Poodle Time!-Poodles and Movie Posters

Poodles and Movies From the 50’s

Today’s post has only two items. These two movie posters go together perfectly. The other posters will have to wait their turn.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the most widely viewed poster from the 1954 Sabrina has Audrey Hepburn (in her gorgeous Givenchy ball gown) posing with two Standard Poodles? I guess it does make a statement. But here is a movie poster with the actual Poodle actor, known as David in the film. I have always considered that the little guy was in there for a symbol of sophistication and I love his collar. But the poor boy always seems to be handed off to someone or just shoved aside, when something more important comes along (this is my personal opinion, of course).

Next up is the Doris Day/Ray Bolger 1952 musical April in Paris. The photo of Doris Day in a chorus girl outfit with six technicolor Poodles on the leash has been pretty popular on the Internet. Rarely seen is this poster for the movie. With it’s limited color palette and stylized design, I think it is pretty cool.

For a data base of Poodles in movies, here is a good place to go. It is a part of the Poodle History Project.

Sophia and Niko hope you have enjoyed our small bit of Poodle movie history. Mom is
probably going to watch one of her old movies now, so it is nap time.

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Garden Thyme-Salsa As An Art Form

Summertime means fresh salsa time. For me, that means an explosion of color, texture, and taste that blows my taste buds away. Yes, I consider fresh salsa making an art form.

Fiesta Salsa Recipe:

2 large or 3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1 jalapeno chile, diced

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine in a bowl and let “meditate” in the fridge for a while.

Here are the players in this photo (type of ingredients, such as tomatoes, peppers, and onions change depending on what Michael brings in and what I feel the dish should look like). I have also added where Michael bought the seeds and extra info we can give you.

Tomatoes

I used three different types of tomatoes in this salsa; a green, pink and orange.

Granny Smith-this heirloom-type tomato is actually a hybrid from Totally Tomatoes. It is green like a Granny Smith apple and is crunchy like an apple. It lent a good surprise texture to the dish.
Persimmon-this is a beautiful orange hued, large heirloom tomato from Territorial Seed Company. Lovely flavor.
Pink Beauty-this is a rosie-hued tomato. It is a hybrid but with many heirloom characteristics from Johnny’s Selected Seeds: soft skin, real tomato flavor.

Everything Else

Red Zeppelin Onion-a beautiful deep purple onion from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
Green Onions (bunching onions)-Nabechan from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. This variety is the nicest bunching, early Spring onion we’ve grown. Very good taste.
Jalapeño pepper–El Jefe from Johnny’s Selected Seeds-I noticed that the pic on Johnnys shows a green pepper. They do turn red if you wait longer and makes for a brighter dish.

So this is the recipe for now. Michael grew 27 different varieties of tomatoes this year–some heirlooms, some hybrids–each carefully selected for FLAVOR potential. Some time I hope to give you list of our favorite, best-tasting tomatoes.

Who knows what the ingredients will be next week! Happy gardening and good eating!

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Poodle Time !-Art That Has Been Inspired by Poodles

Every dog at sometime has probably inspired artists. Today’s post has just a few works that has been inspired by

POODLES

This is part one of a multi part series because Poodles have done a lot of inspiring! Let’s begin our tour………………………

Two Miniature Black Poodles– Frederick Thomas Daws. R.A. (British, 1878-1949) was

One of Britin’s premier animal painters. For the money you can still get his work at auctions.

Check out Encore Editions for

reasonable posters.

Roxy by Tom Corbin, a Kansas City based artist who now has work on display at Kansas City’s Box Gallery-now through July 27th.

The Blue Boy, One of the great mosaics by KG Studio in
Oakland California

“Since 1983, colourful giant animals have been spotted around the world. Some seem to emerge right out of the water, while others hang in the balance like some kind of animal laundry between close-knit buildings. Still others stand guard atop historic landmarks and downtown balconies. Created using recycled plastic bottles by Cracking Art Group, these animals represent the art collective’s strong social and environmental ethic while bringing accessible contemporary art to the masses.

Read and see more animals here.

Pomp by Jennifer Davis

Niko hopes you have enjoyed our first art tour.

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Poodle Time!-Poodles in Fashion Photography

This week’s Poodle post highlights Poodles being used in fashion photos. I are going to start with the 30’s and work forward to more current work.

Vogue – July 1934 – Isabel Johnson Sitting with Poodle

by Edward Steichen

Vogue- April 15, 1945, photograph by John Rawlings

Life Magazine, Photo by Nina Leen -I could not find the date.
I would guess early to mid 50s.

Italian Vogue, 2009-Photo by Greg Lotus,

Kerry Washington in July Italian Vogue-photo by Mark Seliger

Sophia hopes you have enjoyed our fashion journey together.

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Poodle Time!-Poodle Up Your Home and Garden

Preface: this post was written quite a few years ago. I’m sure these exact items will not be available. However, they could be a start in exploring new and different Poodle home and garden items.

Today’s Poodle post in about adding a little Poodle to your life style.

A Poodle Topiary is one of my favorites. This one is with the moss. They can be found
over the Internet, with or without moss. Some come with lights. This one is from
http://www.gardensbyteresa.com/.

This Felt Poodle Pillow Cover can found at ETSY.

Vintage poodle lamps abound on Ebay. However, this is a modern edition that
can be found at Zara Living.

I love this mug. It is from a vintage poster for a French Martini Bar. You can find
this cup on Amazon.

And finally, one of my favorites. I have this game and we have so much fun playing it.
Again, you can find this at Amazon.

Sophia and Niko thinks it time to take a walk-so until next week.

Garden Thyme-Tomato Sunrise

Even with the drought, because of his irrigation, Michael is hauling in the tomatoes. One of our favorite summer morning drinks is a Tomato Sunrise.
Our last tomato juice was made from a beautiful Heirloom tomato named Cherokee Purple.

Recipe

For every 1/2 cup fresh tomato juice add:

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

7-10 drops of Tabasco Sauce (or to taste)

salt to taste

thin piece of celery to stir

Look familiar? It is just a Bloody Mary without the Vodka.

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Day Tripping To Fiber “U”

Saturday was Day-Tripping time again.

Michael and I headed South to Lebanon, Missouri to visit a fiber event that has started to become a July tradition-Fiber “U”.

A selection of Whirlwind Alpaca yarn from Liz’s herd.

Fiber U is the brainchild of Liz Mitchko of Whirlwind Alpacas, which is the largest and most colorful Alpaca herd in Missouri. While the event is Alpaca-centric, there is a cornucopia of classes and a variety of vendors to satisfy every fiber need (and just have to have?). So let the tour begin……………………..

Visiting with Lux Felt. Why Needle Felt with just one needle when you can have over 1.000?

Carol Leigh of Hillcreek Fiber Studio leading a workshop using Hillcreek’s Mini-Mod looms.

Carol Leigh’s husband Denny, minding the shop and helping me decide if I wanted
a walnut or cherry Mini-Mod. I took home the cherry.

Darlene Megli, who with Judy Crouch has A Twist In Time Fiber Shop.
We were asking Darlene about her newest entrepreneurial venture, Megli Fish Fibers-alpaca fibers for fly fishing lures.

Leslie Carol on the left teaching rigid heddle weaving and Janet Wray on the right, demonstrating an electric spinner. They are the creative duo behind Jwrayco. Check out their gorgeous colorways for sock yarn on ETSY

So many pictures and so little space. My favorite photographer took quite a few good pics, so the here is a collage of of Fiber U, 2012.

Fiber “U” for 2013 is July 13 & 14th. Come join the fun and learn something new.

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Dying With The Purpura Pansa-A True Lost Art

Purple-stained fingers and nails are signs of a Purpura hunter and dyer

On the Oaxaca coast of Mexico, a small band of sixteen men carry on an ancient tradition. They coax a thimbleful of ink (really a narcotic to paralyze prey) from the mollusk Purpura Pansa. For centuries, this beautiful purple yarn has been woven into posahuancos, a traditional sarong like skirt.

The red line marks the traditional habitat of the Purpura Pansa. The red star is the approximate location of Pinotepa de Don Luis, Oaxca, home of the dye hunters. Note that the men live far inland and must make a five hour journey to the coast.

The dye season lasts October through March. Only large mollusks are milked. After milking, the shell is returned to a protected crevice unharmed so the mollusk will regenerate its ink.

A photo of the little guy, mollusk Purpura Pansa.

It takes about 300-400 Purpuras to dye one 12 oz. skein of yarn and the dyers can only work for about three hours a day. The white ink is dabbed onto a skein of cotton thread that the dyers carry wrapped around their forearms. Purpura then becomes a yellow green, but with oxygen, it turns purple. Fixatives are not needed. A true Purpura yarn will carry a briny-ocean smell, a way of checking the yarn’s authenticity.

With only sixteen men gathering a dwindling mollusk population, this is an art truly endangered of being lost.

Fives hours from home, a dyer on the hunt.

There is a lovely website devoted to this tradition, which you might find interesting here.

I first learned about this tradition from the Spring 2012 emag “Colorways”, which can be downloaded (for a reasonable fee) for PC, MAC, or IPad.

Traditional cloth woven with the Purpura Pansa dyed cotton. The skirts have bands of purpura, indigo and red (dyed with cochineal) on hand-spun silk. These lengths are woven on back-strap looms.

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Poodle Time!-Notables Who Hung Out With Poodles

Time for a Poodle themed article again. Today’s feature is a few of the famous who liked Poodles.

Elizabeth Taylor was a known animal lover and Poodles were included in this passion

A Poodle named Oliver was the bridal gift to Grace Kelly from her friend and co-star Cary Grant. (To Catch A Thief)

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis wit her poodle Gaulie-early 50s

Cary Grant discussing a scrip with a friend

Winston Churchill was a Poodle man. He owned two brown miniature Poodles, both called Rufus. They were treated like members of his family.

And finally, how can I have the famous and Poodles without one of Audrey Hepburn’s iconic shots for Sabrina

Sophia and Niko hope you enjoyed some of our favorite notables.

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Lucienne Day-The Orange Lookbook

Apollo, (detail), late 1950s. Lucienne Day. Manufactured by Heal Fabrics. At the Textile Museum, Washington, D.C Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III Collection of British Textiles. Courtesy the Textile Museum.

I was thinking about Pantone’s color of the year Tangerine Tango and decided I wanted to feature fabric designs by Lucienne Day using orange tones. I am
just a bit enthusiastic about Day’s fabric designs.

Trio-not sure of the date


Foreshore, 1952-this probably leans a bit towards the red orange, but I decided to put it in anyway.

“Springboard furnishing fabric, for Heal’s. Screen-printed linen. UK, 1954. “

My first article on Lucienne Day–I hope a decent introduction to her work–can be read here.

A small video clip featuring a recorded conversation with Lucienne Day by Wallpaper magazine can be watched here.


Helix – Manufactured by Thomas Somerset, 1970. Lucienne Day did cool stuff with fabrics–and by ‘cool’ I mean inspirational for aspiring artists or designers. A variety of themed features–geometric shapes, colors, foods, organic or botanical shapes–are possible from her work. It seems likely I’ll be revisiting her work again.

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