Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh was founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants.  Nearly 34,000 plants are grown at the Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and its three smaller offshoots located in other parts of Scotland.  These represent nearly 17,000 different species from all over the world, or about 7% of all known plant species.  I was surprised to see so many species of plants at the same time!

May 29, 2009 by Designsquish

This drawing by Karin Uusikorpi of an owl is incredible.  I found it by accident by looking through flickr.  Karin writes about herself:  ” I am a prairie girl born in Saskatchewan and raised in Northern Alberta. I draw, paint and play with colour. I eventually will get back to making things out of clay. I have made art in some form or another since I was little & still do. I am always picking stuff off the ground and saving it for future use - I am a self proclaimed ‘packrat’ and ‘magpie’ that routinely tries to cull the collection of stuff”

by Designsquish

Osias Beert the Elder
Still-Life with Cherries and Strawberries in China Bowls
1608 Oil on panel
19 5/8” x 25 3/4”

One of my favorite Flemish vanitas paintings is “Still Life with wild Strawberries” by Osias Beert the Younger. Vanitas is a type of still life painting popular in Northern Europe in Flanders and the Netherlands in the 16th - 17th centuries. The word “vanitas” is Latin, meaning “emptiness” and loosely translated corresponds to the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity. Paintings executed in the vanitas style are meant as a reminder of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure and the certainty of death.




Osias Beert the Younger
Still Life with Wild Raspberries
Oil on Panel
11.2” x 15.6”

STILL LIFES WITH FLOWERS

Pieter Brueghel the Younger
Still Life with Flowers
1601-1678





Jan the Elder Brueghel
1607 Oil on wood
98 x 73 cm





Brueghel Jan the Elder
Still Life with flowers in a Glass

May 26, 2009 by Designsquish

Scottish Highlands area is an amazing and magical place that is definitely not from this world.  Steep bare mountains,  strong winds, rainfall , swampy grasslands and many waterfalls, they hide one of the strangest animals -  Kyloe.

Kyloe or Highland Cow is an ancient Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and long wavy pelts.  ( They look a lot like mammoths or at least like giant,big headed, hairy cows)  Highland cows are known are a hardy breed due to the rugged nature of their native Scottish Highlands, they graze on plants many other cattle avoid.






Other inhabitants of the Highlands are lots and lots of sheep.  Sheep is everywhere. 

May 23, 2009 by Designsquish

Casamento, located in Cape Town, South Africa individually hand crafts furniture using recycled frames and only natural fibers throughout: natural non-allergenic fibers: sisal, raw cotton wadding, horsehair jute webbing, hessian and flock natural fibers.

May 18, 2009 by Designsquish

I love lighting made from old teacups and milk bottles! (as you already could have guessed from my previous blog postings)  I found this teacup chandelier by Domestic Construction and this milk bottle chandelier by Bonne Plat on the Conversation Pieces Blog - blog about finding neat, sweet and unusual items in junk and charity shops, online, and everywhere else in between.

May 17, 2009 by Designsquish

May 09, 2009 by Designsquish

Kaelyn Garcia’s Organic Cotton and natural silk sateen circle dress.

May 05, 2009 by Designsquish

Book shelves made from old books - http://www.littlefishfurniture.com/.

by Designsquish

Nadia Nour is a fashion designer based in New York City.  Nadia keeps manufacturing and sourcing supplies for her garments local and uses organics as much as possible - naturally dyed silks,  fabrics that are healthy for people and the environment.  Her clothing designs are sophisticated, high-end and chic but at the same time organic and sustainable. 

May 03, 2009 by Designsquish

by Designsquish

This is a Folk Architecture Monument by Tomas Dzadon, Chezh Republic. Tomas writes: “The mistake is made. The socialist urban projects destroyed the marvellous countryside. I grew up in such an utopic project. I was lucky to be able to watch the Tatra mountains from my window. Finally that blocks were not so bad. The proportion changed. From family houses to 13-floor blocks. From houses built by their owners to flats built by the regime”. 

by Designsquish

Projekt Mobilivre - Bookmobile Project is primarily based in Montreal and Philadelphia. It is a trailer converted into a small mobile gallery and library that showcases handmade books and zines from all over the world.  Traveling through Canada and US, this bookmobile visits community centers, schools, colleges, libraries, festivals and artist-run centers.  I happened to run into Mobilivre-Bookmobile while I was studying at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and was stunned by the idea of a traveling gallery/library. 






Bookmobile is a vehicle designed as a traveling library.  Slumgullion,  is a collaboration project that strives to create community, empower young voices, and promote literacy and the humanities through the book arts and zines. It is based in Missoula, Montana.  Slumgullion’s bookmobile exhibits handmade books, art zines and is just like a regular bookmobile only it is bike powered!

May 02, 2009 by Designsquish

*Above: Patchwork Harmony - http://www.patchworkharmony.co.uk

April 25, 2009 by Designsquish

April 24, 2009 by Designsquish

The wall of a beautiful housewares store Vessel in Boston is made with…...shipping pallets. Nice way to reuse old shipping pallets.

by Designsquish

1. Chandeliers by Madeleine Boulsteix are made from old tea cups, jewelry, beads, marbles and kitchen utencils.

2. Droog Design Chandelier made from milk bottles.

by Designsquish

Pando is a clonal colony of a single male Quaking Aspen located in the state of Utah, U.S.  All trees in Pando colony are determined to be part of a single living organism with same genetic material and one massive underground root system. The plant is estimated to weigh collectively 6,000 tonnes making it the heaviest known organism and with the oldest root system known in existence at ~80,000 years of age.

April 23, 2009 by Designsquish

Kusamono and shitakusa are a potted collection of plants. Plants used are typically moss, grass, lichen, small mountain flowers and plants, bonsai trees, bamboo, or bulbs, that may be arranged to heighten the beauty or reflect a certain season.  Usually a collection is displayed separately in special pots, driftwood, or even stones. Photos from beautiful blogs: Shitakusamono and Happy Hearts at Home.

April 22, 2009 by Designsquish

       

Terraskin,  Via Stone and Fiberstone are tree-free papers made of minerals.  Stone paper is similar to traditional papers only it has a lot of advantages. When it comes to printing Via Stone paper uses 20-30% less ink than conventional papers.  Stone paper can be water-resistant, tear-resistant, recyclable and biodegradable.  No water or bleach can be used in its production as well!

by Designsquish

April 21, 2009 by Designsquish

Two day hundred mile bike ride from New York to Lake Purdy and back.

by Designsquish

Love the idea!!

by Designsquish

Sycamore is one of the species of Platanus native to North America. It has been extensively planted in New York City as a shade tree. It can easily endure the big city environment, bears transplanting well and grows rapidly.

April 13, 2009 by Designsquish

*Above: Trees in Prospect Park

by Designsquish

Above: Interactive U.S population map showing the population density in America.

Above:
World population map by National Geographic

April 11, 2009 by Designsquish

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir in a comic book form in which Marjane describes her unforgettable childhood, growing up during the Islamic Revolution.
Waltz with Bashir - is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film and graphic novel written and directed by Ari Folman.  The film was conceived as a journey in search of Folman’s lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War. Folman designed the film as an anti-war message.

April 08, 2009 by Designsquish

To make your photos look like miniature models go to tiltshiftmaker.com

April 06, 2009 by Designsquish

Above:The Unicorn is Penned, the Unicorn Tapestries,
circa 1495–1505,
the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York City



Above: Woodpecker
1885
by William Morris

April 01, 2009 by Designsquish

I love these beautiful nature inspired wallpaper designs by William Morris.  William Morris was an English architect, furniture and textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement.  The Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, and American aesthetic movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries that influenced arts, crafts and architecture. The Arts and Crafts Movement was inspired by the writings of John Ruskin and a romantic idealization of a craftsperson taking pride in their personal handiwork. The movement was a reaction to the eclectic revival of historic styles of the Victorian era and to “soulless” machine-made production aided by the Industrial Revolution.

March 29, 2009 by Designsquish