marine specimens from erin tyner

All this snow has me thinking about the beach, and these marine beauties from Erin Tyner’s etsy shop.

beachcombing collections from quercus design on etsy

I am obsessed with multiples of things, and collections (that’s why I keep making more and more ceramics), and was immediately drawn to this work by Quercus Design. The serenity of the found objects arranged in a grid is soothing to me, like applying order on a chaotic world.

The above images can be purchased from Quercus Design’s Etsy shop.

collections

My friends’ Al and Rachel’s house was recently posted on Apartment Therapy, and I had to share some of my favorite parts: their collections. In fact, Rachel’s nature specimens collection (shown below) started my own.

Their plates collection is inspiring me to do the same...

My favorite collection is the leaves simply mounted on the wall...

See Al and Rachel’s full house tour here, photographed by the talented Sarah Rainwater.

still life saturday with sibella court and the society inc.

All images are from The Society Inc, Sibella Court's prop house.

crocheted

Photographs of collections of crocheted stones and pebbles: unexpected and exquisite. Found here.

fiona watson: collage

Fiona Watson is featured in the latest Uppercase, in an article called Science and Poetry. I love that title. I always thought that there is something poetic about science.

Fiona comes from a background of editing medical journals, and the precision of medicine is evident in her collection of specimens. Fiona photographs her collections, and works them into her prints. To see more of Fiona’s work, click here.

specimen no. 10

I love this image with the small gourd bowl taken by Jen Renninger, one of my favorite illustrators. It speaks to my fascination with collections, and specimens, and cataloging. Jen and I have never met in person, but have exchanged creations and emails. Jen is one of the treasured connections this blog has brought into my life. See more of Jen’s photography here.

one day, a china cabinet from floor to ceiling, like this one...

Photographed by Gregory Krum, at Nymphenburg.

looking for inspiration

After a hectic holiday season, I feel quite burnt out and in desperate need of inspiration. I found the surprising work of Jean Sonnet via ladyanndeborja’s blog. I am ever attracted to multiples, and Jean Sonnet’s work satisfies that fascination. My goal is to make sets in the next year, not necessarily of the same piece, but items that work well together, like the things below. Photographed by Pierrick Verny.

geninne zlatkis’ inspiration board

Via the latest issue of Uppercase Magazine, I found Geninne Zlatki's inspiring studio, and wonderful watercolor illustrations. I love her collections and inspiration boards, click on the images above for a larger view. What beautiful arrangements of natural materials, paintings, photographs and books. Visit Geninne's blog for more of her life and exquisite work.

From Geninne' journal.

Geninne's A to Z of birds.

plate installations

from Atique Plate World

from Apartment Therapy

from Harper's Bazaar

from Nina Invorm

from Design Sponge

from Livingetc

from The New York Times

One day, the big empty blue wall in my kitchen will be filled up with plates, inspired by these wonderful installations.

camilla engman

Has anyone else had a rough September? Mine has been one of the toughest months ever. Today I am only looking at things that make me happy, and Camilla Engman's work is exactly that. I am a fan of her "Collections" series, but there is so so much more on her website, camillaengman.com.

From Camilla's bio: "Camilla Engman grew up in a small Swedish town named Trollhättan. This is where she began looking at life from a perspective that most of us see only momentarily, and just a few are able to record."

Camilla's blog is also a treat.