Visit Zarovka

I've never been to Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Krakow, Budhapest or any other grand old Central or Eastern European capital, except in my imagination. A visit to the fictional city of Zarovka is a lovely virtual world escape when you feel like taking a graphic journey.

Cassette Tape Collection

Tapedeck.org is a vast collection of audio tapes assembeled by neckcns.com. The precursor to todays MP3 song-sharing, the cassette allowed you to transport your music from your stereo LP to your car or boom box.

From the site: "There's an amazing range of designs, starting from the early 60's functional cassette designs, moving through the colourful playfulness of the 70's audio tapes to amazing shape variations during the 80's and 90's."

Jeremyville Sessions

If you're not already familiar with the Australian illustrator Jeremyville, check him out. His work is vibrantly colorful and whimsically snarky. His latest tome, Jeremyville Sessions, is 300 pages jam-packed with collaborations with hundreds of international artists and companies – including magazines, toys, books, comics, characters, animations, posters, clothes, accessories, bags and more, much more! After pouring through the book, it leaves you wondering, when does this man sleep?

Watercouleur Park

The Tate Modern in London has an online gallery of interactive art. The latest piece, Watercouleur Park, by French artists group Qubo Gas, consists of 14 landscapes, drawn dynamically from a database of drawings.

Swiss Flickr Set

'Swiss' style is the prime progenitor for most modern graphic design. Check out this set of Swiss posters and other ephemera for a quick historical study.

Totally Tubular

If you are tired of the Courtyard by Marriott, or the Embassy Suites, you might be looking for Das Park Hotel. With rooms made from “robust drain pipes”, the experimental project resides on the Danube River outside of the Austrian town of Linz.

These creative accommodations have a user-friendly "pay as you wish" system. A night in dasparkhotel costs just as much as you can afford or want to pay.

No Plot? No Problem!

Every once in a while I stumble across a website that's both innovative and, well, just full of fun! One Good Bumblebee offers an array of products that are totally irresistible! For instance, the No Plot! No Problem?workbook offers everything for the wanna-be writer - including Pep Talk Letters and Commitment Coupons.

Be sure to check out the drip clips (every desk needs a sink!).

Ephemeral Photo Booth

Square America posts an amazing assortment of "vintage snapshots & vernacular photography" culled from swap meets, garage sales and other sources throughout the States. There is a huge volume of sets to view and enjoy - two of the best being In The Booth and The Book of Sleep.

Fireworks on Paper

Among other things, New York artist Rosemarie Fiore has created a series of drawings that feature exploded fireworks on paper.

Papercraft Control Panels

An outstanding photo set of miniature electronics control panels - um, made out of PAPER. Seriously.

The level of detail and craft is quite amazing. They're also for sale. Grab yourself a couple before they're all gone.

3191

This photo blog is the brainchild of 2 artists that live 3191 miles apart – in the opposite Portlands, respectively. They chronicle a piece of their mornings and post the images daily, side-by-side.

The photographs are beautiful and comforting and although they are brought to the audience by way of a digital medium, it is the human touch that resonates. Common themes are nature, nostalgia, craft, modern design, renewable materials, motherhood, and Etsy.

Kennedy Letterpress Studio

This Alabama-based letterpress shop is a one man operation that "has a thing for proverbs" and warns that your order might be "wet when you get it." The work has a high touch feel; looking at the posters you can picture the woodblock type in the press bed and hear the clink of the Vandercook. He sells yearly subscriptions and also excess inventory, when available, for $15 per piece.

The Art & Ideas of Dominic Wilcox

The art and ideas of British designer Dominic Wilcox are peculiarly interesting. While studying at Edinburgh College of Art in 1998, he created a collection of objects based on everyday items such as a bed, swing and bird cage. From there he continued to pursue different ways of executing the 'everyday object' and realizing his ideas - sometimes with subtle irony or humor.

One of my favorites is War Bowl.

Invisibles

Filmwise has created a fun way to test your movie knowledge with a weekly Invisibles Quiz.

You will a see still photograph from a movie with all the "humanity" removed – only costumes and props remain (through the magic of Photoshop, I'm guessing). Then, guess the movie title for each image.

It's not as easy as it looks.

Ruth Asawa

Ruth Asawa's wirework sculptures are playful and accessible, yet rooted in a formal study of art. As a teacher and mother of six, Asawa's focus includes a sort of grass-roots art activism. Her exhibits often include the works of her students and members of her community.

That these sculptures are hand crocheted is a testimony to Asawa's strength. Having survived internment during WWII and limited professional opportunities during the 1950's, Asawa subsequently attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina. There she studied under Josef Albers, Merce Cunningham and Buckmister Fuller.

Exploration and Urban Decay

This photographer known as Motts or Mr. Motts, likes to explore and document the decaying textures of abandoned buildings - mostly hospitals, asylums, schools and crypts - that dot the english countryside. Not only are the images fascinating, but so are the underlying stories that seem to eerily reveal themselves from the discarded remnants strewn about these once inhabited facilities.

Also, what's great about Motts is that he documents quite well the histories of the places he shoots. Here's a listing of the locations.