The Beautifully Ethereal, Surreal Work Of Artist Chiara Fersini aka Himitsuhana.

If Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Julia Margaret Cameron, Maxfield Parrish and Mark Ryden had a baby (or spliced their genes together), it would be Chiara Fersini.



The 27 year old Italian visual artist who is also known by the name of her site, Himitsuhana, only recently became interested in photography after a 2007 trip to Japan. A self-proclaimed "lover of photoshop," Chiara transforms her photographs into surreal, ethereal portraits. The sensual and spiritual imagery is full of romance and mystery. In many instances, the photographs look like paintings and several are self-portraits. While her images are reminiscent of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and photography, they have an edge, contemporizing them.



Chiara says her work is more than just a passion for photography and digital manipulation, but reveals her inner emotions and dreams, making them very personal. I'm only glad, she's willing to share them with us. Fiercely copyright protected, I received written permission from Chiara to share the images in this post with you.





















About the artist:


"My aim is to portray every single glance of the human soul and encourage people to dream and never stop believing in dreams."-- Chiara Fersini

Chiara Fersini (b. 1986) took a degree in Foreign Languages, English and Japanese. Since she was a child she was surrounded by art. Her mother, a painter and decorator, handed down to her the love for beauty and encouraged her inclination for visual arts. Her interest for photography is very recent; it started out after a study journey in Japan in 2007 and grew faster and faster coinciding with a falling in love with Photoshop. But photography is not just a passion for Chiara, it is the best way to show that intricate world that she feels inside. She put into her works her fears, dreams, her sorrow and joy and seeing them happening into images is a manner to feel free.

Himitsuhana Photography

The following links contain much of her work and on some, prints can be purchased:
Saatchi Online
Flickr
Red Bubble
Blue Canvas
Carbonmade

all images in this post are ©chiara fersini and may not be reproduced without her permission

Corporate States of America by Steve Lovelace

After writing an article about corporate feudalism, writer, artist and photographer Steve Lovelace took it upon himself to map out, subjectively, each state within the US and the corresponding corporations he felt best represented that state and the inhabitants within.



The visuals above illustrate his hypothesis that "that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks."

Steve describes the project as follows:

"This is a map of “The Corporate States of America”. For each of the fifty states (and the District of Columbia), I selected a corporation or brand that best represented the states.

My criteria are subjective, but in each case, I tried to use a brand that a) is based in that state and b) is still in business (as of 2012). I created this map after writing an article about corporate feudalism. My hypothesis is that, as corporations and non-governmental organizations grow in power, the power of nation states will become increasingly irrelevant. We’re already seeing this on a small scale, as people turn to the Internet to make friends, instead of befriending their neighbors. I think that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks.

One thing I discovered while writing this article is that corporations are not evenly distributed across the country. Some states, such New Mexico, Alaska, Montana and West Virginia, simply do not host many big corporations. Others host so many that choosing one was difficult. In these cases, I went with the company that I though best represented the state, rather than the biggest or most notorious. Hence, I used Dr Pepper for Texas instead of ExxonMobil."

Steve Lovelace

House Lamps by Architect Lauren Daley.

Lauren Daley, a San Francisco Bay Area architect is the creator of my new wish list item, the House-Lamp. She started creating the House-Lamps to combine a couple of her greatest joys: making things with her own two hands and architectural design. After being successfully funded on Kickstarter, Daley is now selling three models of these hand-crafted, architecturally inspired luminaries.



Each House-Lamp is lovingly crafted by using a combination of high tech CNC and laser cutting machines and more traditional woodworking skills. Every component of the lamp is hand finished including the bases, wiring, and model. This creates an elegant and precise lamp with a lot of hand crafted charm.

The lamps have a standard bulb with a shade for tasks done at your desk, bedside reading, and everyday use. The houses are illuminated with an led bulb and are more decorative, acting as a perfect night light.

There are 3 main designs available and each is available with either a solid wood base or a plywood base with a natural finish:

The Eco Style House Lamp:


With laser etched photo voltaic panels that tilt towards the sun, louvered windows, and exposed beams, this house evokes a simple and environmentally aware lifestyle.




The Bungalow Style House Lamp:


With a welcoming front porch, a warm hearth, and quaint windows, this is a cozy house. One could envision this in the rustic woods or sited on a tree-lined street.




The Modern Style House Lamp:


In the office or at home, this lamp shines. Sleek with character, clean, and contemporary. This house glows at two levels with its laser etched outdoor balcony.




Each design can come as a combination illuminated house + task lamp, or just a stand alone illuminated house.

Sizes:

Each House-Lamp is approximately 18” tall, 14” long, and 7-1/4” wide. The sizes of each house model varies with the design style, averaging about 5-1/2” tall, 8-1/2” long, and 5-1/2” wide. The shades measure 9" in diameter. Because the lamps are hand made, slight dimensional variations occur.

The three lamps cost $250 each and can be pre-ordered here.

Just The Houses
If you just want a beautiful illuminated house, without the desk lamp and shade, then you will want to check out the lamps that are simply the architectural models. The three house styles come without the task lamp as an option:



These three houses can be made on either the stained, plain solid wood base or you can get them on the birch plywood base. The houses are lit with an LED bulb just like the House-Lamps shown above. The only difference is that you won’t have the task lamp and shade.




Model kits of DIY houses are also available on the House Lamp site.

It's a Treehouse. It's a Brewery. It's The Treehouse Brewing Company.

The other night I was watching Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet and caught an episode where Pete Nelson and his crew from Nelson Treehouse and Supply were constructing a 200 foot treehouse that would function as a brewery tasting site for the craft-beer loving folks who own The Mohican Cabins and The Grand Barn, a popular wedding venue in Ohio.



Nelson's team, along with three Amish Carpenters, took four weeks to construct the 200 square foot treehouse. Suspended 22 feet off the ground, the charming micro-brewery has a 40 foot extension bridge that leads you to the front door.




The treehouse was designed to look like an old Ohio barn from the 1800s, painted bright red and outfitted with a $10,000 Gothic stained glass window.




Inside, a custom bar was designed with old wine barrels, a fully functional brewing set up and a European-style draft system.







The tap pull has a special hand crafted wooden tree house atop it:


And there's even a plumbed outhouse neatly tucked on the side:


This is actually the second treehouse that Pete Nelson and his crew built for property owner Kevin Mooney, the first being a honeymoon cabin suite with with three queen beds, two showers, a full kitchen and satellite TV.

The Treehouse Brewing Company (not to be confused with the Tree House Brewing Company in Massachusetts) will be run by Mooney's son and, in addition to their own craft beer, they have others to taste as well. Check it out next time you're in Ohio.



Catch Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet Friday nights at 10PM  (ET/PT)


some images courtesy of Nelson Treehouse and Supply, other images by Quin Mooney and courtesy of Animal Planet and The Mohican Grand Barn blog.