can you believe these beautiful objects are grains of sand? photographed through a microscope by artist gary greenberg, they are fantastic images. oh, the tiny beauties in this world we brush off our feet at the end of a day at the beach! you can view a large collection of the images here and read more about his body of microscopic images here.

thanks to one of my very favorite bloggers, kirsty hall, at up all night again, for the link. 

A blog housekeeping note. I've finally cleaned up my categories in the side bar, so now you can browse by subject and by (organized) month. The search feature is pretty fun, too. And, in case you haven't noticed yet, I've also added a few new sections on the bottom of the navigation bar. a food for thought section, with books I'm either currently reading or have found thought-provoking in the past. a films that inspire me section, with the films that have color and light( and perhaps a story too) that haunt me. and last, a what i'm listening to in my studio section, with the albums in most recent heavy rotation listed. I hope you enjoy them! 

this illustrated poem is a very early inspiration, from one of the first books i remember being read to me, at grandma's house in the country. this piece is part of the lovely circa 1950 book, the tall book of make-believe and was illustrated by the incomparable garth williams. his later work includes the little house in the big woods book series. i am lucky enough to own the tattered copy that once filled my many happy hours at my grandparent's farm. but if you seek one for yourself, they now sell on ebay in the $300 range! the entire book is filled with treasures, magical stories and marvelous illustrations.

the little cup image has long been returning in my work; be it jewelry, paintings or sculpture & installation. i trace the affection for that cup form to this very illustration. below, the little cup you get to wear on your finger. available, of course, in my shop, right here.

many thanks to the wonderful denise at d sharp journal for showing vintage book illustrations this week. if you haven't gone to visit her blog in a while, take a trip over there now, she always inspires!

as you may know, i find inspiration all around me. in nature, poking into corners of the world via the internet and often, in the people that come into my life.

this week, i had the deep pleasure of meeting shauna james ahern, who writes the marvelous blog, gluten-free girl. she's just published her very first book, pictured above. shauna's been a blogging crush of mine for months now and i was thrilled to meet her in person at piece of cake bakery in sellwood. she's currently on book tour and you can check her whole schedule here. if you can catch her and the chef (her husband) hosting a cooking class near you -go!

reading shauna's words at the blog, gluten-free girl, is a regular shot of inspiration on how to live, love, how to eat healthy while still experiencing the sensuality of food and most of all, how to say yes. yes to life and yes to taking leaps of faith, yes to trusting your gut and yes to feeding yourself well on every level. if the blog is the window into her world, the book is that door thrown wide open. her book is delicious reading and i highly recommend it. shauna is a marvel of a storyteller and offers something satisfying to all, even if gluten allergies are not your issue. 

i've been endlessly inspired as a writer, a blogger and as a sometime food photographer, by shauna's work. i suspected as much as much for a long while, but now meeting shauna, and then diving into her wonderful book, i quickly realize she's a kindred spirit. i was that same teenage girl, curled up with a good book and dreaming about writing one of my own someday. on her blog, shauna is able to strike a lovely balance of contagious optimism and a frank sharing of the struggles involved with taking the risks required to live a life worth living. a full life as an independent writer, a new wife, a gluten-free girl blooming with good health.

bravo, shauna! on the new book and the very best of wishes for a successful book tour. i'll be reading and playing with the recipes...

i recently rediscovered an old friend and i am thrilled! years ago in a metals class, i was introduced to this book, art forms in nature. it is a dover press reproduction of a beautiful collection of black and white prints from ernst haeckel, noted german biologist, originally published in 1904. i find his illustrations of sea life forms in particular to be endlessly inspiring. otherworldly, odd, from the microscopic to the massive octopus. the skeletal shapes of the protozoa group are so perfect in their architecture, i am humbled. this color illustration is from the cover and the book contains all of the original 100 plates.