The days here in Sydney are getting shorter, the nights cooler but the last few days have been just absolutely beautiful, so let’s hang on to summer a little bit longer…
A beautiful sunrise story from Bronte Beach, Sydney, shot by cinematographer Marcus O’Brien.
My husband Tim has worked on this campaign to raise awareness and funds to fight Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This disease affects mainly boys and they suffer from progressive deterioration of their muscles. The kids lose the ability to use their arms and for example sign their name very early in their life. This is why The Most Powerful Arm, a bionic arm was created. With this robotic arm you can help them by signing a petition to the Australian government, asking them to start important research on the crippling disease. Please add your signature at TheMostPowerfulArm.com
The arm is publicly installed in Sydney’s Customs House and takes your signature via the Facebook login. It then signs the petition for you, using the original handwriting of one of the children affected, Jacob Lancaster (who you also see in the video). A photo camera will take a picture of each signature and post it to the respective signer’s Facebook wall.
The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented from Most Powerful Arm on Vimeo.
Via Adverblog
We wish you all a very Happy Easter! Enjoy the long weekend, no matter what the weather will bring!
And here is a little crafty idea which doesn’t cost much time but is very cute. Select egg cartons and remove all the stickers and labels. Get some acrylic paint and paint the cartons. Let dry. With another colour, paint dots all over the cartons. Once dried, use as gift boxes or for your kids to store the eggs in from the Easter egg hunt.
A week ago I participated in a Shibori fabric dyeing class at the Community College in Rose Bay. It was such a rainy day and I was happy to spent it inside and to learn something new. We used only natural dye such as indigo, turmeric and black tea.
Our teacher’s beautiful hand-dyed fabric.
Our teacher Zoe MacDonell guided us through the techniques for different shapes and patterns. Basically it’s trying to prevent the colour to reach certain areas of the fabric to penetrate. That can be done by folding, tieing, clamping or binding. Rubber bands, synthetic string, buttons or even marbles are great to use. My favourite technique was the diagonal constantine fold which I then wrapped around a metal pole, tied it up with string and rubberbands before I dipped it into the dye. You need to wear gloves otherwise your hands will be stained and indigo in particular is a very strong dye. In fact, the indigo on my fabric is still rubbing off so I am not sure what to use those for. Might just end up in my props cupboard ;-)
There are the so-called mordants, mineral salts which will either enhance, intensify or change the colour. It also helps to fix the dye colour.
We used only three different natural dye but Zoe told us we could also use ground coffee, henna, onion skin or different sorts of leaves. I know that onion skin works well as I use this for Easter eggs. However, you have to extract the colour by cooking the dye out before you can dip the fabric in.
Lightweight natural fabric such as silk, cotton or linen works best. Smaller pieces are easier to handle than bigger ones and, the dyeing process is quite a messy one as you will see from the photos I took.
From raw to colour
Teacher Zoe MacDonell explains the dyeing process.
Black tea to make fabric look aged.
Turmeric and indigo are very strong and vibrant.
Fabric wrapped around a pole and tied with string.
Recently we came across these remarkable two women who founded “Culinary Misfits – eat the whole crop!” in Berlin. A movement to save vegetables that is far from looking perfect (at least in the eyes of supermarkets) but still taste the same, if not even better as it has so much more character .
Approximately half of the daily crop on farms gets thrown out because of its look. The carrot may have three legs, or the potato has not the correct round shape. That’s were Lea and Tania from Culinary Misfits step in, they buy those vegetables and cook with it. They now run a catering business under the same name and sometimes are seen at the local farmers market selling pickled culinary misfits.
Soon they will also open a permanent shop in Berlin. Check out their website Culinary Misfits (you need to have a slight understanding of German though ;-) for more details.
I am so going to try this beet cake. What an amazing way to publish a recipe. Hat tip to husband and wife team Matt and Julie Walker from Tiger in a Jar.
We are very much taken by this black & white documentary about the famous Bondi Icebergs pool by cinematographer Jason Wingrove.
Icy cold air, snowflakes and twinkling candles on a Christmas tree. The smell of mandarines, peanuts and cinnamon in the air. Mum or grandma baking Christmas cookies in the kitchen… These are all typical Swiss and/or German Christmas childhood memories.
Living in Australia, where we have a BBQ for Christmas and go to the beach, bringing back some of those memories inspired us to our new magazine for Christmas. So if you want to know what a Brunsli, Mailänderli or a Lebkuchen is, then look no further and get baking.
To keep you going whilst you are baking or just in case you get really hungry, there is a hearty Baked Beans recipe.
And just in case you are searching for gift ideas, why not give some beautifully wrapped home made cookies or if you would like to venture further, have a look at Juliana’s craft project.
“Local farmer Megan Paska has witnessed beekeeping as it morphed from an illegal (and possibly crazy) habit to a sustainable, community-supported skill. Mirroring beekeeping’s own ascendance, she found more than just a living: “This is the first time in my life when I’ve just felt absolutely on the right path.”
The Beekeeper is a short film made by Bureau of Common Goods. We at s’more heart everything handmade and the people making it. Two thumbs up.
via Lisa Congdon
Stunning time lapse video “Venice in a Day” by Joerg Niggli, all shot on a Canon G10. Makes me want to travel there right now!
Do you feel a little bored sometimes in the office? Need some input on what can be created using the simplest things?
Artist Peter Root built an entire little city of staples – an ephemicropolis! He worked 40 hours on the installation in the lobby of a building, using solely stacks of staples that were split into various sizes.
I don’t think this needs any words or explanation…. just watch… very creative marriage proposal …. definitely made me smile today.
The Finders Keepers Markets are a free bi-annual event that showcases the work of emerging designers and artists from all around Australia and New Zealand! The first markets were held in December 2008 at CarriageWorks in Sydney, followed by Markets in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Art, prints, stationary, fashion, pottery and much more, there is so much on offer at this beautiful market created and organised by the duo behind the Follow Store in Surry Hills who have been advocates of supporting emerging design since their first beginnings in 2007.
Today is the Finders Keepers market in Sydney at Carriageworks in Eveleigh. Check out more dates here.
These photos are unbelievably creative. It’s Once upon a Time meets Crouching Tigger, Hidden Dragon and then down the rabbit hole to have tea with Alice in Wonderland.
“Kirsty Mitchell was born and raised in the county of Kent, known to many as the ‘Garden of England’. Her mother, an English teacher and passionate storyteller, read to her almost everyday to an age she could no longer admit to her friends. The imagination and belief in beauty became her root, and the place she constantly tries to returns to in her work. Educated in history of art, photography, fine art, costume for film and theatre and fashion design, art became her only passion. When her mother got ill and passed away in November 2008, she threw herself into photography and started producing pieces that echoed the memories of the stories she read to her as a child.
By combining her various backgrounds, Kirsty creates images where everything has been designed and produced by herself. Inspired by the love and death of her mother, she conceived Wonderland, this fantastic and poetic series of pictures. “The costumes, props, sets and accessories, are all a vital part of the process that is finally recorded in the finished product of the photograph. This physical creation is my favorite part, and has taken me to places I would have otherwise never known. I have walked on snow covered in flowers, stood in lakes at sunset, painted trees, set fire to chairs, made smoking umbrellas, and giant wigs from stolen flowers.” (via Trendland).
Eugene Tan, a Sydney-based photographer, has created a most wonderful website and gallery called Aquabumps. Shots of surfers waiting for the right wave, stunning sunsets over the ocean, surfers riding a wave an so on. Makes me want to jump on a board right away – if only I knew how to surf. But anyway, the photos are so beautiful you don’t really need to be a surfer to enjoy them.
In this video the Aquabumps gang rolled over to New Zealand for a little road trip, in search of surf and good vistas. Here is a little film about the journey and the guy (::uge) that takes all the pictures that you see on Aquabumps.com. Traveling with surf guide, and legend, Maz Quinn to find all the best little places along NZ’s amazing coastline of the North Island. By Knack Studios.
The Basin (Mt Gibraltar) by Hamish Ta-mé
Balmoral CircPan by Hamish Ta-mé
Sydney City CircPan by Hamish Ta-mé
How amazing and unique are these CircPan images by Sydney based photographer Hamish Ta-mé! Hamish has developed a photographic technique that captures a panorama into a circular image offering a very unique perspective on the Sydney beaches and the harbour. I hope there are lots more to come.
If you are interested in owning one of the prints you can buy them at the shot by hamish website or you can usually find Hamish on Sunday’s at Bondi Markets and get your print there.
Each of the images comes in a limited edition print of 300 and is hand numbered and embossed.
Vivid Sydney is in its fourth year and I think this year will be quite a highlight of international artists and showcases. There are two acts I am most excited about and I admit in both cases I am biased because one is done by an artist collaboration called Urbanscreen from Germany and the other act is performed by MPU, which my husband has helped bring to life.
Here is an interview with Urbanscreen talking about their project ‘Lighting the Sails’ of the Sydney Opera House, launching the Vivid Festival this Friday, the 25 May. In the video you’ll see some of their other remarkable projects in Germany. Das geht! Check it out!
The other project I am looking forward to is “Snake the Planet’ an interactive digital art piece produced by Sydney collective Mobile Projection Unit (MPU). It takes the game of “Snake” which most likely will ring a bell for all ancient Nokia users (like myself), and projects it onto any city building. The players then play on that surface and windows, doors, signs all become obstacles as you writhe down the game.
I got commissioned to follow MPU around The Rocks looking for great spots and photograph their installation which you can see in Time Out (see below).
MPU will set up ‘Snake the Planet’ at different locations throughout The Rocks so no game will be the same. Keep your eyes open if you want to join in the fun.
A while ago I came across those beautiful photos/art works from Martin Stranka, (via Digital Photography School) a photographer/artist from Czech Republic. It seems he has won every photography award out there and his exhibitions have shown around the world. Except Sydney though.
His photos create a delightful melancholy and draw you right into it. Check out Martin Stranka’s website for more details.
Jonathan Harris’ talks about his latest project cowbird – humanizing the web, a platform and community for story tellers. If you get the chance, watch it.
(via swiss-miss)
I came across photographer Max Wanger’s website a while ago and wanted to bookmark it. I love his use of space and eye for detail. Check out his website for more images.
Last year I met Louise Hawson, a photographer from Sydney, at a talk which was part of her very own photo exhibition in the Sydney Museum. Louise had the grand idea (one, where one thinks, gosh, I wish it was my idea) to photograph suburbs in Sydney she had never visited before even tough she grew up in Sydney. She went to places like Bonnyrigg and Cabramatta, on the outskirts of Sydney to see who lives there and how. Her photos build the blog 52 suburbs (because each week she would visit and photograph a different Sydney suburb) which attracted a large number of followers. Her blog became a book and her exhibition was a great success. Inspired by her success and support she has started her next journey: travelling the world with her camera and her daughter to find and photograph suburbs off the tourist track.
She started in Hong Kong, flew to Delhi and is currently in Paris. Have a look at her blog, her photographs are amazing, quirky, colourful, bold and intimate depending on where she is.
I finally watched the Bill Cunningham – New York documentary on DVD yesterday. Yes I know – I am very late! The movie came out about a year ago. But if you haven’t seen it yet, do so. It is one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long time.
Bill is a truly talented and inspirational artist. But what struck me most, is what an amazing human being Bill is. So humble and so much integrity…. and such a funny guy. Thank you Bill for agreeing to make this film. You truly inspire us all.
You can watch the trailer below. The movie is available on DVD. For more information visit www.zeitgeistfilms.com.
I never wanted to be a ballerina as a child but this project by Dane Shitagi The Ballerina Project is just so beautiful! I especially love the shots because of the juxtaposition of the ballerina outside her usual environment on the stage. It makes them even more graceful.
It all started in Hawaii where the photographer Dane Shitagi is from and it seems it’s moving acros the United States. Check it out and vote for it so Dane is able to continue the Ballerina Project.
Ah, you’ve gotta love Karl! He is just so amazing and he’s done it again. This time he collaborated with Carine Roitfeld as stylist (former editor of Vogue France) to create a photo exhibition with numerous good looking and famous people wearing the classic black Chanel jacket. I unfortunately wasn’t invited to this high-class exhibition but luckily got the newsletter from Trendland.
