Happy New Year!

Things have been a bit hectic, as things go...I have some great photos to post soon!

Salutations old, happy new!

yule happy time prints

real 1952 old poster

loving the old time camp prints, and though i miss home, this redwood picture is so right on...

the posters from this shop ( austin, tx's poster cabaret ) close to home has some amazing artists: 

andy kehoe

andrew holder

diana sudyka

in reference to the word CABARET: once upon a time, i worked at one of those terrible three-in-one frat boy party clubs for a whole one month! the word 'cabaret' always reminds me of this clause-awful place because when i tried to quit, i got really stressed someone was going to yell at me on the phone, SO i convinced a friend to call and quit for me...the only flaw in the plan is that her sweet Korean-accented voice didn't sound much like me, but oh well...i wrote out a script "this is rachel, i am supposed to work in cabaret tonight, but i am quitting, goodbye"...as if the accent wasn't a big enough clue that it was not me, she pronounced cabaret phonetically, and who can blame her! it sounds sassier with the 't' at the end, if you ask me. 
so that is my story, and those are some photos, happy yule!

around

chicken coop shack...

and frosty mornings...

happy solstice...or just happy that its over.


i left the chickens with tiny coop door open...i hope it doesn't fall closed on the rooster again...he is my new favorite companion.

Charlie Brown Trees

we have a hill of holiday-like trees, so it has been easy to conjure up some scraggly but festive natural decor...

 

all the vintage ornaments were given to me by one of our many many landlords...

 

 

they are all delicate andcrackled and have scraggly old string used for hanging....

 

one tree is the top of a big tree and the other is a branch...perfect.

warrior elephants and goddesses

Perusing the Smithsonian's Freer collections for some patrilineal inspiration,  this elephant caught my eye in an image from an early Sanskrit book...

..oh the adornment, the beautiful colors...

Ramayana by sage Valmiki

...the lady elephant is strength and holds a baby in utero for almost two years...

...elephants hung out with goddess Laksmi because she represents courage and fertility, and because elephants are smart...

...be a gracious goddess and a steadfast warrior, and maybe help out a poor orphaned baby elephant to stay strong:

Elephant Orphan Project

...and maybe freak out some aspiring greedy colonists in your neighborhood?...

beinecke library, yale

...and occupy a vacant house.

Occupy protesters take to squatting in vacant houses

more green things

i made these green things happen...

except the green pants. 

(yay to making things happen)

resourceful play, every day

My sister is presently living in Nagishot, South Sudan, and just posted some amazing photographs...of course, I was instantly drawn to the "traditional goat skin skirt" she photographed during an all-day celebration:

 The texture and color reminded me of a suede Bonnie Cashin skirt i once saw...i did a little reading and saw that in the mid 60's  Bonnie Cashin was specifically designing clothes inspired by African and Modern Art...i love how Modern and Tribal Art are often grouped together...like the collections of the de Menils in Houston...if you have to technical before you can get "primitive," it becomes Modern?...but i digress...

Bonnie Cashin added never seen before hardware to her designs, and famously introduced the famous toggle on the Coach bags and accessible designed clothes for women...the skirt above is referred to as a "dog leash skirt" in a Corbis caption...often in African dress, you see all sorts of objects resourcefully incorporated into traditional regalia...not only do i appreciate her designs, but i love her simple box of simple motivational phrases....

...thankful for the play and resourcefulness in the world.