The Month in Books : August

Looking at this list, I am just now realizing how great a part the northern Atlantic Ocean played in all of the books I read this month (and here on Length x Wit, too! Clearly, this is where my mind has been all month.). Every novel had someone jumping in, getting sloshed about, or emerging entirely waterlogged from the sea. It was man versus nature under all sorts of circumstances, with some more fun than others. In a literary setting, the ocean often creates a divide between the characters' known world and a realm of danger or mystery. Over here and over there. But the sea's presence also means there will be a journey between those two places. Despite the vastness, the difficulty and the fear, it will be crossed. The ocean then is both a barrier and an entryway.

Check out my Book Wit reviews for August:

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Warrener's Beastie: A Novel of the Deep by William R. Trotter

James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor, via O My Heart.

Friendly Charms

Sweet pieces by the New York-based I Like You As A Friend (isn't that a great name?). Little pirate ship, you are stealing my heart.

Fall/Winter 2011: Ulyana Sergeenko

The fall collection of Russian designer and photographer Ulyana Sergeenko is right in line with her personal aesthetic, which means I am destined to love it. How could I not, with the neo-1940s hair and silhouettes?

First spotted on Dustjacket Attic.

By the Sea

Joaquín Sorolla's depictions of life along the shore are masterly, sun bleached vignettes of all levels of wealth and social status. What strikes me most about them is that they go beyond pretty waterfront scenes to reveal the toil inherent in occupying such a location. Large groups of fisherman and their families sew enormous boat sails that will withstand surf and gales. They prepare fishing baskets for the next day, the elements making their skin ruddy and their clothing coarse. No one is immune to the harshness of the seaside. Even the wealthy women strolling along the bleach are whipped around by rough winds and squint in the sun.

From the top: Pescadora valenciana (Valencian fishergirl) (1916); Sewing the sail (1904); Return from fishing (1894); Walk on the beach (1909); Cosiendo la vela (Sewing the sail) (1896).

Images from Art History and Wikipedia.

The Prettiest Purse I've Seen All Month

Spotted on Vogue Australia.

Marine Abstracts

Original mixed media pieces by Stacey Rees.

From the top: Sea Urchin; Jelly Fish; Peachy Keen.

Light & Dark

Club Monaco's fall lookbook is heady balancing act of airiness and awesome thick sweaters. Hello romance, right?

Arctic Sketches

These watercolors are by turn-of-the-century Arctic explorer Russell W. Porter, mostly done during the last two of his six journeys to the north. Considering the hardships surrounding any kind of polar expedition at the time, the dexterity and clarity of his work is even more impressive. From Prologue Magazine:

His watercolors froze; snowblindness from the intense summer glare was a real danger; and the low light during winter made painting impossible. Pastels were often the only medium possible when the temperature was thirty to fifty degrees below zero. Frostbite was an ever-present danger... Even with all these physical hardships, Porter declared that the hardest thing for him to bear was watching the Aurora during the dark winter months, "knowing I was absolutely helpless and unable to paint it."(8) He tried to work by candlelight, but the yellow light distorted all the colors, and he decided it was better to put off any color work rather than use artificial light.

You learn more about Porter's work and expeditions here.

From the top: Cape Opposite Lodge (1902); Man on Summer Ice (1907); Walruses in Pool (1901); Terra Nova, Tromsö, Norway, 1905 (1905); Summer -- Red Cliff (1901); Salt water leads and fresh water pools (1901).

All from the Papers of Russell W. Porter, 1893-1949 (XRWP). Discovered through Prologue Magazine (Winter 1997, Vol. 29, No. 4), a National Archives and Records Administration publication.

Geology Love

Minerals is one of my favorites places to visit whenever I'm looking for some outlandish inspiration, which is funny considering all of these photos are of naturally occurring substances. When you don't encounter them on a regular basis, it's easy to forget the amazing sorts of things the earth contains and supports.

Clockwise from the top left: quartz with chrysocolla; siderite with sphalerite; quartz with chrysocolla; smithsonite; scorodite.

Midweek Stimuli

1. This hand painted nesting doll set by Emma Kidd blows my mind. The animal/landscape combination makes a fascinating change from the traditional Russian ladies motif.

2. Jane Fonda looked mighty fine in this cowgirl get-up, a look I'm feeling particularly smitten with since I ordered my first pair of cowboy boots ever this past weekend! They are bright red and I can't wait to pull them on.

3. Cats + Disaster = Catasters. Enough said.

4. Jigsaw cookie cutter from Cox & Cox. Wouldn't it be great to put some of puzzle pieces together while you decorate them and make a giant cookie picture? Or am I just too into this?

Fall/Winter 2011: Rodarte for Opening Ceremony

The shots from the Rodarte for Opening Ceremony Fall/Winter 2011 lookbook are like a folk tale: sweet, romantic, and just a little peculiar. I love the soft palette and Nordic touches in the braids and Fair Isle patterns. It's the playful enchantment in there, however, that makes it special. Twin models that make you do a double take. A playful wind that only ruffles a select few. Looks like I'm not the only one who's picked up a Hans Christian Andersen anthology in the past few months.

Photographs by Autumn de Wilde, via Opening Ceremony.

Daisychain Sampler

I absolutely love this sampler by Alicia Paulson of Rosy Little Things. The variety of vintage fonts she adapted for the project is so cool - what is your favorite? I can't decide! Right now it's between S and X, but H is looking pretty nice, too.... :)

You can purchase a .pdf of the pattern from her website here.

Rad Movie Posters

I love love love these minimalist designs. They are so much more interesting than close-ups of the actors' faces. And they would look very good hanging in my fantasy apartment.

From the top: Ghostbusters by Brandon Schaefer; Tangled by Mads Hindhede; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by The Disenchanter; The Dark Knight Rises by Daniel Norris; Let the Right One In by Megan Gamble.

All discovered on Minimal Movie Posters.

Work Spaces

A handful of the inspiring work and studio spaces I've been seeing lately.

Image Sources: Ventricular Projects; Sophie Schellekens on Studio Sweet Studio; Anne Ulku (photographs by Carla Zetina), also on Studio Sweet Studio; Nidhi Malhotra on Lena Corwin.

A Portrait

This photograph is haunting. I can't stop staring at it.

From The Virgin Spring by Julia Hetta for Acne Paper, Issue No. 12.

Spotted on Sarah Rogers' Pinterest.

Eye Paintings

Considering how little space one eye occupies on the human face, it's intriguing how much emotion we can discern from it when all the other features have been taken away.

All by Ashley White Jacobson. Custom eye portraits are available through her Etsy shop.

For Fall: Luxe Hats

Glamorous fedoras and floppy hats from Eugenia Kim. I love those rich colors!

Spotted on Refinery29.

65,000 CDs

Yowza, talk about putting an everyday object to good use! Artist Élise Morin and architect Clémence Eliard completely took over the Halle d’Aubervilliers of Paris's Centquatre with their installation, Wastelandscape.

"Made of petroleum, this reflecting slick of CDs forms a still sea of metallic dunes; the artwork’s monumental scale reveals the precious aspect of a small daily object."

This installation is beautiful both up close and from afar. I wish I could walk around it throughout the day and see how it changes in the varying light (can you imagine it at sunset?). Wastelandscape is only up until September 10th, but the good news is that the piece is going to travel and transform in each new exhibition location. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of landscape they create next!

Discovered via bumbumbum and designboom.