Books!

I managed to snaffle an armload of children's books from Saver's over the past two evenings, most for 69 cents apiece. It looks like most of my finds were dumped from childcare centers or school libraries. One of these nights I'll have to scan some of the illustrations.

Illustration by Jimmy Liao

Snail At Moonrise

Each night, Snail
unhooks himself from earth,
climbs a slick trail of silver
up, up
the horizon of log,
up stems of leaves
to their dewy tips,
seeking
with his tiny sandpaper tongue
morsels of green
to mix in his dark, moist body
and spin
into whorls of light.

Shell-maker
Moon-maker
gleaming silver-bright.
Each night:
darkness
into
light.

The poem by Joyce Sidman and illustration by Rick Allen are from Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night.

Soizick Meister

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." - early Chinese belief

The Intruder by Swiss-Canadian artist Soizick Meister



More here: soizimage

The Edge of the Kingdom

By Catherine Hyde.

The Edge of the Kingdom


Soft Night Descending


The Ring


More here: Catherine Hyde

Kim Sam Hyuen

Hiawatha's Childhood

By Errol Le Cain





I want this book.

Tree Of Life

Beautiful sand-cast bronze Hanukkah menorah, inspired by the African Acacia tree. From Scott Nelles' etsy shop.

Dennis Chinaworks

Beautiful pottery by Dennis Chinaworks - established in 1993 and run from the converted stables of a Victorian Gothic rectory in Somerset, England.
Their designs are inspired by William Morris, Owen Jones, Ancient Eygpt, abstract art, textiles, geometry, flowers, birds, animals and fish.
Click on thumbnails for the bigger picture.


Medieval May Day


Nettle And Beetle
(I can't help thinking what a great name that would be for a pub)


Indian Elephant


Spring Trees Box


Tomatoes Bowl



Much more to see here: Dennis Chinaworks

And here: Yesterdays Collectibles

Bears and Brollies

May 1st and it's still snowing in my corner of the Shire. Bother.

Umbrella-toting bears by Russian illustrator and animator Igor Oleynikov.






Oleynikov has also illustrated a 2000 Russian edition of The Hobbit.


Here's Beorn for comparison:



More illustrations from The Hobbit can be found at Hobbitish