Sunday, May 26, 2013

Craft Fair Coming Up!

    On June 1st MinkCouture (my Etsy store) will be at the Round Lake Public Library for their "So Close to Summer"Craft Show. Unless there is a torrential downpour.....
   All the details are here. If you show up and purchase anything from me that day I will give you a 10% discount if you tell me, "There is no friend as loyal as a book". It's like a secret library password to savings! I will be bringing by some new scarves and button bracelets, so stop on by next Saturday! 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Dispatches From the Fair-Bell Jars



So, I am going to mix things up a bit and I will try to bring you a quirky flea/ antique find every Sunday. 
   This one comes from the Elkhorn Antique Market in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. 
  There is something both disturbing and beautiful about this. I don't know why, but bell jars seem to be popping up everywhere. I saw some last week at a fair placed on top of flat slices of tree trunks. This looks to be a bell jar on a candle holder. I also saw bell jars on top of hand mirrors. You place something under them and they taken on a precious quality. 
   I tend to feel the same way about doll parts as I do about clown pieces. They creep me out; especially when the doll is missing eyes. Watch this Brothers Quay film and you'll understand (I hope). 
   Poor Miss Pearl. I bet she just really wants a body and a little girl to love her instead of being trapped under glass. Any thoughts dear readers?

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Graduation Speeches

    Soon the class of 2013 will be commencing and they will be thrown out into the world. At my undergraduate graduation every student received a small booklet. The booklet contained wisdom , quotes and stories from our teachers and faculty. Things they thought would be useful out in "the real world". My most re quoted advice from this booklet is from our artist in residence in the Dance Dept; "Show up, Shut Up and Do your job". It seems like this is not the case anymore, sadly enough.
    My other piece of advice is about travel. You might find this somewhat not in vogue either in this day of GPS and in car navigation. But, it is good advice. Advice that should be taken before Route 66 becomes just another mega interstate that gets you from point A to point B in the least amount of time possible.

" I like to think of the college experience and the life that follows as a matter of choosing between I-70 and Route 66. If I want to go to from Chicago to the West Coast in the shortest time I might head to I-70 and travel west. But if I want to go west, enjoy and see what lies between Chicago and the West Coast in an unhurried manner I would take Route 66. And it is good to have this choice because there are times when each is appropriate."

-Stephen Friol
   Dean of College of Fine Arts and Dean of Faculty Millikin University

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Post Antique Fair Finds-Strange Animals

With the Summer months approaching it can mean only one thing....Antique Fair Time!!! I love a good antique/flea/craft market. It also means that I can share my strange finds with all of you!

It seems like there are always some creepy animal type things...


I am always amazed at the amount of Salt and Pepper Shakers that can be found. They come in all shapes and sizes and the collections always take up at least a shelf or two in every booth. If you've been to my Etsy Store you may have noticed I have a thing for animals with rhinestone eyes. However, my button animals are cute and these cats are kind of creepy with their expressionless eyes. Plus, Siamese cats just bring to mind "Lady and the Tramp".





Possibly the oddest assortment of figures : duck, elephant/ wooly mammoth, poodle, squirrel. At least the squirrel and the cat get green eyes. The poodle looks angry/ possessed and may just go all Cujo on you when you bring it home. Not to mention how out of scale these are! The cat looks sad and the squirrel is either screaming/ surprised or is staring into some pretty car headlights. 




Sunday, May 5, 2013

The Garden (Again)

   After getting over a really nasty sinus infection, I vowed to take it easy this weekend since it will soon be the "Summer Con Crazy Time" (as I call it) at work. However.....it was so nice outside yesterday I thought , "Why not pop some seeds in the garden?". I think we finally made it over the no more snow hump here.
   New to the garden this year...heat resistant radishes, red kuri squash, brussel sprouts and potatoes. I am especially excited about the potatoes! I dug my trench and picked out the best fingerlings that had at least two eyes. Since potato leaves are toxic I am hoping that the bunnies and deer will leave them alone. Hopefully my Irish heritage will not bring on a bought of potato famine!
  I will take pictures and update as the planting season moves through summer.  Happy planting!