Look out: it's an awesome art ambush!
Remember that Urban Decay post I did a while back, about my fascination with abandoned buildings? Well, reader John G. tipped me off to an *amazing* website of breath-taking photographs like this:
[whimper] Oh, the things I could do with those abandoned drawers...The site is by Yves Marchand Romaine Meffre Photography. (Quite a mouthful, huh?) Here's some more:
I gasped, guys. I literally gasped. It's like a decaying ice palace: so, so beautiful.And, hold onto your hats, because their site has a whole section on movie theaters, with gems like this:
To quote Liz Lemon, I want to go to there.Check their site for lots more.
I also found (via One Cool Thing a Day) a whole series of those adorable cardboard people I featured in my B.A.D. day post:
They're actually plastic toys, not cardboard, but they have so much personality you can't help but love them.
The photographer is Anton Tang, and you can see lots more of this series both at his website and here.
And finally, Super Punch is hosting a Calvin & Hobbes art contest right now. Here's my favorite entry so far:
It's by Jerrod Maruyama, who specializes in the most mind-blowing Kawaii-style cuteness you will ever see. Seriously. Just look at this:
Piiiigs In Spaaaaaace!!!
And one of my favorite Disney characters:
Cutie Donald!!Ok, now you must go look through Maruyama's site, or his Flickr account. You'll be a squealing pile of girly goo in no time. Promise.
And if you're artistic at all, go enter Super Punch's contest! He needs more entries, and *I* need to see more amazing Calvin & Hobbes homages.
You can probably tell I have pretty diverse taste in art. ;) How about you guys? Do you assign different styles to different rooms, or do you mash all your favorites together? (And if so, how's that working out for you? [grin])
PS - John and I are playing with blow torches *right now.* Stand by for major craft updates!
PS - John and I are playing with blow torches *right now.* Stand by for major craft updates!
Want old drawers!
ReplyDeleteIs there a link to see the other Calvin and Hobbes Art Contest entries? MUST SEE NOW!
ReplyDeleteOh ... my ... god! Those are some of the greatest photos EVER! Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteAnd as you just mentioned B.A.D. day ... I am having a particularly crappy day, but those photos (both, abandoned buildings and cute thingies) made me smile for the first time today. Thank you so very much for that. Consider yourself hugged.
I only own 1 room as of the moment, and the generic geek theme runs deep. We have a mix of gaming posters, no less than 14 (!!) dragon statues, and various preserved animals / animals parts (glass case with a scorpion anyone? no? how about a preserved alligator head?). Oh and of course my beloved pet snake Samantha’s tank in the middle.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure it counts as a theme but if you include Diablo, The Queen of Blades, dragons and the Balrog as reptiles (pushing it there I know :P) we have a definite cold-blooded theme going :P
Much love as always x
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ReplyDeleteOMG, the cute factor. I'm dying of squee.
ReplyDeleteThe wall of drawers: WANT. I'll thumb wrestle you for them!
ReplyDelete"John and I are playing with blow torches *right now!*" What?!
That falls under the category of "Five things NOT TO DO" for me. Especially the "playing" part. "Blow torches dangerous: NO TOUCH." That should be emblazoned upon my forehead. You're a braver girl than I, Gungette Din.
My kitchen has a "theme" or as my son puts it, "an estate sale waiting to happen". It all started with the kitschy KitKat clock with those mesmerizing back and forth eyes. Before I knew what possessed me, I had amassed every big-eyed, pitty kitty print by Gig and my walls are no more. And then the kitschy kat knick knacks followed. If kitty looks too realistic, it doesn't belong. Ya'll make sure to check out my estate sale when I'm gone. DS says everything will be a quarter! That's enough to keep me around.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I had the same immediate thought about those drawers.
ReplyDeleteAlas, I have to pack as otherwise I'd be spending tons of time exploring those sites.
Oh, and I tend to go more for color / texture groupings rather than style groupings.
I can't believe that's a theater in Detroit! When I first saw it I thought that maybe it would have been somewhere in Europe or something. I would have liked to see that place in its splendor too.
ReplyDeleteThe decay pictures are awesome! thanks for sharing. hope you are having a good day.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the torches. I'm learning how to weld. (already an expert at solder)
ReplyDeleteCheck out the jawas poster at somuchpun. It is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI love Danbo (the cardboard guy)! One of my coworker takes pictures of him. Here's one of the bigger groups on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/danbo-love/
ReplyDeleteOh, and piiiigs innnnn spaaaaaace was one of my favorite Muppet sketches! I love the Miss Piggy!
Long time follower of Cake Wrecks and lover of Epbot. You're craftiness and posts through Epbot have introduced me to new types of art/home decor/general cuteness, which has been a big inspiration. Keep it up :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as my/our (hubby included I guess) tastes in art, we're eclectic so there's no consistency. My husband does a lot of travel for work and we try to get in as much as we can as a family, we pick up things along the way. For example, in our living room/dinning area we have a reclaimed piano piece turned into a large candle wall sconce, an Italian Mardi Gras mask, Narsil, Native American pottery, antique Muslim prayer rug, a Van Gogh and Monet print. Upstairs in the loft area are our college diplomas, a 60-year old map from our home town, multiple Star Wars "toys", antique Okinawan dogs, a Thai zodiac calendar, and lots of books.
Like I said, eclectic :P
John G.? As in John Green? As in the John Green? Of Brotherhood 2.0/vlogbrothers fame? Wow...This blog post just got like 80% cooler....
ReplyDeleteI've been keeping the ridiculously nerdy things in my bedroom. (Yes, I own a Dark Crystal movie poster.) But the living room is decorated with Native Eskimo art. Mostly because that's where I am, and people come to the door selling it. It wasn't so much an artistic choice, as, really, what else was I going to do with all the coolness?
ReplyDeleteThe artwork in my rooms are organized by what matches the furniture (mostly hand-me-downs. Kind of lame, but I like what we have ended up with for the most part and we haven't had to spend a lot of money. We have a lot of family pictures, and a few nice prints. One of the B&B where we stayed on our honeymoon, and I have one of these too: http://michaelwhelan.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=20&osCsid=d1599f02b4fff53e32903789ffde9379. It's from my favorite book cover EVER!
ReplyDeleteYou've definitely inspired me to redecorate a bit though. I have an idea of what I want it to look like; I just need to find the right stuff first!
I want to buy Jerrod Maruyama's illustrations. I went through his fliker page and I love them all! Any ideas where to get his prints, or if they are on t-shirts?
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures...and I love taking pictures in abandoned buildings, but most of all, they make me sad.
ReplyDeleteWhat stories do these buildings have? Just think of how many things happened with those drawers, how many memories were made in the theater. I want to go in and take care of the places, mend them.
And as for art, I've got everything from a vintage pepsi sign (yes, it's about 4 feet by 3 feet), Degas prints, records, maps, and pictures of sheep up just in the room I'm in right now. I figure, if I love it, it must go together.
Those abandoned building photos had me totally drooling. The bank vault picture is amazing. I want a cardboard robot now, and a chibi Miss Piggy.
ReplyDeleteAs far as art goes, I'm right there with you on the eclectic. I like everything from National Geographic photography to Victorian fashion plates to Steamboat Willie-era Disney prints.
And since you're such a fan of steampunk, it would be nice if I could get your thoughts on a series I did over here I took different comic/movie/anime characters and translate them to the steampunk version of the South. It was alot of fun & sold fairly well at the Jackson Comic-con. I know you like geek crafts so enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45529214@N06/5025915724/
ReplyDeleteHere's my Calvin & Hobbes fan art...I made him for my son's 9th birthday. I don't think it qualifies for the contest, but thought you might like it... he's almost lifesize, and totally cute and fun. He also gives really great hugs!
Good luck with the torches! Let us know how that works out! : )
Ohhhh °_° you always have the best links ever... fabulous photos!!! thanks!
ReplyDeleteJen, have you seen
ReplyDeletehttp://fuckyeahghosttowns.tumblr.com/ ?
Great pictures and stories!!
NO!!! I love decay as much as the next person but the photos of the drawers and the theatre make me want to cry. Why oh why do people allow this to happen. I want to save them both.
ReplyDeleteI found this link on BoingBoing and thought of you and steampunk. Although I'm not exactly sure what steampunk really is - this sort of made me think of it....Love your blogs!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/26/escher-esque-watch-d.html
I try to keep the same kind of art in the same room to create a theme; however, that doesn't happen! In the office I have vintage print of a woman playing the piano, Stitch reading a book, etc. Living room isn't much better...prints from Italy and Pixar posters! Oh well! I love it!
ReplyDeleteOpacity.us is my favorite urban exploration photography site. Awesome photos of asylums, hospitals and such from the US and Europe. I wish he'd do a book...
ReplyDeleteOne of the best pieces of advice I ever got was "Learn to group!" I have many loves, Eeyore, unicorns, clowns, and antique Coke glasses and bottles, to name a few. With some framed art and pictures from over the years. You can put snow globes, bells, and figurines together, as long as they have a common theme. And keep them separate. I have mostly unis and Eeyore, and they're on separate shelves all over the place. (:
ReplyDeleteYou should browse thru the fabulous ruins of detroit.
ReplyDeleteDetroit Yes & Fabulous Ruins of Detroit
- Amika
O....M...G! You could die from so much cuteness! I want all those pics! I can see a lot of time being sucked up looking at every one of them over and over. Thanks for the great links Jen!
ReplyDeleteI have eclectic taste in art too I try to mix things but so that the look like they belong together. I had to stop myself from being too into color groups; now I let things settle together and see how it works....Now off to Maruyama's page again!
speaking of the ruins in detroit, palladium did a great documentary on the 'new' detroit hosted by the lovely johnny knoxville. it shows what the next generation is doing to get detroit back on the map... super excellent.
ReplyDeleteJen! Umm...hi. I'm a lurker. *waves*
ReplyDeleteBUT I thought of you this morning. (I know, right?!) I'm watching Backyardigans with my toddler, and this episode is TOTALLY steampunk! (Season 3, "Going to the Center of the Earth") Just thought you'd like to know. ;-)
My friend Kevin has some kick-ass pictures of abandoned places like an air force base, hospital (!), yacht club, etc
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/slworking/
If Steampunk had a soundtrack it would be Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach. Just listen to it and you'll see what I mean!
ReplyDeleteHow else do you imagine steampunk sounding?
It just kills me how much cool and useful stuff was just left behind in those buildings. Of course, they were abandoned long before the time of the internet/CraigsList/eBay/Freecycle, but still...Pianos, awesome librarian desks, whole walls of library books? Come on! They could have at least donated that stuff to a charity.
ReplyDeleteI love photographing abandoned buildings as well, but there aren't too many old ones here--all the old buildings downtown have long since been co-opted by nightclubs and restaurants. Here's an abandoned train depot I found out in the TX backcountry though. Not much left inside, as the whole building had been moved to a new location for refurbishing, and then abandoned again, but still pretty cool to explore. Hope the link works right. Copied if off my "Jen taught us to embed links like this" post-it on my monitor...
My heart breaks over those decaying buildings! If only I were a billionaire and could rescue them all!
ReplyDeleteI love the photos of the abandoned buildings. I've added that web site the others you've mentioned from time to time.
ReplyDeleteAs far as original art, my concept of "cute" is, uh, different. My husband has given me some original pieces from Carol Lay (of "Story Minute" fame) and Lynda Barry which are wonderful. My husband is a photographer so most of the art in our house is by him, and is, of course, fabulous. :)
And I wanted to thank the person who recently posted about Dontevenreply.com. I had a week of impending deadlines and pressure but I took a break and went to that site. I laughed so hard, I had tears going down my cheeks. I Love this site. And the people who take the time to write! Thanks!
The cardboard guy is called Danbo, and he's from the manga series Yotsuba To! (or Yotsuba &, here in English, where he is translated into 'Cardbo'), it's a VERY cute and fun manga if you ever decide to pick it up. One of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteAlso, much love for Calvin and Hobbes and Miss Piggy! So cute!
more urban decay here
ReplyDeleteAren't those cardboard guys "Danbo" from Yotsubato? http://koiwai.biz/eng/v5/ch28/28_06120x177_jpg.htm
ReplyDeleteLike Sarah said above, those pictures both fascinate me and make me incredibly sad. Especially old cinema buildings.
ReplyDeleteMy hometown of Glasgow (Scotland) used to be well known for having many cinemas and gradually over the years they've closed down, often being demolished or completely transformed into modern apartments. My very favourite old cinema burned down a year ago and I actually cried as I saw it. So much history just gone... and we don't build anything these days that's half as beautiful and intricate as a lot of these buildings!
*sigh*
That first picture reminded me of Harry Potter. All the drawers looked incredibly like the wand boxes at Ollivanders :)
ReplyDelete