Jamie Baldridge

To say that Jamie Baldridge is an imaginative genius is an understatement. His book The Everywhere Chronicles is at the top of my wishlist! The Everywhere Chronicles is available through the prestigious publishing company, 21ST Editions.



Only 50 editions exsist...33 regular editions at $7500 each and 17 Museum editions at $14,000 each! A beautiful custom made clam shell box, holds a handbound book. The book contains 12 bound prints, plus 1 fully signed and free-standing, pigment ink print for you to frame and display. Dark landscapes, odd characters, and magical surrealism are woven together by a curious fictional journal written by Jamie. Monotype letterpresss text is printed on the finest paper. The book is signed by the artist and publisher. No second editions will ever be made!

Keith E. Lo Bue

Keith E. Lo Bue is my one of my favorite mixed media artists, if not my favorite! Every little detail in his found object art assemblages is amazing and awe inspiring! Much of his art is wearable, I'm particularly drawn to his neck odornments. I couldn't decide on just one piece so I chose three! You really need to go to his website to explore each piece up close. Make sure you click on each image to see the fine details of each piece. This one for example has eight views...the back is magnificent too, if you peep through the lens, a tiny surprise is revealed!

Bugs n' such...

First of all I've FINALLY updated my ETSY shop with some of my Supernatural Specimen Pendants and other goodies.






I had a few bugs to work out in Lady Lavona Land...but all is peachy now and I'm back to blog regularly! Speaking of bugs...you must check out Mike Libby's amazing Insect Lab They remind me of the typewriters in the film Naked Lunch!

SCRIMSHAW

Recently a nice gentleman named Robert Chaplin stopped by my blogspace here and dropped me a line. In turn I visited his blogspace and made a new discovery. Robert is an amazing artist and uses his blog to share his newest work. He posted one particular piece that I love...an awesome etched piece of vintage ivory. I have seen such things before, but now I know what this lost artform is called, "Scrimshaw". Usually the pieces I have come across have nautical themes, ships, whales, ect. It all makes sense now... Scrimshaw artistians are usually sea faring people. The artform goes back to neolithic times. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it became the craft of sailors and whalers. Scrimshaw can still be found amoungst the Eskimo people, but otherwise "Scrimshanders" are a dying breed.



One of my favorite sites to visit is Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons, Purveyors of Dark and Uncommon Goods. Founder, Derrick Cruz is a self taught Scrimshander. He offers dark romantic men's jewelry and functional Art Objects...rich with symbolism. And I know that inside every Black Heart beats one passionate and Blood Red! The best things get tarnished over time!




When asked about the significance of the company's name in a recent interview he said "The phrase Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons jumped out at me while reading Kafka was the Rage by Anatole Broyard. I sympathize with this story. When I left Brooklyn to live in the Village, I felt as if I had acquired a new set of relative...uncles I had never met before...men who lived in odd places...who had shunned family life and been shunned in turn, who were somewhere between black sheep and prodigal sons of a paradoxical kind. An aura of scandal, or at least of ambiguity, hovered over these uncles...there was a flaw in their past, some kind of unhealthiness, even a hint of insanity...my favorite writers...i felt them waiting, almost calling out to me...they were all the family I had now, all the family I wanted. With them I could lead a hypothetical life, unencumbered by memory, loyalties, or resentments."




His scrimshaw pieces are carved out of pre-banned vintage ivory piano keys. You really have to visit his site...every collection has a beautiful narrative to accompany it. Each piece is presented in artfully crafted box that looks like an old a book.

Typewriter Love!

Have you ever seen the Sundance Catalog? Robert Redford has something to do with it which is totally besides the point...But they feature a Vintage/Antique section that I love to look at. Recently, they started offering Antique Typewriters (never used mint condition) for a hefty sum of $695.00! I fell in love with this one. Isn't it charming? Sundance reports: "The legendary Ernest Hemingway kept a 1930s Royal Quiet Den Luxe—just like this one—on his desk in Key West."


So I thought I'd check out ebay. And guess who's the winning bidder on this same exact typewriter? Meeee! It's gently used, needs new ribbon...but I paid $31.00 plus shipping is $27.00! And this my friends, is why I am an ebay junkie.

What Time Is It Mr. Fox?

I have a love/hate relationship with Time. This is due mostly to the fact that I have a very different perception of it "Time" as most people do. I believe the Soul has the ability to transend the confines of linear time frames. So I generally feel restricted by 3-Dimentional time structures: The origins of the current measurement system go back to the Sumerian civilization of approximately 2000 BC. This is known as the sexagesimal system based on the number 60. 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour – and possibly a calendar with 360 (60x6) days in a year (with a few more days added on). Twelve also features prominently, with roughly 12 hours of day and 12 of night, and 12 months in a year (with 12 being 1/5 of 60).

I have a Tattoo (half sleeve) of the Goddess Kali on my right arm. She wields a sword, that represents cutting the strings of bondage to 3-Dimentional reality. On the interior part of my arm I have an hourglass that is shattered, the sands of time flowing out into space. This represents my tireless pursuit of Enlightenment via Transcendental Meditation.

I love this pocket watch by the White Rabbit Watch Company ! It runs backwards with backward numbers and keeps perfect time in reverse! Madness...I love it!


However, I realize the nessesity of operating within these human time frames, so I've decided to invest in a new alarm clock. I was terribly disenchanted by all the digital products on the market. Ugly!!! I have an Ikea gift card from my Mom that I've been meaning to use, so I thought I'd check out their website. I found the perfect clock, and it's only $6.99! I love antique reproductions! It's currently unavailabe online..but the website gives you an option to search stores near you...


If I had an abundance of petty cash I'd invest in a timepiece by Roger Wood. But I don't, so I will keep him bookmarked and dream. His creations are part art assemblage part functional clock. I love this exploding alarm clock!

Disce Mori

Mourning jewelry mirrored the lives and times of the people who wore it. It was a souvenir to remember a loved one, a reminder to the living of the inevitability of death, and a status symbol, especially during the Victorian era. Mourning jewelry reached its height of popularity in England after the death of Prince Albert in December 1861. Queen Victoria went into deep mourning, which was imitated by her subjects when faced with their own bereavements.

In the United States the use of mourning jewelry increased with the outbreak of the Civil War. This coincided with the black jewelry used in England in sympathy with Queen Victoria's widowhood. For the first year, a woman who was in mourning was not allowed to exit her home with out full black attire and a weeping veil. Her activities were initially restricted to church services. But mourning attire was the perfect way to show the wealth and respectability of a woman.




The earliest examples of mourning jewelry were found in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Black and white enameled heads or skulls were often set into rings and brooches. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was a status symbol to present mourning jewelry to friends and families of the bereaved.

I am particularly in love with hair brooches...beautiful jewelry in which one would keep a lock of hair belonging to the deceased.




I am smitten by modern interpretations of Victorian jewelry. One of my favorite designers is Julia deVille of Disce Mori. If you love the Steampunk aesthetic, you will love her web design! Her work is not limited to jewelry, she also offer elegant leather gloves, spats, and taxidermy art objects!

All I Want for Christmas!

I love Kerry Kate's October Effigies! This Boudoir Doll is currently in her Etsy shop. If you buy it before I do, I'll forgive you.


I also really really need this Classic Working Replica Gramophone. It plays 78 RPM Records!


I've had these amazing Silhouettes plates by Thomas Paul on my list forever!

Nikki Pinder's Gypsy Soup!

I'm so excited, I just couldn't wait to post this! Check out NIKKI PINDER'S version of Gypsy Soup. This was created just for me! She hasn't added the text yet but I just had to show you all. It will be in banner format for my blog here. Isn't it so Steampunk? I told her it should be the cover of a Dark Romantic Steampunk novel. She's brilliant! She has created artwork for the music duo COLT, the Punk Caberet group VERMILLION LIES, and Gothic Folk Songstress CATHERINE ANN DAVIS...just to name a few. She is also the genius behind NIGHTOWL MAGAZINE! I hope to contribute to the next issue, #2! Thanks Nikki, you Rock!