collage of collections

San Francisco artist, illustrator, all round creative really, Lisa Congdon, has been blogging her year of 2010 in the form of collections. She is almost half way through - it looks like quite the effort but she is committed and so far it is very interesting, evoking all sorts of memories from the past and a willingness to share her stuff in an organised and beautifully colourful display.

here are some of my favourites...

M.I.A. and New York Times

M.I.A. at the Grammy Awards 2010, 9 months pregnant to the day. This is such an effort..I love her style and her political prowess, although the NYT article published May 25 2010 provides a little more detail on M.I.A. and the Tamil movement.

M.I.A. NY Times article written by Lynn Hirschberg - read now.

The Plastiki

The Plastiki on Flickr

I wrote a short story in anger recently. It was about a silly old man at the supermarket who had not quite figured out that our planet was extremely delicate and his wastage of plastic bags for his individual fruit and veg items was completely unacceptable.

I almost lost it but decided instead to demand the employee 'to educate the customers' on the use of plastic bags.

So here it is for the record, we do not need to put fruit or vegetable with skin that we are going to peel in a bag, to go in another bag, to potentially go in an environmentally friendly bio-degradable shopping bag. It defeats the purpose. Next time you shop at your LOCAL grocer think of the following:
Will I wash this item?
Is this item eaten without the skin?
Is this item something that can co-habitat with another item of shopping?
Is this plastic bag endangering the lives of millions of sea creatures?

If you answered yes to any or ALL of these questions, you do not need a plastic bag. Cutting down might be as good as cutting out, just like cigarettes and meat.

I was completely inspired today after reading about the David Rothschild project to build and sail a boat made completely from recycled plastic bottles. You can go to The Plastiki to discover their journey. It is unbelievable and as they prepare to sail into Sydney Harbour, I can't help but throw my support to the cause. Go to the website and make your own pledge - no money, just a promise of your commitment to the environment.

Other coolio projects for plastic bag expulsion are below:

in today's news, 'Chillingham now plastic bag free' and the first Australian town to co-ordinate and succeed as plastic bag free - Coles Bay

worth having a kid for!

I am always buying and recieving presents from Melbourne design art shoppe third drawer down. In fact, if you look right you will see it even makes my special list and I didn't just put it there for a lamo promo. Anyway, I was on the hunt for new linen - I was looking for something with an interesting print and I although I really really want to, I just cannot justify the Space Design quilts and sheets. Does it really need to be that expensive to enjoy something so beautifully simple!

While ploughing through the loveliness of third drawer down I seriously got hooked on this little suit..I wondered who needs it the most and who is gonna love it like I do. Who, out of everyone, is gonna wish they had an adult version that could be easily worn perfectly on Sunday that has a limitless comfort and relaxation quota.

Here it is, fuckin' cute!

http://thirddrawerdown.com/shop/product/R-VIK-SEALPELTBABY/

more water with colour

Serena Mitnik-Miller
I cannot get enough of water colour at the moment, it's coming to me in desirable tattoos, via the Frankie newsletter and due to new rains in Melbourne town, it's reflecting its pretty self all over the asphalt to make trippy patterns. Above is my new favourite with a taste of geometry - Heaven.

tattoo shortlist

Without giving too much away I scored myself some gratia body art for my birthday. The boyfriend and I like to pass experiential birthday ideas, something lacking in physicality and adding to life's great experiences. There's no rush with this gift, although I do predict that the longer I leave my arm blank the harder it will be to inflict the excruciating needle action onto self.

A fab dude that lived on Koh Chang, Thailand gave me some key advice about imposing ink on your skin. Lord suggested a copy of the art go everywhere with me, if there is a hint of boredom, distate or dissatisfaction, change it or chuck it. He told me to imagine it on different body parts, where does this piece fit best and does it speak your language. Really love it! LOVE IT! Sounds all logical but I guess that the spontaneous scenarios where tatts happen are not always this thought out.

At this stage I have narrowed it down to the following options that could change any minute depending on my mood:

mosaic tatt


watercolour abstract as created by Amanda Wachob (some of them are tres cool)


erin smith typeface art...(I just have a massive artistic crush on her style and talent and any excuse to commission something personal from a local would be special. No examples as yet.

sans the Rat.

organic chemistry equation, I'm into nomenclature, it's the language of matter and the carbon hydrogen relationship is fundamental to everything that I feel, see, taste and smell.

My mate said keep it black and white...the jury is still out on that one. I think she has a point but I really love the watercolour.

thanks for reading, nat