I have been exploring simple compositions involving shapes and patterns. I am trying to have a few project series to focus on, in order to be more selective with what I shoot. Not that a broad range of subjects is bad…it just seems like it might be helpful to narrow it down. So, here are a few within the shapes series (or whatever you’d like to call it):

lost balloons, originally uploaded by amanda penny.

 

As winter approaches, I need to compile a list of crafty projects to keep me sane in this chilly city. I have been extremely preoccupied with work, and have neglected the purpose of this blog. With an intense work load, it can be so easy to lose sight of my creative needs. So, I began this as a place to store ideas and gather inspiration. My former (and somewhat current) method involved keeping a journal with inspiring images clipped from various sources, notes on projects, and an endless to do list that I ignored. This was not a very effective method, since I tend to lose the clippings before I get them in my “inspiration” journal. I hope this can serve as my easily accessed inspiration board. After all, it is much simpler than dragging a bulletin board or even a journal from place to place.I do have several things that I want to do this winter. Here is the list of some of my projects:-Get my mac back in order with software (I lost it all in a crash, but it was my karma perhaps since it was “bootlegged”)-Learn to make silhouettes by hand. Paper Portraits sells silhouette kits and instructional books. Also, this site has links to various Public Domain images, which I can use for cards and collages. I found the silhouette image there. Eventually, I would like to design a silhouette for a tattoo.- Continue designing and making cards/collages-Make mobiles: Frazier & Wing make and sell wonderful mobiles out of heavy stock and recycled magazines. I was thinking of using silhouettes in the one I make.- Take trips to inspiring offbeat places- Take a cooking class, preferably vegetarian cooking- Make a vintage family photo book at Blurb

Today’s visual treat is a photograph that I took at Nick Engelbert’s Grandview in Hollandale, Wisconsin.In the 1930s, self-taught artist and dairy farmer Nick Engelbert began working on his sculpture garden. His wife Katherine added to his artworks by creating garden beds around each of the sculptures. Engelbert started his creations as wooden-and-wire mesh armatures, which he then embellished with mosaics of glass, shells, and found materials. Engelbert’s subject matter ranged from fairy tales to patriotic motifs.Englebert passed away in 1962, leaving a beautiful landscape of 40 sculptures behind. On its own, the property began to slowly decay and in some cases, vandalism came into play. Fortunately, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center bought the property and began restoring it. There is now an educational program for Grandview as well.

These are photos from my recent visit to Evermor Sculpture Park. The Evermor Sculpture Park is located in Praire du Sac, Wisconsin. Tom Every (Dr. Evermor) and his wife Eleanor started creating work at the current site in the early 1980s. The Forvertron is known as the world’s largest sculpture.

One of the reasons that I started this blog was to serve as a place to record inspiring and unusual places. Today’s place of wonder and curiosity is the Gingerbread Castle; situated off of a rural highway in Hamburg, New Jersey. I have been acquainted with the castle since I was a child. Along with my nostalgia, I am also very interested in eccentric forms of architecture and art environments.In 1928, F.H. Bennett, created the Gingerbread Castle, with the idea of capturing the magic of fairy tales. It is said that he had a particular fascination with Grimms Brothers fairytales. Bennett was the owner of Wheatsworth Mills, which is on the same property as the Gingerbread Castle, and unfortuantely in an equal (perhaps greater) state of disrepair as the castle. Bennett is also known for creating the Milk Bone dog biscuit.Bennett hired a well known Austrian architect and set designer by the name of Joseph Urban to build his vision. Urban designed sets for the Ziegfeld Follies and Metropolitan Opera, among other notable accomplishments. The castle opened in 1930 and became a popular tourist attraction. By the 1980’s, the castle began its journey into abandoned despair. Throughout the years the castle and its surrounding property have gone through many transformations from its original state of enchanted theme park. At seperate times, I believe it has served as a night club and haunted house.In 2004, a man named Frank Hinger purchased the property and began to revive it through fundraising and a grant from Hampton Inns. Despite his noble efforts, the property became too costly to fully revitalize. Fortunately, recent news indicates that the Gingerbread Castle is being considered for historical preservation. It seems to me that it is worthy of preservation; there are so few records of personal vision and eccentric dreams in America.In addition to art environments, I am also interested in flexidiscs. These two interests are beautifully combined in a Look N Listen postcard record, which can be viewed and listened to here. Flexidiscs and postcard records became popular in the 1950s as marketing tools for tourism, politics, bands, etc. Michael Cumella shares his impressive collection and knowledge at The Internet Museum of Flexi/Cardboard/Oddity Records. This is a subject I would love to go on about, but his website will be much more informative and fun.

A contributor at Halfbakery.com has come up with one of the more sane ideas I have heard in awhile. Read Sniffies: Movies for Dogs to learn about this innovative appliance.