sugar power :: the art of little things

polaroid

2012-01-25T05:32:00.000-08:00

a new shop/gallery opened beside my apartment
last week all based on polaroids. it is magical.
they even sell refurbished old polaroid cameras.

yes! they even have the barbie version.

it reminded me a lot of

jen gotch

i posted this site before but it is always worth
another look

sruli recht

2012-01-25T05:06:00.000-08:00

sruli recht
is friend of mine and such a wonderful designer,
you really do have to take a look at his work.

it leaves me speechless

arcade fire

2011-07-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita

Vladimir Nabakov, Lolita 1955

pilfered from nabakov, inspired by melora, written by sugar power

Melora, my lady of fire-storm, the light of my loins. My skin, my swirl. Me-lo-ra: "the tip of the tongue" taking a plunge down the palate to greet me. Me. Lo. Ra. Hello Rosebud. Welcome back into my world.

She is just plain Mel, when she is driving. She stands five foot one in socks riddled with insect patterns, precocious as ever as we arrive at the chateau in France. She is Melo, when we are waiting for our back stage passes. And she is Ms. Koepke on her credit card which gets us, just about, everywhere en Route.
And then she is Melora, to me, dancing to the arcade fire in the pouring rain and thunder, flitting about danger, like school-girls, like an inside joke, just outside of Barcelona.

Melora. Try it. It feels so good to say it.
Whenever you are with her it feels so very NOW. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Not this afternoon or this evening, you lose track of time and everything else. In fact everything is so just very, very, very NOW.

So you might be wondering how this story started? Well, I cannot tell you all of it of course. It would be tasteless, take forever, and we do not kiss and tell now do we? Nor do we divulge our ages, though here is a hint…we have been friends for some 18 years. Good Christ.

NOW. It is mid-summer. It is Barcelona. I am working on an illustration and I receive an email from a much over-worked and much under-slept but very happy, determined and ever so sexy journalist I had not heard from in seven years. The subject line is, of course, the familiar: "What are you doing tomorrow?". The message is: I am covering the arcade fire for a piece in EnRoute's in-flight magazine you wanna tag along? My response…SHIT YES!

So here she is…just hours later. My beauty, Melora. Overburdened, overwhelmed and just as gorgeous as ever brimming with an energy known only by the gods. She arrives in the only way Melora can. After 5 days without proper sleep in a rented car she has just retrieved from being towed within her first hour of arriving in Barcelona. My goddess. Descending upon us in a whirlwind of style and haphazard grace. On the edge of renegade, teetering always on genius. A bright light shining on how to live exactly. And that, for Melora, is always doing it large.

Devi, with all her arms.

Not only has Melora arrived after getting her rental car towed within minutes after renting it, but for the first time since I have been living in Barcelona she has dragged along a crazy thunder storm the likes of which have never been seen. At least not this summer. And she has ridden in on it. Or summoned it. Or perhaps it follows her everywhere she goes. Who knows? A fire trail is not so hard to imagine from this electric girl. Ruben's muse ( and not so secretly mine ).

So we have now set off for our concert in France. Not a long trip. Just Barcelona two hours or so to France. Romantic yes. A map, no, not truly, to speak of. Just a vague idea of our destination: someplace on the naughty coast of France. Meow.
Someplace wet, fecund, thrilled with lightening and this doesn't even begin to describe the band.

Now Melora is driving, smoking cigarettes, checking her iphone, with the rental car consistently remaining in, at the very least, two lanes at once the whole way. It is a beauty to behold.

She is thirteen places at once. I swear. Go figure. I struggle to remain in one.

We finally arrive at the concert to nothing we could have ever imagined although I should have anticipated this.
The entrance box is closed. It is after midnight and our prestigious red carpet back stage passes scenario has been momentarily suspended.

We stand like waifs in the rain. Getting wetter.

Finally it gets the best of me and I revert to my teenage years and sneak us in. Which isn't too hard
considering everyone is running for shelter from the storm.

Melora has just put on fresh red and shiny lipstick new as a candy apple and given me such a wink in the pouring rain I will
have great difficulty not retaining the memory f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Now we are two hussies in wet skirts. Umbrella-less, dressed to the nines, and in the game again.
This time, finally, on the right side of the fence. And the band is awesome. ( Since we are teenagers again ).

The chateau itself is tripped out in purple lights. The french boys are flirty, tipsy, and very pretty as an added delight.

We trade pink little coins for yellow curry and beer that soon fills with rainwater.

We have on only sandles in the sticky mud and our dresses are becoming rapidly more transparent to our despair
( not really ). Everything feels good now.

Red lights engorge the stage and the arcade fire roars that pretty soul searing roar that only great musicians can create.
It is other-worldly and innately good. Plain and simply. Good.

This is the moment, I get that feeling that this is that moment. That moment that lingers long after, that you cannot
ever re-create or forget. That lovely moment of unfettered happiness. Nothing is spilled. Just joy.

Later, on the way home we are laughing, pulling rabbits from a hat, smoking, chatting,
trying to read an iphone map and doing origami all at once. I swear. Okay, I might of exaggerated
about the map.

A woman like Melora, only comes into your life once. And you must grab her. Not forever but for the moment
on the red carpet and in the rain. The mystery and the hysteria that comes with it, reminding yourself of only one
great thing: LIFE itself.

The beauty of not knowing and being so caught up in trying to know is you don't even realize you miss out on
what just being feels like. And it is good.

so is the arcade fire

playground

2011-07-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

i have updated the PLAY section in my NEW folio
and i might warn you to stay away from it if you
have a tendency to smoke pot or tend to overly
romanticize everything and have to sway from the trees
in a breeze of forlorn and unrequited love from
time to time.

nfb

2011-07-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

too good to be true.
i finally had time to take a look
at the national film board of canada's website today
and their arsenal is available for online viewing.

three gazillion hours later i am here
to share it with you.

the first one i watched, "The Agony of Jimmy Quinlan, was not only great for its content and the insight it provided,
but that great old-fashion canadian accent reared its beautifu, graceful head again
and blanketed the entire documentary in pure chic. ah, how i much i do miss it. eh?

yes, canada!

jen vaughn is the bomb!

2011-05-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

A new agent!

Joined Jen Vaughn's group of amazing artists
and am still pinching myself.

Take a look at her lovely group here

forget passion, good octopus chairs make us stronger

2011-02-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

i love deb mclean's blog

she seems to have her finger on the button of everything and never
ceases to intrigue me. thank the baby jesus for women like her!

(and all the artists she has time to promote along the way)

merengue

2011-01-29T03:36:00.000-08:00

my favorite shop in barcelona
is both an artist's studio & residence
with the shop in front
called merengue

now

some people might think
it is too much work all these
things overlapping into a giant
work/life sandwich, i say
again

if you love what you do
why not live inside

the oyster

anado mclauchlin

2011-01-25T05:31:00.001-08:00

i love richard and anado
two of the nicest blokes
one could ever know

and handsome too!

this picture particularly haunts me
with added love because you can see
the homage i created for the two love-birds
at the top of the stairs in the top center
of the photo

i am the microcosm of the macrocosm
which is a microcosm in the macrocosm
of the great unknown. except i know

i love knowing i am part of their
other-worldly abode

i know
i love knowing them and i love knowing
that every succulent glowing and divine
detail of anado's shimmering work
makes me make more non-linear sense
(my favorite kind)
of my very own life

not only that but i am grateful for
their willingness to share so much
of their lives together

hallelujah & deja-vu

my first ad!

2011-01-25T00:14:00.000-08:00

today i am expanding my blog and posting my first
of many new ads

the ad is for sark

now most people have heard of sark
before they could even read, ha
but i came to her later in life. i don't know why.
maybe i needed the surprise that day.

i love sark's endless optimism and diy attitude
i love that her books have that handmade quality
like a friend made a gift for you
and i love that she is a sister.

i also love people who love what they do
for a living. it is invigorating to me.

and the same goes with posting ads
i was never really aware of the idea
or maybe it is more honest to say
i just glazed over them until now.

so i got kind of excited to post my first ad
and hope that you get excited too.

so, here is one interesting program
the life coach, sark, has conjured:

http://www.planetsark.com/DreamBoogie.htm

and more to come
surely!

eerie green

2011-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

my new favorite
iphone app is available

and i am ruined for anything else

dark light dark
green where it shouldn't be
red where there is already too much

and god i love you and god i love loving
seemingly

random mistakes

balthazar

2011-01-19T23:38:00.001-08:00

balthazar
made my day

just yesterday i was wallowing
swaying saying handwritten letters
are so romantic that i physically
and psychically miss them

miss pouring over them
holding them

examining the letters, the craft
the odd mistake

now i find balthazar
who will not only write you a letter
but send it to you too

he is an imaginary sailor

i think i am in love

monica cook

2011-01-18T02:25:00.000-08:00

monica cook
is doing my head in

i have not seen painting like this in a long time
if ever

let me know what you think
personally, i am floored

in a very strange way

white love

2010-12-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

white love is a nice love and
a gift i give to all my friends.

day or night love. white love.
we all glisten when it's received.

a pure thing that happens just
rarely

enough

to make a person gleam.

martha is -almost- too rich for my blood

2010-12-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

i propose a martha rich day.
i adore her. she makes my jello better.

better better bettter better
better baby.

bento blitz

2010-12-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

um

not my latest but surely one of my greatest pleasures
is the bento box. i am getting my kit together as we spleak
--a word i made up for reading blogs and responding
in your mind--

(we are spleaking now by the way)

more soon...

yes! let us dance on the stove top burning

2010-12-23T05:44:00.001-08:00

yes! let us dance on the stove top burning
and dance with all our might

my calves can take it
my heart brims with it
my heels love to burn
just slightly with light

(photo source unknown)

that sex thing

2010-12-23T05:35:00.000-08:00

what is that sex thing you got
shimmering there

what is that thing that whispers to me
go
go
go

what hoodlum night is this to send me
down into the streets to find you

what sailor's heart do you taunt
me with

with all my beautiful might
frozen now

and desperate
for only you

i love this white
white
blindness

and the red absence of

reason

i want to be alive

2010-12-23T05:12:00.000-08:00

i want to feel alive
i want to kiss you
i want to be alive
i want to kiss you

my desire surrounds me
like a wild serenade my
desire surrounds me like
a house of smoke

my desire peppers my days
with oddities and such
shivering details that

i have to look away

i want to be alive
and to kiss you inside
of all the smoke and
odd wisdom a kiss
finally

gives

i fuckin hate winter, i do

2010-12-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

i fuckin hate winter, i do

i know you are supposed to find
some resplendence in it, some solace
some white fire light
that calms

but i don't
i fuckin hate winter and so

like with all things
i hate
i am doing my best
to overcome them

Sebastiaan Bremer
is helping

ether

2010-12-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

sometimes we are just floating
in the air or neverland just
doing whatever we do

and then sometimes
we are right bang smack in there
inside of it again

whap! rash

wriggling, squiggling
not so much to get out of it so much as to just
firmly, make some noise

yell out

i don't know which i like better but
i do know when either becomes too colorful
it instantly

becomes

my favorite way
to live

claws or gills
i do not care anymore

then

the trick-master is near

2010-12-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

i am here.

but can you see me
or just sense it

i wonder.

design for mankind

2010-12-05T07:09:00.000-08:00

i love discovering new things, even if they are old
for others. this is my little discovery for today:

here

mwahh. big kiss.

yeondoo jung

2010-12-02T05:14:00.000-08:00

my new favorite artist is yeondoo jung and her
wonderland

take a look
i'v got butterflies already

hope you do too

and the message is

2010-07-08T03:39:00.000-07:00

if this little fellow isn't telling me
to just go for it

i mean balls out
go for it

then there is no excuse for that
pose

unless he is playing frisbee

ohhhhhhhhhhh

2010-07-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

finally

i get it i am SO naive

(embarrassing!)

it's the eye of the tiger

2010-07-08T02:50:00.000-07:00

whilst in mexico
i found this angel
and my companion was busy
dry humping everything in sight

the angel and i
had a sort of communion

which was strange because
it was all done through the
exchange of our favourite
rock lyrics

i love low-maintenance ladies, as i am one of them.

2010-07-08T00:59:00.001-07:00

ain't she just sumthin? thump. thump.
goes my heart.

if you haven't found it yet i will give it to you

2010-07-08T00:31:00.000-07:00

if you haven't found this yet.
here it is. i am sharing because i love you.

i hate/love everything

2010-07-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

another one of my favorite sites
dark and dreary then just when
the light is out, the bright humor
gleams through.varied, unpredictable
and just plain fantastic.

i love everything.

i do.

i love daydream lily

2010-07-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

her sensibility is very pretty and she posts the most
poignant entries. this is the kind of girl i'd like to meet
cause we'd never stop talking. slumber party style.

(i'd hope).

pretty pretty yum yum

2010-07-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

i love this site. makes me feel like a little
kid only in tokyo. i like tokyo.

maybe also cause it reminds me
of my friend kaye.

i love her too.

(even more than tokyo)

before/after

2010-05-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

this illustration was done for the supermodel, sussan zeck.
it is the before and after shots so you can see what kind
of work goes into sugar powering something. (heh)

anyhow, hope you like it as much as I do.
have a lovely day!

schwepps campaign

2010-04-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

luckily i met up with an amazing and wildly passionate
art director to collaborate on this schwepps campaign
which is going off the rails. people love it!

it is very rewarding to get so much feedback on
something i worked very hard on.

and the possibilities are flourishing!

besides

schwepps has helped me many a hungover morning.

xo

flickr updates

2010-04-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

i dunno for a sort of good time if you
wanna see some pretending to be
kinky artworks and updates you can
look at my

flickr page

baby

schwepps billboard

2010-03-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

i am very happy to reveal the new illustration
i did for GPYR in melbourne for Schwepps.

you will likely see these billboards all over
the streets. exciting!

i love it when a job turns out well
especially a clever one so i have to thank
the wonderful art director
david ponce de leon
who is pure firecracker
and a blast to work with.

hate/love

2010-02-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

i can't remember if i posted this before but
this lovely darling is my latest girl-crush

her blog thrills me over and over and
over again. take a look:

meow

sex glimmer 2

2010-02-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

and 4 more makes 9.

super love

sex glimmer

2010-02-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

i have started a new series of sketches
called sex glimmer. i intend to paint them.

i hope you like them. i have 9 so far.
seems like a sexy number. but then
so does 3 and 13. who knows.

i will stick with 9 for now.

here are the first 5.

fabulous

2009-12-22T22:48:00.000-08:00

i've said it before and i will say it again
deb mclean
is so darn wonderful

her busy being fabulous blog
is truly flourishing, every time
i revisit it i am swamped,
stumbling and baffled by
all her glorious finds

deb is a food and prop stylist
here in melbourne and i have
worked as her assistant, wishing
that some faint layer of her sparkle
will rub off on me

some day

take a look at her impeccable work
as well here in her portfolio

tumbalina's empire

2009-12-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

a girl named kaye creates dreamy paintings,
fantastic collages, crazy beautiful illustrations
and sometimes sneaks up close enough
to photograph the golden soldiers who protect

Tumbalina's Empire

i designed a website for her to house her genius
and i know you will like it too. come to think of it,
you should come over for happy hour.

we will be having ice-cold vodkas with pomegranate seeds
sprinkled into each glass.

simply divine you say?
why yes, it is.

seren in wonderland

2009-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

seren my muse.

there is nothing in the world as rewarding as praise from someone
who really knows you. if you haven't read seren's "living opals" blog
then you may not know what it is like to stare into the face of wonder.

intelligent beyond her years, talented beyond reason, gorgeous,
glorious friend and partner in crime.

love you kid.
so much.

a new illustration

2009-11-02T08:06:00.001-08:00

this is a new illustration i made for a magazine

about looking at the upside of the recession.

i have started building dioramas and illustrating

over the top of them. thanks to the work i am doing

with prop stylists, am able to add touches of delight

unforeseen in that technical peanut sized place

in my brain.

which is to say, i am learning and i love

to learn. keeps me supple.

mexico

2009-10-22T03:28:00.000-07:00

there are bells outside my house.

bells. bells. bells and birds and a parrot who whistles

cat calls when pretty girls walk by.

they are playing now. a little symphony.

i just went for a swim.

did i tell you there is a pool

surrounded by hummingbirds?

i have to cry-swim. it is so pretty.

and now the thunder has come out.

i love thunder.

i took a long walk in the sun.

and my legs ache. my face is warm.

there is also a garden. and a little fountain.

and mountains and hot-springs and cobble-stone

streets and many beautiful people's faces.

wrinkled and young. old and just born.

hand-in-hand.

the sun brings such pretty skin

to people who are always outdoors. i am envious

of their health, their pace of living, their children playing

outside on the streets till long after midnight.

i envy the people standing eating tacos from the night stands illuminated

by old christmas lights. the food, the colors, the flowers everywhere.

the people surrounded by their families. i want to absorb it all. i want to belong

to it. i don't want to be looking in on it.

i am romantic, yes, but tell me of anything better. even one thing.

better than being with people you love and eating tacos standing

up under the moonlight among the churches and the colored streamers.

tell me one thing. i can't imagine it. nothing is prettier.

the apartment is filled with day of the dead skulls and pinatas.

and the backyard is suffused with cactii. it is perfect for me.

i love it.

which reminds me. i am off to get some of the holy agave.

the numinous cactii, which is really more closely linked

to the lily.

they export all the bad stuff. the tequila here is sacred.

it is god's drink.

and god is everywhere in this place.

and i don't even believe in god. but i feel something so palpable

when i am here.

i want to dissolve into the wind and desert sand and the strange

blossoms that emerge from the cactii. i want to be soluble and

not made of parts. i want to vanish into the color and lights.

i want to be part of the earth and the sky and no longer

walk upon it.

i want to be it.

i want to be water

and to travel that way.

forever.

silver fuck

2009-10-14T13:27:00.001-07:00

i am sweltering with delight

over alexander mcqueen's immutable genius.

yet, again, i roll over in my sheets in pain and adorable agony

that i cannot seem to assuage myself with any more images

sufficient to accompany this post.

suffice to say

i would die happy

were my body adorned

in such a manner.

sweet sweet

2009-10-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

bust it out baby. play your song.

http://vimeo.com/6632178

yum yum

2009-10-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

if you are into channelling your inner harajuku girl

then simply click here

don't worry, you can thank me later

with a hello kitty pez dispenser

o i am a sucker for love

2009-10-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

o i am a sucker for love

always have been

gosh

if you are

a sucker too

you will adore delving deeply

into this this site

lindsey loo

2009-10-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

more beauty-cuteness

than all my thimbles

could hold

take a look at lindsey loo

a luscious lust red

2009-09-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

if you love the ephemeral as much as i do.

you will find yourself in a land of wonder

when visiting ms. dextras' works:

delicious

sarah beetson

2009-09-08T07:47:00.001-07:00

i am being kinda blown away

by the work of sarah beetson today

you know

when you have had someone

orbiting your orbit but neither

of you ever quite landed

count me a prisoner on this planet

i cannot leave

she is too good

yum

candyland

2009-09-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

human beings are beautiful creatures

take a look at the pretty and very intricate

world of the divine linda dolak

excited sigh

(if that's possible)

happy. happy.

2009-08-21T00:49:00.000-07:00

let's face it

girls are fun

to look at

they are all

nice and

curvy and

good

take a look

at my new

favorite

circus

Illustration Now! 3

2009-08-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

GOOD NEWS!
the new version of
ILLUSTRATION NOW!
is coming out

(best illustrators from around the world!)

Taschen Books
i love you

thank you for including
little miss sugar power
and her lint museum

all good things
happen in 3's

they say

something about the devil and idle hands

2009-07-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

something about the devil and idle hands II

2009-07-29T18:52:00.001-07:00

lola devola

2009-07-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

hey guys look!

it is my ma, lola devola.

ain't she something?

any fan-mail you wish to

send to her you can send

to me and i will print it out

for her

she is still learning the

"internets"

i love her i do

hi mom!

my new home

2009-07-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

i am going to build a home

and it is going to look

a little something

like this

pip & pop 2

2009-07-09T21:33:00.001-07:00

i know, i know

i have included pip & pop

before but

mother of pearl

just look at this!

if all our meals were made of those

colorful little flinstones vitamins

maybe, just maybe

we could conjure images like this

too

on a really, really, really

good day

lolita

2009-07-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

this girl lolita

is a real gem

if you ever need a dose of

sweet inspiration

fall into her blog

it dreams the dreams for you

it is a kind of sigh machine

photo illustration

2009-07-08T23:27:00.000-07:00

okay this week's obsession is

photo-illustration

there are many kinds but

here are a friendly few

melody cassen

grace weston

just to get you started

photo-illustration 2

2009-07-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

or how about marie taillefer

for a little french fashion

photo illustration

inspiration

now

try to say that

really fast

with a pack of jelly babies

in your mouth

sugar shop

2009-07-08T23:14:00.001-07:00

o dear!

i think i forgot to tell you

i opened my very first shop

yes

i am selling

limited edition prints that

come with some secret

mystery features

only

you will have to buy one

to find out

in the meantime

keep checking in

the collection of images

will evolve

inevitably

twins

2009-06-27T22:36:00.001-07:00

ever feel like you are being followed or

someone is saying the same thing to you

they might have said to your other self

or maybe you are being blamed for things

you never did or haunted

by a feeling of being doubled

i found increasing evidence this week

that i have a twin a

self that i have never seen a

secret self

walking the streets

posing as me

saying "hi, i am sugar

...o yes how i do love grapes and potatoes"

and persuading people to listen to a whole load

of other malarky

well, just

beware is all i can muster

at this point

though the clues are mounting i am still

building my case

schmuck

2009-06-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

what do hand-cuffs, white lotion,

simulated body parts, earth and

flocked psuedo-computers all

have in common?

the jewelry show

called schmuck

at the

rmit gallery in melbourne

i haven't seen anything like it

well...

ever

stylists

2009-06-11T00:14:00.000-07:00

there are so many different kinds of stylists.

there are food, table-top, wardrobe and

costume, interior and the list goes on.

in my search for intriguing stylists

i have come across a few people

who lead just plain interesting

lives

what makes them interesting

i think

is a kind of intimacy they are willing

to share with regard to their work

this is certainly true of photo stylist

Annette Joseph

kat macleod

2009-06-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

kat mcleod

is a favorite illustrator too

ethereal, playful

sometimes kinda

somber or

sad like a rainy day sad

maybe

her work is really

worth a peek

oslo davis

2009-06-09T19:39:00.001-07:00

one artist

i particularly love

at the jacky winter group

oslo davis

he is witty and

dark a little

and good

in all the right

places

the hatch

2009-06-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

i am very lucky to work with a few
really great agents

the hatch is an offshoot

from the jacky winter group

and is very special

take a look.

polaroids

2009-06-03T23:38:00.001-07:00

as i learn about styling

food and props

with various stylists, i have started

to play with some of the tricks

of the trade

and what better way to showcase

this garden of interior delights

than the polaroid

pure joy

i will build a little

online shop to house

all

these moments

paula sanz caballero

2009-06-03T23:26:00.000-07:00

paula sanz caballero not only has

a great name but the most

clever and heart-wrenching

style

delicate, sophisticated

dare i say deluxe

illustrations

using the very fabrics

and techniques they

often feature

makes me feel like

a bit of a dumb-ass

but that is pretty

easy to do

catalina estrada

2009-05-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

most people know catalina estrada

by now

she is the kind of girl that wins your heart

at first glance

i met catalina in barcelona

a few times and when i spoke

at the offf conference there

she is kind, humble,

talented and just plain

fun

sugar and the art of little things

2009-05-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

my trip to new zealand was a success

i had the chance to meet with a lot

of interesting people, do some

great work, and sneak in some

sight-seeing, always a rare treat

i met with the folks from saatchi & saatchi

who i have had the great pleasure of

working with in the past

i love the questions people ask

after a presentation

i am grateful for the feedback

they give

because working freelance sometimes

is like wandering inside plastic snow dome

romantic but a little

stifling

on certain days

candy sushi

2009-05-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago i did a little test-shoot

at my friend kaye's house

and look what happened

candy sushi

coco chanel

2009-05-27T23:58:00.001-07:00

sometimes i think

my relationship with coco chanel

is unhealthy

and then i remember

where

it came from

liz wolfe

2009-05-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

liz wolfe

is one of those people

who can take something very difficult

and

make it look tempting

and easy

she takes photographs of stunning,

sumptuous things and then

rings a little macabre bell

overtop of each one of them

i adore her. i hope

you will too

lost red

2009-05-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

i photograph every day things

every day

some of them seem

extraordinary and some

seem out of place

i am not sure why but

there is something

very sad

to me about this piece

a lost red hanging

on the wall

it should be somewhere else

somewhere

warm

nice

2009-05-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

one of my favourite things about travelling

is the people you meet.

there were 2 lovely girls

staying on my floor at the hotel

they were studying to be make-up artists

and would practice their craft in the evening

on the boys.

nice.

rococo

2009-05-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

i have always been a little rococo

as you may know

or this may surprise you

but it is true

so i don't mind the ritz

or the st. regis

or even the W if i am feeling

anachronistic but

this time

i tried a budget hotel

just to prove i could do it

and i failed

miserably

so i dressed it up

instead

anna church

2009-05-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

and another ultra-pretty stylist from new zealand is

anna church

we are meant to meet this week if things go

as planned. i adore her homepage

and the phrase she uses

to describe her work:

"art of aesthetic arrangement"

doesn't that sound good?

a feisty cherry

2009-05-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

i think i am drawn to small things

because i travel so much

this sexy little cherry fell off the set

into a bed of blue feathers meant

to be kept pristine

i like its style

this cherry says

no one controls me

i am marachino

i am the cherry on top

suck on that!

sugar power

2009-05-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

i am working on a photo shoot

here in auckland and always

like to set up test shots

before the real ones

happen

they are often blurry, slightly

off-kilter and messy but

they are fun

nonetheless

like a little night out

on the town

with the girls

all dolled up

with your best threads

and costume trinkets

and a sense of

perfect

spontaneity

katie lockhart

2009-05-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

another brilliant thing about auckland

is the wonderful katie lockhart

she is pretty punk rock in my estimation

of stylists, using all sorts

of materials that would be conventionally

frowned upon

taxidermy, bruised bananas, cardboard,

sexually charged gouged papayas,

and beautiful silvery slimy fish

courageous

she manages to pull a sad beauty

from everything she touches

and i look forward to meeting her

very much next week

things i like about auckland

2009-05-20T02:16:00.000-07:00

- the garbage bags are pink

- it is lush and green and that tropical kind of pretty

but there are goths everywhere

- people sound nice and some have tattoos

on their faces

- places that should be swarming with people

are all tranquil and almost twilight zoned

- it reminds me of someone i knew once

but lost contact with. someone special

crawling toward love

2009-05-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

did you ever feel like you were crawling

toward love, like everything you did

was happening on all fours

like you were grappling

grasping at strings

and incompetent

like you had to drag yourself through

mud to get there

even though it was the

prettiest place on earth

it no longer came easy

it was no longer a ferry ride

just over there

it was something you had to crawl to

and lay flat on top of

just so

you could never lose it

again

learning about the art of styling

2009-05-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

i am on a voyage. sea born creatures

emerge from the foam, rise

above the green and spray

iridescence everywhere

into fractured light

this ocean

loves sea creatures

and being nowhere

i know nothing but

i am learning

thankfully there are other sailors

out there who do not hide

their ropes or make secret

the art of knots

one girl i am particularly enamored with

this moment

is jen gotch

it seems everyone i contact supports the idea

of me becoming a stylist, even near-strangers

again, the ever-so-lovely deborah mclean

who i had the pleasure of working with

sent me this treasure trove

of delights

martha rich

2009-05-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

martha rich makes me crazy

always has

her sense of humor

sophisticated use of color

and lovingly rendered

techniques

i can't imagine a painter

i'd more enjoy

having over for dinner

at my place

i love the circus

2009-05-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

especially arthur's circus and i am not the only one

luckily, i got the chance

to meet natalie and

the little man

arthur himself

she and i will be collaborating

later this month and i am

all butterflies in the stomach

over it

wish us luck

in 7th heaven

aka arthur's circus

mr. galliano you are killing me

2009-05-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

just when i thought i could have

a relaxing evening in front of

the television

dressed as a simple show-girl

you had to taunt me with your

regalia

now there will be no sleep

under so many lids

and petals

what to wear tonight

2009-05-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

trying to decide what to wear tonight

not going any place special, just

like the idea of getting all dolled up

to watch television

like a true show-girl

isabella blow

2009-05-14T23:58:00.000-07:00

isabella blow makes me feel sadhappy

sadhappy because she was amazing

and now she is

gone

the wow factor

2009-05-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

i had a sort of david la chapelle day

today. if you know what i mean.

a houseboat in amsterdam

2009-05-12T01:19:00.000-07:00

i finally had time to sink my teeth into

the layered world of pia jane bijkerk

and lord am i better off for it

pia is that kind of girl who has the

midas touch

and masters everything with

the ease of any virtuoso

making the most complex things

appear a light breeze of effort

to an untamed hand

polaroid

2009-05-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

i was sent the site of jen gotch.

a very inspiring girl. there is a softness

in her work and a penchant for writing

just enough to make you ache for more.

i adore her

and you will too

awe

2009-05-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

did you ever meet someone

and just go bezerk over how

god damn pretty their brain was

well, i did today

and she writes things like:

"Give me this dress and a

pack of Tylenol and I am ready to go."

a little story about james jean

2009-05-08T00:05:00.001-07:00

one lonely sunday i discovered james jean.

i was at home alone and felt suddenly much like

the girl in this picture. glow-soaked.

i was so overwhelmed with his work that i had to

write him a letter.

like many letters i've written, i wrote a kind of poem

in the dark. not thinking he would reply. just

wanting to send an arrow of love.

you know

a billet-doux

but suddenly the sky opened up and the

best thing happened. a thousand butterflies

not only did he reply in kind

but complimented me on an interview

he had just read on pixelsurgeon.

wild luck, i say

wild luck.

pes

2009-05-07T23:57:00.000-07:00

if you don't already know pes, you will be very happy

today to find him.

love

2009-05-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

eduardo recife is so pretty it hurts.

a sweet, slow kind of pain

european rooms

2009-05-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

in researching stylists i found pia jane bijkerk.

her blog is wonderful. as is her work.

this image is pulled from a magazine called

inside out and leaves me breathless. it reminds

me of traveling through europe and walking into

rooms that take your breath away. i always feel

closer to ghosts and being haunted when i am

there but in a really, really pretty way.

pip & pop

2009-05-06T03:37:00.000-07:00

pip & pop make me happy.

their work is incredible. it is ephemeral,

detailed, delicate, enthusiastic, surreal,

sweet and sticky.

i would like to be a tour guide.