Cosmic Kitty » Art

BibliOdyssey

abberdab — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 06:05:12 +0000

The masthead says it all: books, illustrations, science, history, visual materia obscura, eclectic book art. — Drawn

Another super link from Drawn (it’s a great site, what can I say?): BibliOdyssey — curious vintage and antique images culled from digital book exhibits across the web.

Xylotheks

abberdab — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 18:55:26 +0000

Mr. Slakethirst introduced me to enlightenment era Xylotheks, today. Xylotheks combine botany and book arts as well as book arts and container making. See below:

A xylothek is generally speaking a collection of simple pieces of wood specimens placed together in some kind of cupboard. In a refined form it is in the shape of “books” where you can find details from the tree inside, everything arranged as a “library”. This latter form flourished in Germany around 1790-1810. Four different manufacturers existed and three of them offered their products for sale…Each “book” describes a certain tree species and is made out of the actual wood (the “covers”). The spine is covered by the bark, where mosses and lichens from the same tree are arranged. “Books” of shrubs are covered with mosses with split branches on both covers and spines. —The Wooden Library in Alnarp

Large photos of the Alnarp collection of Xylotheks can be seen at The Wooden Library in Alnarp website. Wonderful stuff!

Duane Keiser

abberdab — Sat, 05 Nov 2005 03:01:30 +0000

Thank you, Drawn, for introducing me to Duane Keiser and his painting a day. Mr. Keiser paints juicy, postcard-size compositions with a found object, trompe l’oeil aesthetic. And that’s not all… Once a week, he records the progress of one of his paintings on video. An inspirational resource for aspiring painters.

Kerning Fun

abberdab — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 00:09:13 +0000

The Visual Communications Program at the University of Delaware has created a nifty flash-based letterspacing workshop that anyone can join (at least for now). Test your typographic mettle and prepare to get cross-eyed!

New Portfolio Item

abberdab — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 20:08:29 +0000

I just completed a coat of arms on scratchboard for The College of Mythic Cartography. Check it out!

R. Eugene Parnell

abberdab — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 01:08:47 +0000

I haven’t yet thoroughly explored this artist’s site (there is a lot to take in), but what I’ve seen and read so far is very intriguing. I’m putting it on my “visit when I have more time” list…

“R. Eugene Parnell is an artist working in sculpture, installation, and interactive media…Much of his work deals with natural and cultural history, anthropology, and the notion of the Exotic and his thinking is fueled by his extensive travels throughout the Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. His newest body of work—the psychological and social constructs of animals, from Natural History museums to children’s literature.”

Some of my favorite topics are mentioned in that snippet. Among other activities, the site enables you to build your own island. Mucho neato. (Thanks to Niemandsrose for the reference!)

Gene Gable’s Heavy Metal

abberdab — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 15:07:19 +0000

I just discovered Gene Gable’s column Heavy Metal at CreativePro.com and if you share any of my interests in: letterpress, cats, vintage advertising, hand lettering, workspace organization, outdated visual technology, and design nostalgia in general you should definitely check him out. Be warned, though. Johnny at Drawn! The Illustration Blog (whence the link) does not lie when he claims, “you ~~may~~ will end up spending a lot of time here!” Many, many fabulous images.

A cross-section:

Indian Wedding Announcements

abberdab — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 19:07:38 +0000

Shree Madhurash Agencies in India makes the most opulent cards I have ever seen: handmade papers, diecuts, multiple layers, gilt and silver, rhinestones, tassels — sumptuous stuff. This card in the shape of a leaf is particularly keen. I encountered the site completely by accident. Ah, the Interweb.