Vika Gazinskaya

       I love weird silhouettes. I believe that however outrageous, clothing as abstractions are fascinating. Where so many cerebral frocks fall into a state of arrested development, the truly wonderful not only fit, but tell stories on a body.

      There is something really special about designer Vika Gazinskaya. I don't know that much about her; I've only recently discovered her through her 2013 Fall/Winter Collection [below]. Instantly, her work strikes me hard - her designs are so clever and inspired.

      She's really hit on some awesome things with this collection. Her thick overcoats remind me of the backs of beetles and Akaky Akakievich. Her hidden-pants are so smart. I especially love her representation of old-ladies' large costume jewelry in the fashion of old folksy hooked rugs! I can't tell if her use of faux-fur is a commentary on 'fur in fashion' or an object of whimsy. Either way, Spot approves!

 

Some Pig

      I love harvest-time fairs. Have you read Charlotte's Web by E.B. White?  I count myself as one of the many kids in New England who have. I took these pictures at the Blue Hill Fair in Maine, USA last year. It's the same fair where Fern entered Wilbur the pig.

1. Fried Dough - powdered sugar topping is better than tomato sauce toppings ALWAYS
2. Stake out water-stream shooting games. Always figure out which guns are best for winning the giant stuffed bears before you shell out cash
3. Tractor pulls [power-sport motoring competitions of pure brawn] are extremely noisey and raise a hell-storm of mud and exhaust (YEAHH!)
4. Vegetables can be bigger than you

GRN HERR

      Got some emerald green hair going on this fall! OO-DE-LALLY. I can't take any credit for this coif - my stylist is an amazing colorist and a very intuitive person who is expert at taking vague cues like: emeralds and jewels stuck to a sleeping dragon's belly and turning them into something like this.

↑ Private

      Are you considering wearing jewel-toned hair? Go for it, friends and pals! Because, why not? I think you'd look lovely in Lapis Lazuli. It's like Queen Ru Paul says:

"When you become the image of your own imagination, it's the most powerful thing you could ever do." 

Color achieved in two steps using the Aveda color system: first, bleached out to a very pale yellow and then dyed back to a deep luster with Pure Tone green with a touch of blue.

Neil Raitt

      
      This is a painting by artist Neil Raitt. Let's take a look here... - so what do we notice? Mountains! Holy Bob Ross with a palette knife mountains. Neil Raitt decided they were going to live... everywhere! I am so enthralled by this thing; I've never seen anything like it.

↑ Alpine 2, oil on canvas, 240 x 210cm. 2013 - via Neil Raitt

↑ Alpine 2 (detail), oil on canvas, 240 x 210cm. 2013 - via Neil Raitt