Anthropologie Love.

There really is nothing better than a great strapless dress 

that nips in at the waist.

It's feminine.

It's classic.

It's flattering.

It's my favourite silhouette.

Anthropologie has some really great ones right now.

Now if only it were summer.....

RANT.

OK. So this post is the first of its nature.  I am feeling slightly annoyed with my situation.  I think a rant is in order.  This is not the type of blog for rants, I know, so I will keep it short and to the point.


I graduated from the University of Ottawa last April with a major in Visual Arts and a minor in English.  It took a lot of money and hard work to accomplish this.  I worked 30 hours a week during all of this, as well as sacrificed going away to school (York), to save money.


Now it has been a year and a half and I still don't have a job.  I mean I have a job, but it is my "summer full-time job" continued.


My original plan when enrolling in University was to go to Teachers College when I graduated.  But I have decided that, as of right now, there is no point.  We, as young and hopeful things, were told that there would be teaching jobs up the wazzoo when we graduated because of all of the baby boomers retiring.


But this, unfortunately, is not the case.  And when this big influx of people retiring happens, it still won't matter because there are so many people that have jumped on this "opportunity" that there will be an abundance of overqualified people already ahead of me.


So the question is: NOW WHAT?


There are only so many jobs you can get with a degree in Visual Arts.  And of those few, most (curating jobs especially) require a masters or a degree in arts administration.  Then there are jobs for the Government (Canada Council for Art, National Gallery of Canada) which require full bilingualism and tons of experience.


So I have decided to try and bight the bullet and get an administrative job so that my husband and I can at least start saving for a house.  With a University Degree and plenty of work experience, you would think that this wouldn't be a problem.....


Well..... It is.


I am an educated, talented, motivated individual and I can't even get a job as a receptionist?


People are constantly saying that we haven't really been affected by this so called "recession" but I have applied for as many jobs as possible in this past year and a half and I have only gotten a hand full of interviews....


The other issue, I suppose, is that Ottawa only has jobs for you if you want to work in the Government.  And if you want to work for the government you either need to know someone who already works there or you work temp. contracts for minimum wage.


I'll be honest.  I was glad to be done school so that I can start my career in the "real world" but now I see why there are so many over educated people in my generation.  When there are no real jobs in your career it seems like a good idea to go back and get even more qualified.  Then people are coming out of school when they're thirty with a boat load of debt and still no job.  Then its even harder for you to get approved for a mortgage and you might end up working farther into your old age...


I suppose I didn't keep it that short.


Bottom line.....anyone want to give a girl a JOB?  (Or do I need to move to Toronto....)

Rant. Over.

Umbrella Art Installations.

SO while I was putting together my 

AMAZING BUILDING MODIFICATION INSTALLATIONS 

post I had come across, and featured,

 "Discarded Umbrella Installation" at Channel 4 Building in London.  

This artwork inspired me to find more umbrella based installations.  

Who knew umbrellas could be so interesting?

“Cumulus Light Canopy” by Steven Haulenbeek uses white photographers’ translucent “shoot-through” umbrellas to create variously sized configurations of umbrella lighting.

The “Parasol Project” by Jo Ann Fleischhauer is a spectacular installation with a deeper meaning: the artist chose to contrast how emotions are portrayed in modern times versus the Victorian Era. The images on the parasols, which mimic floral designs, are actually colour-infused Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) - contemporary emotional representations - while the parasols themselves represent the desires of women in Victorian times, who used parasols to convey unspoken emotions to men.

The Umbrella installation in Melbourne mall has little details to be found on the web.

The clustering of the black umbrellas are quite ominous when viewed from above or below.

"The Umbrellas" by Christo and Jean-Claude, which finally came to fruition in 1991, was an international affair, with 1,760 yellow umbrellas set up in Gorman, California and 1,340 blue umbrellas erected in Ibaraki, Japan. The total project cost was $26 million, and it attracted 3 million people from around the world.

"Umbrella Installation" by Ingo Maure at the entrance by Ingo Maurer (design week in Milan 2007).

"Bloom" by Sam Spenser mimics a tree blooming with giant yellow blossoms.

A man leaves a house in Zurich, the outside of which has become an art project of Swiss group Syntosil.

This Umbrella installation in Greece, with its tall translucent umbrella trees, is very striking.


-all info via ssubzzero.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Here's a few pics of some wicked

CHRISTMAS DECOR

to get you in the Christmas Spirit....

Yay :)

Pictures that make me smile. Part 2

More pictures that make me happy and tug at my 

HEART STRINGS :) 

happy birthday

misty magic

perfect petals

lanters light the way

candy christmas trees

fluffy fashion

snow white city

pink paridise

follow the lighted snow

I love Christmas.

Flying Lanterns...

Can I just say that I WISH that I had discovered these before our wedding.

I would have DEFINITELY made these my favours. 

I realize that nobody would get to take them home.  

BUT they would have had a chance to take part in an 

amazingly STUNNING visual experience.  

They would have taken home the MEMORY.

inspiration

Flying Lanterns otherwise known as Khoom Fay in the Asian culture were used next to fireworks in traditional Asian festivals for thousands of years. Paper lanterns were used to celebrate the Chinese New Year and as a signaling device. Countless were launched to rid the people of their worries and to decorate the city’s sky with light. The flame would symbolize knowledge and wisdom.
-flyingchineselanterns.com

The visual impact that these lanterns make when released 

in multiples is BREATHTAKING!

This idea is so up my alley....you have no idea.

The otherworldliness.

 The Whimsy.

The Grandeur.

Just amazing.

Recent Style Choices. (December)

So as an update to my previous post about wearing the clothes I have, here are some of the outfits I put together recently....

I wish I remembered to take pictures more but alas I am absent-minded...

and I will try to take better pictures next time....

with a camera that isn't in my phone :)

To go to a Sunday Brunch with friends...

To go to an Interview...

To go get some Christmas Shopping done...

Out and about Running Errands....

Amazing Building Modification Installations!!!

Wrapped Reichstag by Christo

In 1995, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the entire Reichstag building in Germany with more than 100,000 meters of fireproof polypropylene fabric. The building, which housed the first parliament of the German Empire until it was severely damaged in 1933, had stood in ruins for decades and became a symbol for a divided Germany. The ‘Wrapped Reichstag’ installation was only up for two weeks, but drew five million visitors. Onlookers described it alternately as ethereal and graceful during the day, but ominous at night.

Discarded Umbrella Installation at Channel 4 Building in London

Artist Stephanie Imbeau came up with a strikingly creative idea to win Channel 4’s BIG4 public art competition. Her entry, ‘Shelter’, was an installation that involved constructing blocks of illuminated discarded umbrellas. Though unconnected, when viewed from a certain angle the blocks appeared as the number ‘4’. The installation stood in front of the Channel 4 building in London in March of 2009.

Tentacle Building Installation

An artist calling himself ‘FilthyLuker’ installed inflatable octopus tentacles in the windows of an unnamed building in June of 2009, making it appear as if the building is being devoured by a bright green kraken that somehow emerged from the sea and got stuck inside.

Erwin Wurm’s House Attack

In 2006, artist Erwin Wurm had an art exhibit at Austria’s MUMOK (Museum Moderner Kunst), displaying work that was often architectural in nature such as ‘fat houses’. Outside the building, the theme continued with an installation called ‘House Attack’ – an actual house imbedded in the museum’s roof.

Inversion Tunnel House

People passing by this building in Houston may have wondered whether it had suddenly turned into a black hole, or was the setting of some kind of explosion that defies the laws of physics. In fact, the strange tunnel was an art installation called ‘Inversion’ by Dan Havel and Dean Ruck, which was created just before the building was due to be torn down and replaced with a larger structure. The tunnel actually goes all the way through the building, ending in a private courtyard.

Turning the Place Over by Richard Wilson

In Liverpool, a former Yates Wine Lodge building sat empty and decaying for years until Richard Wilson, one of Britain’s most renowned sculptures, decided to make use of it for a project called ‘Turning the Place Over’. Wilson turned it into a piece of public art, cutting an oval from the exterior on one side and making it oscillate in three dimensions within the cutout. The artist, whose work is often inspired by engineering and construction, used a giant rotator usually used in the shipping and nuclear industries to keep the façade revolving.

Reflecting Light at Clark Shoes Headquarters by ROSO

“Light is only seen when reflected.” That is the observation that inspired an art installation called ‘Light’ by Studio ROSO for the Clarks Shoes headquarters in England. The work, situated in the communal courtyard in the center of the office building complex, consisted of mirrors strung from one end of the courtyard to the other. The strands of mirrors, organized into two ‘beams of light’, create a dynamic, ever-changing space as the wind and light changes throughout each day and as seasons pass.

1600 Empty Chairs

To some people, this art installation is nothing but a bunch of stacked cast-off chairs. But to Doris Salcedo, each of the 1600 chairs precariously balanced upon each other between two buildings in Istanbul stands for a victim of mass violence in her home country of Colombia. Salcedo wanted to commemorate anonymous victims, portraying their loss through empty chairs in a visual that resembles a mass grave. The installation was created for the 8th Instanbul Biennale in 2003.


All info courtesy of WEB URBANIST

Gorgeous Dress!!!

I didn't really intend to dedicate an entire post to a singular 

dress but.....Well I couldn't think of anything 

else I wanted to lump it in with.

But I still had to share....because.... 

I am crazy about this dress!!!!

There is something about it that has completely 

captured my attention.

I love the combination of 

APPLE RED and cotton COTTON CANDY PINK

and of sheer and opaque.

Christina Ricci....who knew?