Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, carving, halloween, newspaper, pumpking
I had NO time to see any art these past couple of weeks (save for the stuff that my son makes, but more on that later…) I have, however, rediscovered shrinky dinks in the past week, which I am now OBSESSED with. The only negative is that I’m convinced that by baking them, toxic vapors are released into my home. Is this irrational? This is the reason why I haven’t bought any of those “melty beads,” that kids love so much. (well, I also don’t feel like sweeping up spilled beads for the next six months…)
That’s a whole lot of plastic. How in God’s name did they even do that? Maybe they used a hairdryer? I thought that you had to use an iron to fuse them? More importantly: why do I think that “shrinky dinks” are less toxic that these “melty beads?’ Who knows.
In an effort for your mind not to go completely numb, I did find some art online that I thought looked pretty amazing. Check out this FANTASTIC artist whom I thought I should share…MYRIAM DION.
That started out as a newspaper page. NEWSPAPER. She takes newspapers and turns them into beautiful lace. Is this not mind blowing? Don’t you think it’s phenomenal????? Look at the detail of her work:
Is that not completely gorgeous? Her work is sooo breathtaking. Please check out the links that I provided to her website. She’s from Montreal, so the website is in French. Here are many of her pieces together, with the paper scraps below:
Look at the papers draped together on the floor! AMAZING. I am in complete awe. I would LOOOVE to see these in person. What are the chances that she’ll come to Boston? Hmm. Well, it’s slightly warmer here…but then again, we have less fashion sense and most of us don’t speak French. Hmm. Yes, WHY would she come here? Sigh. Nevermind.
What’s also incredible is that I can’t imagine that these pieces will last, as newspaper is so fragile. She has created beauty of what is normally depressing and dirty. (Why does this immediately make me think of my lack of housekeeping skills???) I should get inspired to pick up around here. Or not.
Speaking of paper…my son has taken it upon himself to make Halloween decor for the house. Sigh. Clearly, my string of pumpkin lights aren’t enough. He felt the need to make THIS:
That’s a zombie.
And THIS:
That’s a mummy.
And THIS:
That’s me. (just kidding!!! Sort of…) I helped him a bit with this one, I confess. My arms and hands aren’t really that big, though…BTW…
He also convinced me to buy this pumpkin carving kit:
Do NOT be tricked into getting this. Yes, it is “safer” than using a kitchen knife. It becomes less safe, however, when your five year old keeps wanting to point out with his little fingers where you should be cutting WHILE you are cutting. They should have provided a set of handcuffs for the kids. My beef with this project is this: carving a really detailed pumpkin, while impressive, is A TOTAL PAIN IN THE TUSH. Here’s how ours turned out:
I know. This isn’t even THAT detailed, but it felt like it took aaaaages. Probably because I was frantically trying to work on it whilst making dinner. I’m a mommy who multitasks. My son was also interested in somehow doing the QR code, as shown on the kit:
No joke. I tried to explain to him gently that carving this would likely cause mommy to want to perform hara-kiri with the pumpkin knife. I’m sure that if Myriam Dion did a pumpkin, it would be pretty phenomenal. I’m just going to settle for “happy that I didn’t cut off anyone’s finger.”
Halloween is still 20 days away. I’m not sure I’m going to make it with my sanity, and fingers, intact…
slightly wonky 