Tanager and Pomegranate

This pin is too lovely for a crap iSight photo, so I used this one instead. I'd never heard of a tanager before, but he's a handsome little bird to be sure, and complements the stylized pomegranate tree very nicely as he swings from the branch.

While aesthetic value is reason enough to wear this pin, I chose it because it matched my sense of being 'attached' to work, but not yet 'in' the work, having been away for a week. Fortunately there wasn't too much to catch up on, so I'm already feeling back to normal.

Like the Dragonfly and the Owl in the Tree, this pin was designed by Dawn Estrin & George Wilson, who clearly know a thing or two about how to make great jewelry. It's a glorious, deliciously asymmetrical ensemble of silver, garnets and a found photo behind glass. Stunning.

Orbit Girl

We're back from our vacation in upstate NY, rested, relaxed and refreshed. Martin and Caroline were the ideal hosts, so a huge thank you to them. Hopefully Christy will blog about our trip soon - she's better at that kind of stuff than me, because I "never go into the details" she says. True, how true.

Here's another Mark Poulin design (there's a better photo here), the second of the three pins Christy gave me for Valentine's Day (I posted Baby Bird recently). Orbit Girl is just as cute as Baby Bird, is delightfully asymmetrical and (for me) has a quiet air of stoicism about her, making her a welcome companion as I eased myself back into work.

Baby Bird

It's been too long since I posted anything, and now I have a backlog of new pins, so let's move swiftly on. Christy and I are headed to upstate New York to stay with our close friends, Martin & Caroline tomorrow, so we celebrated Valentine's Day early. My gifts from her were three pins from one designer: Baby Bird (enlarged here) is the one I chose to wear today.

All three pins are unspeakably cute, fun and delightful, and were designed by Mark Poulin, who has an extensive portfolio of work that's well worth perusing. Made of brushed silver, the Baby Bird's form pushes all the buttons that predispose us to look kindly on babies of any kind. Utterly irresistible.

Les Bon Mots

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.
--
Dr Seuss

Repeat: Bug-Eyed Fish

Good friends Mike and Steph occupied my thoughts yesterday and today, because Steph was in for surgery this morning and Mike was in bits worrying about her. I chose the Bug-Eyed Fish because I was sure we'd have cause to celebrate (it's a happy occasion pin), and that was indeed the case. All went well, to everyone's relief and delight.

The good news lifts a cloud from our family trip to Big Bear this weekend, where we'll be joining Christy's brother Phil, wife Elke and their girls for snow-based fun. While immersion in cold, wet stuff isn't my first choice for leisure time (this and this are more my cup of tea), I'm making an effort because everybody else is totally into it, and it's been too long since we spent time with Phil and family. And who knows? Maybe I'll find something motorized to play with...

Yellow Jade

Here's another new/old pin, in the sense that it's new to me, but actually an antique. It was given to me by Anne and Kevin for my birthday, who also gave me the Saxophone. As the form is so simple and elegant, I think I'll wear this one for purely decorative purposes, rather than try to imbue it with any deep (and probably artificial) meaning.

The materials are silver and yellow jade (jadeite), making for an uplifting, light combination. There's no name on the back, so I can't say anything about the designer: but the style of the setting is reminiscent of art deco, so I'm guessing it was designed in the 1930s or thereabouts. Don't you love it when friends give you what you want? I know I do.

Les Bon Mots

The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.
--
B. F. Skinner