Tiny Theatre

Sebastopol Yard Art (Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent)

2010-12-20T22:48:00.000-08:00

We stopped to take a photograph in the yard of a woman who was working outside, who told us that the whole of Florence Street in Sebastopol comes together around these sculptures- this one was recently repainted by a group of neighbors. She told us they have visitors from all over the world. Patrick Amiot is the sculptor and his wife Brigitte Laurent is the painter. The street is a mile-long outdoor museum with characters of all shapes and sizes.

The support is attached to the end of the broom, it makes a loop down to a base with "Surrender Dorothy" painted on it.

You can tell that some of the sculptures have to do with the inhabitants of the houses, while others are pop culture icons.

The one above is a ratfink (see under Big Daddy Roth) , I believe.

The name of the boat is "Florence".

Finally, the front yard of the artists themselves. As my nephew and were on our return journey down the other side of the street, the man himself passed us and waved.

A Visit with Bryan

2010-11-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a larger deatil of Bryan's calendar,

to view the whole calendar, see his Etsy site.

This project involves a dragonfly with little hands coming in from the edges,

he is figuring out how to make the parts movable.

Some lovely disarray in the studio.

Finally, here is the little card he designed for Mina.

Like mascara for your trouser seams

2010-11-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Winter makes me feel like sewing....you?

Yesterday's News

2010-11-01T06:05:00.000-07:00

From the House on Russell Street in Berkeley which has for days had pumpkins waiting to be carved sitting around it.

Heath's New System of Writing

2010-10-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

For real- there is tiny bird (jenny wren) peeping out of the box at top

I love the poetic choices the author made with the pictures - I wonder if the author and illustrator were one and the same, they seem so well-matched

Ah, little girls and their dreams of adventures with big boys...

A mystery.

I do think these would make wonderful needlepoint patterns...feel free to copy any of them for that purpose if you like - cause, it's crafting season now.

Curiosities

2010-09-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Mary Davis of Saughall was documented, in 1688, as having a not unattractive horn growing out of the back of her head. See description on the website of the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

Look what Mina made!

2010-09-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

Mina had been saying she wanted to make something with an old book with covers off and dried flowers and string, I wasn't getting it at all. But I came across a book at the bottom of my closet the cover of which I had used in an assemblage...

August Window at Arjan

2010-08-15T20:55:00.001-07:00

Can you see a bit of the mast sticking in on the left-hand side?

Playing with lavender

The cat figure is holding a little bowl, I put some lavender in. If you take one of those little conkers with the spikes, you can glue lavender in the holes with little bits of gel medium. That's how I made this- the round part of the conker is sitting down in the bowl.

Pollack's Toy Museum continued

2010-07-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

This doll predates Star Trek, but it certainly looks like Bones in crankypants mode

The classic couple

Above and below, inhabitants of the room of scary dolls at Pollack's Toy Museum. A little girl was standing outside with her hands over her eyes when we visited.

Summer Window

2010-06-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

Details from the window at Arjan. I made some seashells into small hanging vases and Mina put bromeliads inside them.

Some Dogs

2010-06-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

Balto of Central Park, this statue commemmorates the dog who led a dog team transporting diptheria serum to Nome in 1925.

Olive, the id monster

Laurel's dog in Exeter, England. Very sweet.

My sister's Dog Teddy. Above he is in a hayfield due to be harvested in a week or so.

Citizens of a Rainy Day

2010-05-17T13:20:00.001-07:00

Curiosity

Privacy

Surreptitious Departure

Your point is well-taken.

The Uncuckoo Clock ( No Time like the Present)

2010-05-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

I deconstructed an old assemblage that wasn't working. Here are the materials planned for the final product, although changes are bound to occur. The large black item is the base for a bell jar, its upper component long since broken and lost. Gothic arch cut out and and cigar box cut up with Terry's amazing saw.
Oh, and these, I forgot to put these in the first photo.

It turned out I had to take the little wooden handle off, as it interfered with the knob with the flower on it (you'll see why I changed it later). I turned the wooden disk over, I like the red on the other side better even though it is more distressed, as in having a chunk missing out of it. changed my mind on the background (several times actually). I replaced the green paer with the star paper. The birds have been glued to heavy paper reinforced with thin copper wire which I taped down with acid free tape.

The final piece and...

The reason I didn't want the knob hitting the wooden handle. Wheeeee!

Twigs Amok

2010-05-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Most of the "Listen" assemblage except the part below the frets that has the word "Listen"

Gardener's Trophy

The Ladder of Dr. Caligari

Inspection walking to Mina's with the piece I had to repair.

Forest Home hanging on the wall of Arjan. I have one more piece I am working on.

Flowers for Dinner

2010-04-12T09:26:00.001-07:00

Mina came to dinner last night, here I am showing off one of the perks of having a friend who is a florist. She tells me that people tell their florists even more than they tell their hairdressers, and that discretion in very important in this profession.

A Visit to San Francisco

2010-03-16T10:20:00.001-07:00

Inside Community Thrift

For reference for the Altered Ancestors series on flickr.

The camera decides where it wants to focus. I like that, sometimes.

My Kwan Yin figure left at Beautiful Orchids on Sacramento Street

Pointiness

A window on Fillmore Street - the store sign just says "Antiques"

Inside "Nest" on Fillmore Street.

Home again to Oakland. Westward facing chairs in a yard near the MacArthur BART station.

Alice in Arjan

2010-03-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Alice gets installed at Arjan Flowers. My sister once remarked on someone's receding jawline and I replied that it was a shame we couldn't share.

The famous Mina preparing an arrangement which will appear later...

Keep your eye on the teapot on the left...

A vase sculpture thingie I have titled "Talk to the Bird"

My mosaic Cheshire Cat Mask: In the foreground, the brown teapot

with kumquat arrangement.

The skies cleared yesterday in a number of locations that I know of- in England and Germany as well as here.

TinyHaus blog

2010-02-27T12:42:00.001-08:00

Aren't these gorgeous? These Zodiac Crayons are the work of Diem Chau of the TinyHaus blog. If you live in the Chicago area, you can see her work at the Packer Schopf Gallery on West Lake street - the show runs till March 14. She has uploaded the entire series here.

Love's Labor Lost, Act V, Scene I

2010-02-25T12:00:00.001-08:00

They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps

----Moth

He could have been speaking of academic prose.

Romeo and Juliet #1

2010-02-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

O she doth teach the torches to burn bright

- Romeo

Valentine's Day Cards to make at Home

2010-02-05T11:50:00.001-08:00

For this one you just need stiff white paper and something interesting to cut the heart out of. I have used a leaf which I dipped in water mixed with polyvinyl adhesive (Elmer's glue for Americans). Oh, gel medium would probably be another alternative. You can also take fabric and dip it in this solution, and after getting all the excess off, lay it on stiff white paper. Allow it to dry throughly, and then cut a heart shape out of that. This is how I made the heart below, with a little bit of kimono silk. It's key to get the excess moisture out, and it's not a bad idea to tape the paper you stick it to down to avoid warpage - I just tore through it myself without doing so.

For the second one, I deliberately cut the little heart out with scissors instead of an exacto knife to prove to myself it was possible, it's a little rough. glue the paper "spring" to the inside of card and to the back of the heart. You should end up with something like what is below:

For the third one, you need a little heart pattern smaller than your card. Cut a strip if them out of stiff red paper - It is much better to trace the heart, or cut around it, than to fold the paper first and attempt to cut through it - this will end in tears! To avoid heartbreak, cut the line of hearts out, leaving them attached at the sides, and fold them afterwards. I have collaged old wrapping paper onto them, but you could also write a poem.

It's my intention to scan in some fun stuff as a sheet for you to print out at home later today.

And here they are, a few things to copy, print out and play with -

Ben Hirschkoff's Sculpture

2010-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

This is as large as I could get the image right-clicking. It's part of the Play Decay series of Seattle-based sculptor Ben Hirschkoff. I first saw the piece about ten years ago, when it made a vivid impression. A week or so ago a friend was describing a piece that he had bought in a video store/art gallery which no longer exists, and when I in turn described this piece, he identified the artist as the one who had done the sculpture he bought. Ben also does some intriguing/startling collages with non-traditional materials.

What I like about the Bullswan is its simultaneous absurdity and logic. Hope you will click above to see it larger on his website.

Midsummer Night's Dream #2

2010-01-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

...a surfeit of the sweetest things The deepest loathing to the stomach brings

---Lysander, Act II, Scene II

Between enough and too much, there is Herzenslust

Journey of cards #2

2010-01-23T17:28:00.001-08:00

No, I didn't do it on purpose. But I like it.

Down the street from Walden Pond Books and its guardians.

The very majestic Grand Lake Theatre in the Background at the Saturday Farmer's Market.

Left with Oakland entrepreneur Henry Miyoshi of Korrupt Label

Archeological find.

I could not see it then because I did not want to see it

2010-01-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

A pilgrim at left, the first word, "I" at right

"could not see it then" at left, "because" at right

A friend asked me recently if we can ever really know another person.

I think one answer is that it's as possible as really knowing ourselves.

Sometimes it's doable, and sometimes we have to readjust our perceptions.

Richard the Third #2

2010-01-14T13:36:00.001-08:00

I have taken liberties, as the drowned Clarence is actually offstage.

I repent me that the Duke is slain.

– Second Murderer

So do not I. Go, coward as thou art.

Well, I'll go hide the body in some hole,

Til that the Duke give order for his burial.

And when I have my mead I will away,

For this will out and then I may not stay.

– First Murderer

– King Richard the Third, Act I, Scene IV

Which one repents?

Jessie Lilac's Birds

2010-01-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

This lovely creature is one of several treatments of the Illustration Friday them "confined" on Jessie Lilac's blog.

Richard the Third #1

2010-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,

Nor made to court an amorous looking glass

...since I cannot prove a lover,

To entertain these fair well-spoken days,

I am determined to prove a villain,

And hate the idle pleasures of these days.

– King Richard the Third, Act I, Scene I

Do people really prance around delighted with their own evil? My own experience is that people who do the worst things are those most unquestioningly convinced of their own virtue. I do think this royal cloak would hide any hunchback (I have read that it may have been a war wound, not a birth defect, that caused Richard's ungainliness).

1 from King Henry the Fifth

2010-01-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

...gentlemen in England, now a-bed,

Shall thinks themselves accursed they were not here;

And hold their manhoods cheap, whiles any speaks

That fought with me upon St. Crispin's Day.

---Henry The Fifth, King Henry the Fifth. Act 4, Scene 3

As far as I can tell this speech may be the origin of the trope in war films - and Battlestar Galactica - of drawing the line where the guys who don't have the stomach for it are free to leave and not take part. Peer group pressure dictates that nobody ever does.

1 from A Midsummer Night's Dream

2010-01-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania

- Oberon, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 2, Scene 1

Journey of the Cards

2009-12-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here are 9 cards I collaged on placed on, or on the way to, Piedmont Avenue. I made ten of them but gave one to Mina at the flower store for her to place wherever she wished.

Birdwoman

2009-12-17T10:24:00.001-08:00

Isn't this lovely? This is the work of Kaetlyn Wilcox of the Birdwoman blog. She has other graceful animal-headed figures on her blog.

Kat Soto

2009-12-12T09:50:00.001-08:00

This is one of the figures from the series of holiday windows for the Shreve Company in San Francisco. This Turandot and the Rigoletto characters are by EJ Taylor included in the Kat Soto collection for Jim Cardosa Design. Most of these figures are by Kat Soto. You can see the series, a percentage of the sales of which go to benefit Doctors without Borders, on her website, as well as other windows she has done for Shreve.

The 2010 Illustration Calendar

2009-11-08T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here are all the months, based on posts in in Artspark Theatre, for your perusal. Click to enlarge.

Bat Decoration

2009-10-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a pattern for making a bat decoration. Right click above to copy the pattern. You will need some stiff black paper, thread and a hole punch. Fold an 11' wide piece of paper in half and place the pattern on the fold (you can use a little tape to hold it in place) and cut around it. The result should be similar to the first photo below.

If you have cut out the protruding ridges on the top of the wings where indicated, you have the indication of where the folds in the wings should be made - make the first fold up, in the opposite direction of the bisecting fold, then make the two folds on either side.

Punch holes for the eyes - I have used the hole punch for the wings, but a more subtle hole can be made with a needle. Pull the thread through and knot it fairly hight up for easy adjustment - invisible thread will add to the realism. Bevare!

Robot saving bird from fire

2009-10-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Robot saving bird from fire at JinxMonsters

Ewan

2009-08-17T09:11:00.001-07:00

This wonderful bird is by Diahn Ott. You can see more sensitively rendered winged creatures and other work, and observations about her life on her blog.

Birds of the Antique Centre

2009-07-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

Henchard

2009-07-26T19:56:00.001-07:00

One of Ann Wood's magnificent owls - more views of this one on her blog. I did not recognize the Hardy quote she used to describe this character - too long since I have read The Mayor of Casterbridge.

Birdwatching

2009-07-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

This image is from the wonderful Three Little Cameras blog. I think the cat looks like a hipster, what with the little soul patch. Asja's work always seems to have something growing where you would not expect it. Her photo diary series is also remarkable.

Parisa's Book

2009-07-18T15:20:00.001-07:00

This is one of the pages of "Talented Chicken", by the enormously gifted Parisa Mahmoudi. The story is about an insistent mother hen, who is determined to push her chick to sing, to fly, to swim - while ignoring the fact that it is only a chicken. Click on her name to see more pages.

Robin on a hollow log

2009-07-13T21:53:00.001-07:00

Here is a charming robin by Susan Faye, who works in water color. You can see more of her work on Susan Faye's Picture Show.

The Toucan

2009-07-09T12:03:00.001-07:00

These two lovely birds are by illustrator Matt Dawson, who has quite an extensive bestiary on his blog . Matt's work is wonderfully lively and quirky.

The Rolinha

2009-07-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is a rolinha, or long-tailed ground dove, currently under the watchful eye of Caio Fernandes in Brazil. His observations and comment about his small neighbor on the Mein Welt blog, a place both strange and familiar.

Colorful Research

2009-07-06T08:27:00.001-07:00

This exquisite bird, like a blue jay combined with a phoenix, is from the Colorful Research blog. I love that it looks like a bird you might make with your hands to cast a shadow on a wall, although of course wings and hands are the same thing. Eva is very bold about trying new things - she consistently breaks her previous boundaries. Perhaps like this bird breaking across the rectangles?

Edit: There is a wonderful philosopher bird here.

Think (too much?) Bird

2009-07-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Exit

2009-06-30T10:45:00.001-07:00

Exit, pursued by a bear...

From The Winter's Tale, gleefully pounced on in following centuries to prove that everything Shakespeare wrote did not plumb the depths of the human spirit...it was, however, only a stage direction and not actual language used in the play.

I suppose I must be counting the dinosaur in the lead as a bird of sorts.

Nelly Alvarez Aranda

2009-06-26T12:02:00.001-07:00

This is some of the enchanting work of Nelly Alvarez Aranda. Here work combines materials and techniques, and much of it is on the theme of the interaction of humans and the natural world. If you would like to see more of her surprising and delightful work, her blog is dibujos en el agua

Mother Lisa

2009-06-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

The image at left is one of many

on the megamonalisa site ,

link and image

very kindly provided

by mum at coucou c'est moi.

The Lapwing

2009-06-24T12:28:00.003-07:00

This lapwing doth run away with the shell on his head.

said by Horatio of the character Osric, who is sent to propose the fatal duel with Laertes.

It's the strangest place to insert comic relief, right before it all falls down. The phrase refers to the fact that lapwings were said to be so eager to to hatch that the leaped out of the nest with the shell still adhering, therefore Osric, with his considerable posturing, is thought to be wet behind the ears.

The lapwing is so called for its trick of leading predators from its nest by dragging one wing along the ground as if it were injured. This blog is being given over to the birds for next while - please let me know if you are posting any birds, or if you see any, and I will link to them.

In the mean time, here are some birds observed recently:

a fiercely contemplative bird, on Random Shots

A gentler contemplation on A Room of One's Own

Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2

2009-06-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Good night sweet prince,

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

- Horatio

Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2

2009-06-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

Set me the stoops of wine upon that table.

If Hamlet give the first or second hit,

Or quit in answer of the third exchange,

Let all the battlements their ordnance fire.

- Claudius

I think this will end in tears.

Couve do Mar

2009-06-21T10:47:00.001-07:00

Here is the piece "Mademoiselle L joue au Baccarat" on the Couve do Mar blog. This constitutes a chapter in the story of Mademoiselle L - she is also recorded in in other pieces as having played at other games of chance and having been on Safari. Other characters and places are introduced in other necklaces, or "droplets", as their maker calls them (there is one titled "London Subway revisited").

Beth Hahn

2009-06-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Beth Hahn knits small scale sweaters, in part as a way to figure out the physics of sweaters for humans. She also does lovely, sensitive watercolor illustrations.

You can download the pattern for the sweater on the little creature above at Ravelry, linked from her blog, Willow Rosa Knits.

The Lazy Bird catches the worm

2009-06-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

For details, see video on the feltbug blog.

Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1

2009-06-16T12:14:00.001-07:00

Sweets to the sweet, Farewell.

Gertrude at Ophelia's grave.

The Fabric of Meditation

2009-06-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

This fable in cloth is by Sara Lechner at Fabric of Meditation. Many of her pieces seem to have narrative and (very dear) characters involved in journeys or in contemplation. Her work is inspirational and the components seem to flow together to make a whole. This piece, which Sara says is about both the process of maturation and about how we make our own prisons, reminds me of William Blake's

A robin redbreast in a cage

Puts all Heaven in a rage

and also of Yeats' Holy Thursday

'Twas on Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,

Came children walking two and two, in red, and blue, and green...

Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1

2009-06-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Alas, Poor Yorick.

You will need to click to enlarge to get a good look at the sexton in the background.

Stick in Brisbane

2009-06-10T18:10:00.001-07:00

Paula at The Beauty of Life placed

the MacMoe stick in a Brisbane Park.

Paula goes boldly where noone has

gone before in a

stitching sense -

experimental and might I say,

frequently tiny.

Her children get

into the act,

mostly willingly.

Manuales Canigo

2009-06-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

A noble steed and a cheeky mouse

Two of the creations on the delightful Manuales Canigo blog. Parents, wouldn't you love to send your children to Cristina Moreno's classes at the Canigo School? She teaches her students to make their own wonderful art objects using repurposed materials. My Spanish is quite rudimentary, but she uses the phrase "trayectoria creativa" - how beautiful to think of creativity as a flight. More inspiration on her blog - Parents may be able to find a few projects for long summer days here, even without going to Barcelona.

Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 7

2009-06-08T21:00:00.001-07:00

One woe doth tread upon another's heel.

So fast they follow: your sister's drowned,

Laertes.

- Gertrude

The Tiniest Emperor?/Holdfast

2009-06-07T14:39:00.001-07:00

An assemblage showing Napoleon holding the reins of his empire (more on my web site). It was pretty much inspired by the words on the old needle packet at left, which I was reminded of when I saw a photo of a piece by Ali Forbes in an exhibit at the Royal college of Art in London, incorporating Holdfast bicycle tape, which wittily incorporates a reference to Picasso's bicycle bull, on the Feltbug blog. Is it the same company making a different product a century later, or just a British trope?

And if there's a tinier emperor, don't hesitate to let me know in the comments section.

Dog Daisy Chains

2009-06-05T10:58:00.001-07:00

Here are are two joyfully dancing protozoans which also suggests illuminated capitals from the book of Kells (with a little Miro thrown in), the top is a brooch and the one at bottom is for display on canvas - seen on Dog Daisy Chains. I love their organic lively quality. Her wonderfully witty creations are available in her Etsy Store, and she has tutorials in Machine embroidery and silk paper making on her site.

Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5

2009-06-03T10:13:00.001-07:00

How now, Ophelia?

- Gertrude

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4

2009-06-01T10:04:00.001-07:00

Look here upon this picture, and on this,

The counterfeit presentment of two brothers.

See what a grace was seated on this brow,

Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself,

An eye like Mars, to threaten and command...

Here is your husband like a mildewed ear...

Claudius was one fugly dude.

Tiny Trees

2009-05-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here is an image from Lakewood Daily Snap of a mosaic tree in Dentist Dr. Cliffel's office, by his wife or daughter Martha. It's not so tiny, but its inhabitants are quite small. I suppose it could be a sort of family tree. If you'd like to see some more tiny trees, here are some bonsai. Also vaguely related, a link to Monty Python's "I like Chinese", a reduction of a culture thousands of years old to a short list of clichés by an amiably clueless berk, which contains the line "I like their tiny little trees".

Furnishing the mouse house

2009-05-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Tushtush has cheerful mice for sale in her etsy shop.
She also has a very small canvas (about the size of a hand) for sale there. I have heard that historically Chinese and Indian people had less back/osteoporosis issues than Westerners, and this handsome painting seems to make a case for floor-sitting (I just straightened up at my computer).

If you must have a chair to go with this lovely painting, here is one that is just for looking, not sitting, in jocelyn gayle's shop on etsy

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4

2009-05-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

O what a rash and bloody deed is this!

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2

2009-05-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Give me some light - away!

Claudius to servants

The third season of the current Doctor Who has a very nice episode concerning a race of witches using a Shakespeare play as an incantation to revive their lost race, based on the power of Shakespeare's language. It was partly shot in the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London.

Playmobil at O Mighty Crisis

2009-05-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Isn't this delightful? There are more on the O Mighty Crisis blog, there is nothing, apparently, that toys gone bad don't get into. Beware the Tiny!

Hamlet , Act 3, Scene 1

2009-05-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

Get the to a nunnery, why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?

Power Word Fold

2009-05-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

This amazing origami figure is from the Power Word Fold blog - Blog proprietor Wolf has included a diagram for making the figure, as well as other origami designs. The diagrams themselves are beautiful abstract designs in themselves, and he has many links to other Origami sites. On his other blog, Wolf's Junkyard, he has inventive things to do with LEDs, Including a miniature Starship Enterprise.

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1

2009-05-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life...

Ginga Squid

2009-05-19T08:48:00.001-07:00

Isn't this wonderful? It is the diamond bud ring made by ginga squid , it looks to me like a fertility goddess but also like a small life form you'd see in a tide pool. And that is a real airplant in the crown chakra area of the little creature!

This is her triffid ring - a sort of miniature cosmos of diverse elements that you would not think would ever be combined into a whole.

Check out her wonderfully witty and sensuous wearable small sculptures - it will make your day.

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1

2009-05-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

To be, or not to be, that is the question--

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them...

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene1

2009-05-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Enter Hamlet

[Ophelia is about to witness the famous monologue, which will commence on Monday, before she approaches Hamlet and he acts all squirelly with her]

MacBeth, squinting/Sticks

2009-05-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

If plastic dinosaurs=medieval Scottish soldiers and decorated sticks = branches, then the above is an illustration of the prediction by the three witches that MacBeth should not fail until "Birnam wood shall come to Dunsinane".

This is a stick giveaway! As always, indicate in a comment if you would like one of these sent to you. The idea is not to keep them, but to place them somewhere passersby can come upon them and people can adopt them. Past participants will attest to the thrill when you leave one of them and return to find it gone. If you take a photo of the stick where it is left (One was placed in the mouth of a tiger - a tiger made out of stone, to be sure, but still a tiger), and email it to me I will post the photo here with a link to your blog. Remember, you can always decorate a stick yourself and plant it! If you would like a particular stick please specify, MacLarry (left), MacMoe (center), or MacCurly (right).

For more plastic dinosaurs, see dinosaur casserole.

Edit: All sticks claimed, and I need to make another one.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

2009-05-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

You are welcome masters, welcome all, I am glad to see thee well.

Hamlet to the players, the only characters he seems to have a cheerful word for, and we know why.

Bent Objects

2009-05-12T08:17:00.001-07:00

This is from the extraordinary Bent Objects blog , which I found out about through the Superpunch blog. The About me paragraph on Bent Objects states: "when you stop caring whether people think you're crazy or not, you can get a lot done". This blog makes theatre out of ordinarily inanimate objects with a a little wire and lighting, and has an extraodinary emotional range - some are silly and some are quite touching. some have fairly eleaborate sets and some are put together on the fly (you'll have to go to the site if you want to see the firebug, one of my favorites). He has a book of these wonderful works coming out soon, available for pre-order on Amazon.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

2009-05-11T11:04:00.001-07:00

I am but mad north-north-west*; when the wind** is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.

* This is where the film got its title, as I noted here

* The foehn wind is thought to increase incidents of migraine and psychosis in the alpine European countries, and is taken into account as a mitigating circumstance in criminal trials in Switzerland - possibly in Germany (Eva?) also.

Mermaid winner

2009-05-11T10:33:00.001-07:00

The winner of the mermaid (selected by sprinkling numbered scraps matched up to commenters on Bosco and seeing which landed closest to the middle of the top of her head) is j. at waiting room aquarium. I know, but it really did happen by chance. J. was #22, which is quite a propitious number, I have heard. I will be giving some sticks away for placement on this blog on Thursday, so be sure to check back then if you would like one sent to you (explanation here for those new to this blog). Hamlet is going up directly after this post.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

2009-05-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell,

and count myself a king of inifinite space,

were it not that I have bad dreams

News of the Tiny

2009-05-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some small scale items from three shops on etsy. The little hippo (I love the grey/lavender color) is one of the animals in the shop of tinywarbler ,who makes lovely little felt animals.The plate below is from the shop of chinadoodle, a cousin of sorts since I make mosaics on china plates. These are like mottoes or samplers to hang on your wall -He matches paintings to borders in some surprising ways.
Finally, here is a limited edition print from the ohmycavalier shop, who has an eerie take on some familiar characters from folklore and fairytales.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

2009-05-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks Guildenstern, and gentle Rosencrantz

And I beseech you instantly to visit

My too much changed son.

Gertrude to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Note: Hamlet comments several times in the course of the play on how unattractive Claudius is compared to Hamlet Sr. Typecasting...

Knitmania

2009-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

This image is from a blog post by the Shopping Sherpa, who has a set of dollhouse miniatures on flickr.

The image was discovered by grrl+dog, who has a ginormous knitting project for which she is inviting international participation.

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5

2009-05-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

The time is out of joint -- O cursed spite,

That ever I was born to set it right!

I will be interspersing Hamlet this week with other scenes from around the web.

Little Otsu

2009-05-03T09:27:00.001-07:00

Here is a photograph of the window of little otsu in San Francisco, a store which sells independently produced books and other delightful handmade goods. According to their website, otsu is "an antiquated Japanese word meaning strange: quaint; stylish; chic; spicy; witty; tasty; romantic" depending on context. The mask/sculpture hanging in the window is evidently based on a character from one of the books they carry, Quietly Sure - Like the Keeper of a Great Secret! by Jo Dery. If you click the link above, there is a wonderful animation of the character. And if you live in San Francisco, stop by the store on Valencia Street.

Piccalilli Days

2009-05-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

This story comes to my courtesy of Susan Faye, in her words:

Here is a tiny story of miniscule interest: Some time last year I visited an estate sale here in Oregon and rescued a tiny vintage wooden doll from years of captivity in a dark and dusty box. I put her up for adoption on Etsy and she was snapped up, making her way to a new home in Massachusetts. Next thing I know, she is starring in a delightful blog where she is currently decorating her new home and planning her spring garden! Here is the link: piccalillidays

Ann Wood Theatre

2009-04-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

This is Ann Wood's theatre diorama. It repays close examination, in the way that small things do. She makes wonderful birds which are available in her shop, and ships that one can only dream of sailing away on.

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5

2009-04-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

I could a tale to the unfold whose lightest word

Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,

Make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres,

Thy knotted and combined locks to part,

And each particular hair to stand on end,

Like quills upon the fretful porpentine...

Hamlet's father's ghost to Hamlet.

Hamlet resumes next Monday with the contemplation of time out of joint. The rest of the week will be devoted to News of the Tiny - my email is to the right if you have any for me.

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2

2009-04-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

I would not in plain terms from this time forth

Have you so slander any moment leisure

As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.

Look to't I charge you; come your ways.

Polonius to Ophelia

Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 2

2009-04-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

O that this too too solid flesh would melt,

Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,

...That it should come to this--

But two months dead, nay not so much, not two --

So exellent a King, that was to his

Hyperion to a satyr...

Father

2009-04-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Full fathom deep thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea change,

Into something rish and strange.

- Shakespeare,The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2

Rose

2009-04-25T11:56:00.001-07:00

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

- Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2

How much examination can beauty withstand?

Music

2009-04-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

"If music be the food of love, play on, give me an excess of it: that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die. "

Shakespeare,Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 1

File under "does that work?"