high up in the trees

year of the red dog

Two new collages for you:

At midnight tonight, the Chinese Year of the Green Rooster will end and the Year of the Red Dog is welcomed in. So in honour of the approaching YEAR OF THE DOG - I give you many small dogs! Several early photographs taken at Louise's parents farm Dunblane, in NSW. Dogs on bikes, dogs in chairs and dogs in packs...

A few Downward Dogs were also tackled thismorning in yoga... Can't find a more 'doggy' tribute than that... Plus a bit of a SPRING CLEAN - "sweeping of the grounds" Every corner of the house must be swept and cleaned in preparation for the new year.

Which leads me nicely to these Animal Shadows... found via Karin's Style blog.

felt hats, the 60's & chickens

So far, today has entailed:
One collage

Hauling ourselves to the 60's show at the NGV... within a whisker of the closing date (5th of Feb) and sauntering home past a beautiful chicken on a residential wall in St David Street, Fitzroy.

Stumbling upon this photo of an elephant at the American Museum of Natural History... Carl Akeley (1864–1926) sculpting the African elephant mounts for the Akeley Hall of African Mammals.

Receiving these New Orleans photos (post Katrina)
Sid Mars of Bucktown - where two years ago my folks and I enjoyed a generous sized feast of fried catfish on the marina.

Which today looks like this... only the pilings in the water survived.

And these pics taken from a strange little site if london were like venice. The caption reads:"If London were like Venice Hyde Park would be much improved."

one shoe & odd shapes

One lonely ol' hutia for today... with only one shoe.

However the good news is that one pic equals lots of funny discs. I've be trawling the world wide web to bring you these deep sea treasures... all the way from a Collectable Records site with a penchant for lilac backgrounds.

Check out these dreamy records... it's enough to make you wanna pack your sack and head to a beach side resort - sniffing the ocean breeze:

And who could go past these Russian splendours:

Finally it's time for - odd shaped discs - it's a bit like a novelty basket with tennis playing mice, only better!

things to do on wednesday

Collage for Wednesday:

Today I'm looking at:
The Small Stakes - Posters by Jason Munn. Seen here... Sufjan Stevens (Illinoisemakers), two color silkscreen, Blonde Redhead, three color silkscreen and Cat Power, three color silkscreen.

Murphy's Original Stupid Creatures - Cheaper than taxidermy & nothing has to die. Meet Rosita and others here!

AND Rowland Emett Machines/3D Creations/Things - Found via the essential i like

Machines include the The Little Dragon Carpet Cleaner and The Borg-Warner Vintage Car of the Future seen here plus... The Hush-A-Bye Hot Air Rocking Chair, The Humbug Major Sweet Machine, The Honeywell-Emett Forget-me-not Computer and The Machine Designed to Show the Working of the Economic System.

here comes tuesday

Monday night/Tuesday morning collage X3

P.S. Our hammer & daisy pencil cases are featured on MICHI GIRL!
Push the little daisies
"I used to hate January as a kid because every time I turned on the TV I’d be faced with another ‘back to school’ ad. It was so cruel. Not only because they served as a painful reminder that my holidays were drawing to an end, but the fact that I would once again be faced with another year of boring stationary. Which brings me to these far from boring pencil cases by hammer & daisy – each one is handmade from start to finish using beautiful prints and fabrics you won’t find anywhere near a Horror Works store."

monday pics & monday likes

Monday works:

Recently I've been looking at:
In honour of the Australian Open - MICE ON A BASKET... playing tennis. Who wouldn't want a 1950's basket kitted out with mice playing a round of tennis. These sporting rodents were found in Handbags: The Power of the Purse by Anna Johnson (one of those books you never knew you had on the shelf).

The beautiful The Husband of the Rat's Daughter, a Japanese folk tale translated by Lenose & Andrew Lang and letterpress printed by Daniel Urban - spotted at carsonellis.com. Plus, X-RAY Book & Novelty Co. for broadsides and chapbooks like this one published as an insert in X-ray No. 8, printed letterpress and limited to 226 copies. AND Gambling Fantasy, Mice and Playing Cards, 1905 - group of cards printed and embossed in Germany.

Also checking out: vladmaster.com for handmade viewmaster reels by Vladimir. Works include the Italo Calvino vladmaster set and Actaeon at Home featuring "a small man in a room with striped wallpaper and antlers and a typewriter and a collection of Currier & Ives prints".

one norway rat

Here's my drawing for today - a Norway Rat for Sunday... pen, watercolour & collage on magnani cotton-alpha 300gsm paper.

the last of the readers digest

Here are three more collages made possible by a recently acquired collection of Readers Digest hardcover books from our old neighbour Noel. We visited him yesterday in his new pad in a local Aged Care Facility, where we received a full tour of the premises, basement and all, introduced to everyone as "my two lovely neighbours". We left a little before lunch - fish & chip friday.

Here too is a snap of Noel's cat Eddie, who now lives with his new family a stones throw from Piedimontes Supermarket. He is a two-bell-tom with a likely passion for birds and sun lounging.

Now, why don't you visit FOUND MAGAZINE for found delights... including this snap of a scary feline costume experience (found by Eric Weber).

Currently loving, the Martha Stewart GLITTER BIRD CENTRE PIECE as it reminds me of my favourite exhibit at the Melbourne Museum, The Hummingbird Tree... a free standing cabinet tucked deep in the bowels of the museum, somewhere in between the Evolution Gallery and The Mind & Body section. Hundreds of tiny hummingbirds, mid flight in a black lacquered case. Try and find it next time you’re there. And if you ever come across any pics - please, please let me know.

And last but by no means least, as the ol' saying goes... why don't you also take a wander through the Condiment Packet Museum... after all, who doesn't like to collect sachets of jam and sauce from recent travels. It wouldn't be a proper escape without a handful of these packet treats. Take a look!

Still here? Still peckish? Head to My Paper Crane for plush food items like HAPPY BREAD and CHOCOLATE FROSTED CUPCAKE.

further collages & places

Two new collages from today for you to cast yer peepers over:

Now you've seen those, perhaps you might wanna look at these links and images too...
See beautiful linocut designs here at Angie Lewin’s site. This one is Spey Path 1.

Bizarre Detective Card Set, featuring deliciously lurid covers from detective pulp magazines of the 30's & 40's. Pulp covers can also be seen first hand at Mirror of the World: books and ideas, a free permanent exhibition.at the SLV.

R.Crumb's Pioneers of Country Music Trading Cards and R.Crumb's Heroes of the Blues Trading Cards also shown. Find these and other such marvels at Denis Kitchen Publishing and at Hound Dog's Bop Shop (313 Victoria Street, West Melbourne). R.Crumb's Pioneers of Country Music Trading Cards fave band names include (in no particular order) DR. HUMPHREY & his POSSUM HUNTERS, EAST TEXAS SERENADERS, FRANK BELVINS & his TAR HEEL RATTLERS, PAUL MILES & his RED FOX CHASERS, ERNST STONEMAN & the BLUE RIDGE CORN SHUCKKERS and UNCLE DAVE MACON & his FRUIT-JAR DRINKERS. I defy anyone to top these gems, including my all time fave - GID TANNER & his SKILLET LICKERS!

Currently loving MAKING IT UP:“In this fascinating new piece of fiction, Penelope Lively takes moments from her own life and asks ‘what if’ she had made other choices: what if she hadn't escaped from Alexandria at the outbreak of WWII? What would her life have been like if she had become pregnant when she was 18? If she had married someone else? If she taken a different job? If she had lived her life abroad? In this highly original work, Penelope Lively examines alternative destinies, choices and the moments in our lives when we could have chosen a different path...”

On DVD: TRUST Hal Hartley - no explanation required.

Currently listening to: Darby & Tarlton OOZE IT UP TO ME cd, on loan from my mum’s ever growing cd collection... and she wants it back!

And finally, meet these three adoption candidates at the RSPCA Burwood Shelter. They also have an Adopt a Four Legged Senior Program.

The above trio feature:
RABBIT Case No: 332058e, Breed: New Zealand Giant, Age: 4 months, Sex: female (S)
FELINE Case No: 510213, Age: 3 years, Sex: female (S), Colour: grey & white
PUP Case No: 347248, Breed: Bull Terrier  X  Staffy, Age: 10 years, Sex: male (N)

new collages & new places to visit

Four new collages created last night using images gleaned from hardback copies of Reader's Digest Condensed Books, passed on to us by our neighbour Noel, who recently moved into a home. Favourite book titles featured: THE GIANT'S SHADOW, GILDED SPLENDOUR, WHILE MY PRETTY ONE SLEEPS and CHICO THE SMALL ONE.

I'm intending to create a new collage or drawing each day of the year - not too sure how long it'll last (fingers crossed). So, here they are:

Further things you really ought to check out include...
Papercraft toys are from the LA Times' Junior Times section, circa 1922-23, including Tillie the Typist and other delights.

Tiny dolls assembled from cork created by Mamiko. “I put together some pieces of used corks along with screws, nails, pins, and every possible thing for creation”. Recent woodcut and linocut prints by her can be found here aswell.

Two personal faves, (No.029) Man with the dark past and (No.012) Man with a bouquet.

You'll find the full list of recent ODD SPOTS from the Age newspaper here, including this pearler:
Tuesday January 10, 2006
"A mouse in New Mexico got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran into the man's house and set it on fire, burning it to the ground".

Overload on all things CUTE here - where you'll meet Akagami the gnawing hamster.

And in honour of the recent Golden Globes...why don’t you take the quiz here and see which Desperate Housewife are you? No matter how many times I do it I come out as Susan and Louise is always Lynette.

three recent collages

Several recent collages... with more to follow if all goes to plan!

AND, take a look also at these beautiful Animal Families cards seen here at THINGS MAGAZINE

the beginning, take two

What would a beginning be without a few snaps of the two furry felines, Omar & Olive... responsible for FUR PRODUCTION at our hammer & daisy factory.

Here they are, hard at it:

The workbench and the end result!

January diversions include:

The Summer House, Later and Nothing But Ghosts by Judith Hermann, and anything by Andrey Kurkov, author of the beautiful Death and the Penguin. Find info on all of Kurkov's books at Random House UK and read the abc interview while your at it.

The soundtack to an absolute favourite Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki, The Man Without a Past. Sample tracks can be found on Amazon. And find out more on Marko Haavisto & Poutahaukatis seen as a Salvation Army Band in the film here (if you're fluent in Finnish - not me). Or here, 7th Sofia Intertnational Film Festival site.

Plus DVD joy: Nero Wolfe and Inspector Montalbano, based on the novels by Andrea Camilleri...