Formerly - Divineknits with Infiknit - still the same comments on the ironies of life
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Smoke and Mirrors
I wasn't thinking of writing this photo up - but the more I look at it, the more I see some interesting relationships.
It has an other worldliness about it and for people who would like to make their products, services and /or themselves out of this world, here is my take.
1. The photo was taken in the window of a very reputable antique shop, so the items are genuine and of quality - lesson one.
2. There is a mirror - to intensify the product/picture through reflection - augment what you have by imitation, reflection and whatever you have.
3. There is a ghost-like quality to the photo - bring a third demension, whereever you can, to whatever you have. Think of the richness of otherworlds - bring them in. We have lace shawls based on the signs of the Zodiac, for example!!!
4. Reflected in the window is the everyday too...ing & fro...ing of ordinary people - raise them to the sublime with your talents.
Enough said - have an out of this world evening.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Lacey Light
I am still taking pictures in the photo a day challenge. I actually got up my nerve to post this one to the Globe and Mail's website. They set challenges every week and people from all over the world take pictures - all over the world. Here is the one I posted for the challenge to use natural light in doors - no flash.
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Sunshine August 2011 |
It's definitely different. Here is the link to the other photos in this week's Globe and Mail challenge. This one should be there.
Find lace in all the right places!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Table Talk
Here's another photo in the photo a day challenge. I took this at The Brickworks - a reclaimed city dump that's been turned into an environmental centre. I was actually there to take pictures of water lilies in the ponds. It's so much better to have water filtering through ponds and reeds rather that chunks of old asphalt and filthy tires.
Well, I was fascinated by the patterns created by these tables and chairs and their shadows. I think that there must have been a craft demonstration or something in an open area near the ponds. I can see how some knit and purl ribbing with diagonal stitches could create a very interesting pattern for a sweater or blanket etc.
I will put the lily pond pictures up on the Queen Anne's Lace site, when I talk about the pond scarf.
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Tables in the Sun |
I will put the lily pond pictures up on the Queen Anne's Lace site, when I talk about the pond scarf.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
If stones could speak.....
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Detail from Celtic Cross headstone - Mt Pleasant Cemetery |
Mt Pleasant cemetery is quite old - not as old as St. Michael's which holds the remains of a lot of the "survivors" of the Irish potato famines - but still there are headstones that date from the late 1880's. Also other burial grounds, that had to be removed to make way for the expansion of the city, were relocated in Mt Pleasant, so some areas are very old. It is also a cemetery in a once wealthy area, as a result, there are magnificent crypts, ornate markers, ancient trees and winding paths. I have walked through this quiet place many times; I know the stonework well. Yet I have never had a reason to capture it with a camera.
My photo a day challenge gave me that opportunity. I decided to photograph the delicately scrolled Celtic crosses because they remind me of the intricate cable work in Aran sweaters. I think I could also work something like this in lace.
We are all connected - past, present and future; etched in stone, beautifully intertwined.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Rain on my window
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Rain on my window |
Definitely the message here is perseverance - it may take a lifetime - but the upside is that there are still things to learn, as though one were back in school, except that the world is the classroom and all those you meet are teachers, as well as classmates - in many respects we can be forever young!!
I know that I will do a lace pattern soon that involves stitches that look like rain - it can be surreal.
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Raindrops on a glass pane 2011 |
Sunday, August 21, 2011
We've got Cookies!!!!
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These are not Dog Biscuits!! |
Maybe the retail lesson here is to be irresistible - make your shop, your inventory and you - irresistible. There are many sides to everything and many layers and there is a way to capture it all - maybe not with glass and mirrors and cellophane; but maybe with a lot of TLC.
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Puppydog Mittens from Infiknit |
More Bright Ideas
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Cake from Half Baked Ideas on Mt. Pleasant |
The cake itself, though, makes me think of the "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" and other crazy things; it piques my interest and draws me inside to see what they have to offer!
From a merchandising stand point, the unique layers topped with a light bulb create an eye-catching window display both day and night. Think in terms of using shop windows effectively - keep them simple and fresh - if not a little unusual!!!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Friendless?
Sometimes I feel like a motherless piece of Playmobile. I was scouting out some interesting picture possibilities and I almost missed this little guy. Someone had left him on the windowsill of one of the shops on Mt Pleasant. Perhaps a child had been looking in the window and left him or he had been dropped and a passerby kindly picked him up and placed him there. Then, I came along and decided he needed recognition.
Actually I tried applying some effects to the picture from the limited software I have. I think that he looks even lonelier in black and white. The power of colour or the lack there of creates some awesome results. Apply this to merchandising and see what happens - maybe something doggone amazing.
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Lost Dog |
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Life Imitating Art
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Black-Eyed Susans |
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Van Gogh "Sunflowers" |
The picture is actually a cross between a Van Gogh and a Picasso - OK, I'm giving myself a lot of credit these days - anyway, here is the Van Gogh and the Picasso.
The other Picasso is lighter has more of the "feel" of my Susans - anyway I think that my picture is a good example of life imitating Art.
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Picasso |
Here's the link to my blog about The Materialists They recently worked Van Goghs "Sunflowers" in knitted fabric et al - Now is this life imitating art - imitating life?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Let there be light!!!
Here is another photo in the photo a day challenge. I took this photo while waiting to pick up my daughter from the bus.
I have entitled it "Let there be Light", as though turning on a light were something as easy to execute, as snapping one's fingers - OK, yes I know it is from a light switch. However, the complexity of the wires, the transformers, the height, the platforms, etc..suggest otherwise. It's a little like ideas - they may just seem to "pop" into your head, but they have gone through a lot of machinery to get there!!
I need that little light bulb of an idea....hello.....I'm over here!!!
Let there be Light!! |
I need that little light bulb of an idea....hello.....I'm over here!!!
Wild Ideas
Here is another photo for the photo-a-day challenge. It was taken outside of the Wild Bird Seed store on Mt. Pleasant. The words "Wild Bird" are barely visible on the window of the store.
I love looking at "things" in different mediums. Here is a metal bird - what if it could fly? or maybe it's angry because it can't? It's also very large - something to be said about that wild bird seed. It's humour; it's Science Fiction; it's all part of the challenge of looking at the ordinary - "store inventory" in a new and inventive way!!
Cherrio - wild bird talk for "good-bye."
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Wild Bird |
Cherrio - wild bird talk for "good-bye."
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Artistic Inspiration
Sometimes I take a look at the work of other artists to get a little boost. I really like the work of Georgia O'Keefe - especially her flower portraits. Here is a picture I took yesterday -
and here is a photo of one of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings
Now to translate these into something knitted. Maybe it's all about colour and layers and being wrapped in something luscious - could work!!
Second photo in photo challenge. "click" and be happy!
Carol
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Lily from a garden on Mt Pleasant Rd. |
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Georgia O'Keefe painting |
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Midday Scarf - Queen Anne's Lace |
Second photo in photo challenge. "click" and be happy!
Carol
Monday, August 15, 2011
Inspiration
I have just completed Capricorn in my Zodiac shawl series. Aquarius is being test knit and Scorpio has been released!!! I just have 2 more to knit - Cancer and Aries. So I am looking for inspiration. Cricket Walker, whom I follow on Facebook, is always good at posting new challenges to get people up and moving to start their creative juices flowing.
Her latest challenge is a photo a day. I'm a bit late in starting; but here is my first one. Yea it's me taking a picture of a shop window which I pass everyday when I go out for a coffee.
My office is on Mt Pleasant Ave, in Toronto, which has often been compared to Union St. in San Francisco. I haven't had a holiday in awhile - can't you tell - I haven't been posting. Maybe I should just play tourist in my own backyard. Well I could pretend that it's Versailles or St. Petersburg. I'm feeling better already!!
Her latest challenge is a photo a day. I'm a bit late in starting; but here is my first one. Yea it's me taking a picture of a shop window which I pass everyday when I go out for a coffee.
My office is on Mt Pleasant Ave, in Toronto, which has often been compared to Union St. in San Francisco. I haven't had a holiday in awhile - can't you tell - I haven't been posting. Maybe I should just play tourist in my own backyard. Well I could pretend that it's Versailles or St. Petersburg. I'm feeling better already!!
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