A Touch of Bollywood

Mister Moustache Vintage Poster from Nutmeg Click

music

dance

colour

star-crossed lovers

angry parents
love triangles
family ties

sacrifice

corrupt politicians

kidnappers
conniving villains

courtesans with hearts of gold
long-lost relatives
siblings separated by fate

dramatic reversals of fortune
convenient coincidences

happy endings
a little 'bollywood' can enliven the day

Kinetic Diptych Photograph from Zseike

The Wedding Pair of Original Paintings by Deezden

Red, Orange, Pink and Gold Statement Necklace by Doloris Petunia
Henna Tattoo print from original oil painting by Kim Dow

Hot Pink Sari Handbag from Tweedy Lane Designs Limited Edition Airmail Artists Book of Love Letters from India by Louise Naomi Best from Lou Lou Loves Books
Bollywood Princess Kitsch Upcycled Barbie Stylin Head by Violette Slippers

DVD Mano Kamnaa, a Bollywood inspired fable plus orchid barrette and a handmade DVD case from Buddha Gouda

Photo above and below of the Taj Houseboat at Sausalito via Architectural Digest

...oh no she thought....

Hello there my lovely blog friends. I'm away from home until the end of the week - with limited computer access. Unfortunately I can't come over and visit at your place until then. I found this photo though and thought you might be able to help me with a witty caption!

Upside Down Inside Out

Another Town More Photos To Take 5x5 Print by Thompson Designs $8US

I love to be outside and if I can’t physically be there I still like to see out. Life can throw up curve balls though and we get stuck inside, ‘confined to barracks’. At these times I like to close my eyes and bring the outside in through my imagination. When I was little and often ill – I have a congenital lung condition - I’d lay in bed and imagine that the world was upside down and I was walking on the ceiling, stepping past the light, over the door tops and off down the hall ceiling and outside to step on the clouds.

Back in the BC years Mozi, a Chinese philosopher first mentioned the principles behind the pinhole camera setting in motion the journey towards the cameras available today. Along the way the camera obscura was developed. When light enters a dark room through a small hole, it projects the reverse image of the scene outside the room creating a camera obscura – an upside down world. There are still some of these contraptions in use today, usually at tourist spots, producing a static vista. But with the advent of high tech video equipment, the slowly changing scene can be sped up, thus bringing new meaning to ‘bringing the outside in’. Isn’t this Venice clip fantastical.

But I’d need lots of black plastic and tape to set something like this up at my place. I’ve taken some beautiful photos over the years particularly with my old SLR and I’m always meaning to get myself organised and have some enlarged and framed.

Behind the Light II 11x14 photographic print $32US from Shaded Memories

Zen Bridge 10x10 TTV photograph from House of Six Cats $25US

Pretty Plumbago 5x5 TTV photography from Hey Harriet $5US (not large but a lovely little photo at a lovely little price!)

And don’t you just want to dive into some paintings, a little person in a make believe world where anything is possible. This is the first painting I owned. I like to go walking in here sometimes. My Dad purchased it from a secondhand store 35 years ago and subsequently gave it to me. It’s big – 48 inches wide – and with the frame, very heavy - and cost only a few dollars. It badly needs restoring and Dad did a bit of ‘doctoring’ of it himself, patching up a couple of tears, and adding a few brownish leaves! Signed with initials then ‘Crespin’ I haven’t been able to find anything definitive about the artist.

I have fallen in love with the work of Marc Burstall, an Australian artist selling on Etsy. Below are two works from his Past and Present series, original oils, each 80cmx60cm oil on canvas and each only $180US!

I like it that I have an outside area, on a balcony, where I can sit and still be at home.

Image 1 from Apartment Therapy, and 2 and 3 from Houzz

And, of course, I can just close my eyes and let the film roll.

Useful Umbrellas and Parasols (Monday 8 June)

Umbrella Chandelier at Escher Museum, The Hague

Though the difference between a parasol and an umbrella may seem confusing today, it was absolutely clear and unquestionable to victorian society. A woman who carried an umbrella was admitting publicly that she could not afford to own or hire a carriage for transportation when it was raining. But a woman with a parasol was most assuredly a lady. The main reason for the popularity of the parasol was the admiration for a fair complexion. It was more than a sign of beauty, it proved to the world that it was a woman, who didn't have to work outdoors like 'common' females did. Because they were so precious and so expensive, parasols became one of the most popular gifts for a lover to give his sweetheart. Like jewelry, they were not a proper present from a young man unless his intentions were serious, and would not be accepted by a lady unless she intended to accept the giver, as well. at the same time like the fan and the lacy handkerchief, the parasol was both an object with a practical purpose and an indispensable aid to the subtle art of flirtation. It could mysteriously shadow a lady's expression, dramatize her sparkling eyes and smile, and even camouflage her imperfections. Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson's notorious, no-longer-young mistress, always favored pink and pink-lined parasols, because the rosy light they cast on her face made her look more youthful. (exerpt taken from 'Flirtatious Fashions', by Kristina Harris, in Victorian Decorating & Lifestyles, June/July 1998)

Pink Parasol for photo prop or decoration from One Of A Kind Maybe Two $30US

19th Century Ivory Jadite Folding Parasol from Archivia $149US

Tea Shrine in Tin (outside shown) by Winona Cookie $45US

Vintage Goya Framed Print on Board from Art Zodiac $6US

The Umbrella Tea Towel by Tansley and Tansley $15US

The Borrowed Umbrella (no snow) 10x10 digital print from A Rabbit Girl $20US

Goth Lolita Spiderweb Parasol by Parasols By Tamie $75US

Saved for a Rainy Day Ruffle Pants by Bettsy Kingston $20US

Getting in on the act here at my place -

And for something a little less genteel an article from E How on 'Using an Umbrella for Self Defense'!

Many of the tactics to use an umbrella for self-defense are the same as those used with a cane or stick. One advantage of carrying an umbrella versus a stick is that you won't have police officers eyeing you suspiciously because it is not considered a weapon at first glance. You will also have the element of surprise with a would-be attacker. Read on to learn how to use an umbrella for self-defense.

Step 1 Purchase a long umbrella. Choose one with a hook type handle and a metal tip at the end.

Step 2 Grip the middle with the forward hand facing up and the back hand facing down to use an umbrella for self defense. If you are thrusting from the right side of your body, your left hand will be in front; the opposite is true if thrusting from the left side.

Step 3 Drag the tip of the umbrella across the assailant's stomach and pull back all in one quick motion.

Step 4 Follow up by thrusting the tip into the chin. You then have several options if the fight is not over.

Step 5 Drag the tip down the attacker's face. Then swing the handle up and strike the face.

Step 6 Finish by thrusting the middle of the umbrella, with both hands at the ends, up into the throat.

Step 7 Become familiar with your umbrella. Practice your moves just as you would practice target shooting if you owned a gun. Then instinct will take over if you are ever in a situation where you must use an umbrella for self defense.

Playing With Tiny People

Work Ethic Sculpture from Roo Tune on Etsy

Some artists have been playing with tiny life like people. Putting them in all kinds of settings, taking photographs of them, making jewellery and assemblages with them, having fun.

From The Minimiam Universe by Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida, pastry chefs and photographers, diptych photograph seen on Paint Alicious

Maybe it’s all an illusion

Scene Stealers Spencer & Kate Necklace from Sherry Truitt on Etsy

a trick of light

Think Outside the Box Business Card Holder from One Eyed Collie on Etsy

and our universe exists

Mending Time assemblage by Spinneyhead on Etsy

down the cracks

Cameron Necklace from Alheure Delapero on Etsy

in the spaces

in between the spaces

They Came to See Her Diorama by Running With Sizzors on Etsy

of a world inhabited

Mini Egg Mining photograph by Dan Jackson on Etsy

by ‘other’ peoples
where it’s now playtime

Life As We Know It by highly successful London street artist Slinkachu. Slinkachu makes his own little people, places them in streets around London photographs them and then leaves them to fend for themselves. Visit his blog for more information about his projects, exhibitions and book.

and the day hasn’t ended yet.

If you haven’t got your own little people to play with, you can get a similar photographic effect by using a tilt shift technique. By blurring the viewer's gaze and directing it away from parts of the image the photographer want to deemphasize, the depth of field of the image is altered. Australian Keith Loutit’s Time Lapse Video below cleverly uses tilt shift to give the impression of tiny plastic people.

You can use this technique yourself with a dedicated lens, or with photoshop, or go to Tilt Shift Maker for a free basic tool that is fun to play with. I took this photo at the ferry stop this morning and then played in this site for a few um hours. But be careful, you can get lost in there.

Flight

Laying in bed this morning I looked up to see this flock of birdies that had flown in with the dawn light. And it got me thinking about flying, as I often do. Even when asleep I sometimes have those flying dreams where I’m whizzing across the country, buildings, river, mountains below me. The residual feeling from these dreams is powerful and can be conjured up at will as long as I’m still enough. (Visit the Melange Team challenge with the challenge this week 'Fly'.)

A bit off topic...but..wouldn't looking up from these gardens be lovely! via Houzz and Apartment Therapy

In this week in 1930 Amy Johnson, below became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia. This video shows how fragile her little plane looks against the elements and how much excitement her visit generated here in Australia.

Also in this week in 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly from America to Paris. Of her achievements she said -

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.

These women are inspiring in that they were out there, living, doing, laying the groundwork for other women. And that’s an admirable thing. But I’ve found the more you get to know anybody, the more you realise how inspiring most individuals are. People are fascinating. You just have to scratch the surface.

If a woman wants to fly, first of all she must, of course, abandon skirts and don a knickerbocker uniform. Harriet Quimby, first lady in the U.S. to receive a pilots license, 1911.

Knickerbockers! Yes girls budding pilots need these. You'll be pleased to know that I’ve found a knitting pattern in a vintage book I have here. Just email me and I’ll send you a copy. Stay calm…no elbowing…just line up in an orderly fashion…

And from my fellow etsian artists, inspiration to help us fly creatively.

Flight Sculpture by Toodle Pip Studios
Fly Clay Pendant by Persimmons Gal

Amelia Earhart Shrine by Cocoa Nap
Amelia Earhart Cap by Boring Sidney
Passport and Moleskin Wallet by ReRead

And some gorgeous vintage gear to take on the flight.

Moulin Rouge Toilette Case from Mod Human

Polaroid Land Camera and Case from 11 Karri

Mens Overnight Shaving Case from Caprice Capri

Remington Streamliner Portable Typewriter at Buy Golly Miss Molly

Compass in Case from Sass Box Classics