SUPERMOON

Along the lines of once in a blue moon...

Be sure to check out tonight's SUPERMOON-

It's been 18 years since we've seen such lunar craziness, or should we say - lunacy! A Supermoon occurs when the moon is 90% of its closest approach to Earth. For us, that means the moon appears 20% brighter and 15% larger than an ordinary full moon.

You can read more here, and if last night's moon was any example- it's a night not to be missed!

On my Birthday- who could ask for a better gift! ;)

Photos: William Menke

Horsing Around: Deborah Buterfiled

Photo: Kelsey Givens / Ohio State Lantern

Went to the newly renovated Columbus Museum of Art today and had a quick spin through the galleries. Amongst the lovelies was an old time fave- Joseph - a (massive) horse sculpture by Deborah Butterfield.

Since the '80s Butterfield has collected scrap to create her iconic horses- which she creates at her ranch in Montana and her studio in Hawaii. Thought we'd share a few photos, including recent work to be highlighted at a show this June at the Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle.

Photo via gregkucera.com

Here's what they say about her work:

"Many of the recent works are made of found metal; most of it bearing colored paint remnants from its original surface. The artist collects metal from wrecked cars, industrial salvage yards, demolished buildings and construction sites and combines them in her Montana studio to create these equine sculptures. Some of the works have utilized three-dimensional letters scavenged from commercial signage bringing an unexpected new element into play. Butterfield has also recently used painted metal from flat signage.

Photo via artnet.com

In constructing her horses Butterfield tries to alter the "as found" shape of the metal pieces as little as possible. The separate parts are not often individually important but gain an elegant context in the artist’s ability to meld them into such a suggestive sculpture. Occasionally, recognizable elements such as a child's tricycle can still be identified within the tangled assemblage of metal parts."

If you are in the Pac Northwest- don't miss this upcoming show of Deborah Butterfiled's recent work: June 2 - July 9, 2011 / Greg Kucera Gallery / 212 Third Avenue South / Seattle

Photos via gregkucera.com

Not Our Type

Playing around today visiting all the kids on the blogs writing about Helvetica vs. Arial. Trying to make nice with that bully Arial and his oh so handsome predecessor Helvetica (who we can't even show you since it's not a Blogger typeface option!) ;)

A few fave sites that punch it out:

1. A Quiz

Really cute quiz from iliveonyourvisits.com. Luv her snark-ie text intro:

Once there was a typeface called Helvetica.
It was extremely popular.
Later came a software company called Microsoft.
They “borrowed” Helvetica for their operating system and called it Arial.
This inferior typeface is now on millions of desktops all over the world.
Can you tell the difference between the original and the rip-off in these ten examples?

TAKE THE QUIZ

2. Lessons to be learned:

From Pinterest, by ragb.ag via Sha Hwang

Penmanship guide highlights the ins and outs

#3. Knock down drag out

Fun animation by Mime Artist that says it all... play it here: mimeartist.com

4. Font and Lettering artist Mark Simonson has a great article on his blog that re-caps the history. And when you have had enough, move on to his own font design eye candy that knocks these bad boys out of the park.

At the risk of taking sides on this ever growing playground- we'll stick by our buddy Helvetica. Do we feel like a traitor every time we employee Arial into our work- you betcha! But a bloggers gotta do what a bloggers gotta do and our heart is true - We ♥ u H!

BHLDN- It's Here & It's Divine!

It's here- it's amazing- it's everything you want a fresh wedding shopping site to be- and still more to come, to be sure!

Antrohopologie's BHLDN is here!

From finger tips to tippy toes- splendid lovelies abound... sure to provide much inspiration and wedding shopping bliss for brides to be and detail delights for industry insiders alike!

With confections like these, we're sure there is some green frosting to be found so we'll do a little more exploring and keep you posted.

If you haven't seen the site... Go there NOW!

All images via BHLDN

Happy Valentines Day!

XxOo - Have a love-ly day!

Art image by B Designs

Rabbit Rabbit!

Happy New Year of the Rabbit!


Photo and more about this auspicious character here...

Baldessari

A bit of eye candy for those of us who missed the John Baldessari show that just closed at the Met in NY this past Sunday...

Watch Video

Images via googleimages

Amish Homage

Just finished reading a book about the Amish and am inspired, particularly in light of the recent news from Arizona, by their peaceful ways and strong conviction to lead a simple "plain" life.

Central Ohio is home to the country's largest base of Amish and despite the pressures of commercialization- their communities thrive. Read more about the Amish here.

Their commitment to simplicity is ironic, considering our ever growing quest to lead a greener lifestyle. And the fact that SO much information and SO many photos are available on line is truly ironic as their very lifestyle represents the antithesis of both (and photography is forbidden).

Consider this an Amish homage- a gentle reminder of a gentle people from whom, we have much to learn.

Photos: amishcountry.com, walnutcreekohio.org and google images

Welcoming the New Year with Oprah

Happy New Year to all!!! How did you spend your holiday week?? WE were BUSY! We moved to our new and improved warehouse, which went amazingly well! Thanks to Bill's organized planning - we finished ahead of schedule - thus affording us all a few days off.

So when New Year's Day rolled around- I rolled out of bed to enjoy the day at home, in my PJs, to usher in the new year relaxing. Those who know me, know I am a huge Oprah fan. I spent New Year's Day, not only welcoming the new year, but as a couch potato glued to the TV, welcoming the new Oprah Winfrey Network - OWN.

Despite that after several hours (yes really!), it began to run as one giant self promotional infomercial- I enthusiastically await the round the clock programming which promises to offer inspiration from wise people about wise subjects- most focused on the greater good and a spirit of sharing.

Join the Oprah fest and start the new year by taking this fun and surprisingly insightful quiz: Who Are You Meant to Be?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Happy 2011 - may you "live your best life" and may it be your best year yet!!

Images via Oprah.com

New Year's Resolution- ClimateCounts.org Shopping

If you have some time this week... here's a great tool to start planning for the new year: Spend a few minutes on ClimateCounts.org and track some of the companies you support. You can see a breif report on the strides (or back steps) they've made in 2010 and what companies you feel you'd like to begin to support or continue to support in 2011.

Companies are graded on three levels- Stuck, Starting and Striding.

Stuck = channel your dollars elsewhere and send an email with the easy to use template provided telling them to claim corporate responsibility and start making strides.

Starting = the seed has been planted but still a long way to go before the flower blooms.

Striding = the best place to spend your hard earned dollars. Also a great place to email and let them know their efforts have been noticed.

Surprisingly, companies like Nike, General Electric and UPS scored high on the list, which you can search by rank for a quick reference. Equally surprising, Google and The Gap ranked in the low mid scores and Serta, Liz Claiborne and several companies that specialize in product for kids fell at the bottom of the list.

Be it resolved: Consume thoughtfully and carefully in 2011.