Inspiration: thrift store finds ... Yesterday I visited a couple thrift shops in Cochrane. I love finding old frames and photographs in thrift and antique shops. I found these old frames to add to my collection. When I get around to it, I'll to do a grouping of these on a wall. ... And I was especially happy to find myself some hand knitted mittens for winter.

Inspiration: prop styling ... I want to involve myself more in prop and craft styling ... I LOVE setting up still-lifes, so I am going to play around with this subject and keep at it until I get some nice compositions. Here are some pictures of my first attempts ...

Inspiration: Little Leo ... My little lad is huge inspiration for me ... I'm about to paint these letters to hang in his room, but thought to photograph them first with some of his toys ... just for fun!

These days inspiration for me has been flowers and gardening ... maybe it's the gloomy weather ... the rain is good for growth!

We have been planting our garden this last week, mostly in pots on the patio. This year we planted: rosemary, parsley, coriander, dill, oregano, and chives ... also, three varieties of tomatoes, kale, lettuce, rhubarb, beans, onions ...

For inspiration, I have just started reading Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. I borrowed the book from my brother and I am excited to learn more about sustainable gardening practices, especially techniques when planting native species, grey water recycling and techniques to increase biodiversity in your own backyard. Reminds me of this project I worked on in school.

Edible landscapes are so practical and delicious, but I am a flower child at heart, so I have to have colourful and showy blooms in the garden, so I planted scads of zinnias this year as well.

I was really amazed at this flower I spotted at the farmer's market last week - the 'dinner plate' dahlia...I have never seen this variety before and I was impressed, the bloom is huge, literally the size of a dinner plate!!!

The rooftop of Chicago's City Hall was often brought up in lectures at University and it is true inspiration for sustainable building and gardening. It is a Greenroofs.com project. Have a peek at these amazing shots of the garden ...

What is truly amazing is how public gardens like this one can encourage social capita - community building. What is community and why do we need it? Broadly, the word "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift"), it is a broad term for fellowship or organized society. What is important is that it is a gift and that it is rewarding to give and receive. Here is a friendly poster - How to build community:

Flowers, flowers, everywhere - I have the most amazing boyfriend, he brought home a beautiful bouquet of lisianthus, peonies, sweet peas and leucadendron ... mmm, lovely fluffy flowers!

I came across these photographs by Amira Fritz, they are humorous. These pseudo-fashion photographs are in strange contexts, and made even odder with funeral-esque arrangements taking the place of the model's head.

Who doesn't love to look into a artist's studio - I love photographs of this subject in its own right. Photographer Rachel Whiting snaps this shot. I love the colourfulness, the collections in jars and the stacked shelving all the way up the wall.



I read an article in UPPERCASE about Three Potato Four, a family business started by a love of collectibles. Their online business sells unique collectibles from wedding wares to kids kitsch, from signs to paper and prints. The name derived from their family of three growing into a family of four. This business name reminded me of a haiku my friend wrote for me when I was pregnant:

seedling to soft kicks
inside-out, hugs and kisses
two cups become three

(image: Claire Coles Design)

Just some beautiful and inspiring things I stumbled across this week...

Saffron Craig



Domestic Construction



Emily Sutton



Valerie Hammond

Happy Holidays!! Here are my favourite things from 2008...all in pictures!!

My brother's deliciously prepared food...


My garden...


My Mother's teacups...

Eating and painting delicious cupcakes...


French costume parties...

Some pictures I took around the house today....








Riu Tenreiro's illustrations for the book The Celebration are amazing! I love the simple colour scheme, his quirky style and the story board look of the book.

I also really like the the simple illustrative style and limited colour use of Brandon A. Dalmer's work.

I think public art should have presence in the space it's occupying, and for me public art is most effective when it changes the way people react to it, for example the way they move around a sculpture and how it impacts their emotions and sense of space. I think the sculptures of Richard Serra are an excellent example of how public sculpture can alter a person's perception of space. This video shows the installation of Serra's sculpture garden at the MOMA. The shear size of his work is incredible. It is amazing how he challenges a person's perception of space with such simple concave and convex bends in shapes.

My favourite public art space is the Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Mayle is my newest favourite fashion. I love the Fall 2007 collection. It is all about layering boxy shapes and legs!

Here is something I drew, dreaming of the west coast....

And here are yet more little illustrations I have finished, these are all inspired by Valentine's and Spring... I think I may take a break and actually do some painting...