SHATTER ME THIS

Photographer Martin Klimas is the creative mind behind these photos. He was able to capture these images by having his camera rigged to be triggered by the sound of the breaking porcelain. Very impressive!

ARTSY ILLUSIONS

I have seen a couple photos of projects like these floating around. Figured it was time to rep on here. I pulled these off a photo blog so it didn't have too much info along with it. Whoever the artist may be they are doing a fine job at it!

BEHIND MGM

A little history for you! Those are some nice up close and personal shots with the lions. Not sure if I could be as calm as they look to be.

VINTAGE CHILDREN'S BOOKS

What a gem! I just came across this blog "Vintage Children's Books My Kid Loves". During my - for now - short visit I checked out a post on a book titled "This is New York" by M. Sasek ~ W.H. Allen in 1960. Right away I fell in love with the illustrations! Some people just get it right, ya know? So anyways of course now you also get to enjoy some of them. And don't forget to go take a look at that blog!

via: www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com

HAPPY 100TH ARIZONA

Well, come to find out, today is also the 100th birthday of my home state Arizona! While there are endless aesthetically pleasing photos that represent AZ, I chose this one for a couple reasons. First because it triggers memories of the seemingly endless patch of desert behind my first home growing up. Second because the gorgeous - dare I say unbeatable - color filled sunsets that go on down there. If you have never been you should take a trip, it'll be worth it. Here is to 100 more years!

VALENTINE'S DAY

Just a little illustration I put together. Don't feel alone this year, remember you can always give yourself a hug! Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are a couple more images I found involving good ol' V-Day.

THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR MORRIS LESSMORE

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

My brother brought this video to my attention. He sure does know how to pick 'em! Presenting the first video on Andy Avenue - the quite enjoyable and very well done - "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" by Moonbot Studios.

Do you remember the title?!

PHOTO DAY

Just some random photos I ran into over this last week. Always good to have something nice to look at as we get back to the work week.

HAND PAINTINGS

Received an email from my sister with a link to this artists site, Guido Daniele. Really impressive if I do say so! A lot more works on his site - link below.

via: www.guidodaniele.com

ART OF LIVING

By the oh so talented Grant Snider. Interesting fact, Grant is going to school to be a dentist... hopefully this doesn't stop him from doing these wonderful little comics! Check out more of his work at the below link.

via: www.thoughtballoonhelium.blogspot.com

MONT SAINT MICHEL

An aerial view shows Mont-Saint-Michel, a tourist attraction and Unesco World Heritage site, in northwestern France.

Forget how I got there but somehow landed in the "Photo Journal" section of "The Wall Street Journal" website. This image was deemed one of the picture of the day for Feb. 2nd. I thought it was quite beautiful. I also need-ed to get past my no post thing going on the last couple days.

QUILLED ANATOMY

These amazing anatomical cross sections of the human body are done by Lisa Nilsson. They are created using rolled pieces of Japanese mulberry paper. And to top it off, she also makes the display boxes they are in. Imagine the dedication this process takes!

Via: www.thisiscolossal.com

Artist Website - www.lisanilssonart.com

GROUNDHOG DAY

Happy Groundhog Day! I had this idea in my head, plus I wanted to play around with some new mediums - watercolor & ink - the above is what came of it. Here is to no shadow and a short wait for Spring!

INTERESTING

I shared this on my Facebook page so you may have seen this via that just yesterday. I like it and figured it was a good piece to also share on here. So if you haven't had a chance to check it out, now's the time to enjoy!

"In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about four minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At ten minutes, a three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At forty-five minutes: The musician played continuously. Only six people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made… How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?" 

VIDEO