1. "Heaven and Earth Spirits" by Anael and Bradfield from Within Our Reach
This song is both uplifting and melancholy as the piano weaves in out of wind instruments and an orchestra. I really love the ethereal nature of this song as well as the epic-ness of the large crescendos that sink into a quiet minor sound at the end. Check out this whole CD. It is pretty amazing.
2. "Elysian Fields" by Deuter
I couldn't find a YouTube video of this piece, but I found Deuter's myspace where you can listen to it. This is another relaxing instrumental piece that really captures peaceful soul longing and contentment. I have it on the Allegro 2011 Winter Sampler that I got for free from Amazon. Go check it out! I have greatly enjoyed finding samplers for record labels and discovering new favorite artists because of them. This is how I found so many of my "new favorites".
3. "Rubberband Man" by The Spinners
I've always loved this song, but I've been playing it on repeat for the past few days. This is just a fun 70's song that makes me want to get up and move and boogie! Have fun watching the awesome moves in this video.
4. The Artwork of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
I have found my new favorite fantasy artist. For the past several years Brian Froud has been my go-to for faery and otherworldly fair folk. I recently found the artwork of Stephanie Pui-mun Law through her tarot cards. I was looking up reviews of cards of YouTube and wanted to check out her work, so I went to her website... I fell immediately in love. First I have to say that watercolor is one of my favorite mediums and one of the few that I know a great deal about, even if I can't paint very well. The way she manipulates the colors is phenomenal and unreal. I could stare at her paintings for hours and still find new and exciting elements in them. For instance, I was showing my aunt some of my favorite pictures and she pointed out the sea shell motif that is in so many of the paintings. I hadn't noticed it in some where they were actually in the trees or rocks! These are my current favorite works of hers: Death- I love the radiance the phoenix has as it is combusting. The detail work in this painting is fabulous and the depth of feeling is nearly tangible. Yexian Of Kingfishers and Bones- This is from a series about the Chinese Cinderella. This painting is Yexian in her finery that is exquisitely detailed. You can really see the Pre-Raphaelite influences in this piece. Timepiece- this picture takes two things I love (trees and grandfather clocks) and sticks them together into a seamless entity. Again, the intricacy of this piece is glorious and I feel like I could look at it for hours. Compared to Froud, Law's art is much brighter and not as heavy. I ended up ordering two of her books and a tarot kit from her website and I sit in anticipation of their arrival. I did order them with some personalization in the form of original sketches, so they might take a while. I can't wait to get my hands on the books and pour over these fantastic works of art.
5. Mushrooms
I don't mean to eat... I mean to look at and take pictures of. It has been very wet here recently and the mushrooms are coming up everywhere. I really love finding different mushrooms and looking at the differences between the varieties. My favorites are the bright orange tiny mushrooms that grow in the middle of the gravel roads. They are as large as my pinky finger and so bright and neon that they almost look fake. I find it interesting how saturated colors are in the natural world and the constant work we spend to try to emulate them in our man-made products. Some mushrooms look like coral. Some grow on dead trees and some grow in rings that look like fairy circles or houses.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger
I adore this movie. (I watched it again last night!) Of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this is still my favorite movie. I love the costumes and script writing for the WWII sections of the movie and I love Peggy Carter. Steve Rogers is a really upstanding guy who doesn't like bullies and won't give up. I want to be more like Cap. I want to stand up for what I believe in, no matter how scared I am. I think he is a character we can learn from.
That's all for now!
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