The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
L'Enfant's GraveBy QB Camera Eye QuailBellMagazine.com Here lies Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French-American architect who designed Washington, D.C.'s famous gridded street layout. In 1909, his remains were moved from Green Hill farm in Prince George's County, Maryland to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Look closely at this photograph and you can see the Washington Monument in the distance. Want to earn Brownie points? Hunt for hints of other D.C. monuments. They're mere specks in this image!
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
From Love and Sequins to the FrankenstormBy Starling Root QuailBellMagazine.com When you read Gala Darling's blog, you normally expect to experience a surge of "radical self-love," as she calls it. This New Zealander turned New Yorker thrives upon fun, positivity, fashion, beauty, and life's many indulgences, from the humble to the pricey. A typical blog post may cover a shopping trip or encourage female entrepreneurs to use their passion, creativity, and smarts to chase after their dreams. Gala Darling does not normally cover current events outside of consumer/pop culture. Her news tends to study trends, whether ones related to style or business. Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, however, several of Gala Darling's recent posts have veered in the direction of citizen journalism as they chronicle New Yorkers' adventures in the aftermath of the disaster. Quail Bell emailed the alternative beauty queen five questions about the infamous Frankenstorm and what it's meant for her, her friends, and her neighbors in the Lower East Side. Here's how she responded to our queries: You washed your hair in the sink and tried to go about your daily beauty routine in other ways. What are the do's and don'ts of hurricane chic?
If you're lucky enough to have a Clarisonic, good news: the battery holds a charge for ages! When you can't do anything else, it's nice to be able to exfoliate! Haha. After a day without power, I thought about writing a tongue-in-cheek article about staying beautiful during the hurricane, but that was before I had access to the news and saw just how badly some people were affected. I was so lucky to be a couple of floors up in the East Village; so many people lost everything. There isn't much time for "hurricane chic" when your entire house is underwater. How have you seen Sandy inconvenience or even devastate other members of NYC's 'creative class'? How do you think people working in the creative industry are uniquely affected by natural disasters? Thankfully, none of my friends were badly affected by Sandy, probably because the vast majority of them live in Brooklyn. But of course, people in the creative industries are often self-employed and when your power is knocked out or your supplies are destroyed, that has major repercussions. As great as NYC is, one of the downsides is that most apartments don't have a lot of closets. To remedy this, I rent a 5"x10" space where I stash clothes, odds & ends, weird things, you know. The basement of the storage facility was completely flooded during Sandy, and dozens of units--with any number of valuable belongings inside--were wiped out. Again, I was lucky and my storage unit wasn't affected. But who knows what was in that space? It's terrible to think about. And I don't think any of those people had insurance! How has Sandy affected your day-to-day as blogger and creator of digital products? What advice do you have for other folks whose livelihood depends upon a great Internet connection? People joke about that concept of "going off the grid" all the time--all of us in the East Village really were off the grid for a week! It sucked, but it wasn't life-threatening. The worst thing about it was the feeling of disconnection: the cellphone towers had been knocked out, so even if your phone had power, you really weren't able to do much with it. You'd hear the news from your neighbors, and it mostly consisted of rumors and half-truths. So weird. Really, we just had to wait it out. Also, being winter, it was dark by 5.30 p.m., and other than romantic notions (all that candlelight, oh my), there really wasn't much to do! How has Sandy changed your Eccentric Pop shopping habits lately? How long do you see these changes persisting? I think one of the major things Sandy has done is reignite my love for small businesses! Even though power has been restored to Manhattan, there are still massive swathes of businesses in Alphabet City and the East Village that don't have their credit card machines running. There are signs everywhere that say "Cash Only :(" That may seem like a small thing, but it can really hurt a business, especially these days when everyone is so swipe-happy! I'm doing my best to visit those businesses and give them my money. Hopefully we can all get each other through. How do you think Sandy will be remembered throughout history? One of the most beautiful things about it--if there can ever be anything beautiful about a disaster--is the way it brought New Yorkers together. People really pitched in, donated goods, volunteered their time, did whatever they could, and it was so incredible to see. It made me feel immensely proud to be part of this crazy, wonderful city. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Don't Fence Me In By Amin Chaoui QuailBellMagazine.com Editor's Note: Jackson Ward is an historic and predominantly black neighborhood located in Richmond, Virginia. After the Civil War, Jackson Ward thrived as a center for black business and culture. It became known by monikers such as the "Black Wall Street of America" and the "Harlem of the South." Jackson Ward began its decline in the 1950s with desegregation and the construction of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike. Now artists, urban planners, and Virginia Commonwealth University are plotting Jackson Ward's revival. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Great Turkey DebateBy Christine Stoddard QuailBellMagazine.com Now that the remains of large Butterball birds have been carved and shoved into Tupperware, it's safe for history-lovers to squabble over who can truly lay claim to The First Thanksgiving. All of us are familiar with the Pilgrims and their Domino effect of disaster after disaster at Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims fled England as religious refugees, boarding the Mayflower and dying like flies. Massachusetts was rough-and-tumble compared to England. The climate was harsher, the animals were bigger, and the plants were just different. But, hey, Squanto and other groovy American Indians stepped into the picture and, after a montage scene of harmonious cooperation, there was a huge feast and everybody held hands and ate and sang and later left with happy tummies. Americana eats that stuff up and then sops up the leftover gravy with a big hunk of bullshit. More and more often you'll hear that the First Thanksgiving took place in Virginia or Florida or Texas. Ten years from now, we'll be scrolling through our iPads or listening to NPR only to learn that Russian settlers in Alaska celebrated the First Thanksgiving. Or, actually, the Chinese reached California in 1249 and had some version of Thanksgiving there. Minus the pumpkin pie. But what if I told you that, even as a history fan, I don't care about where the First Thanksgiving took place? What is Thanksgiving? What does Thanksgiving mean? I don't mean it in the way they first ask you in grade school, What does Thanksgiving mean to you? I mean, what's the essence of Thanksgiving, as an event? Let's think about what actually happened in every and any version of the First Thanksgiving: Europeans “discovered” and “settled” their “newfound” piece of land, eventually realizing that they had no idea how to live off of it. The American Indians finally stopped rolling their eyes long enough to take pity on the poor bastards and showed generosity to people who had, at best, patronized and, at worst, demonized them. Because the Indians had been on the land hundreds, even thousands of years, (depending upon which Thanksgiving we're talking about), they knew the flora and fauna well enough to kill and grill whatever was then in season.
Meanwhile, the Europeans had no clue. They just assumed that what worked in England or, ahem, Spain worked in the Americas, too. [Insert buzzer noise here.] Wrong! Geography and agriculture are not mutually exclusive, regardless of which God you worship. So, the Indian women and the European women cooked a whole bunch of food while the men from both sides sat around comparing weapons. They all shared a huge feast that (temporarily) relieved tension between the two groups. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
A Half-timber in ShippanBy QB Camera Eye QuailBellMagazine.com A half-timber home in Shippan, a neighborhood in Stamford, Connecticut, off of Long Island Sound. How many gnomes do you think live here?
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Reconnecting with StorybooksBy Luna Lark QuailBellMagazine.com Somewhere in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, there is a little land of puzzles, plush animals, and pop-up books. After a day full of deadlines, homework, and banking woes, I retreated there. I was the oldest person in the room who is either not a librarian or accompanying a child. I surpassed the book collection's median reading level more than half a lifetime ago. Though I am a college student, I stood—grinning, sans baby food on my sweater—in the Children's Reading Room at Richmond Main Library. Nothing entrances me the way a storybook does. The simple but precises words, the neat narratives, and the thoughtful pictures put me at ease. I strolled down the reading room's aisles, chose about fifteen books, and sat reading for a little bit more than an hour. I plopped down in the grand rocking chair by the massive cardboard shoe sculpture (even the laces were made from cardboard). The rocking chair was the only chair in the room nearly tall enough to offer me real back support. I threw my coat over the back of it and placed my purse by my feet. Courtesy of Richmond Main Library Upon opening the first storybook, Jackie French's Diary of a Wombat, I shivered—not because I was cold, but because I was excited. I flashed back to story time in elementary school. Mrs. Pike, a sweet-smiling gnome of a lady, used to pull out puppets and give all the characters funny voices. As I scanned Bruce Whatley's acrylic illustrations of a sluggish wombat, Mrs. Pike's voice echoed in my head. After I closed Diary of a Wombat, I picked up a book that particularly made me laugh was The Wolf Who Cried Boy. It was full of clever puns, and the story itself was charmingly absurd. The pen and ink illustrations kept my attention, too. A couple of the books snagged my heart. The most poignant read of the evening was How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers. It's about a boy with what seems like an impossible dream. Meanwhile, I Love My Little Storybook by Anita Jeram, made me nostalgic for the days when I enjoyed storybooks everyday, perched on my mother's lap with a teddy bear in one hand and a snack in the other. The book even had fairy bunnies and mice. The next couple of hours ebbed away as I pored over book after book. Not once did I fidget, as tempting as the idea is when sitting in a rocking chair. Not once did I think about office work or chores. I was a little girl surrounded by books. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Toothy Simian with ApplesBy The Picture Pharmacist QuailBellMagazine.com Dear fledglings, If I can impart any wisdom, it's this: Don't mess with monkeys. Didn't you ever watch The Wizard of Oz? An angry monkey sprouts demon wings, bares razor-sharp teeth, hits the innocent puffy clouds, chops up the clouds with pure meanness, spins around in furious circles, and then zips down to tear up your neck into a million shreds. Or something like that. But if you give a monkey an apple, he'll love you forever. So download this soon-to-be-satanic simian, Photoshop more apples into the picture, and bask in his adoration. Or something like that. Yours truly, The Picture Pharmacist
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
"Guadalajara in 35mm," a Social Photography ShowHere's some shameless promotion for a not-so-shameless cause. "Guadalajara in 35mm," coming to Richmond, Virginia on January 4, 2013, is an exhibit of photos taken by children on 35mm disposable cameras at Miravalle, a shelter for sexually abused children in Guadalajara, Mexico. The show was curated by Christine Stoddard of Quail Bell Press & Productions with the generous support of Virginia Commonwealth University's Global Education Office, the University of Guadalajara, and the Virginia Center for Latin American Art.
Later in the year, the show will also hang on VCU's Monroe Park Campus, at the University of Guadalajara, and at Miravalle. A full tour list will be released at the end of 2012. More details to come on the exhibit's Facebook page. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Five Magic Spells for Recovering from Black FridayBy Sparrow Goddess QuailBellMagazine.com You're pooped and that's reasonable. It's Black Friday and you're no magical being. If you left home for even a second today, you probably wished you had a fairy's gift for waving a wand. Well, don't feel quite so defeated yet. Here are 5 magic spells you can mutter as you recover on your sofa, in between episodes of “Defense Court”:
1. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, a hex on the broad who (whilst at K-Mart) broke my shoe, bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.” 2. “Famma bamma bee-bee, banish my regret for this fifth big screen TV, bamma famma bee-bee.” 3. “Shakka shakka boom boom, away with my trauma from the dressing room, shakka boom.” 4. “Whamma hoo-foo, maybe I can use all that stuff, return it, and pretend it's still new, hoo-foo whamma whamma foo-hoo.” 5. “Abra kadabra, may those for two-for-one jeans make me look fab-ra, abra kadabra.” Editor's Note: We honestly hope that our fledglings had enough imagination to miss most, if not all, of the Black Friday mayhem today. But, hey, to each his own. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Fashionistas all aflutter at the Capitol--but for what?By QB Provocateur QuailBellMagazine.com Conservative. Stodgy. Traditional. Conformist. Keep thumbing through the thesaurus and hunt for other similar and vaguely related words to capture the look of stereotypical Washingtonian fashion.
Washington, D.C.'s style has never been the thing of national worship. If anything, it's been the thing of national ridicule. (Yeah, even the urban stuff on U Street hasn't ever reached Harlem heights.) You have a choice between a navy suit and a gray one. That's part of the reason why DC Fashion Week popped up: to give the U.S. capital city fashionista cred. The other reason? Let's be real: Money. More interest in D.C. fashion means more business for local designers, boutiques, and everybody else involved in the art and retail of clothes. So has that happened? DC Fashion Week took place from September 17-23, 2012. It's been two months. The Fall/Winter collections will be paraded about from February 18-24, 2013, so we're at the perfect midpoint for examination and reflection. What sort of economic impact have you observed in D.C.'s fashion industry? Do you have any real numbers? How much of any "progress" made is purely psychological? Discuss, discuss! (Right here. Add a comment. That's how the Internet works.) The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
You never know what people have in their backyards!By Adrienne Kerr QuailBellMagazine.com One of the many curiosities of Lyons, Colorado.
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Love, peace, and turkeyDear fledglings,
We hope that your 2012 Thanksgiving is imaginary, nostalgic, and otherworldly. Interpret that however you wish--and gorge on the big bird! Check back tomorrow for your usual favorite content. We're going to go stir some gravy. (Not an innuendo. We swear.) Feathery hugs, The Quail Bell Crew The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Christina Kaputsos' Fantastical Bird of PreyBy Christine Stoddard QuailBellMagazine.com Designer/illustrator Christina Kaputsos of Tyto Studio, an imaginative firm based in Maryland, recently gave her tablet a rest and fashioned this beautiful Owl Maiden dress with her own hands. To anyone familiar with Christina's work, the dress should come as no real surprise. The 24-year-old has a history of making bridal gowns and infusing her creations with folkloric motifs. But let's Christina do the talking, shall we? Quail Bell could not resist asking Christina four quick questions about her Owl Maiden garment: Photos courtesy of Tyto Studio 1. What an intriguing idea! How did you decide upon an Owl Maiden dress? Is there any special significance in the name? All of my paper garment work is 100% paper. The Owl Maiden Dress uses paper that I hand painted with Sumi ink. Every paper garment I make depicts a spirit animal. When the model wears the garment, they will embody the qualities of that animal, thus the garment becomes a type of spiritual armor. In Native American tradition, it is believed that at one time plants, animals, and humans all spoke the same language. The humans however got "cocky" and thought they were better than the plants and the animals. The animals and plants did not tolerate this thinking, so they cut humans off from their common language. As such, plants, animals, and humans could no longer speak to one another as they used to. However, animals still constantly show humans signs and symbols through their appearance and body language. In many cultures the owl is seen as the messenger of the spirits, symbol of the unknown, and the keeper of knowledge. In addition, the owl is most depicted as being a female energy. The Owl Dress embodies the spirit of the owl. She controls what knowledge humans have. She wears a headdress to keep all of the knowledge and secrets of the world in her body--if she were to remove her helmet all the knowledge of this world and the spirit world would be learned by the humans. The owl must keep the balance between the worlds by regulating what the humans learn. Each one of the owl's feathers on her dress represents knowledge. As she walks down the runway (i.e., the passage of time), she hands out bouquets made from groupings of her feathers to spectators in the crowd. Each feather is inscribed with words of wisdom and inspiring sayings. Her arms, talons and neck are covered in ink to represent what has yet to be written and shared. The bodice of her dress mimics the armor of the Goddess Athena, whose consort is the owl. The bodice depicts the owl face, its eyes bright and keeping watch over humanity and the spirit world. The owl is both a graceful but fierce creature; you never want to get too close as she is unpredictable. 2. How long did you labor away on this gorgeous thing? It took 80 hours to complete--but it was well worth it. 3. What other sorts of beautiful gowns have you made? To view more of my garments you can check out this link: http://www.tytostudio.com/#!paper/civu My work has been in a few fashion shows over the past few years. Most recently my paper garment work--the Owl Maiden dress, in fact--was featured in a show at the Baltimore Museum of Art to celebrate the opening of their contemporary wing. I also have designed paper garments for brides and private commissions. After the wedding, brides who have worn my pieces have cut portions from the dress and framed them as a way to preserve the moment and the design. By framing the garment after wear the garment has a longer life and can be integrated into normal home decor. 4. What do you think lies in your (near) fashion future? What are your current plans?
Possibly a bridal show in 2013 and of course commissions. All my garments incorporate special symbolisms in the design that are specific and meaningful to the bride/commission, so it really depends on what commissions I will be doing in the near future. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
How to Survive the Post-Halloween BluesBy Paisley Hibou QuailBellMagazine.com It's been over two weeks since Halloween. How are you coping? Do you feel like you just lost a lover but there's no way to resurrect him and have a hot zombie romance? Don't get depressed; get dressed--up! Here are 5 ways to survive the post-Halloween blues: 1. Keep out your Jack-O-Lantern: He's smelling. He's rotting. But his sagging smile reminds you of your favorite day of the year. Only toss him if it gets to the point that there are more rat bites in his orange flesh than actual pumpkin.
2. Wear your costume to work: Make Fun Friday that much more fun with cat ears or a witch hat. Nix the tie, unless it's torn up enough to pass for post-apocalyptic. Ditto for the suit, unless you're an expert with fake blood. (That stuff's sticky and not in an endearing 'melted candy corn' sort of way.) 3. Hold onto your soundtrack: It doesn't matter if it's practically Thanksgiving; the time is always ripe for the Monster Mash. Rock out like a ghost or vampire. Then it don't matter if you ain't got no soul! Leave rhythm to mortals. 4. Visit your local graveyard: Nothing beats a picnic in a graveyard, or a charming stroll with your significant other as the crows caw the tune to “your” song. Bring a camera, take reference photos for ideas for your future headstone, and just have a blast...to the creepy, mossy past. 5. Eat blood and guts: Seriously. Just go to the butcher's and buy a goat heart. Then sink your teeth into it. Doesn't it feel like Halloween again already? The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Ga-Ga for a Leggy Peach DressBy Celina Suh QuailBellMagazine.com Show some imagination in how you show off your legs. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Ghost in the Machine - Part Two |
|