Advanced Printing

I wanted to learn a bit more about printing processes so I borrowed The Printmaking Bible from a nearby University library. Wowie! I was not prepared for the amount of information included in this hefty volume. It covers everything about printing materials and techniques and has lots of great photos to get your creative inks flowing. It's a great reference for serious print people.

Mod Glam

Though my house will never fit the description of "modern" nor "glamorous" by any stretch, I still like to look at homes that are just that. Nobody does it with more gloss or style than Metropolitan Home. Glamour: Making it Modern is a visual feast that has many ideas that anyone could incorporate into their space. I especially like the Villinski "Beer-can Butterflies" and the Philippe Starck chandeliers.

Snuggly Graffiti

Yarn Bombing is an art form that greatly appeals to me. I think there are a whole lot of sad declining cities who could benefit from a little knitted love. I might have to see if I can round up some of my fellow knit-wits to get a project going. Check out the website for more inspirations.

Design of All Things

In my next life I want to be a designer. I can't imagine what it's like to be able to have a great idea, modify it to make it better, fabricate it, and have other people love it and have to have it. I'm drawn to things that are clean and modern-looking even though I don't think I'd want to own them or live with them. 21st Century Design displays cutting-edge items from furniture to clothing, products to architecture. I don't have to spend any money to spend time with the lovely things--it's a great compromise!

Snooping

I like letters. I like to receive them, to send them (though I rarely do), and to read them. I confess that they don't necessarily have to be addressed to me--I'm not picky. Imagine my delight to see Other People's Love Letters. Bill Shapiro put together 150 love letters that range in emotion from elation to misery. You'll be able to relate to many of these, whether you want to admit it or not. This one is short and sweet: "I love you like a fat kid loves cake."

Sketchy

I just found a tiny new book that allows us to glimpse into the artistry behind the fashionable shoes made famous by Sex in the City. Manolo Blahnik Drawings is full of sketches from the seventies to the present day that stand as works of art by themselves. Fluid and full of color, they look good enough to wear!

So many books

After tagging 1900 books today (a personal best), I went out to the stacks to look at books for information. I was interested in learning more about Richard Avedon in anticipation of seeing the DIA exhibit. I was drawn to this gorgeous book with a unique binding: PerForMancE. The cover wraps around it and delicately hugs the oversize pages that are filled with Avedon's black and white photos of artists. Makes me look forward to the exhibit even more.

Serving the People

I have worn a waitress uniform two different times in my life. I know what it takes to be great at that job. It's innate and I do not have it. The women of Counter Culture do. I tried to spot the similarities between the workers but they are simply too unique. I love the entry on Sharon at the Pancake House in New Orleans with a serving tray as big as a VW. Now she's got mad skills!

Haunting

Ever since I saw the "Most Haunted" episode in Waverly Hill, I've been intrigued by defunct institutions. Christopher Payne documents the decay of seventy mental institutions across the United States. The buildings exteriors are very dignified, hiding the sadness the halls retain. The empty beds and chairs, the fully-stocked pantries, and the remaining personal effects make it seem as if patients have stepped out for a moment and will be right back. [Plus, there's a double-page spread of the copper urns featured in Library of Dust.]

Hitchcockian

I remember visiting my cousins as a child and being so jealous that their silhouettes were framed on the walls. How cool! I didn't have any idea how somebody could do that--they were so detailed and real. Now that I've seen the marvelous entries in Emma Rutherford's oversized book, I know they were not quite as intricate as they could have been. No profile will ever be as recognizable as Alfred's or Teddy Roosevelt's but the artistry lives on.

Click

I'm sure the people who were fascinated by cameras obscura never could have imagined all the digital images that get taken every moment of every day. Camera covers photography back to its very beginning, including examples of every type of mechanism possible. Take, for example, Thompson's Revolver Camera from 1862. It's a handheld unit that has a handle like a gun and produces four 1-inch images on a single plate. The Gem Apparatus from 1880 was able to produce twelve identical small images with a single exposure and sold for just 5 pounds!

Lovely Ladies

If you're a Michigan native, you know all about the importance of the auto industry to our history (current events notwithstanding). Sirens of Chrome compiles all kinds of great photos from the archives of the Detroit Public Library, GM, and various trade organizations to highlight the women who helped make the cars so appealing. I especially love the entry on page 59: The Ford Super Deluxe has one of the first vanity plates: FM 19 42 (Ford Motor Company, model year).

Crazy Beautiful

This gorgeously giant book's cover grabs you and demands attention. David Maisel photographed almost 110 canisters. Some are copper in color, some have green, gold, white, red, or orange, depending on their stage of decay. Each holds the human remains of a former patient of the Oregon State Hospital. This Library of Dust vaguely reflects the spectrum of asylum patients who are gone but not forgotten.

Skulls for Sale

I love all things forensic. Those reality shows, the Baden books, it's all good. I was absolutely floored to see this title. Cranioklepty. The word says it all and gives entirely new meaning to the idea of wanting to own a piece of history.

Anti-Style

I think we are all drawn to those people who don't play by the rules. Perhaps we wish we could be so free from social constraints, to be as unique as we feel. The photos in Rebel Rebel are remarkable: some are shocking, some are inspiring. But the more I look at them the more I realize that there really isn't any originality left. Even the most extreme individuals are strikingly similar to others after all.

Misery Loves Calories

Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing made me laugh and wince all at once. Some of the dishes sound downright delicious, such as the Manic-Depressive Brownies, Two Ways! Others give me pause, like the Worst Date Ever Nutty Cheese Ball. The tongue-in-cheek approach reminds me of Amy Sedaris' I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence.

Clutter Be Gone

It's a lofty goal, to have a tidy closet that functions well. I'm inspired by the many photographs in Room by Room: Storage Solutions. If only implementation was as easy as turning the pages...

Fashionably Photographed

Scott Schuman has the eye for style. His blog has been on my Favorites list for a good long time. I'm elated that now I am able to savor his glorious photos in bed, because the book version of The Sartorialist has just been published. It makes me long for a better closet inventory but thankful that I don't live in an especially fashionable town.