Goodbye Oamaru

Sookie at rest

Dear Oamaru, thanks for the great company, our first penguin sightings, my first attempt to learn poker, whisky tastings, cute dogs & cats, and all the good moustache spotting.

Fireplace Shelter

This fireplace shelter looks so cozy it almost makes me want to live in a cold place. Built on a playground in Trondheim, Norway, it serves as an enclosed space for school children enclosed to enjoy fire, storytelling and playing.

Couchsurfing in Otago

We spent our last day in Christchurch tracking down a tent and lunching with our friends Elise & Sylvain, whom we first met in Auckland at Olive & Graeme's. It was so good to catch up with them again after all these months.



The scenery on our first day was beautiful, as expected. We hugged the coast for a while, spotting hay bales beside the ocean before heading inland to rolling hills of bright green farmland.

A Curious Collaboration With Caddisflies

Photo: Roy Larimer

Nature is a constant inspiration for many artists, and some of the most beautiful art is created when humans collaborate with the natural world.

Photos: Jean-Luc Fournier & Frédéric Delpech

Hubert Duprat began his work with caddisfly larvae in the early 1980s. He collects the larvae from their natural environment and relocates them to his studio. There he gently removes their own natural protective sheaths and puts the larvae in tanks filled with his own materials, from which they build their new homes. By depriving them of other materials, he ensures they use what he provides.

When he began the project, he only offered the caddisfly larvae gold flakes. Since then, they have enjoyed various semi-precious and precious stones, including turquoise, coral and lapis lazuli, as well as sapphires, pearls, rubies, and diamonds.

Photos: Jean-Luc Fournier & Frédéric Delpech

In the film below from the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, the artist discusses a few of his beautiful sculptures. If you'd like to skip to the caddisfly project, it begins at the 2:40 mark.


"I create situations. I'm a bit like an architect who has builders carry out his work."

Clockwise from top right: Jean-Luc Fournier, H. Del. Olmo, H. Del. Olmo, H. Del. Olmo

I first heard about this from Bug Under Glass, about whom I've written before. For more about Duprat's work with caddisflies, see Cabinet Magazine.

Etsy Love: Up In The Air Somewhere

Today I'm digging these decorative ceramic pieces by Up In The Air Somewhere on Etsy. With clean lines, pastel palettes and a splash of gilding, they are like a breath of fresh air.



Up In The Air Somewhere is based out of Chicago, each piece hand crafted by Susan Dwyer.

From her Etsy bio:

"I'm creating a line of housewares inspired by the beautiful forms found in industrial architecture. Water towers, warehouses, factories, and silos are abundant in Chicago and endlessly fascinating to me. Although I work in different mediums (paper mache, ceramic, fiber, etc.), my work has always been primarily focused on volume and form rather than ornamentation and surface. The simplicity and utility of the industrial landscape is a constant influence on my work."

For more about Susan, visit her blog or her sculptural website.



All images © Susan Dwyer

Brotherly Love

Yesterday we said goodbye to the Millers, with whom we've been staying on and off for just over two months. This lovely family has taken us in, given us a lot of smiles, and inspired us to pursue cheese making, jam preserving, and beekeeping one of these days.

Harry asked me if the magic of being in New Zealand would fade after being here, but I told him I don't think so. Christchurch isn't too far different from a US city, with sprawling suburbs and landscapes one might see in America. I think our upcoming South Island road trip is going to be epic, and with mountains, penguins, and fiords, the magic will surely be continued, if not amplified.

Scenes from the Canterbury Museum

I'm digging the graphic design of the displays in the Science and Antarctic Exploration areas of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. They reminded me of something out of a Wes Anderson movie. If I knew who made them, I would tell them good job, but I think I'm just gonna to have to be secretly in love with these displays and leave it at that.

Tiny Homes : Simple Shelter

Crystal River Treehouse, by Stephen A. Novy, AIA, and David Rasmussen, near Carbondale, Co., photo by Brent Moss

Have you heard of the book Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter? It's filled with photos and information about tiny homes and the people who love them.

World of Jaspers by Hans Gamma

In case you haven't heard, I love jasper. In fact, I wanted to name our cat Sebastian Jasper, but Sam vetoed the name. My love for this stone goes deep. Ranging in color and pattern, and resembling anything from abstract expressionist paintings to watercolor landscapes, jaspers are some of the most beautiful stones around.

When I came upon Hans Gamma's website documenting the beauty of jasper, I fell in love all over again.

Jeremy Miranda

Jeremy Miranda's paintings range from the tropics to the tundra, and while I usually hate winter, my favorites among his work are those set in bleak, cold and dark places.