1. After reading an article about the difficulty in conversing with strangers on the train, my husband referred me to The Stranger Project 2014. Over the course of one year, the gentleman running this project, will connect with one stranger per day. Sitting down to discuss their lives and get to know them. The profiles are completed by a portrait.
2. Motion Silhouette is a beautifully bound and interactive children’s book that utilizes the shadow cast on opposite sides of a center pop-up to create the narration on either side of the page. On one page a silhouette pop-up of a tree casts a tree-like shadow for a flock of birds, while on the other side becomes a massive lightning bolt over a city. Click here to watch a video of the book in action.
3. Any Arrested Development fan will remember the Living Classics Pageant scene when George and Buster recreate Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. Little did I know that this was referencing Pageant of the Masters, which occurs every year in Laguna Beach, California. You can read more about it in this New York Times article here.
4. The Future Library is an expansive project just introduced this year by creator Katie Paterson, a young Scottish artist. A forest of 1,000 trees was planted outside of Oslo in Norway; these trees will become the paper to publish the works of 100 authors picked once a year over the course of 100 years. 2014 marks year one and Margaret Atwood is the first author to participate. The work she writes will not be published until 2114, the year The Future Library will be released. I’m intrigued by this project, yet disappointed to know I’ll never get the chance to read this work by Margaret Atwood. Read more about the project here.
5. Samantha Bittman is the textile artist I would have wished to be, if I had become a textile artist. Her black and white woven pieces are a maze for the eye, stringing your vision from left to right then back again. Just stunning work!
6. Miniature Calendar has been churning out stunning miniature scenes since 2011. Each image is listed daily and uses everyday objects mixed with miniature figurines to add a bit of color and whimsy to your life.
7. The Houghton Library at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts houses a collection of 20 miniature books written and bound by Charlotte Brontë and her brother Branwell. The two siblings, 13 and 12 respectively, created fantasy worlds called Angria and Glass Town. The books measure less than 1 inches by 2 inches and include minute script of wild tales and adventures.
8. Anna Valdez is a magnificent painter who incorporates so much life and color into her work. Enjoy!
9. Ever wanted to unleash the power of a Bookbook. IKEA’s recent ad campaign for their new 2015 catalog is brilliant. A geeky looking spokesman sitting in front of a whitish wall talks about the book as if it were a handheld device. Which it kind of is!
10. Enjoy this elaborate paper animation: The Collagist, from artist Amy Lockhart.
