smaller

small shows- the cosmic bicycle theatre

The Cosmic Bicycle Theatre and Puppetry Studio is a place I used to visit in its old location in the East Village. The theatre has now moved to Brooklyn and amazingly 22 years since the owner Johnny ClockWorks first opened in Boston, he is still producing unique and imaginative puppet theatre.

In addition to producing all kinds of puppet theatre, they do childrens workshops in the holidays, birthday parties and kids matinees.

They need support from the public in particular right now, so if you are in New York - make time to see one of their shows and help save this magical place from disappearing.

Website

Blog

small inspiration 115

Larissa Hally Guado- flash cats series

Matt W Moore of MWM Graphics- Crystals and Lasers series

small inspiration 114

Robin Schwarz

Richard Avedon

small inspiration 113

Its been a while since we have done the inspiration diptychs. Bringing them back for Fridays...

Michael Chelbin Xenia on a Couch Russia

Lee Grant from the Color Portraits series

small report- tinkerlab

Have you come across tinkerlab yet?It is my new favorite website. It is the most amazing resource for fun projects and experiments to do with kids of any age. Rachelle, the artist and mother who runs the blog, aims to engage childrens' curiosities and promote creative and critical thinking…mindsets that support children as they grow into a world that values independent thinking.

Most of the projects and activities are made with found, collected materials or things already in your home. There are tons of simple science experiments that introduce kids to the wonders around them, messy and creative projects and ideas to help kids get involved in their physical world and enable creative play. I love the post encouraging parents to let their toddlers experiement with cooking in the kitchen. 

small inspiration - pinterest

Have you come across Pinterest? It is an on-line pinboard where you can group together images as collections. Its brilliant! It is a great way to stumble across inspiration on other peoples pages without clicking through the back pages of blogs.  It is also perfect for keeping track of all those links you come across and want to remember in a really clear and organised visual way.

You can follow fashion stylist, mama and designer and co founder and editor of Small - Christine Visneau- here but there are all kinds of other great image collections- and of course it is so easy to start your own.

small inspiration 112

Images by Russell Lee of scenes from the Great Depression (in color!) found on the wonderful Accidental Mysteries  blog put together by by John Foster.

small inspiration 110

Corinne May Botz- 

Continuing on with the minature theme from last week...

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death: An exploration of a collection of eighteen miniature crime scene models that were built in the 1940's and 50's by a progressive criminologist Frances Glessner Lee.

Interesting on so many levels

small inspiration 109

Lori Nix "Mastadon" from her Unnatural Histories series  -left

Ofra Lapid (photographs of models of falling down buildings)  -right

inspiration 108

left: photo by quercus design

right: Day 345 by Lisa Congdon. A Collection a Day, 2010

inspriation 107

Vexta (who has a new show this week here)

Andrea Sacchi - Icarus and Daedalus (1599- 1661) - the ultimate 'listen to your father' story

 

lucien freud (1922 - 2011)

Lucien Freud

small film- public schools in America

a sad documentary with ideas about the possibility and potential for reform in American public schools - Waiting for Superman

Photos by Allison V Smith - from her Schools series

inspiration 106

I can't believe we have done over two years of the Friday inspiration. We are hoping to do some more documentary style shoots in the Fall issue.

These images from Lee Grant's series Sister Love

....and one from the Indian photographer Ketaki Sheth from her series Twin Spotting are really inspiring me right now.

small photo shoots- inspiration board

This Norman Parkinson Photo (found on the Land Ho tumblr) is on our inspiration board for the next issue. Grant Cornett is shooting another still life for us- this time outside in upstate New York (where he is an artist in residence at the wonderful Wassaic Project.)

small inspiration 105

1940's...

Moreton Salt girl - Art direction by Rhea Thierstein photography by Tim Walker

Vee Speers

 

small inspiration 104

Carol Dronsfield (Holga Photos) exhibiting now at green square tavern

Sally Mann ( via collection on The Daily Knickerbocker )

inspiration 103

bed jumping

Julia Fullerton-Batten In Between

small shops- Specks and Keepings

Every issue I put together a couple of collages for the magazine. They always develop from an accidental find- stumbling across something that trips something in my imagination and makes me want to malke a whole page around it. Last issue I found Hillery Sproatt's embroidered dolls on Etsy and was inspired to put this Russian doll themed Small Something page together.Since the issue has come out,  Hillery has started up her own web shop which has much more than just her exquisite dolls.

I have now discovered that Hillery also makes beautiful fabric mobiles and etchings, and stocks in her shop gorgeous clothing for adults , lunch sacs, embroidered napkins, accessories and much more from some of her favorite makers and artists. The whole shop is now on my wish list. The whole shop is as perfectlly produced as the dolls that originally caught my eye.

Check out Hillery's shop, Specks and Keepings here and her blog here

inspiration 102

Shelby Lee Adams

Keith Carter

small inspiration 102

Pamela Klaafke (see her collaboration with Small here) from her bestia parvulus (animal child) series

Polixeni Papapetrou

small inspiration 101

The girls (and Eni the cat)  watching the thunderstorm after playing in the rain.

photo by Steven Visneau

 

Happy Easter xoxo

 

small inspiration 100

maybe a little grim for our 100 th inspiration but inspiring all the same.

Lorin Nix ( interiors from carboard, glue and paint)

Annina Gunter (dolls house miniatures)

small inspiration 99

Lesley Semmelhack

Archim Lippoth  (really varied and interesting work on his site- it was hard to choose just one)

inspiration 98

 

Christina Richards

The card society (card of the month club)

small photo- still lives

We are getting into still life photography and have commissioned shoots for the next two issues. We just got in the first by Grant Cornett (check out his still life work here), which you will be able to see in the next issue (out soon!).  Scheltens and Abbenes have some wonderful and inspiring still life photography (and textile art by Abbenes) on their site.

inspiration 97

a weekly dyptych of work that ins[pires us from all fields of art.....

Dirk Santvoort- oil painting 'little boy in white' (check out their unique hand painted oils in the childrens collection on the same website)

Hendrik Kerstens (his daughter)

we would love to do a shoot inspired by dutch portraits- anyone interested...?

.....thanks for the link in the comments to Stefano Azario - 'girl with the pearl earring' inspired shoot. Here are the images.

 

inspiration 96

lost boys...

Kai Samules-Davis  (you can buy very reasonably priced prints at his etsy shop- Windy Lane Studios)

Bill Henson (always lovely and sometimes controversial)

small inspiration 95

Davina Feinberg from the 'enameled' series

Dianne Arbus  Portrait of Gloria Vanderbilt's sleeping infant son Anderson Cooper (interesting family!)

small inspiration 94

Sam Shmith

Amber Wallis

two artists- young and making mountains.

small inspiration 93

Harlequin print from belafontesbunsa's shop

Iota in Smoke and Mirrors at the amazing Spiegeltent. This whole show was inspiring.

 

small inspiration 91

a little bit monstrous...

Donn Kenn (monster drawings he does in his spare time on post-it notes- amazing!)

The Black Apple

inspiration 90

left: Lord Whitney
right: Ditte Isager

inspiration 89

Klas Ernflo

Grant Cornett

small inspiration 88

image via Tiny Happy

inspiration 87

Elmer Duyvis via my little day blog

inspiration 86

all in the details....

photographing snowflakes - they really are all different!

The Thin by Erin Tyner - miniature scenes from the 'half awake' series

Happy Holidays!

 

Small inspiration 85

 

Grant Cornett - still life

Blown glass botanical samples at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

small inspiration 84

light as a feather....

photo by Maia Flore

print by Groundwork

inspiration 82

Ann Woo

James Turrell - Sky room

small inspiration 81

Catherine's animals

e.soule

inspiration 80

Ken Garland

Julie Morstad

inspiration 78

Aliza Lelah

Juli Blackmon

inspiration 77

Youngna Park

Joshua Scott

Inspiration 76

Lorene Taurerewa

Carolina Rodriguez

inspiration 75

Eugenio Recuenco for Vogue

Steve Visneau for Small

small inspiration 73

the space of a home...

Luis Valdes casa de carton

Do Ho Su New York apartment in fabric.

small inspiration 72

  

Photos by Mark Steinmetz

small inspiration 71

Food vans are the best place to eat with kids.  Two of our favorites - one in Marfa, Texas and one Melbourne, Australia.

Food Shark  - Check out other food vans in your area or vote for your favorite American food van on the Food network Food Truck Race.

Beatbox Kitchen- Warm summer evenings on the corner of Rathdown and Park with a Beatbox Kitchen burger- what could be better?

oh - and in case you were wondering why these are inspirational...flexibility and freedom.

small inspiration 70

Alice Jarry

Emmanuel Polanco

We would love to do a collaged illustrated and photography fashion story for the winter issue.....anyone interested in collaborating?