d.Sharp Journal

Time is When

Another vintage book rescued from the discard pile. Time is When, published in 1960. Happy to score a book illustrated by Harvey Weiss, a talented and prolific writer, illustrator and sculptor.

Born on April 10, 1922 in New York City, he went on to study at New York University, the Arts Students League,  and The National Academy of Design.

Weiss's career has spanned early years in advertising, the authoring and illustration of over 40 children's books, and a twenty year affiliation as a professor at Adelphi University. His sculpture is part of many public and private collections including The Nelson Rockefeller collection, The Joseph Hirshorn collection, The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Krannert Museum, GE Corporation and The National Academy of Design. He is also a recipient of the New York Herald Tribune Spring Book Festival Honor Book award (1957, 1958, 1961), Ford Foundation purchase awards (1960, 1961) and the Olivetti Award (1969).

Plus, the guy can draw! I like the playful use of crayon, matching the medium to the reader.

Time is When is a great introduction to the concept of time for little ones - breaking it down into elementary and understandable ideas, explaining time from the micro {seconds} to the macro {years, seasons, the future}.

 

I hope my future includes finding more books illustrated by Harvey Weiss.

Lotta prints

I checked out Lotta Jansdotter's new book from the library a bit ago and it is pretty fun. Lotta Prints: How to Print With Anything From Potatoes to Linoleum shows simple and straight forward printing projects on all sorts of surfaces, employing all sorts of techniques, from rubber stamps and leaves to stencils and homemade screens. The book also includes some stencils of Lotta's designs to use. I especially liked the idea of embellishing clothing with stamps, transfers and stencils.

  

See and Say

A few more illustrations from this amazing book I shared here. The woodblock endpapers, below.

 

Every time I look at this with the kids, I am so intent on studying each illustration that I think they get quite bored with my dereliction of page turning duties. The spread below is my favorite.

 

A Kiss Is Round

Here is another book I scored from the discard pile - unfortunately, it is not in the best shape, but I couldn't resist the illustrations. A Kiss Is Round, c. 1954, was illustrated by Vladimir Bobri. Ukrainian born Bobri, born in 1898, was a gifted illustrator, author, composer, educator and guitar historian.  He started his career as an art director for Saks Fifth Avenue and soon became a prolific and celebrated graphic designer in New York, with innovative advertisements and contributions to Vogue, the New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar, among many other publications.

I have my eye out for few of his other children's books, I love his use of line in these illustrations. I would love to see more of his work, I think when I have a moment I will snoop around for examples of his commercial work.

Reading more about him on Wiki - he got caught up in the Russian Revolution, fighting on various sides in the civil war before managing an escape in 1917. As a refugee, he traveled on a handmade passport - his skill at calligraphy adept enough to pass the English, French, Italian and Greek consular authorities. During those years he "painted icons in the Greek islands, played the piano in a nickelodeon in Pera, painted signs Istanbul, discovered an important Byzantine mural in an abandoned Turkish mosque, and earned his passage to America by designing sets and costumes for the Ballet Russes in Constantinople."  He emigrated to the United States in 1921 {that is quite a life to live all before you turn 24!}

Portland Peeps

A few random notes on some local ladies I have the pleasure of knowing:

  

We all know that Amy Karol, of Angry Chicken and the author of Bend The Rules Sewing is one awesome crafting woman. Our local weekly has now crowned her Best Resource For The Obsessively Independent in their annual Best of Portland issue, read it here. The woman knows how to make so many things so crazy great - I think that if there were ever such a thing as Fantasy Craft Teams {think Fantasy Football} she would be my first draft- officially in the sewing position {natch}, but as the woman can make her own deodorant and can bake up a storm, she would be my power player, versatile.

She is also super kind. Amy was generous enough to include my blog when asked recently by Venus Zine to share some of her favorite links. Here.

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Portland Bride and Groom featured the charming work of baker Jocelyn Barda on its cover and in a drool-worthy  feature. I love the white on white simplicity of these wedding cakes. Jocelyn is the owner of Bakery Bar, you can see more of her fun pieces here, or click on the pic below to read the short interview by Portland Bride and Groom.

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Portland Bride and Groom also interviewed Pam of Housemartin and Ink and Peat Floral Design. Click above to read. Her floral work is gorgeous and even more exciting, last week her new shop, Ink and Peat, opened - I can't wait to visit.

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 I just fold paper, but Alicia Paulson, she crochets the magical gossamer trails left from fairy wands and weaves the flutterings of butterfly wings and whips up merangue from the positive thoughts of strangers far away. Or at least that's what it feels like when I look at the gorgeous photos of her work and home and read her posts at  Posie Gets Cosy. I love it there. Her first book, Stitched In Time, is due out in late fall.

 

The Five Rollatinis

This is a book I scored at M's school a couple of years ago when they were rotating some older books out of the library. The Five Rollatinis by Jan B. Balet, published in 1959.

Balet has a few other books I hope to score at some point - I like the sense of symmetry and composition. You can see more of his work, some of his spot illustrations, here. I have to admit to liking The Five Rollatinis purely visually, the story itself - meah. {But the tattooed man is so perfect, so it's a wash.}

This is for you.

Really, go and buy this book. Better yet, buy it for someone you love. {thank you} I know you have seen Rob Ryan's work all over the place, but reading this sweet little gem is something else.

Kinda seems like yesterday.

Twenty years ago today, I went out on a first date and fell in love. Hard.

from This Is For You

A few more:

Like the cover of this vintage Hindi dictionary.

From a c.1920's French dictionary, my very favorite of my small collection. The title page for each letter of the alphabet has a great illustration of items beginning with that letter. The book also has a bunch of full page illustrations like the one below {including boxers, another favorite} as well as a few color illustrations {such as botanicals, mushrooms}. It is hard to get the full page in a scan because the book is pretty thick, sorry.

The cheapest vintage Italian anything around, a dictionary from the thrift store. { like most of these, actually}

A 1940's shorthand dictionary. Shorthand boggles - how could you possibly commit to memory sguiggles that are meant to represent thousands of words? Words that most people may very,very rarely use, like harangue. And to decipher it? I have enough trouble with my handwriting.

Look it up.

Pages from some of my other vintage dictionaries.

c.1886 Italian, I love how the type from the back of the page bleeds through.

c. 1940's Spanish, things with feet.




Getting smaller, the one above is the size of a deck of cards. The one below - wee little, about an inch tall.