roadside scholar

stuff i found on the highway of life

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Archive for July, 2008

vicky wilkinson glass

these substantial pieces from uk artist vicky wilkinson’s kiln-formed glass collection are inspired by both urban and rural imagery and landscapes. she enjoys exploring the possibilities of layers, spaces and what the two combine to be.

see more and contact vicky on her website.

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annie patterson illustrations

reader theresa pointed me to award-winning alaska artist annie patterson’s illustrations, and i am so happy that she did. annie is a published children’s book illustrator and has a delicate, detailed style and motifs that make your imagination float away with the wind.

see annie’s portfolio on her website and check her blog out too for news and updates.

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snapshot sunday

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best of the week on roadside scholar

as many of you know, i’ve been rehabbing my dog and over the past few weeks and i want to let you know that he has improved immensely. he continues to sleep most of the day and is reticent to climb stairs, but now is able to stand up and walk around with minimal assistance. this is tremendous progress and a really huge relief for us. it has been a difficult road and our routines have been tossed to the wayside so we can help him recover. next week the experiment of leaving him for a few hours at a time will begin. since i did not leave the house for ten days straight, this is going to be a welcome change for me. i have missed being able to go out and take my photographs, play my sports and see people. i’ve also missed writing any best of the week posts for a while now, so let’s get back up on the horse and take a look at some of the most popular posts from the past week or so. as always, feel free to click around on the photos or links for more info on these great artists and items:

orange beautiful’s new prints and miranda meilleur’s silver creations

matthew woodson illustrations and lisa widén‘s cloud chair

bill fantini’s terrific photography

in a strange way i think my being housebound helped me to focus more on writing here. when i am able to go out and run this household it tends to keep me away from the computer and the number of posts falls down, much to my chagrin. this website is as much of a creative exercise and commitment as anything else, and i don’t like it when that happens, but you know how it goes. if i am anything, i am thorough, so hopefully i will be able to balance it all next week. we’ll see. in the meantime i wish you all a happy weekend and thank you for stopping by and writing your comments and emails. i have enjoyed hearing from you this week. a lot. stay tuned for some great interviews with fascinating people and more lovely things next week!

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elizabeth prince ceramics

let’s have a look at the beautiful ceramic designs from uk artist elizabeth prince. in a previous life, elizabeth was a fine artist and a popular interior designer. her stolen moments in between commissions were spent working in clay, and as time passed she decided to make it her full time focus. i’m so glad she did, because these hand stamped, glazed, pierced and pinched results are fantastic.

purchase these pieces at elizabeth’s etsy shop and drop by her blog to see what else she’s doing!

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motivational prints from orange beautiful

the prolific talent over at orange beautiful has added four new limited edition screen prints to her beautiful collection. they serve as a gentle, goal-achieving reminders.

guess which one i like the best?

purchase these pieces at the orange beautiful etsy shop, see more at their website and say hello to the girls at their blog.

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bill fantini photography: miniview

i am always on the lookout for beautiful sepia toned imagery and so when i saw these pieces from bill fantini, aka etsy seller houseofsixcats, i thought the mothership had landed. the lighting, texture and composition is so lovely in each and every photo. fortunately for us, bill’s skills are not exclusive to the sepia style. as i dug deeper, i found his shop to be a virtual treasure trove of through the viewfinder, sepia, black and white, still and urban photography. it is inspiring and impressive to see such a breadth of work in just one shop, which really got the old hamster wheel in my mind running, so i thought i would ask just a few questions…

q: where do you live and where do you create your artwork?
a: well, presently i live in ossining, ny. that is in westchester county, about 45 minutes north of the city. but i have lived on both coasts and we are planning on moving back to portland, oregon in october.

i don’t have any one particular place i create my art, i shoot in many different locations. i guess the one constant is that i use adobe lightroom and photoshop to help make the shots i took into images of art.

q: how did you get into photography?
a: i got my first 35mm SLR, a Minolta X700, for my 16th birthday, and have been hooked ever since!

q: browsing through your collection, it is clear that you have a broad mastery of several different styles. do you have a favorite piece of equipment, a location or technique you like to use?
a: thank you for the wonderful compliment! i really like shooting ttv, through the viewfinder, it’s great fun using the old argus 75 to compose the shot.

i have to say my favorite shot is rusted gear (below), and it is also from my most unique location, an abandoned power station.

q: what inspires your creativity?
a: that is the most difficult question. i really don’t have any one thing that inspires me. what i love to do is walk around a location and look for unusual angles or ways to shoot what i find interesting.

q: if you could shoot anywhere in the world, where would it be?
a: the first place that comes to mind is japan, i love the asian culture, and from what i have seen that country looks fascinating. another photo journey i would love to take is to explore more abandoned buildings here and in europe!

q: are any of the six cats in the house photographers too?
a: when i started my shop we had six cats, and i wanted a unique name that people would hopefully remember. since then two have passed, but i think it is a nice homage to their memory.

see more of bill’s broad portfolio of work on his flickr stream, and purchase these prints and more at his etsy shop.

thank you bill!

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new jewelry from otto von quast

two new fun collections from the german design team of otto von quast: 24 karat pets, made from discarded toys on silk cording, and the skinny icon collection, double-sided perforated leather with silver or 24k gold plated “embroidery” chain.

clever!

see more pieces in their playful line and purchase them all on their website.

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