one of my favorite artists on the planet, gretchen wagoner, is part of a fab art show beginning this evening at nahcotta in portsmouth, NH.  it's called the "enormous tiny art show" and promises to be good.  opening reception with some of the 50 participating artists is from 5-8, so if you are anywhere close the portsmouth, you simply must go.  no excuses.

however, for those of us who who are thousands of miles away, nahcotta has set up a website to sell and peruse all of the available works.

gretchen's artwork is pictured above and available here.  other participating artists include...

{above: APAK.}

{above:  helen musselwhite.}

view the entire list of artists here.

enormous tiny art show @ nahcotta

when:  february 4th - march 1st
where: 110 congress street, portsmouth, NH 03801

greetings, poodles!

i'm thrilled to announce that the results are in for WHORANGE and velocity's john tusher's "NAME THE MUSE" contest.  after 300+ entries, the five most popular names were:

GIGI
VALENTINA
MRS. KARL WINSLOW
LOLA
PERSEPHONE

and name that received the most votes...

MRS. KARL WINSLOW!

heather c. writes, "She was born poor little Emily Broom, but grew up to marry the heir to a toilet paper cardboard dynasty. She now signs her name 'Mrs. Karl Winslow.'"

congratulations to STEVE LEE for first crafting mrs. karl's moniker.  you will receive a matte stephens "Alfred was obviously underdressed for his induction into the Adventurers Hall of Fame" print!

but, wait...there's more.

as you know, john added four more prints as a ginormous thank you to everyone for submitting such amazingly creative and inspirational names.  (thanks, john!)  we drew names from a random number generator and the four additional recipients of the matte stephens alfred print are:

TINA from the scatterbox organized. comment #165. muse name: "Emperatriz de la Milonga."  click here to read Emperatriz's intriguing bio!

BRENDA.  comment #193.  muse name:  Celesta.

MICHELLE P from creatocrat.  comment #283.  muse name:  "Her last name is definitely de la Rosa (of the roses).  hmmm... Valentina de la Rosa sounds right to me!"

MARY T. from shelterrific.  comment #308.  muse name:  "Vulva!"

congratulations!  perhaps "vulva" was mrs. karl winslow's maiden name?

riding back from the snowy slopes of mammoth this weekend, i had a spiritual awakening.  i decided to launch a new house whoranging series -- the monthly pad.  the premise is simple:  a much needed pad.  once a month.

i planned to premiere the series with my own personal pad, but yesterday i noticed jessica.nicole's groovy digs on the mid-century modernist and decided to stalk jessica's luxe lounge instead.

from her lemon yellow broyhill desk set, to rad welton radios, 8-track wonders, and poppy apple walls, jessica's pad is undoubtedly maxi magnificent.  enjoy.

for the full pad experience, check out jessica.nicole's fabulous flickr set.

thank you, jessica!  simply put, you're home is absolutely magnificent and a true treasure.  period.

if you'd like your home to be considered for WHORANGE'S montly pad, please drop me a line at tula@whorange.net.  feel free to include two non-flash, composed, sexy pix of your darling den.  no nudity required.  xoxo.

i have wonderful news, kittens!

john tusher from veloctiy art & design fell so madly in love with the 250+ names (and bios) submitted to the "NAME THE MUSE" contest thus far, that he has added FOUR MORE matte stephens prints to the prize pool!  that's right...there will be five winners total!

john and i are downing martinis and discussing how these additional four prints will be awarded, but in order to qualify, you need to enter here.

remember, you may enter up to three names.  contest ends today at 9:00 pm PST...so hop to it!

thank you, john, for your loving generosity.  you are a true hero to us all!  xoxo & xoxo

i'm not sure what toronto-based artist ibraheem youssef's business card says, but i imagine it reads something like this:

Ibraheem Youssef
Designer/Art Director/Bad Mother F*cker

ibarheem's bad ass tarantino-tribute posters available here.

vladimir, a portland based filmmaker & visual artist, crafts fabulous, multi-sensory experiences using one of my fave childhood toys:  the viewmaster.

in 2003, vladmir began designing, photographing, and hand-assembling her own "vladmaster" disks to be viewed via the viewmaster toy.  her deliciously illustrated disks feature textured and moody 3D photographs of subjects such as vintage game pieces, neglected household objects, and one inch high dioramas.

each vladmaster series tells a unique 28-picture story.  for example:

above: "fear & trembling" documents a dinner party as seen through the eyes of someone who probably should not have attended.

above:  "franz kafka's parable" pays homage to traditional mythic and historic figures such as a poseidon and alexander the great.

above: "italo calvino's invisible cities" -- marco polo tells tales of his travels to an aging kubla khan.

above:  "acteon at home" tells the story of actaeon -- a hunter unlucky enough to catch a glimpse of artemis bathing naked amongst her nymphs. as a result, actaeon was transformed into a stag.

did i mention most vladmaster series include an original soundtrack?  a soundtrack, kittens!

so, make a playdate, slip in a disk, turn up the music, and get ready experience the view-master with a whole new perspective.

hold onto your mittens, kittens, because we're in for a fun ride!

john tusher, the dashing and debonair owner of velocity art & design, recently acquired this gorgeous, vintage painting (above) from white sage studio in seattle's ballard neighborhood.  isn't she fabulous?  this lovely lady is so superbly special that she will provide the decor inspiration for john's latest interior endeavor.  however, the only problem is...she needs a name.

and, that's where you come in...YOU GET TO NAME HER!

yes, mr. tusher has asked the readers of WHORANGE to name his muse. john describes his painted lady as "sexy, sophisticated, a little rough around the edges, and very well traveled."  rumor is she hails from buenos aires, but the year of her birth is unknown.

but, wait, there's more!  not only is john a modern-living savant, father of one, hero to many, and inspiration to all, he is also ridiculously kind and offering a fab prize to one lucky participant:  a limited edition, signed, matte stephens print entitled "Alfred was obviously underdressed for his induction into the Adventurers Hall of Fame."

love. this. print.  click here for more details.

TO WIN:  simply enter a name for the muse in the comment section of this post.  how easy is that?  be inspired, be creative, and be fabulous!  you may enter three times, but you must nominate a different name each time.  this will increase your chances of winning, poodles, so hop to it!

the muse name that receives the most nominations wins the title.  so, feel free to review what other people have written and rally behind the same name if you desire.

please note, you don't have to pick the winning name in order to be eligible for the prize.  simply nominating a name puts you in the running.  i will pick one winner at random on monday, february 1st, at 9:00 pm PST.

and, finally, can we just take a moment to admire her stunning coiffure...

...talk about an inspiration.

good luck, everybody!  and thank you, john, for entrusting us with such an important decision.  we love her, we love velocity, and we love you!

UPDATE!  due to the overwhelmingly amazing entries thus far, john tusher has added FOUR MORE PRIZES!  yep, five winners total will receive prints!  how fabulous is that?  thank you, john!!!!!