Doll Limb Art and Altered Barbies. The Wonderfully Weird Work of Deborah Colotti.

above: The Body Bureau by Deborah Colotti

above: A Lawn of Legs by Deborah Colotti

A few of my favorite textiles, installations, assemblages and altered Barbies by artist Deborah Colotti of Sebastopol.

Deborah describes herself and her assemblages as follows:
"I am angry. I am hopeful. I am cynical, yet full of humor. Whereas my working environment is surrounded by vast natural vistas for peaceful appreciation, my studio is loaded with objects and references gathered for their qualitative symbolism, as well as their emotive and aesthetic appeal. My mind roams around seeking connections between the absurd and the commonplace that I then pare down to essential personal and social symbols. As I arrange and rearrange the objects layered meanings are revealed and developed."

Assemblages/ Sculptures:

The Hunters:

A Slice of Boyhood:

Spinal(and detail):

A Tree of Limbs:


Installations:



above: wireframes with doll limbs for installations Lawn of Legs and Circle of Legs.
Circle of Legs:

Mannequin Territory:


Christie Tweet:

Christine Tweet (detail):

Jaws and Barbs:



For many years, she has toyed with the Barbie icon. In 1996, she began the ongoing series "the Barbs". To date, she have created over 150 interpretations of Barb in the real world. Here are some of my favorite from her Barbs collection:

The Barbs

A Gun of Barb's:

Barbie Virus 3:

Leggy Goggles:

Barbie Legs Mirror (straight):

Barbie Legs Mirror (bent):

Poop'd Barbie:

Harem Boy with Bra of Nails:

Barbie Trinity:


Her textile works integrate obsolete and broken items from her own household (especially toys), hand-me-rounds from her family, and discards from her friends.

Textiles

Ladies:

I Am An Animal:

Mom and Another Birthday Cake:

Conversations with father:

See more of her work at her website

The Modern M. Liminal Grand Piano by NYT Line and Philippe Gendre for Fazioli.

The music of shape and the design of sound are created in the M. Liminal model, designed by NYT Line and Philippe Gendre for Italian piano makers Fazioli.
 Just as consonance and dissonance are organized in music, M. Liminal's shapes and colors are combined in asymmetric but orderly designs.





Inspired by the sea, the shape of the side evokes the profile of a wave while the black-silver color that of a dolphin.
 The red of the soundboard and black of the cast iron frame filter through the transparency of the plexiglas music stand.











The M. Liminal in situ:


About Fazioli


The Fazioli Company has produced grand and concert-grand pianos since 1981, when the company was founded by pianist and engineer Paolo Fazioli. Each instrument is individually handcrafted combining high quality materials with the finest workmanship and technology.

The Fazioli factory is located in Sacile, 60 Km (35 miles) northeast of Venice in the northeastern part of Italy. The area is renowned for an ancient and prestigious tradition in woodworking.

Fazioli

Fazioli Pianoforti s.r.l.
Via Ronche, 47 - 33077 Sacile (PN)
Tel. +39.0434.72026
info@fazioli.com

Speak Softly and Carry a Vlieger & Vandam Bag. The 2012 Guardian Angel Collection.

I stumbled upon the amazing weapon embossed Guardian Angel bags from Vlieger and Vandam back in 2005 when they were made of felted wool (below). The brand and their collection has grown and become more sophisticated in the past few years.


above: The 2005 V&V Guardian Angel Bags were made with embossed wool

Now made with fine aniline leathers from the greenest tannery in the world (Hulshof Royal Dutch Tanneries) and handmade embossing in the Netherlands, the Guardian Angel line includes structured and soft bags for both men and women, clutches, attache cases, wallets and iPad cases.



above: the metal embossing is done by hand using tools like the stamping gun shown above in the Netherlands



above: their newest collection is now lined with a silkscreen printed fabric of guns and knives

For their Autumn Winter 2012 Collection they have introduced three two-toned Classic (structured) Guardian Angel Handbags with detachable straps in Brown/Pink, Brown/Grey and Black/White leather:




New for 2012 are large and small soft versions of their Guardian Angel bags in black, brown or grey leather with detachable leather straps:



Unisex Guardian Angel attachés and shoulder bags in black, brown and grey leather for 2012:



The 2012 Guardian Angel clutches come in three styles (handcuffs, gun and knife) and black, brown or grey leather online. The gold, silver and blackened detachable chains are sold separately.

Other clutches in colored suede are new for 2012 but not available in their online store (yet):



iPad cases in Guardian Angel (black leather) or cracked screen (black leather):


Gun stamped zippered wallets and billfolds for 2012:



The Guardian Angel bags are popular among celebs like Fergie Rhianna and Rumor Willis (shown below carrying her large soft black Guardian Angel bag):


In addition to their Guardian Angel line, they make other stunning totes and handbags, small leather goods and scarves.




Vlieger and Vandam

Cartier Premieres Gorgeous Short Film, L'Odyssee de Cartier, A Visual History of The Brand.

Carter has been airing this three and a half minute commercial, L'Odyssée de Cartier, which is a beautiful three and a half minute film consisting of seven chapters, shot by Bruno Aveillan for the luxury brand.



The new Cartier film, which took two years to make, is a journey between dream and reality and the very first time Cartier has decided to create a cinema epic focusing on its 165 year history, its values and inspiration, its artistic and universal scope. The lush visual story features the Panther, the historical icon of the House of Cartier.








The dedicated website features the seven chapters of the brand's Odyssey film, the making of, information about the musical score and other bonus features. Learn how they trained the three panthers and other interesting information at their site.



L'Odyssee de Cartier