Saturday, December 27, 2008

Vintage Snowmen




Boingboing blogged the Smithsonian Magazine article called "Snowmen Gone Wild" . There are some fabulous vintage images in the photo gallery that illustrates the article. Check it out! And...I found the above images on flickr thanks to jijen (bottom card)and chicks57. The snowman is a wonderfully warm fellow who deserves a hug, even though he is made of ice and snow.

Friday, December 26, 2008

A Ukulele Story

"The Creature" by Amy Crehore
Someone nice wrote this on his blog the other day:

"I found a ukulele in the thrift shop in P'aia a couple of weeks ago. Well, actually, Carl found it, and told me where it was, but that is another story (like, who is Carl?). I've really been enjoying it, been playing it more than my guitar. I really enjoy playing for my students in yoga class, and I adore the portability aspect. I'm also kind of into this artist I discovered on 'boing boing', Amy Crehore. There is a print called 'The Creature" in the back of the yoga studio that she painted. It is a gentle fantasy set in an apparent island paradise, tucked away in a valley. Two beautiful, brown skinned women sit at the edge of a clear blue pool. Both nude except for hibiscis flowers in their hair, one holds a monkey in her lab while the other plays a ukulele! Oh, and the uke player has a tail. I imagine that she is the creature, as the other two characters eye her curiously as she strums away on her little instrument. A remarkable depiction of magic and wonder, which also happen to be two of my favorite things. Cool thing is, I liked her art even before I started playing uke, I don't think it even registered in my mind that it was an ukulele in the print until I started writing this post. Trippy. Amy is having a show in Los Angeles in February/March, called "Dreamgirls and Ukes". If you happen to be in LA, and make it to the show, send me a postcard, would you?"
Here's the blog: The Main Line Sutras
(thanks!)

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Royalties for Leonard for Christmas

Number 1, number 2 and number 36 on the charts in the UK!
Leonard Cohen's song, Hallelujah. (read article)
Leonard singing:

Tangle-Foot Rag


Tangle-Foot Rag
Originally uploaded by wackystuff
The cat's face is a killer.
More sheet music covers
at flickr...follow link.

a,b,c,d,e,f, & g


abcdefg
Originally uploaded by laamish
Photo of the day from the collection of
Mark Lowrie.
Check out Mark's great photo
sculptures on flickr of western scenes!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Ukulele Headstock Art by Amy Crehore








Here is a sneak peek at some drawings from my sketchbook of some of the designs on the headstocks of ukes in my upcoming show at Thinkspace in L.A. (Feb. 13, 2009). Also, if you missed it, there is a new interview with me at Sadie Magazine . I'm wishing everyone out there safe and Happy Holidays!