Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences

The newly released book of Sylvia Plath's pen and ink illustrations is a sight to behold. Her unassuming depictions are as veracious as her writing and yet still, She leaves some room to read (or observe, as it will) in between the lines. I'm not one to superimpose what I believe she was going for, if she was going for anything at all, but I can say that I look for calm in the smallest details of life and I find that desperately sought refuge in her art.

Sylvia Plath's Drawings

"Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. Now let us look at the pictures."

I'm a cliche, you've seen before

I'd decided at 19 that I was ready for my first ( and only) tattoo. I was working as a seamstress and had some spare cash, and spent what I thought was a good amount of time to mull it over. I had wanted one since I was fifteen, so I was prepared for the finality of a tattoo and ignored the fact that my interests changed so much so that even I couldn't have kept up with them.

Needless to say, I hate it now. I've been gun shy about the whole ordeal and obsessively look up new ideas for cover-ups everyday. Some ideas have stayed with me for a few years, but my current job leaves more to be desired in the cash department but that's probably a good thing; less money requires  thoughtful consideration. Lately, thoughtful consideration equals dreams of being covered in Fantin-Latour's flower paintings.

Henri Fantin-Latour

That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.

John Kenn's illustrations may be reminiscent of the wonderful Edward Gorey but Kenn's mindblowing attention to detail sets him apart. Below his works that I've featured here is a link to his blog, which contains more scary magical works worth peeking through hand guarded eyes.

don kenn gallery

Have you ever seen black flowers?

Halloween Pick:

I, Tituba Black Witch of Salem
Maryse Conde

 Based on a real woman ( Tituba was the first woman to be accused, and to confess to, practicing witchcraft in Salem during the 17th century), Maryse Conde brings an old character back to life within the first few pages; her rendition is captivating and her prose is beautifully crafted. While this novel is the type that you cannot put down, beware for it is filled with harrowing tales of oppression and subjugation.

"The body is an instrument which only gives off music when it is used as a body." A.N.

To celebrate the end of the hell that was anatomy class, I wanted to focus on a themed entry about the human body. Scouring the internet was an easy task; ribcage shirts are back in style and the various bone adorned jewelry and fabrics seem to be popping up everywhere.

OMUT

Vivetta Hands Collar

The Lovely Marlena of Self Constructed Freak

Heart and Arrow Brooch

Iron Fist Ribcage Dress

Vertebrae pendant

Phrenology Head Tote

The Vamp

Theda Bara was a well known silent film actress in America, outranked only by Charlie Chaplin(duck soup. nuff said) and Mary Pickford (an actress and more, she pioneered new camera techniques and co-founded the United Artist studio). She was considered to be the first sex symbol and many of her roles were that of the femme fatale.

Her genuine ethnicity (polish and swiss) was discarded and she became a woman of egyptian and french descent, giving her that perceived air of mystery needed to become famous at that time. The name "Theda Bara" is an anagram for "Arab death".

She never starred in any "talkies" and much of her work was destroyed in a fire, but A Fool There Was can still be experienced by devoted movie watchers everywhere.

A Fool There Was

So long, and thanks for all the fish

Just when you think The Hitchhiker's guides couldn't get any better, they go and get Jonathan Burton to illustrate.