs that might normally get lost in the final, stylized vision: a head of pin curls, a rose earring, expertly applied eye liner, the delicate chain that holds up a heavy beaded necklace. Consider it a preview of things to come...

First spotted on Butter + Brass.

Beads and Threads

2012-02-20T09:15:00.000-05:00

Anna Jane Searle does extraordinary needle work, incorporating all manner of beads and sequins amongst her smooth, dense threads. These pieces remind me of fanciful anemones. Don't they look as though they could undulate across the cloth?

Floor Treatments

2012-02-17T09:11:00.001-05:00

Somehow I can't imagine my landlord giving the okay for this, but I am loving these painted floors anyway.

Sources: Alvhem; Magnus Reed; Elle Decor.

Recent Acquisitions

2012-02-16T09:06:00.000-05:00

Some prints that are soon to be hanging in the home of yours truly. New art makes me so giddy! I can't wait to see them in person (and figure out where to put them!).

White Bison by Sandra Dieckmann

Oneonta Gorge and Massive Ice Wall by Jeremy Miranda

Valentines

2012-02-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm going to a ballet class (my first in probably 20 years!), so I'm making up for my lack of schmaltz with these insane Victorian and Edwardian cards from The Beamish Museum. Aren't they over the top?

Arrangements

2012-02-13T09:11:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday - I brought you some flowers! Well, pictures of flowers anyway. I can't stop staring at these sumptuous bouquets by Honey of a Thousand Flowers. They look so heavy, which is a strange compliment for floral arrangements, but I love how weighty they look with those luscious blooms and thick greenery. These are some serious flowers.

Artisan Candy

2012-02-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

What better way to welcome Friday than with some pretty pretty cake decor by Andie's Specialty Sweets? I pine for mushroom cake.

Fashionable Illustrations

2012-02-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

Gorgeous work by Ekaterina Koroleva. I'd love to have a giant print of that first one hanging in my living room.

Tabletop Gardens

2012-02-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm spending the majority of my weekdays in a office, I've started to look for ways to make my work area a more comfortable and creative space. Having some of my favorite postcards and prints tacked up makes it feel more homey (as does the steadily growing pile of books), but I'm seriously lacking on the plant front. One of the perks of my office floor is being surrounded by big, bright windows and most of the people up there have taken advantage of that with copious amounts of greenery. Some cubicles look positively jungly!

One of my coworkers sweetly gave me a little tropical plant on my first day, and I think it needs some friends. A terrarium from Sea & Asters seems like the perfect companion. Colorful, low maintenance, and slightly sculptural? Sign me up.

Shoe Sculpture

2012-02-07T09:07:00.001-05:00

The cut outs, slants, solids, and spots on the footwear from Minimarket give it some artistic edge.

Twins

2012-02-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

Fascinating portraits of identical siblings at the Twin Days Festival in Ohio by Martin Schoeller. I can't stop myself from picking out the differences between their features, can you?

From the top: Marta and Emma; Jeff and Steve; Johanna and Eva; Jessica and Jackie; Ramon and Eurides.

Discovered on PetaPixel.

Blondie

2012-02-01T09:26:00.001-05:00

I'm getting my hair done tonight and, as usual, I can't seem to decide what it is exactly that I want to leave with. True platinum or honeyed blonde? Long and romantic, or cropped clean? I crave follicular change almost as often as I do cake (read: biweekly), so the days leading up to an appointment are fraught with indecision. I am super missing my pixie hair right about now, but it took me so long to grow it out (2 years!) and I'm still not where I wanted to be when I started this whole growth shebang. Since I've only got a couple inches to go to meet that length, I'm going to hold off chopping it off for a bit and get my kicks from the color this time. I'm taking the above to the stylist, and will hopefully get something a touch darker and little richer than what's currently happening around my head. Wish me luck! Hair can be so fun, no? :)

Image credits, clockwise from the left: Garance Doré; J. Crew Collection 2012, via a blog with a view; Vanessa Jackman.

The Month in Books : November, December, & January

2012-01-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, but I'm glad to be sharing again. Check out my reviews from the last three months on Book Wit.

The Queen's Man: A Medieval Mystery by Sharon Kay Penman

All Other Nights by Dara Horn

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Dissolution by C. J. Sansom

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Above: Max Fischer, via Awesome People Reading.

Clothes for the Cold: Hats & Scarves

2012-01-30T09:10:00.001-05:00

Don't they look nice, all bundled up? It's supposed to snow/sleet/be generally disagreeable weather-wise this week, so I've been paying extra attention to the looks that seem like they could get me through the slush.

Row 1: Elle; Topshop Tumblr.

Row 2: Olive My Love; Style Clicker.

Row 3: The Sartorialist; Eat Sleep Wear.

Little Worlds

2012-01-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

All by Jeff Specks.

Pendleton Cases

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Awesome possum laptop and iPad cases by Timberline Treasures. Those colors look so good, I could eat them.

Little House in the Big Woods

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

Reading Laura Ingalls Wilder over and over clearly had an impact on me, no? These photographs are some of my favorites from Cabin Porn, which I believe has been making the blog rounds lately.

Discovered via Corbett, who has some excellent vacation ideas.

Animal Sounds

2012-01-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

I can't think of a better way to end the week than vintage illustrations of animals.

Cris d'animaux, petit dictionnaire rimé et illustré par Véra Braun (1937).

Via maptitefabrique.

Marbled Paper

2012-01-18T09:06:00.001-05:00

These marbled papers from the digital collections over at the University of Washington make me want to marble my whole apartment.

From the top: Antique straight pattern by Don Guyot (1978); Comb marbled paper by Don Guyot (1978); Fern patter by Cockerell and Sons (20th century); Icarus pattern by Don Guyot (1978); Peacock drag pattern by Don Guyot (1978); Comb pattern by Don Guyot (1978); French curl on wide comb pattern by Cpckerell and Sons (20th century); Turkish pattern by Cockerell and Sons (20th century); Whirl pattern by Cockerell and Sons (20th century).

All from the University of Washington's Decorated and Decorative Paper Collection.

Hair Rolls

2012-01-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Glamorous filamented sculpture (I wonder how much of it is actually hers). The face jewels don't hurt either.

Photographs by Jeff Tse, via Fashion Gone Rogue.

Historic Ship Stamps

2012-01-12T09:06:00.001-05:00

I can not get enough of the work of Stefan Kanchev this week. The crisp patterning and brightness of these ship stamps is so appealing.

... These stamps are brand new, contemporary but without being modish. A stamp has to have the qualities of the plastic art which will guarantee that it will stand the changes in trends during the years without getting outdated. Any of these stamps can be enlarged to impressive size, can be reduced to miniature but the stamp will not loose its clearness or its plastic beauty.

Nenov, Ivan — Master of applied arts, magazine “Art”, issue 8/1961, pp 23–28

Above, selections from the Historic Ships series (1975-1986). All via Applied graphics by Stefan Kanchev.