George Santayana

So horrendous… I think I might be  in love.

of the sea….is it because a little piece of me lives off the coast of California or because these creatures are so vaginally reminiscent? Either way, the salty winds of the sea have filled the sails of my soul and I find my fingers tracing out the tiny cups of tentacles and wedging out caves of seashells from cold grey clay as my spirit yerns to be in another place…..so far away from here.

Aren’t terrariums magical. Apothecary jars, old medicine bottles, or glass candy jars; the more peculiar, the better. I think they have a certain old fashioned appeal. A little ecosystem inside a bottle, how whimsical.

viva la France

Before David Bowie donned one of these in Labyrinth or The Knife made them look so sexy, the peasants and well to dos of 13th century Venice is credited for making these fabulous masks more than just a evening accessory. The traditional Venetian mask was formed from paper and made to conceal the wearer’s identity as they went about their daily tasks. So popular that all of society, from the brothel to the grand ball, wore a mask to create an un-biased perception of the individual in the community as a whole. This allowed a rich businessman to pay a pauper’s price at the market. Business could be carried on outside of the public eye, thus creating a flurry of debauchery of which Europe had never seen the likes of. Gambling, prostitution, public intoxication, and homosexuality (oh, my) became common practice by even members of a holy rank. Such lavish and lewed indulgences couldn’t last forever. A decision was finally made to ban the wearing of masks throughout most of the year, permitting it only in a three month period onward from the 26th of December. Today this practice has devolved into what we call Mardi Gras.