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Went to an exhibition in London this weekend that was all japanese plastic food made to be displayed in restaurant windows. Super cool to see the process of how it's made. I love sculpting and modeling so it's right up my street. I also think there's something quite nostalgic about it because of it's similarity to the plastic toy food we would play with as kids.
Feb 17, 2025
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Despite reading, and then re-reading, and then re-reading a Terence Conran coffee table book as a child, I have absolutely zero interior design sense. Several years ago I started buying ceramic fruits and vegetables as a joke. Doofpot in Greenport N.Y. was a mecca for Italian ceramics before it closed in 2019; now I spend days scouring Etsy for a perfectly plump tomato. Each one is completely ludicrous and absurd, but they make me laugh. There is obviously some symbolism at play here, trying to freeze a moment of ripeness and wholeness in time.
Oct 12, 2021
Lately I've been spending too much time scouring every corner of eBay I can for the cheapest and most delightful soviet era porcelain figurines available
I didn't even realize it until diving head first into this rabbit hole, but I have had soviet era porcelain figurines my whole life (a bunny and a bull for those curious), so I guess I was always destined to develop a fondness for the form, and eventually dig a little deeper into it.
There is something so incredibly charming and also incredibly interesting about these porcelain pieces! These little guys!
There's a lot of history to dig into that I've barely scratched the surface of AT ALL, but I'm fascinated by how porcelain reflected the common sentiments* of the times, the economic conditions, the artistic movements and ideas of the day, and also the ability (or lack thereof) of people to stay in one place and hold onto something so "useless" and easily broken.
I have very, very few things from any of my ancestors. Figurines like these make me think about the way history and art are passed down to us, forgotten, broken, left behind, sold in thrift stores and online, if they survive at all.
Figurine collections are kind of a barometer of safety and stability, or at least how dedicated to the illusion of it you might be.
They also make me think about how useful "useless" things can be. How even art that is purely decorative can be thought-provoking (by for example valorizing "folks"), or just make you happy (via being very cute! Or expert use of color and form!).
Grannies collect this shit for many good reasons and I'm starting to catch on.
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* Notably the $$$ collectors type ones are the ethnographic figurines, something I NEED to read an academic paper about.
Especially, because Ive noticed some of these figurines depicting "ethnic types" are inaccurate copies of earlier prints, which themselves should be placed under immense scrutiny! This is all extra interesting in the context of the porcelain industry transitioning from imperial rule to the soviet era. The ways of talking about ethnicity changed, (in addition obviously to y'know, everything!) but the products produced largely remained the same. Lots to think about!!!
Jan 31, 2025
I remember my childhood best friend had these at her house, her mother was a painter and rode her bike around town in heeled garden clogs, she wore lipstick everyday and it was always all over her toothbrush. coming from a tupperware home, these jars felt special, and cold leftovers tasted better eaten straight out of them. I donβt currently own any but I think Iβll buy a set when Iβm done moving around.
Sep 17, 2024
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Made a WhatsApp group with all my film friends in it and have been using it coordinate going to screenings. It's so much fun! There's loads of little independent screenings happening where I live and some very good independent cinemas, but even if all you have is a TV you should start a film club too. This evening I'm off to an old pub that's been converted into an events space to watch The Garden by Derek Jarman π
Feb 11, 2025
I've been really interested in silver casting for ages and finally managed to get a place on a carving and casting course at my local jewellery school. It's been an absolute blast, and as someone who's bad at making time to do creative stuff, having something timeboxed in that I've already paid for makes a huge difference. I was also for a long time adamant that the only thing I needed to pick up new skills was YouTube and some perseverance, I was absolutely wrong, there's nothing better than having an expert nearby and all the right tools on hand to make learning a new skill less painful. So take a class! Learn something new! Apply your innate ability to create beautiful things!
Pictured: The two rings I've made so far, one was cast from a design I sculpted in blender and then 3d printed. I love it's lil' face π
Feb 12, 2025
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So tired of sitting on the sofa with someone, flicking around the streaming services going back and forth on what to watch. For the first time in ages me and my friend just picked something that looked good and watched it. We need to stop trying to optimise the enjoyment of every moment of of our lives because we end up spending ages doing nothing. PS. Tangerine is a good film, you should watch it.
Feb 25, 2025