Painted Water

Mark Mawson from Sydney captures these beautiful shots by dropping paint in water. The colors and the lighting are simply amazing! He has said that in these color shapes everyone sees what they want to see. What do you see?

Un-earthly

I came across some of these photographs and it made me want to delve deeper. It makes me want to travel. To see the world. This planet is so huge and I can't fathom not discovering it. The following pictures are both inspiring and intriguing. Land that is so alien-like, it's hard to imagine that we can all go see and experience these places ourselves.

Black Rock Desert, Nevada - Best known as the place where Burning Man takes place, it's also home to alien features such as the Fly Geyser

Kauai, Hawaii - Seaside lava ledges make for otherworldly experiences

Cappadocia, Turkey - Fairy chimneys, smooth folding hills, and cave dwellings are the main features of this ethereal landscape

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia - The largest salt flat in the world reflects the sky during the wet season (above). In the dry winter months, it becomes a mosaic of salt tiles (below)


Socotra Island, Yemen - Because of its isolation in the Indian Ocean, magical plant life lives here that you won’t see anywhere else. Behold the dragon’s blood tree.

The Richat Structure, near Ouadane, Mauritania - A circular feature, 50 km across, in the middle of the otherwise featureless Mauritanian Sahara

Four Corners region, USA - The Colorado Plateau gets funky at the Arizona-Utah border. That’s where you’ll find this called Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan - Lowest point on Earth, deepest salt lake in the world, the list of the Dead Sea’s bizarreness is a long one. Being there and floating lifeless, is even more satisfying

The Sahara - he world’s largest hot desert is as big as the entire U.S. The deep red sand and its wave-like silhouette makes for an uncanny landscape

Polka Infinity

Everyone can relate to polka dots. They are fun and playful. They are simple. They remind us of being whole and together, part of something bigger. Everything in life is a dot. I am a dot. You are a dot. We are all connected. This universe has an infinite number of dots. Maybe that's why I enjoy Yayoi Kusama's work so much. There is more to it than what you see.

Yayoi Kusama is a japanese artist who arrived in New york in the late 50's, when pop art was just a thought ready to take the world by storm. She quickly became well-known for her large paintings which featured circular repetitive patterns. Since than, her work includes sculptures, books, performance art, photography and installations. But one thing has remained the same. Her subject. She has constantly pushed the boundries on the same image. The dot.

She has made headlines for her 'out of the box' ideas which include various street performances where she painted polka dots on nude men and women. Kasuma is also known for her covered furniture and other objects, in which she covered with stuffed fabric phallic shapes, macaroni, mirrors and paint. Sadly, Kusama was semi-forgotten after returning to Japan, after discovering that she was suffering from a mental illness. It is said that she began hallucinating the dots, flowers and nets that often appear in her work. She was committed to a mental institution, where she remains to this day. Any way you look at it, the art world is greatly changed because of her vision.
Her remarkable life is imitated in her art.
We are able to be connected to her this way.
And I happen to like what I see.

Iconoclast : Dean Kamen

We have all heard of the Segway, the amazing individual traveling gizmo. It is an idea that gets us that much closer to the future, to a more sustainable and simple concept of living. The inventor behind this is Dean Kamen, who is more than just an engineer and entrepreneur. He is an advocate for a better way of life. His role as an inventor is strengthened by his passion for using science and technology to our advantage. To creating practical solutions for problems that exist in the world, some being a matter of life and death.

(yup, that's me)

As an inventor, he holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. These inventions allow him to work on his many free-flowing ideas. Ideas that can very much change our world.

Two of those ideas which have been built and put to use, are each about the size of a washing machine. One, a basic generator, makes a kilowatt off of literally anything that burns. Last year, prototypes of Kamen's power machines were installed in two villages in Bangladesh for a six-month field trial, using cow dung as the power source. Each machine could continuously output enough to light 70 energy-efficient bulbs.

The second invention, called the Slingshot, is a water purification system that comes easily bundled and ready to use. The Slingshot works by taking in contaminated water -even raw sewage - and separating out the clean water by vaporizing it. It then shoots the remaining sludge back out a plastic tube.

Imagine the possibilities. More than that, imagine what these simple tools would do for such communities. The market potential is astonishing – about 1.1 billion people in the world don't have access to clean drinking water, and another 1.6 billion don't have electricity. How’s this for an incentive? Kamen says we could potentially "wipe out 50% of human disease." If that’s not an indicator to take action, I don’t know what is.


So, why hasn’t this caught on yet? It is obviously a life saver and a great investment for any company. What is the problem?
Why aren’t we saving lives?
Because, as Dean puts it, the idea is the easy part. Creating something that is needed is simple. The hard part is changing people’s minds. Making them believe that new ideas are smart ideas, that science and technology IS the answer. If I had $100,000 this would be the best way to pay it forward.

King MJ

The news of Michael Jackson's death really hit the world hard. Everywhere I go, I overhear people talking about him. Some good, some nasty (I almost got in a fight with this one couple). I wanted to remember him for his talents, his extraordinary musical gift, the way he made me feel (ha)

Music is a huge part of my life. When I think about my family and my upbringing, music definitely goes hand in hand with who we are. Everything related to music surrounded me from the moment I entered the world. My parents would sit us down and we would just listen to record upon record. The first TAPE that I ever bought, to put in my new boombox, was Dangerous. The whole thing, from start to finish, just moved me so much I was known for repeating that album over and over. His songs really are a part of me. I remember seeing his 'Thriller' video for the first time on MTV, it was surreal. Scary in a way, but absolutely intoxicating. And of course The Wiz. One of my favorite roles of his ever.

I feel compelled to write more, but I won't. This is simply in remembrance of a legacy of our time. A person who has been a part of my world and culture for as long as I can remember, and whose tunes will always be a part of my heart.

Like Stickwork

If I was a hobbit, or a character from a fairy tale, I could very will picture myself in the homey structures designed by Patrick Dougherty. His creations call forth visions of a simpler world in keeping with nature and the whimsy of life. Each installation seems to fit in perfectly with its surroundings.Growing up in the woods of North Carolina, Patrick Dougherty developed a fascination with the beauty of bare winter branches from stripped down trees. Combining his carpentry skills with his love for nature, Dougherty began to learn more about primitive techniques of building and to experiment with tree saplings as construction material. He praises the sapling as available, renewable and well adapted to weaving into sculpture.

Dougherty's large abstract sculptures are intended to respect nature and add to the natural surroundings. He has created over 160 works during his career as a sculptor.

Discover more at : www.stickwork.net

The Altered Reality of Miles Aldridge

Miles Aldridge is both an artist of the subconscious, and a fashion photographer. His work is like looking through the pages of the fashion magazines he has photographed for. Ultra glossy, vibrant colors dripping off the page, and drop dead gorgeous models. However, there is more to these photographs. There is an underlying cinematic point of view that shines through. His work is beautiful, yet mysterious, and leaves you dreaming within his alternative universe.

Miles Aldridge's provocative shots are over-saturated and make you a touch uneasy. Aldridge does this to signify the reality he yearns to see. "If the world were pretty enough, I'd shoot on location all the time," confides Aldridge. "But the world is just not being designed with aesthetics as a priority. So I prefer to rebuild the world instead of photographing the real one."

Over the past decade, Aldridge's work, often described as erotic, dreamlike and at times a little spooky, started his career as an illustrator, created many music videos and has landed photographic assignments for magazines such as British Vogue, Paris Vogue, American Vogue, Vogue Italia and The New York Times Magazine as well as advertising for YSL, Armani, Longchamp and Hugo Boss. His work is often compared to such artists as Salvidor Dali, Alfred Hitchcock and Godard.
His new exhibit is now showing at the Steven Kasher Gallery, in New York City. On display will be over 25 of Aldridge's images.

May 28–June 20. Steven Kasher Gallery, 521 W. 23rd St.
(212-966-3978)

UP!

Last night I had the pleasure of watching 'UP', Pixar's 10th animated film. Being a HUGE Pixar fan, I couldn't wait to see the newest cinematic treat, in 3-D nonetheless. I had to blog about it since I feel it is truly the best Pixar film to date.

Besides it's fantastic can't believe your eyes digital animation, the story-line really cinched it for me. The film combines a bittersweet coming of age story with unexpected friendships and surprising adventures along the way.

The movie plot was completely original and seemed light-hearted enough for kids, but also somewhat dark with many adult themes (aging, loss, separation and unfinished promises). There is a very memorable montage towards the beginning that is so poignant, I literally started to well up.

There are many very funny moments but overall, this picture really stands on its own and is hard to compare to its Pixar predecessors. Go see it!

Nobu Hotel (?!)

Okay, so I am a big Nobu fan. I have been to a couple of different locations and oyyy, I fall in love every time. Not just with the superb, delicate, mouthwatering food, but with the interiors! David Rockwell is a design maven and each restaurant showcases his striking conceptual abilities.

Nobu restaurants are currently in 15 locations around the world and are now expanding into hosplitality. There are two Nobu Hotel and Residences being built. The first in North America will be located at 45 Broad Street, in New York. The second location is on Israel's Mediterranean coastline and is just minutes from Tel Aviv. Both are being designed by The Rockwell Group which will create both hotel interiors and their respected restaurants. Thus, I will be anxiously awaiting the arrival where I can be in 'eat/sleep' heaven.

Nobu Matsuhisa says that he was inspired by, "the traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan, which combines the impeccable attention to detail characteristic of Japanese hospitality with modern amenities and sophisticated luxuries." With partners like Robert de Niro, the group isn't aiming small:

Rendering of New York location.

Sucker for a good drink...

On a recent excursion, my friend and I were urged by our lovely waiter to try this new tequila. Being a tequila lover, I had to try what he described as floral and slightly sweet.
Fruity tequila?!? Who knew?

Anyway, after a shot (I promise I'm not an alcoholic), I ordered a Rosangel Margarita which might just be my new favorite drink.

Made by Gran Centenario, the blush colored liquor is characterized by the brand as a hibiscus-infused tequila that features subtle fruit and floral notes, as well as a hint of vanilla.
Nevertheless, I highly suggest the next time you go for it and drink tequila, try this one out.

Scrap Chairs

Scrap chairs are the pure result of using trash to create elegant, useful products. the chair of layered plywood scraps follows earlier versions of cardboard and newspaper.





The chairs are made by a company called graypants that has also created scrap lights and other fun furniture designs.
www.graypants.com

Heres to you, Ms. Donovan

Using common objects found within a culture of mass-production, Tara Donovan creates large-scale sculptures with a mystic quality. Her use of building pieces through accumulation and detailed assembly of mass quantities, each identical, make her vision all the more interesting. Layered, piled & clustered, these products form new lives of their own.

From a far away glance, each sculpture is something natural, like a cloud or an ocean full of waves. As you begin to look closer, you begin to see past the illusion and figure out what each component really is.

Toothpicks, buttons, plastic cups, paper plates, and disposable cupcake cups, as seen here, create a phenomenal visual impact.

Her use of angles and textured curves amazes me. She creates scenery, as the shadows and lighting creates mountains and valleys, its incredible to see.

When it comes to assemblages of a repeated single stroke, Tara Donovan is one of the best artists around.