Sunday Junk

Took a drive north of Sheboygan along Lake Michigan and stopped at a couple inconspicuous "antique" shops which ended up being more shelters of the used & abused than destinations for collectables. One had some great Red Wing stone wear, which I always adore, but other than that it was nothing more than glorified permanent garage sales in dilapidated buildings. That aside, I took a liking to the way these chairs were displayed.

As well as these dolls amongst some china and other serving ware.

And a well organized grouping of lighting fixtures - from lanterns to table lamps - all in a row along the wall of an old school house in an unspecified location in the country-side.

A charming day it was.

1, 2, 3...

Lots of good "otherwise trash" at threepotatofour. Interesting finds - mostly vintage - and imaginative photo styling. Check it out, if not for a little nostalgic inspiration.

A Study in Rust, Wood & Grass

I found some rusted buckets and machine parts and combined them with a mix of grasses to create this late summer vignette. It sort of has a nautical, ship yard feel to it.

Pollenated Matchbox

This little matchbox (from Sweden that I love) was sitting beneath a vase of sunflowers on my dining table and received a little pollen treatment.
...the yellow scatter being ever so nice.

Ring In Print

A piece I created last summer in my first jewelry & metalsmithing class is featured this month in Art Jewelry Magazine. You can find it in the magazine gallery in print or here at the magazine gallery online.

Each key is mounted on it's own ring to allow it to spin as necessary; they can be lined up straight or spread open as this photograph shows.

Eggy Crumpet Breakfast

I checked in early last night instead of staying out super late for my friends birthday.  To make up for it (and to further the celebration) I had some other friends bring her over for a surprise birthday breakfast.  It was just the chance I needed to try out a Jamie Oliver recipe I've been meaning to mess with: Breakfast Eggy Crumpets.  All it really involves is frying an egg-soaked crumpet in rendered bacon fat (if you dare) and serve it hot with the bacon and some syrup.  

So, it was shopping time for the early birthday/hang-over meal.  While at the grocery store (quite early for a Saturday) I picked up some fruit and other things and decided to make a sweeter version of Jamie's more savory, bacon-y concoction.  Among the additions were yogurt, blueberries and maple syrup.  What I ended up with was an Eggy Crumpet with Maple-Laced Yogurt and Blueberries.  And here you can see the extra drizzle of Wisconsin Maple syrup we added to give it just the right sweetness.  

As far as crumpets go (which I know little about) they were soft & tender-what one might call an "English French Toast."  And with that I made super savory Bacon-Garlic Roasted Breakfast Potatoes, which were merely red potatoes cut up and roasted with some chucks of uncooked bacon, garlic and seasonings.  

And of course, everyone got a side of bacon-which I amped up to some thick-cut peppered bacon.  It was a gorgeous, sunny, albeit filling, Saturday morning on the deck and everyone got their bacon-fix.  All we needed after that was a nap.

Big Local Design

Details magazine, of all places, featured Milwaukee-based Misewell design in their current issue. Great website, on top of their already appealing home furnishings. (Also: see Sprecher Root Beer under the Craft Soda feature).

Photos Up

Finally got the photos off the floor and on the wall.  As much as I'd like to leave them where they are, I'm hoping they'll be out on another wall available for purchase soon.  The frames turned out nice (as much of a pain as they are) but I am considering options for upgrading to an even nicer version.

Model Trees

Read about Emma Livingston's Tree Portraits in Dwell Magazine. Each photo draws on the individual characteristics of the solo subject thereby giving it some sense of personality. Plus they have a raw, dirty street-sensibility that I just love.

Travel Series

63 Blur. 20 X20. 2009.

Roman Underground. 16X20. 2009.

Milan Rising. 20 X20. 2009

I've been working on a series of Travel photos from the June trip to Europe. Above is a sampling of the images which I had printed at ookiimage. The obvious theme is travel, but more specifically the unexpected beauty of transportation and the constant movement associated with it. Plus, I couldn't overlook the food so there's a little of that in there as well.