in memory of my father...

timothy lee

16th december 1949 - 29th september 2009

normal posting will resume next week. thank you for your patience.

jocelyn proust: hand painted tiles

aren't these tiles by jocelyn proust groovy? they're hand painted, and for sale as coasters, magnets or wall plaques on her site.

i think, in my dream kitchen, i'd have a frieze of those blue flowers pictured above! or imagine a cheery bathroom wall dotted with some of her sweet paisley birds? hmm soon my pretty tiles, soon...

- i am away from home again this week, so posting will be lighter than usual. please enjoy some pretty pictures until regular posting resumes -

vintage graphis: '71 futuristic bubble

photograph from a calendar for a printer with fantastic and futuristic scenes. photographer: jean pierre ronzel

- i am away from home again this week, so posting will be lighter than usual. please enjoy some pretty pictures until regular posting resumes -

pilgrim's palette: patchwork

second installment of pilgrim's palette and its not even a color! but why choose one color when you can have them all? so here is my salute to patchwork. patchwork appeals to me for so many reasons, yet it's one of the few crafts i dare not try. i know my lack of patience and less-than perfect sewing skills will compromise my end result so i don't even start. but the concept of patchwork is enough of an inspiration to me and so my fabric stash lives to spend another day alone in the cupboard, but my artwork is quickly becoming something a pioneer woman might be proud of. you'll have to wait and see what i mean, but for today, lets enjoy some traditional patchwork.

from the golden hands encyclopedia of crafts

as one of my beloved 'golden hands' books says, "patchwork is a truly sentimental craft which has always been connected with sharing and neighbourliness... the fabric of patchwork will often conjure up a score of memories - a scrap of the first dress you ever sewed, a piece of the blouse that never looked right with anything - reminders of friends and family." don't you love that image above this paragraph? the warm golden light in that picture makes me ache for childhood camping trips. obviously, i'm a big sucker for nostalgia, but i also love the haphazardness of patchwork. i strongly believe in the adage that "if a little is good, then a lot must be better" especially where pattern is involved. gingham and floral? yes please! stripes and spots? you better believe it!

from the golden hands encyclopedia of crafts

and have a look at the textures in this bag: cotton, corduroy and i think some velvet. even though i prefer my patchwork more colorful, i rather like the washed out charm of this bag. i think it could be holly hobbie's overnight bag, don't you think?

from the golden hands encyclopedia of crafts

i really like this blanket. the combination of the wholesome gingham and the far out florals and paisley really does it for me. having said that, my favorite patchwork is hexagonal. i can't explain it, i guess i'm drawn to the slightly more unusual shape. of course the fact that hexagonal patchwork is just that bit more complex than square patchwork is another reason why me + sewing a patchwork blanket will never = friends. but as long as the hexagonal shape tool in adobe illustrator exists, at least some of my patchwork lust will be sated!

vintage children's book: the butterfly ball & the grasshopper's feast

dust jacket/cover

this week's picture book is the butterfly ball and the grasshopper's feast, from 1973. illustrated by alan aldridge and with verses by william plomer, it's loosely based on the poem of the same name by william roscoe, but is more focused on the animals' preparations for the ball.

esmerelda, seraphina & camilla

the incredible illustrations by alan aldridge bring the verses to life. according to wikipedia he was apparently inspired when he "read that john tenniel had told lewis carroll it was impossible to draw a wasp in a wig." aldridge's work really deserves a post all of its own, he was responsible for many great album covers, and helped create the graphic style of that era. wikipedia says 'his work was characterised by a flowing, cartoony style and soft airbrushing - very much in step with the psychedelic styles of the times.'

froggy

"this is the tale of the summer's day, deep in the woods of england, when the butterflies and grasshoppers invited all the creatures of air and land to a ball and feast. from st michael's mount, windsor, rye, salisbury, tintern abbey and the far corners of britain they came - moles, gnats, dormice, newts, shrews, caterpillars, moths, frogs, squirrels, spiders, toads, mice, bees, flies, worms, centipedes, hares, hedgehogs, otters, and foxes. setting out in johnson's spinner trains, hot-air balloons, stagecoaches, and on foot, most arrive - some fall foul of bats, stoats, wasps, and foxes and don't! beneath the broad oak tree the butterflies and guests dance the evening away, feasting and merrymaking until the glow-worms light up and lead the weary guests back to their beds."

harlequin hare

you may remember a few weeks ago i featured the animated music clip "love is all" that was made in 1974 by roger glover, based on the song love's all you need mentioned in this book. this was supposed to lead to a full length animated film, and glover had written a full soundtrack that became the butterfly ball album, but the film was never made.

shelly snail & swallowtail

there are also two other books based on the sequels: the peacock party and the lion's cavalcade. there are many more gorgeous illustrations in 'the butterfly ball' but these tiny images just don't do them justice. i urge you to find yourself a copy of The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast and pour over the amazing work.. its a grasshopper's feast for the eyes.

wouldn't it be amazing to have a butterflies ball themed party? who do you think you would dress as?

made by pilgrim: screen printed bags

do you remember i told you about my screen printing course? well, last saturday i finished it up. at the end of the first class we coated our screens with photo emulsion, so at the start of the last class we exposed them to the UV light. It was a pretty fancy set up, with a vacuum chamber to put the screens in while they were being exposed. i bought some calico bags to print on, and the bag pictured below is the finished result.

the bag was printed using 2 layers, both exposed on the same screen (but divided by tape): one of pink opaque ink, and 1 of transparent red ink. the contrast between the 2 layers is more apparent in person, but then again it could just be my computer screen.

what do you think of my bag? i carried it with me on my trip last week and got a few compliments. it sure is exciting being able to carry some artwork around with me. i am definitely looking forward to making some more!

vintage graphis: '79 banker fish

"Einordnung" - Issued by the Deutsch Sparkassenverlag bank publishing agency. The title might freely translated as 'keeping one's place' or 'adaptation"

Artist: Aiga Heinemann-Rasch
Publisher: Deutsch Sparkassenverlag GmbH

i'm back in the real world, now. thanks for your patience. i'm looking forward to showing you some fun stuff this week!

blog break

today i flew to the city where i grew up to spend some time with my dad who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given a survival time of 6 months. 1 year on he's still going. he's pretty unstoppable, and its hard to imagine him ever ultimately stopping. he is getting weaker now though, and with each month's visit comes nasty new surprises and more stressful goodbyes. even though my mum passed away from cancer 5 years ago i still don't have a grasp on how to handle it, so its a very draining time, but i'm grateful for the time we do get to spend together.

i'm reluctant to say this, but i've decided to take the rest of this week off from blogging. this blog is my happy place, and a distraction from harsh reality, but i need to keep some of my happy energy all for myself right now. i hope you can understand. regular programming will resume on monday.

thanks for reading, see you next week.

vintage graphis: '71 kodak instamatic ad

"kodak instamatic: always on the mark"

photographer: hans fuerer

art director: peter vos

agency: j walter thompson, amsterdam

vintage children's book: please sit still

a few weeks ago i showed you one of my favorite picture books, 'wings on wednesday' written by natalie scott and sandra smith, and i promised i'd show you some more of their work. well, here is 'please sit still.' the illustration is equally wild, and though 'wings on wednesday' will always have a special place in my heart, this is another fantastic book.

it was published in 1969 by paul hamlyn pty ltd in australia. you can see it in the national library of australia collection here.

the story follows toby and sarah, who are twins. they go to holiday with their aunt edith who lives by the sea and each day they go for a different outing. everywhere they go they wiggle and squirm and aunt edith clicks her tounge and tells them "please sit still my darlings."

on monday they go for a ride on the ferry and they fidget. on tuesday they visit the dentist, where they squirm. on wednesday they visit the theatre. they're so excited to see a princess in a golden crown and a prince riding a brave white horse that they can't possibly sit still and aunt edith clicks her tounge and tells them "please sit still my darlings. how you two do wiggle and squirm!"

on thursday they visit aunt edith's friend, miss spratt in her best room. they eat all the cream cakes and drink all the lemonade and they want to explore but aunt edith says "please sit still my darlings. how you two do wiggle and squirm!"

on friday it rains and they play cards inside with aunt edith, all the while fussing about. on saturday the go to the circus where they're too excited to sit still. "please sit still my darlings. how you two do wiggle and squirm!" says aunt edith (click here to see the full page spread of the circus)

on sunday they go to church in their best clothes where they wiggle about like the other children. on monday aunt edith is too tired, so the twins play outside in the garden: "out in the garden the sun was shining. there were shady green tres and tangles of flowerbeds and secret places. beyond the garden there was a beach with wide butter-yellow sand and beyond the sand was the sea which rippled like a great blue carpet and curled frothing white where the waves broke on the beach."

While playing outside, toby and sarah wonder why aunt edith wants them to sit still. they ask the sun who tells them things would be in a mess if he sat still. they ask the trees who can't give them an answer either: the wind blows the trees so they're rarely still either. they ask the birds who think sitting still is a terrible idea, and they ask the sea who tells them there is nothing as restless as it.

when night falls they still don't know why aunt edith wants them to sit still. their father picks them up and they go home. In bed, toby asks the moon if he knows the answer, and the moon tells them he's been on the move for thousands of years.

in the morning their mother asks them why they're so still, so the ask her about aunt edith. she tells them if they were still she'd think something was wrong and adds "there's plenty of time to sit still when you grow old!" indeed.

apologies for posting this so late in the day, a certain child of mine who also won't sit still is having a birthday party on the weekend, so i've been busily preparing! i hope you enjoyed seeing more of sandra smith's art, i really wish i knew more about her. if anyone knows anything, please comment!

made by pilgrim: moss terrarium update

you might remember that a while back i showed you how i made a moss terrarium. i was pretty naughty and ignored all the good 'how to make a moss terrarium' advice i found online and just went ahead and cobbled together a pretty cute looking terrarium (if i do say so myself!) just for the fun of it.

moss terrarium in july

well six weeks have passed and my terrarium lives on. i've tended to it almost lovingly, spraying it with water when i remember (about once a week) and making sure it stays in a light position (by forgetting it exists). every few days i leave the lid off for a while so it can get some fresh air, but mostly it just sits there, all fogged up. so how is it looking, you ask?

moss terrarium in september

as you can see (as much as you can see, thankyouverymuch iphone camera.. proper camera coming soon!) there is a tall stalk of something growing and the moss has assimilated nicely into its new home. the deer and the toadstools however, remain the same - turns out it isn't a magic terrarium.

style icons: blythe

1. a little unsure, 2. Tate, 3. Erykah,

4. All spruced up!, 5. Betsy my lovely yarn head blythe bear, 6. Hippy chick...,

7. Blythe DollHouse Kitchen, 8. Mod Marigold Set, 9. retro stock 1

do you know blythe? she's the girl of a thousand faces, all of them framing those humungous eyes. she causes quite a stir - some people are fanatics and others think she's a little too strange to find endearing. but i'm sure that doesn't bother blythe. she's been down and bounced back. she's one tough cookie!

she was created in 1972 by allison katzman as a sort of homage to the wide-eyed waifs illustrated by margaret keane. unfortunately, the world wasn't ready for blythe and the toy company kenner ceased production after just one year. but nearly 30 years later blythe was rediscovered when chronicle books published photographer gina garan's book 'this is blythe'. pretty soon blythe was 'big in japan' and replicas and new editions of blythe were produced by takara japan and ashton drake galleries USA. blythe had a whole new generation of fans who were old enough to appreciate her and creative enough to take her from being a quirky doll to the star of a fascinating subculture.

i have a blythe (a 'mrs retro mama' unsurprisingly) and although initially my plan was to create something unique and customised, i just like her the way she is. she stands in my studio, rocking out to a music box and being my little plastic muse. i do love seeing what other people do to their blythes, though. some of them are near works of art. pictured up the top are some of my favorites on flickr. groovy babies, dolly birds, and a fabulous yarnhead bear! isn't the yarhead bear fascinating?

what do you think of blythe? do you have one?

made by pilgrim: stencil screenprints

i haven't spoken much about my personal life on this blog. as selfish as this may sound, this site is my space. just mine. and those of you who are parents will understand how precious having some space of your own is! however to give some background to this post allow me to share: my son is turning 3 on sunday. its been an incredible few years, but its been like having my brain on 'hold' for most of that time. at the beginning of this year i vowed to start working towards something and investing more in my interests and mental wellbeing. step one was to start reading again. step two was to try and be more health conscious and step three was to extend myself and edge outside of my comfort zone.

cut to nine months later and i'm just getting around to step three.

a few weeks ago i decided i wanted to do some screen printing, but having only done so a couple of times with lots of help from other people, i wasn't really comfortable just diving in. so i had a peek at the centre for adult education website and found a 2-day intensive course taught by the excellent nathan gray.

part one of the course was last saturday, and we did some prints using paper stencils, and some using the speedball blockout and resist fluids. pictured above are my stencil prints. i'm really happy with that technique and i feel very inspired by the results. don't you think they look a bit scandinavian? the blockout and resist fluids gave some people great painterly results but cleaning it off the screen with a high pressure hose makes it something i can't really do at home. coming next week, the results of our photo emulsion prints!

i really recommend (anyone who as the time) taking a course. it might sound trite, but aside from picking up some new skills i've met some great new people and its just so nice to do something different with my weekends. next on my list to learn is proper coptic bookbinding, and letterpress printing.

have you taken any good courses or have something in mind you'd like to learn?

vintage graphis: 76/77: word rainbow & liberty and justice

Lettering on a booklet for Bicentennial Year Observance, issued by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Designer: Gerry Kano

amazing animation: psychedelic selections

there isn't much to say about these, they speak for themselves really. hope everyone has a lovely weekend. i'm going to do some screen printing.

see you back here on monday.

vintage graphis: '71 albino afro

Advertisement for photoengravers Collins, Miller & Hutchings.

Photographer: Viktor Skrebneski

Art Director: Rollin S. Binzer

Agency: Hurvis, Binzer & Churchill Inc. Chicago

dig that cotton candy 'fro!