{ muppets + OPI nail polish }

{ http://www.grouchoreviews.com/reviews/2425 }


the muppets are an example of a childhood creation that will always be culturally relevant (and dear to my heart!). these little creatures created by the late great jim henson are not only starring in a new movie this november, but have taken the music and fashion industry by storm. with the help of OPI nail polish, there is a new line of muppets themed nail colours...which i cannot wait to get! and this fall my nails will definitely be warm and fozzie!

{ fresh frog of bel air }

{ warm and fozzie }

{ excuse moi }

{ gettin miss piggy with it }

{ gone gonzo }

{ animal istic }

{ rainbow connection }

                       

{ the style of kreayshawn }

last night i checked out a hip hop karaoke event in montreal, and this girl belted out the tunes of kreayshawn's infections song "gucci gucci. her performance reminded me of how i love the oakland native's throwback 90s hip hop style, that she oozes from her head to toe...

                                        

{ chillin' with dj lil debbie (left) of the white girl mob }                       

Kreayshawn "Gucci Gucci" from Strange Customs on Vimeo.

{ red sofa }

i came across jewellery designer joanna szkiela of red sofa at a design show in montreal, and have also seen her work at montreal's puces pop craft fair. i love the organic details and influences of nature in her work, and her belief that "jewellery is not artifice or simple accessory to be worn, but an extension of the wearer's personality in a given social context"{-insert taken from red sofa website }

{ elvish, twine }

{ elvish, aquamarine }

 { melting }

 {elvish, series of rings }

 {the molar affair }

{ tag 'n run }

                

 { the rook's loot }

{ together forever }

{ urban art: 21 balançoires + pause }

summer in montreal is always full of surprises, and in this chapter of urban art, i wanted to feature the concept of user interaction. i have come across two installations that invite people to stop, take a break and play!

the first was 21 balançoires (i say was because due to my late posting it has come and gone) which was a project by design team andraos & mongiat and featured 21 swings set up near place des arts. the swings had an additional element of playing music (composed by radwan ghazi-moumneh) and it was synced to the user's swing patterns. essentially you could create a musical medley with you and your friends by simply swinging back and forth.

photo taken by squeaky kleen

the second installation is called pause, created by NIPPaysage which encourages people to stop, take a break, and sit in an oversized green lawn chair. these chairs set up by mont-royal metro are so big that around 3 adults can sit comfortably at once. you appear almost like like a child as your feet dangle and barely touch the ground and you become engulfed in a field of green.

{ smoke + mirrors }

one of my favourite fashion website that i have been following for a few years is SHOWstudio.com. currently they are have an exhibit in their shop called Practice to Deceive: Smoke & Mirrors in Fashion, Fine Art and Film.  i am not a fan of smoking per say, but i couldn't resist the eerie and smouldering effects that it creates in the photographs.

{ smoke and veil, 1958 }  william klein

 { le modele, 1942 }  fernand fonssagrives 

  { bodysmokers, 2006 }  oleg dou

{  priscilla, 1969 }  joseph szabo

{ silke smoking, 1983 }  joseph szabo

{ steve mcqueen smoking on park ave, 1961 }  william claxton

{ laura, 1999 }  craig mcdean

{ susie smoking, 1988 }  nick knight

{ piece by piece, brick by brick }

i have always been a fan of lego and art sculptures, so when i came across brick artist, nathan sawaya my two geek worlds collided.  using almost a million pieces in his works, sawaya creates life like sculptures and pictures made only with lego.

           

      

nathan sawaya with one of his sculptures

{ urban art: yarn bombing }

i've decided to incorporate a "mini series" so to speak into my blog, that will be all about urban art. i am a huge fan of graffiti, installations, and live happenings and decided they need to be celebrated more often. living in montreal, and especially now that summer is around the corner, there are literally impromptu art sightings all the time.

one sighting that was recently unknown to me and it's becoming a huge trend is yarn bombing. this style of covering everyday city objects with bright warm fuzzy knit pieces has created so much buzz and it has its own book and site. check out two pics below of yarn bombing in montreal, and from other yarn bombers in different cities.

 

amazing work by Les VILLE-LAINES   { photo by mode.mange.musique }

i never noticed this alley till a street post was yarn bombed by Capitaine Crochet 

streetcolor

yarn bombing: the art of crochet and knit graffiti

yarn bombing: the art of crochet and knit graffiti 

yarn bombing: the art of crochet and knit graffiti