House in Bottle

via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAflgN3gMoF/
I got this in an antique/coffeehouse in Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii last year. The entire bottle is 9-1/2" long (the section shown here is about 5" wide), 4" high, 3" wide; the neck, through which all of this had to fit, is about 1" wide. How they ever did this is beyond me. Build it in collapsed form, slide in and pull erect? There are two human figures, a couple of baskets, a palm tree, and some fencing. Wonder of wonders!

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Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in art, crafts, design, tiny homes, tiny houses

House in Bottle

Sacramento's “library of things” lets you borrow nearly anything

"A new service from the Sacramento Public Library will let you borrow more than books – much more. The California-based library is now offering a variety of other items to lend out, such as musical instruments, sewing machines, electronics and games.

Located inside Sacramento Public Library’s Arcade location, the library also offers 3D printers and scanners for public use, and they even have a bike-repair station.

According to their website, to borrow an item you must be at least 18 years old, unless borrowing a video game. Customers can browse the online catalog and place holds on items that they want to take out. Once the item becomes available, the borrower first in line can pick the item up.…"
http://www.theplaidzebra.com/a-new-library-of-things-lets-you-test-your-hidden-genius-by-borrowing-nearly-anything/
From Anonymous

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Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in books, computers, crafts, music

Sacramento's “library of things” lets you borrow nearly anything

Il Duomo -- The Great Dome of Florence

In the Florence cathedral, or il duomo.

"Fresco of the Last Judgement on the inside of the Dome by Vasari, begun in 1568, and completed by Federico Zuccaro in 1579 Duomo of Florence, Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, Firenza Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore Built between 1293 & 1436 Italy."

"Domes, which vault the crossing and altar of countless churches, lend themselves well to being transformed into paintings of the sky. The round shape above our heads seems to open onto a higher world, so that God and the things of heaven become visually present at the church holiest spot.

The Last Judgment in the enormous dome of the cathedral in Florence was painted from 1572 onward. Vincenzo Borghini had drawn up a learned theological program as early as 1570, Giorgio Vasari was responsible for executing it, but he died in 1574. Federico Zuccaro completed the frescoes in 1575-79. High up in the fresco in the dome, around the cupola, hovers a temple with the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse; beneath this, on terraced registers, follow choirs of angels with the instruments of the Passion, then groups of saints, then personifications of the gifts of the Holy SXpirit, of the virtues, and of the beatitudes, and finally the regions of hell with various deadly sins. The composition of the fresco thus takes into account the architectonic form of the vault in its eight sections, hard upon one another. There is no attempt to dissolve the architectural structure completely by means of illusionistic painting.

The temple and the zones of heaven for four of the eight sections of the vault were completed under Vasari's direction."
http://www.wga.hu/html_m/v/vasari/2/13duomo.html

Photo: public domain

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Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in architecture, art, building, crafts

Il Duomo -- The Great Dome of Florence

Alaska Native Sea Hunters in Northern California in Early 1800s

Saw this beautiful painting by Bill Holm* last week at Fort Ross. The Russians brought the hunters, most of them from the Kodiak Islands, to hunt sea otters at Fort Ross in the early 1800s. The kayaks were made of sea lion skins, the parkas (said to be waterproof) of sea lion intestines, the hats resembling birds.

"…The Kashaya Pomo called the Alaskans Underwater People because their boats sat so low in the water it seemed as if they were coming out of the sea. The iqyan (kayak) they developed is still studied today and its design is incorporated into modern shipbuilding. The Russians called these skin boats baidarkas.

The Alaskans were expert sea hunters. They honed their skill over thousands of years while living on isolated islands and waterways. RAC sent Alaska Natives along the coast to hunt for otter and fur seal pelts. They traveled great distances by kayak, including the Farallon Islands 35 miles southwest of Fort Ross across the rough open ocean, where the Alaskans stayed for months at a time. Alaska Natives used a spear with a detachable point tied with sinew to an air bladder made from a sea mammal’s stomach. After the animal is speared, hunters track the floating bladder, waiting for the animal to come up for air.…"
-http://www.fortross.org/native-alaskans.htm

*Represented by the Stonington Gallery; Also see his book, Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form

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Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in Beach, boats, crafts, fishing, hunting

Alaska Native Sea Hunters in Northern California in Early 1800s

Fort Ross, Recreated Russian Fort on NorCal Coast

Last week Yogan and I spent an hour exploring the Fort Ross State Historic Park, a masterful re-creation of the Russian Fort built on the Northern California coast in 1812. The Russians brought down Native Alaskan hunters who speared sea otters from seal skin kayaks. Most of the hunters came from the Kodiak Islands and their kayaks, spears, and hunting techniques were extraordinary (more on this later).

If you are ever driving up the Northern California coast, I highly recommend going to this site.

Here is the chapel (star of the show), metal shop, and wood shop. Roofing on these buildings consisted of 2 layers of long planks, laid with the cracks in the top layer over the centers of the under layer.

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Posted by Sexy Girls 21+ in boats, crafts, farming, fishing, hunting, natural materials, timber frame, vintage, woodwork

Fort Ross, Recreated Russian Fort on NorCal Coast