The NESTING Series: Part Deux: Bees

I know I promised it would be presented here every three weeks until I’d worn the topic out, and I know you were counting down the days until it’s arrival in your virtual mailbox. But when I was all set to launch into the newest subject last week, the wedding of Les and Gay went and blew all of my best-laid plans out of the water. That wedding was such an awesome brat. SO here we are, a week late and a holler short, with segment two in my miniseries on nests: BEES!

But not just any bee. There’s a certain type of bee that lives alone and lines its nests with a probably not delicious mud-and-flower-petal sandwich. Yes, scientists call this nest a “flower sandwich.” But this ain’t no Dagwood. The bee bites the petals off flowers (like the one above), and uses them to line its nest, a shallow hole in the ground, where it will lay its egg in a puddle of nectar and pollen. The pretty petals are held together with mud that hardens and protects the growing larva from intruders. These lovely little husks are soft cradles for a baby bee.

What’s crazy is the bee only lives for about a year, 10 months of which are the period spent underground as a larva, tucked inside the petal sandwich, sleeping! Then once it decides it’s time to claw its way above ground, it spends the last two months of its life looking for a place to lay its egg and build its nest, living only to create new life, living solely for its progeny. 

A while ago I stumbled upon these photographs from National Geographic. Apparently nests by the same species were discovered in Turkey and Iran on the same day, but the difference was that the nests from Turkey were made with yellow, pink, blue, and purple petals, and nests from Iran were made with only purple flowers. The scientists were confounded, wondering whether the difference in color choice was because of genetics or population. I think it’s probably more a question of just what’s in the area. You can only choose from what’s available. Case cracked!

- Cathleen

Design Always Repeats Itself

So I blogged about design always repeating itself yesterday with the evolution of the roll-top desk and today I've come across another cool evolution.

Here is a baby cradle designed by Peter Keler in 1922.

We studied this cradle in one of my graduate classes and we all thought it was a cool design but none of us trusted that the whole thing wouldn't just roll over with baby inside. Fast forward....

This is a cradle designed by Nika Zupanc. I love the heart detail—very Arts & Crafts Movement. 

-Grace

Roll Top Desk: An Evolution

I took a class last fall titled Royal Furnishings of Versailles and to this date it has been my very favorite grad school course. My teacher was a French woman who had a very high position within Versailles so she had amazing information as well as photos you might not otherwise see. For example, a lot of furniture within Versailles has moving parts, meaning you turn a crank, and a mirror pops out of what looked like a flat table. My teacher forbade (!) us to use any of her images so the following image is from another source.

This is a desk Louis XV commissioned. Yes, the king who ushered in Rococo which is actually supposed to be called Rocaille. Anyway, back to the desk: this desk was thought to have been started by a craftsman named Oeben who received the commission in 1760. Oeben died in 1763 and his widow, in need of money, married another craftsman named Riesener. Riesener finished the desk and stamped it Riesener. It's technically Transition style, not Rocaille.

The reason I am putting this desk up is because back then the roll-top was a new idea and a way for the owner to keep his papers out on the desk but lock it up so it was still secure. Cool, right? When the roll-top was first invented the technology behind making it was new and revolutionary.

Fast forward to today—I came across this desk by Nika Zupanc and instantly thought of Oeben/Riesener.

Although the owner can't leave their papers sprawled across the desk top, you can still stuff (organized or not) all of your papers in the expanding file folder and then crank it down to be hidden within the top of the desk. Cool, right?

As they say, life always repeats itself. I guess the same can be said about design.

-Grace

Artist of the Week: Rue Five

Rue Five is a young Scottish fellow whose art reminds me of equal parts Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, with a dash of renegade typography and various tribal elements mixed in to taste.

From the look of it (“it” being his website), he makes drawings and paintings mostly, his figures beautifully bruised and rough around the edges, with red stitches holding it all together. And his photography renders everyday moments quiet, whether the camera be focused on friends self-consciously flashing looks at the lens or scraps of daily life—a brick wall, a deli counter, the shingles of a roof.

An exhibition at The Changing Room in Stirling Scotland two years ago was titled How Children Learn and featured work by Rue and another artist named David Galletly. Though I’ve only seen photos of the show online, I was immediately struck by the installation of the work in the gallery space. I really loved how the drawings and photographs were hung salon-style, neatly crowded in the corner, some with old tags trailing from their frames. But the fireplace spewing forth an amazingly marked-up geometric sculpture was absolutely my favorite. Look see:

[All photos courtesy of artist’s website.]

- Cathleen 

Isaac G. Salazar's Book Origami

Artist Isaac Salazar is causing quite a stir among art and craft lovers. His series of book origami is pretty unbelievable!

His work can be found here, here and here. 

-Grace

It’s Finally Legal: Les & Gay Get Married!

This past weekend Micky and I headed upstate to attend the super fun wedding of Lesley Robin and Galen Criscione. The ceremony, reception, and after party (oh yeah!) took place on the gorgeous grounds of Liberty View Farm in Highland, NY. 

The wedding hit all the right high notes. 

It was on an apple farm, so they served yummy chilled (non-hard) cider to guests before the ceremony started, and sent us home with tote bags full of just-picked pommes at night’s end. 

There was an adorable baby in attendance. He wore a tie.

Blog Star Spotted: Kate Miss of For Me, For You fame was the wedding photographer.

There she is on the right. I swear I was trying to capture the pre-wedding scene and 
totally not stalking her and her nice artist husband all night.

Ceremony and after-party decorations (there was a piñata!) were supplied by the so-hot-right-now Confetti System.

The bridesmaids all wore different short dresses in various shades of gray with yellow shoes, while the groomsmen were in gray suits with graphic yellow and white ties.

After the ceremony, we found our table by locating personalized jars with air plants inside, our name tags corresponding to Berkley Illustrations that marked every table (and wedding program). Ours was Betty the Squirrel. She looked ready to party.

Juicy green succulents were prominently featured in all bouquets and centerpieces. 

Bright! colored! beehives! buzzed nearby.

Baby goats were tethered to a tree near the reception tent for photo opps and added cute factor. This one hoof-punched me in the gut right after I took his picture. 

Lesley’s lovely dress was designed by Project Runway winner Leanne Marshall and made with lace from her mother’s wedding dress, a thoughtful nod to "something old."

The after party commenced in a nearby barn where the popcorn machine and dance party popped off (that’s right, I said it) well into the night. DJed in shifts by the brides’ little brother and the couple's friend Ben, I pretty much lost it when he started spinning Stevie Nick’s “Stand Back.”

The whole night was a greatest hits of the best wedding details I’ve ever seen, all pulled together with a really meaningful, personal touch. I was honored to be a part of such a wonderful evening. Mazel Tov, you two!

♥ - Cathleen 

Sew Cool

A blast from the past! This picture was taken with my first fancy digital camera years ago on a trip down to DC to visit my bestie. To this day, it’s one of my favorite photos. I even printed it poster-size and hung it over the futon in my first apartment. I’m still not sure who snapped it—me or Grace—but she was definitely the one who spotted the perfect photo opp through the tailor’s window. We also took a pic of a trashcan full of rotting shrink-wrapped meat, but that’s another story for another time.

I recently spotted this beauty below on Pintrest and then tracked it down on Etsy (seller: misstitchery). Bad news: it sold. Good news? Whoever bought it, paid 68 bucks! Which means better news—I feel like you could totally make your own version for way cheaper. I also thought Grace might get a kick out of a new take on a pretty welcome wreath. Shout out!

I love scallops! From the sea AND as a fashionable trim! I found this tutorial for a REVERSABLE (that’s two! TWO skirts in one!) scalloped skirt on Bored and Crafty and if I ever find a free night, I will make one. (Or two?)

This one isn’t sewing-centric, exactly, but I definitely want to craft a couple of these for the fall. Leave it to Martha to transform something simple into a fresh, sophisticated look for all seasons. I’m thinking maybe a little magenta and navy blue. With perhaps a touch of gray? Oh yeah.

- Cathleen