crooked house

The Lot

One of my short stories went up on Hobart today. It's called "The Lot" and it was inspired by this Gregory Crewdson photograph.

Abandoned Victorian Treehouse

The kids' grandfather is just putting the finishing touches on the playhouse he built for the kids. It sits on the back deck, a tiny square cottage with three real windows and a dutch door. "Your grandfather is so awesome," says six-year-old Olivia, the big girl from across the street, to Sylvie, as they sit watching him attach that amazing door. Sylvie smiles proudly and seems to grow an inch taller.

Just imagine how impressed all the neighbourhood kids were by this gorgeous Victorian treehouse, photographed somewhere in Florida by Drew Perlmutter. He won't reveal the exact location, fearing more vandalism. What exactly happened to the place? And where are the kids who used to play in it?

There are no answers, just more pictures, here.

Grace Weston's World

I am so excited by Grace Weston's hilariously creepy work. And, in this video, she is endearingly enthusiastic about doing it. An art critic quoted on her site describes it as a sort of combination of Mr Roger's Neighborhood and Hieronymous Bosch and yes, that about sums it up. Apparently, some of her photographs appear in Microworlds, a book I really must have.

Children Not Looking at Art

This is a great photo, as fellow Nova Scotian Chelsea Nichols, the curator of The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things, points out. I bet there are a lot of photos out there of children not looking at the art in museums. I bet there are a lot of photos out there of people in general not looking at the art in museums. Wouldn't that make a great art show?

Photographs of Children from Around the World and Their Most-Prized Possessions

Lucas, from Sydney, Australia with his Thomas stuff.

Tangawizi, from Kenya, with his stuffed animal.

Photographer Gabriele Galimberti took pictures of children all over the world with their favourite toys. They're very interesting photos. I think it would also be interesting to have the children pose with ALL of their toys. (I would be mortified to have my children photographed with all of theirs, however. We practically need another house to keep them in.)

For some reason, this reminds me of Vera Saltzman's portraits of middle-aged women posing with their childhood dolls. (You have to click on "Sue and Winnie" on her portfolio site.) Maybe it's because the photos are interesting but I think they could've been even more interesting. In the case of Saltzman's series, all the women are wearing rather grim expressions and, as you look at more and more of the photos, it begins to look rather staged. I think they'd work better as a collection if they wore more natural expressions.

 

Miniature Landscape Nail Art

Miniature landscape nail art by Alice Bartlett.

The Ocean in Your Bedroom

This is one of a series of photographs taken by Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés, a photographer who was intrigued by descriptions of an abandoned diamond-mining village in Namibia and went there to capture how the desert had taken back the buildings.

This particular photo makes me think of the ocean, not the desert at all. Beautiful.

Our Paper Moon Photos

A very kind artistic friend made this paper moon backdrop for us last year and we've only just gotten around to using it. (It's actually not paper -- it's made out of a sheet of sparkly felt and some kind of synthetic silver cloth I found in the remnants bin at the fabric store.)

I can't exactly remember when Will and Kate were married, but we put this together at that time and  this hat is the one Princess Beatrice wore to their wedding.

Do you recognize the Dowager Countess's hat?

Now that we've used it, I'm selling off all these old hats and costumes and this backdrop to make room for more Halloween stuff! Cheap! (My piles of past projects are ridiculous.) Let me know if you're interested.

Flying Henry

Henry's dad was removed from these photos by his mom, photographer Rachel Hulin. Her children's photography book Flying Henry is getting a lot of buzz.

Four Sisters: Then and Now

Photographer (and eldest sister) Wilma Hurskainen forced her younger sisters to retake these childhood photos. Aren't you glad she did? Via My Modern Met.