Inspiring Things

This cracked me… from my daily calendar.

“For father’s Day, I’m giving my dad an hour of free tech support.”

This is just when the talk of death, inspires you for a new life. Happy Weekend!
More poems by Pablo Neruda 

You start dying slowly
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.

You start dying slowly
When you kill your self-esteem;
When you do not let others help you.

You start dying slowly
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking everyday on the same paths…
If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colours
Or you do not speak to those you don’t know.

You start dying slowly
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heart beat fast.

You start dying slowly
If you do not change your life when you are not satisfied with your job, or with your love,
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain,
If you do not go after a dream,
If you do not allow yourself,
At least once in your lifetime,
To run away from sensible advice…

Pablo Neruda

Misprinted Type is the personal portfolio of Eduardo Recife form Brazil - the kind of stuff that blends concept, design and illustration (and pencil, retro images, scrapbook elements and what not), all by the same hand. My favorite thing! Besides some great images and the pure realization that this artist is having fun doing what he does, you can also find there some fonts and other goodies.

Make sure to check out his commercial portfolio as well, which is a straightforward navigation of bold and beautiful images.

I just love the art of Pepa Prieto from Spain. Looking at her work makes me want to meet her.

As she writes in her bio:” Her inspiration comes from traveling, mountains, the sea, smells, snow, people, strawberry ice-cream, ginger, coriander, scissors, cakes, books, pens, plants, music, ……………………. ………………………………………………………. among a million of other things.”

This is her blog: http://pepaprietomoreno.blogspot.com/

OCULART - Here is some art which I find very moving, both for my eyes and heart (for my ears too, actually). You’ll find some quirky names too.

When I first “stepped” into this artist’s world, I wasn’t sure where I am, or what **else** this site does, and I’m still not sure. The only thing I’m sure of, is that I can’t wait for explore it further and to find out!

while you are there, check out this too: http://www.entity.be/entity/

I saw one of her items in a shop and had to check her out her site: Liora Manne’s Innovative Designs and Cutting Edge Technology. Rugs, Home Accents, Installations, Patterns, Fashions, Lighting - Colorful stuff, beautiful textures. Yum!!! 

http://www.lioramanne.com/

This just came in the mail. I love Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (by Lewis Carroll) and everything that she stands for… I also love Tea parties! 

This messenger bag by baba-store in magical Prague, fits all my daily-carry-around and some more. It has an adjustable strap and can be worn as a backpack too. It adds inspiration to any casual outfit. You can browse the fabulous Baba collection at their online baba-store!

The small beautiful cups are from my private collection, most of them bought in flea markets around the New York area. There were times that I was really obsessed about collecting them and initiated trips just for that. They are perfect for Greek coffee as well as for Espresso. They are also perfect to just “be”! The cardboard figurines are hung ornaments.

Matan Shaki from Denver, CO, is the young artist of these works (4 plus years old).

[So what if he is my nephew? this just helped me discover him.]

Cracking art is a group of European artists that specialized in creating art from used or recycled plastic. In Tel Aviv’s harbour they display different plastic animals, such as dolphins, crocodiles and birds.

(from the billboard):

“What is common to all Cracking artists is the non-destroyable optimism transmitted by all their art works and installations.

Everything concurs to this dimension (colors, materials, subjects,…) , making the art field dynamic on an unusual register, as with no doubt it rejects environmental pessimism and defeatist attitude in front to the modern world crude reality.

This approach exalts the critical proposition on which their thought is based upon, no matter how fantastic and live it appears, as a seamless effervescence of the pleasure of the existence”.

Claude Lorent

Art Curator, Palais des Beaux Arts

Brussels, Belgium

I felt right at home when I first saw some of the art of Nicolas Rubinstein. Visit his website and take a special look at Mickey is Also a Rat.