Androgynous beauty: satin dress.

Isn't this photo of Iggy Pop just wonderful?

Given the number of posts about androgyny I have created, I bet you can see a pattern. 

I just love the idea of blurred boundaries; of unclear, dissolving lines. 

I found this photo via Pinterest and sadly I have no idea who the photographer is. I also wonder if the text was part of the original idea or of it was added after the fact. I hate not to give proper credit, so if you have the answers please let me know.

Found love: The girl with 7 horses.

Browsing around, I found Ulrika Kestere's gorgeous blog Ulicam.

She just finished a photo project called The girl with 7 horses.

Aren't these images whimsical and beautiful?

Image by Ulrika Kestere.

Image by Ulrika Kestere.

Image by Ulrika Kestere.

All photos by Ulrika Kestere. To see all 7 horses and to lean more about them and the girl visit here.

Androgynous beauty, again.

In my previous post about androgynous beauty I mentioned I wished I knew what Bitch Magazine's take was about that particular dilemma. I know they have often in some form or another dealt with the topic of gender boundaries, but in their recent issue they have an interesting article titled Pink Scare about boys that display "girly" behavior and the possible impact such actions have on their development. 

In honor of that, and of androgyny in general, here are some fun photos of strong, talented females in masculine attire:

Frida Kahlo, far left, at a family portrait. Circa 1929. (Image via here)

Annie Lennox. (Image  via here)

Cher as Elvis. (Image via here)

Lady Gaga for Vogue Hommes Japan, photographed by Nick Knight (photos via here).

Pencils.

This made me smile today. 

Hope it has the same effect on you!

Image found here.

Deep water wonder (Hydrothermal Worm).

Life is full of wonder and will always surpass our imagination. A good proof of that is this little guy recently discovered with the help of a FEI Quanta electron microscope.

You might be relieved to know he is one of the smallest multicellular living things (enhanced over 500 times his real size in the photo) and meanders underwater near hydrothermal vents.

Still, I would love to see him!

I bet Guillermo del Toro would agree.

Image by Philippe Crassous for FEI  found via Huffington Post

Cheering up in early July (Mamika).

You may or may not know this, but I have been sad lately. Some days are better than others, almost normal, but then on days like today I feel gloomy and lonely. The remaining creature had gone outside, I was alone and a bit worried about him, so trying to cheer myself up I looked up "cheer up" online. I know, quite desperate, right? One does what one has to do... I felt silly and did not expect much. If anything, my search would keep me entertained. Amongst the babies and kittens I was feeling even worse, but then I ran into Mamika, the ultimate super hero.

Boy did she cheer me up alright! She is a lot of things I love in a single wrinkly package: an old lady with a cool sense of humor, kick ass, unafraid to make a fool of herself, game for unheard of adventures, avantgarde at 91 years old. 

The Mamika project began when photographer Sacha Goldberger's grandma was a bit sad, so he decided to propose a fun project to cheer her up. How about shooting some photos of her in outrageous costumes? Lucky for us, she agreed, and the result is the most amazing set of photos I have seen in a while.

So popular has she become that in a followup session she has found a younger lover called Mr. Papika.

I hope they make you smile as widely as they have made me.

Have a fun Fourth of July weekend everyone!

R

All of these amazing photos of Mamika and Mr. Papika are by Sacha Goldberger.

Leonora Carrington.

Leonora Carrington, one of my favorite surrealist artists died last week at age 94.

She will be missed.

The Giantess or Guardian of the Egg (1950)

Quería ser pájaro (1960)

Portrait of the late Ms. Partridge (1947)

"One has to be careful what one takes when one goes away forever."

— Leonora Carrington (The Hearing Trumpet)

Photo: Reuters/ Daniel Aguilar.  Read Reuters report of Leonora's death here.

Butterfly.

Beauty in a jar.

How pretty is that?

I know it looks cruel, but the butterfly is not real.

I bet it would drive my cats insane.

You can buy it here.

Invisible. (Liu Bolin)

Can you spot him?
It's Liu Bolin and his amazing Ghost Man self portraits!
He painstakingly paints himself, sometimes taking many hours to set up a single frame.

Image from here.

from here.

Image from here.

Image from here.

Image from here.

Image from here.

Discovered via Honestly WTF.

Lost things.

We often lose things, people, memories.

Sometimes they are gone forever;

but sometimes, only sometimes, they come back...

"Lost Things" by Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths From here 

All Over Coffee (Paul Madonna).

Image from the this week's SF Chronicle

One of my favorite artists, Paul Madonna, is presenting next week his second collection of All Over Coffee illustrations. You might know him, as his exquisite drawings appear every week in the San Francisco Chronicle. Paul's drawings used to depict mainly the beautiful city of San Francisco but have moved on to take us around the country and the world looking for the quotidian.

My favorite part about his art is that his drawings include text, sometimes hidden, that make the scenes deeply humane and somehow familiar. They are a window to someone's soul and individual perspective and remind me of Robert Swartwood's Hint Fiction (I referred to it here).

Image from this edition of the SF Chronicle

Image from here.

The release party for Paul's new All Over Coffee book: Everything is its own reward will be on Friday, April 29th, at 7 pm at Electric Works Gallery in San Francisco.

Hope to see you there!

Two animated poems by Billy Collins.

Two beautiful poems by Billy Collins to brighten your day:

Thomas Doyle.

Acceptable losses, 2008

Today I was happy to discover a fantastic artist! His name is Thomas Doyle and his pieces are absolutely amazing. They remind me of sweet dream-like nightmares, with the perfect balance of good and evil.

Here are some examples of his work, I hope you find it as exciting as I do, and please make sure to click on his name above to see different angles of the pieces depicted and much more.

The barrage lifts, 2010

Dissolution of entities, 2006

All without an airlock, 2005

Null cipher, 2006

Little optimum, 2005

They draw you out, 2006

The reprisal, 2006

From Dark to Light (A Forest In Her Mind).

The whole situation in Japan following the Earthquake and Tsunami last week, with the possible nuclear catastrophe that they (and us) face now has left me feeling gloomy and sad. I think about the people there constantly, wishing them well and worrying about their future. I could write about that, but I just cannot bring myself there as it would make me even sadder. 

I could also write about the flash backs I have had lately about my own childhood experience of the 1985 earthquake that left half of Mexico City destroyed and its people scarred; and of how it was also an incredibly uniting moment for us as a people, of how everyone got together to help each other in any way we could and how that experience made me believe more in humanity and its potential. But again, it is a sad memory that I would rather not revisit now.

So, to bring myself to a brighter space (and hopefully you too) I have chosen instead to show you something that makes me happy.

Elsita, one of my favorite artists, has created the ultimate paper cut piece. It is called A Forest In Her Mind, and it is gorgeous in many ways. The concept is incredible, and the execution just blowed my mind. I wish I could someday make something half as pretty as this.

If you are in or around LA on April 16th, make sure to stop by the opening of her three-girl-show at Giant Robot 2 Gallery.

And please take me with you!

Piece and photos by Elsita 

Farmer's Market (rainbow).