Modern Florals

Florals never go out of style, especially because there’s infinite ways to create a floral pattern.  It can be more traditional and old fashioned, more tropical, or something else entirely. Florals can become modern if paired with a second pattern – like a grid, plaid, stripes, even polka dots. Of course, you don’t want to get too crazy, but as long as the patterns are contrasting enough, or one pattern takes the backseat, the pattern-mixing works.

Even though the pattern of this dress is uniform throughout, it still feels a little more modern to me, probably because of the interesting colour combinations but also because it almost looks abstract.    Here are some examples of modern floral prints I found on Lookbook.nu:  Here, here, and here.

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AntiCafé: A Fresh take on the Coffee Shop

One of my favourite things to do when I was at college in Long Beach, California, was to sit at a coffee shop for hours, either talking with a friend or studying.  I particularly loved Portfolio CoffeeHouse;  They used to have this old, heavy desk, full of drawers.  It was the perfect place to plop down with a stack of Art History and theory books from the library and write my research papers, which inevitably, were left until the last minute.  I was a good student.  :p

I’ve always felt like there was a serious lack of these kinds of places in Paris – communal living rooms where one can have a capp, nibble a scone, and relax.  Yes, Paris is rife with cafés, the kind of cafés with little round tables and rows of wicker chairs facing the street.  These are great, but they just don’t have the same purpose, vibe, or possibilities of a coffee house.

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Post-Modernism, or something like that…

Although I call myself an Art Historian, I have yet to fully accept the kind of contemporary art that makes me feel slightly scared and very uncomfortable. The kind of art that is hideously ugly and disturbing, or the kind of art that simply makes no sense whatsoever. I try to imagine what the artists must have been thinking while piecing together such creations, and my mind cannot fathom it.

I can understand art that follows or comments upon the chronological flow of art history, and I can accept art that is pleasant to look at, or entertaining to interact with, but I have a really hard time accepting something that consists of cardboard hanging from a string, or something that is so ugly it makes me feel kinda queasy. Part of the problem is nobody wants to repeat what has already happened in the past, so boundaries are constantly being challenged. Boundaries of medium, subject matter, morals, etc. Doesn’t it get exhausting to constantly challenge the status-quo?! It also places the artists’ own personal, subjective vision or motivation, which much of the time is incomprehensible or hidden to the spectator, above everything else, especially beauty. The concept of beauty has been almost eradicated in contemporary art. I believe these tendencies are somewhere along the lines of Post-Modernism. And it is all very confusing, almost frustratingly so.

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Simplicity of Spring

In honor of the coming spring, I’ve put together some botanical, natural history-type photographs of the most simple natural elements. Freshly fallen leaves, sprigs of lacy green in the grass, and tiny white wildflowers. Can’t get any simpler than this. It makes me want to lie out a soft blanket in the grass, and bask in the sun all day long.
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I am going to add some of these to my Etsy shop, but I need some feedback before I do. Which of these do you like the most?

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