http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:38:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/diego-gravinese-wei-koh-and-coincidences http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/diego-gravinese-wei-koh-and-coincidences#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:21:11 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=2109

I was in New York a few weeks ago and went to the Greenwich Hotel to meet up with my friend, Wei, who was in town for a few days. Wei and I met in college and have remained friends ever since despite dating for three years, a breakup and distance (he now lives in Singapore). Anyway, while we were catching up, Wei mentioned how he’d just been to Argentina on business and had a meeting with an artist there he really likes, Diego Gravinese. At which point I got really excited, because I really like Diego Gravinese’s art a lot, too. So much so that I wrote about him in this blog in the spring. Cllick here to read my pithy blog post. Coincidences are a little magical. So are Diego Gravinese’s paintings. Gravinese was born in La Plata Argentina in 1971. He is a wonderfully talented photo-realistic painter, combining consummate skill, a unique perspective and a quirky sense of humor, to create paintings you wish you could visit. I especially like his work from the 2009-2010 and 2000-2001 time periods, some of which are featured to the left. I hope you like them, too.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/diego-gravinese-wei-koh-and-coincidences/feed 0 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/photos/flower-x-rays http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/photos/flower-x-rays#comments Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:50:28 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1958

Just in case you couldn’t tell, the photograph to the left is an x-ray of flowers… The artist, Hugh Turvey, first used this technique as a favor to a musician friend who needed an image for an album cover. Since then he has shot x-rays of everyday objects. To great effect, I think. Turvey claims to be fascinated with getting underneath the surface of things. He’s curious and likes to explore. So do I… To check out more of his work, click here.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/photos/flower-x-rays/feed 0 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/diego-gravinese http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/diego-gravinese#comments Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:34:35 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1838

Diego Gravinese was born in La Plata, Argentina and currently lives in Buenos Aires, a place I was going to visit a few weeks ago. Buenos Aires is beautiful. So are Diego’s photo-realistic oil paintings. Check them out here.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/diego-gravinese/feed 0 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/whimsy/josh-finkle-wooden-creations http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/whimsy/josh-finkle-wooden-creations#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:06:43 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1827

Josh Finkle makes handcrafted wooden toys, tables, chess pieces and hooks to hang things on. I like these toys based on recently extinct animals. They sure have lots of attitude.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/whimsy/josh-finkle-wooden-creations/feed 0 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/vermont-ennui http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/vermont-ennui#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:18:37 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1791

I was away from Vermont for a week and had THE BEST time. I really needed to get away. I was drowning in ennui. I guess, some people get comfort from doing the same things week in and week out. I’m beginning to realize that I am not one of those people. AT ALL. Or at the very least, I need lots of variety to challenge me and keep my brain moving and I’ve not been getting much of that for the last 4 months or so… Ugh. I think I might start a group on meetup.com for people to brainstorm ways to make Burlington more livable, vibrant and INTERESTING. Otherwise, I can’t imagine staying here for much longer. I NEED AMUSEMENT, PEOPLE. And my play-doh and coloring books aren’t cutting it any more… When I saw this drawing by Natalie Dee I burst out laughing.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/self/vermont-ennui/feed 1 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/corey-smith http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/corey-smith#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:34:38 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1602

Corey Smith is a painter, sculptor and photographer from Portland, Oregon, who currently resides in Los Angeles. He has received two death threats via email and has a dog named Marcel Duchamp.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/corey-smith/feed 0 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/style/pretty http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/style/pretty#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:41:28 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1573

Pretty. Weird.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/style/pretty/feed 1 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/spinning-stop-world http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/spinning-stop-world#comments Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:57:44 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1338

You know when you wake up the “next morning” and realize how drunk you were the night before? Here are some examples of messages I sent friends last night: - Drunk boys are pink. - Meat Lover’s pizza at Juniors has 5 meats. - The lack of Battlestar watching has nothing whatsoever to do with brotherhood. Just lamehood. - Did you know you are not a marsupial? (I was sober for that one, but…) Why do 3 shots of tequila sometimes hit you like 8? My friend, Triple Threat, shared a link with me about Hyper-Realistic Sculpture. This over-sized head by Ron Mueck seemed most fitting for right now. More to follow…

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/spinning-stop-world/feed 2 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/stave-hand-made-wooden-jigsaw-puzzles http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/stave-hand-made-wooden-jigsaw-puzzles#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:13:53 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=1273

I spent the weekend working on a very cool, very difficult, very addictive jigsaw puzzle by a company called Stave Puzzles. Stave is located in Norwich, Vermont, and has been crafting hand-made jigsaw puzzles since 1974. Each cherry-backed puzzle is hand-cut, one piece at a time, by a skilled craftsperson. Stave also creates custom, personalized puzzles. If you send in a copy of your favorite print, Stave can make a puzzle out of it, and can customize the puzzle further by cutting almost any shape, name or message into the puzzle. Customers have used puzzles to propose marriage and commemorate other special events. The drawback? These puzzles are PRICEY. They start at $125 for a minuscule puzzle; the more elaborate, larger puzzles can exceed $5000. Regardless, check out the Website and if you do get a chance to play with a Stave puzzle, relish it. Jigsaw puzzles don’t get any cooler.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/stave-hand-made-wooden-jigsaw-puzzles/feed 0 http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/weird-japanese-stuff http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/weird-japanese-stuff#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:19:30 +0000 admin http://www.whyilovevermont.com/?p=908

Kazuki Takamatsu is a Japanese artist who mixes traditional and modern techniques. He uses gouache (hand painted, monochrome-based objects) and “Depth Map” (a technique where every pixel on the object is a shade of gray that is proportional to its distance from the object looking at it). These two techniques give a sense of surrealism and depth. Looking at his work is like looking at a silent scream or ghosts from some other dimension. It’s calming and chilling at the same time. Click here to see his Website.

]]> http://www.thingsithinkarecool.com/art/weird-japanese-stuff/feed 0